Fumigate, Then Fly
The culture of anything goes on board, as noted below, needs to end, but so does the culture of «extra passengers»:
‘A United Airlines flight was delayed for more than five hours at Denver International Airport after three ticks were found on board Tuesday. The ticks on United 1178 to Des Moines were brought to the attention of a flight attendant shortly before the plane was to leave at 12:21 p.m., said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski. “We immediately cleaned the cabin, replaced the seat cushions and as a precautionary measure decided to use another aircraft to fly from Denver to Des Moines,” Urbanski said.’
—Denver Post
And how did they get there in the first place? Hmmm?
Brings new meaning to the term ‘blood-sucking airlines.’ ★
• 127 Words written by Steve @ 13:27 | 11-Jul-08 in United-Airlines • Comment
Frontier Cuts More
Frontier’s latest job cuts include «152 f.o.‘s and 169 flight attendants»:
‘Of the 456 people Frontier Airlines plans to lay off this fall, the majority are pilots and flight attendants. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment spokesman Bill Thoennes said Tuesday that Frontier told the state the layoffs include 152 first officers, 169 flight attendants, 50 customer service agents and 35 mechanics.’
—Denver Post
Whether the whole different animal survives or not is an open question now. ★
• 75 Words written by Steve @ 13:23 | 11-Jul-08 in Frontier-Airlines • Comment
Indicted: Anything Goes
Don’t mess with «JetBlue»:
‘A woman who assaulted members of a JetBlue flight crew who tried to stop her from smoking in her seat was indicted by a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court. Christina Elizabeth Szele, 35, of Woodside, N.Y., is free on $10,000 bail, with the condition that she not travel by air. …
‘Authorities say that Szele was smoking a cigarette in her seat and when confronted by a flight attendant, she yelled obscenities and racial slurs. Court records say the crew put Szele in flex cuffs and that she broke through and punched the flight attendant. The indictment also says Szele assaulted a second JetBlue employee assigned to sit next to her to control the situation.
‘The June 17 flight was diverted to Denver International Airport because of the disturbance. The plane was originally en route from New York to San Francisco. “The ‘anything goes on an airplane’ culture must end,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. “Mess with a commercial flight crew and expect to face the consequences.”’
—Denver Post
Agreed. The culture must end. But don’t stop with just outrageous behavior; also ban cell phones, flip flops, halter tops, lack of bathing … Oh, the list is so long. ★
• 206 Words written by Steve @ 13:18 | 11-Jul-08 in JetBlue • Comment
Southwest Goes International — Sorta, Kinda
Southwest Airlines just announced a code-share agreement with WestJet of Canada. But the news was presented as if Southwest was «starting international service»:
‘Southwest Airlines Co. said today it plans to offer international service — a first for the low-fare carrier — through a deal with Canada’s WestJet. Southwest said it has taken the first step toward striking a so-called code-sharing agreement and planned to announce schedules and other features of the WestJet partnership by late next year. The agreement is subject to review by U.S. and Canadian regulators.
‘Under most code-sharing deals, airlines sell tickets on each other’s flights and share the resulting revenue. Southwest passengers could connect to a WestJet flight to Canada. Frequent-flier programs are typically reciprocal.’
—Rocky Mountain News
The headline, ‘Southwest to Offer Canada Flights,’ is, at best, misleading. Yeesh.
• 139 Words written by Steve @ 13:18 | 11-Jul-08 in Southwest-Airlines • Comment
An Alliance and Some Really Shoddy 'Reporting'
The media very rarely knows anything about commercial aviation. They just pretty much repeat whatever some so-called expert tells them to print. Case in point: Today’s news that new alliance partners «Continental and United» joined together to ‘fight rising fuel costs:’
‘Continental and United Airlines, which failed to complete talks this spring to become a single carrier, said Thursday they would work together in an alliance they hope will boost revenue to offset rising fuel costs. Shares of both airlines rose by double-digit percentages in afternoon trading. In striking a deal with United, Continental ended alliance negotiations with American Airlines, the nation’s biggest carrier, and British Airways.
‘Under alliances, airlines typically work together to sell tickets on each other’s flights, which can result in increased revenue. Alliances are easier to put together than mergers, which can run into opposition from labor unions or regulators. But alliances have their limits. Without antitrust immunity from regulators, airlines are barred from working together on prices and schedules. And airlines that merge can shed overlapping routes, planes and workers.
…
‘Continental said it would seek antitrust immunity from the Transportation Department to form joint ventures on trans-Atlantic flying with United and Lufthansa, and eventually on flights to Latin America and Asia. But in the U.S., the Continental-United deal will be limited to code-sharing — selling tickets on each other’s flights and offering reciprocal frequent-flier and airport-lounge programs.’
—SFGate.com
A pathetic piece of ‘reporting.’ Sad, sad, sad. It does nothing to address if this is just Continental joining Star Allliance or if this is in addition to joining SA. The article fails to answer crucial questions: How, exactly, does Continental joining the Star Alliance boost its revenue? How does another airline joining the Star Alliance boost the revenue of United Airlines? And, if revenues are boosted at United, wouldn’t they also be boosted at other Star Alliance carriers? What other carriers are part of Star Alliance, anyway? So many questions left unanswered by lazy, non-journalistic, press-release reporting.
Yeesh.
The reality of current commercial aviation economics is, according to a better source, Michael Boyd of «AviationPlanning.com», this:
‘The airline industry is getting nuked by fuel costs that are gobbling up most — not just a big percentage, but most — of some carriers’ fare revenues. Here’s some ugly data:
‘• Assuming recent fare increases stick, the estimated average paid by passengers for domestic travel today is approximately $191.00. Take out the taxes and other extortion fees imposed by Washington, and the airline ends up with $166.17.
‘• At current jet fuel prices — $3.50 per gallon (and going up fast) the cost of fuel per passenger estimated by Airports:USA as of June 15 is $138.80. Net to the airline to pay for everything else: $27.37. Crew. Maintenance. In-flight supplies. Landing fees. And so on. But it gets worse.
‘• Remember that most flights for July and August are already heavily-booked, if not fully-booked, and most of the seats were sold at prices that won’t cover the fuel nut. This means that any true fare/revenue relief can’t be substantially in place before the 4th quarter of the year — assuming the industry can get fares up and costs down by then. In the meantime, there will be lots of full flights losing lots of money. Lots of cash going out the door and into the fuel tank.’
—The Boyd Group
And Continental’s new membership in Star Alliance won’t substantially change all that.
(The Star Alliance, by the way, currently consists of Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, All Nippon, Asiana, Austrian Airlines, BMI, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, SAS, Shanghai, Singapore, South African, Spanair, Swiss International, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish, United, USAirways, Adria, Blue 1, Croatia, and, now, Continental.) ★
• 628 Words written by Steve @ 17:04 | 19-Jun-08 in Continental-Airlines • Comment
NWA Parks Planes, Cuts Flights
Everything’s all a-okay over at Northwest, says «
‘Northwest Airlines Corp.‘s (NWA) deal to merge with Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) is a “game-changer” that will keep Northwest flying for a long time, Chief Executive Doug Steenland said Tuesday evening. Steenland said he expects the merger to be completed by the end of the year, saying the deal makes “even more sense” with skyrocketing fuel costs because of the possible savings from combining the airlines’ operations.
‘Earlier Tuesday, Northwest said it will further reduce its capacity, fleet and workforce as it tries to keep flying amid record-high fuel costs.’
—CNN.com
The usual litany: high fuel and workforce costs, workforce and capacity cuts equal … what exactly? Show us some profits. Otherwise, well, this is just the usual crap. ★
• 8 Words written by Steve @ 19:26 | 17-Jun-08 in Northwest-Airlines • Comment
Big, Huge Merger; Big, Huge Losses
First came the news of the big, huge merger; now comes news of «big, huge losses»:
‘Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-largest carrier, said Wednesday its loss widened in the first quarter to a whopping $6.39 billion because of soaring fuel prices and the steep decline in the company’s market value.
‘Northwest Airlines, which will be acquired by Delta to create the world’s largest airline, reported a $4.1 billion loss in the first quarter.
‘Delta’s results badly missed Wall Street expectations, despite a 12 percent increase in sales. The Atlanta-based company said the loss is equivalent to $16.15 a share. That compares with a loss of $130 million that Delta reported in the January-March quarter a year ago, when it was still in bankruptcy.’
—SFGate.com
This comes on the heels of «United’s big, huge losses» just announced yesterday:
‘The parent company of United Airlines reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss Tuesday, citing a string of problems that are hurting other carriers as well. And for travelers, a vacation season of jammed planes, delayed flights and higher fares looms in what’s shaping up as the worst of times for airlines and their customers. “It’s going to be a rough summer,” said Terry Trippler, a travel expert in Minneapolis. “It’s going to be one where you’ve got to plan another day into your travel schedule” just to prepare for schedule chaos.
‘Months of rising concerns about the consequences of higher fuel prices jumped to new levels of anxiety among investors on a gloomy combination of developments that sent UAL Corp. shares down a staggering 35 percent and battered other airline stocks. Not only did United post a $537 million first-quarter loss and announce cutbacks accordingly, crude oil surged near the once-unthinkable $120-a-barrel mark and Delta Air Lines Inc. chief executive Richard Anderson said domestic carriers would need to raise fares by 15 to 20 percent just to break even.’
—SFGate.com
Gonna get ugly. Real, real ugly. ★
• 323 Words written by Steve @ 14:41 | 23-Apr-08 in Delta-Air-Lines • Comment
Meet ... Deltalina?!
The _Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a blog tracking Delta’s takeover of Northwest and is now «featuring an amusing video» of Delta Air Lines’ in-flight safety video, featuring an Angelina Jolie-lookalike. I especially like the no-smoking part, featuring a pouty smile and a finger wag.
Video included here, ‘cause it’s also on YouTube:
• 53 Words written by Steve @ 16:32 | 20-Apr-08 in Delta-Air-Lines •
Twisted Ankles and Lawsuits
A little smoke and some happy lawyers: «an Alaska 737’s smoky landing in Seattle»:
‘More than 100 people were evacuated from an Alaska Airlines 737 on Thursday because hazy smoke appeared in the cockpit shortly after the plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, officials said. No major injuries were reported and the source of the smoke remained under investigation, authorities said.
‘The crew of Flight 529 from Los Angeles reported a potential landing gear problem 23 minutes before landing, but all appeared normal until “a light gray haze … not thick smoke” appeared on the flight deck five minutes after touchdown, said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.’
—SFGate.com
Two passengers reported twisted ankles. Reminds me of the line from Tanya Livingston, TransGlobal Airlines agent, in «Airport»: ‘I’d better get out there with some release forms and plenty of sympathy and understanding.’
• 144 Words written by Steve @ 16:07 | 20-Apr-08 in Alaska-Airlines •
Delta Absorbs Northwest
On-again, off-again, now on-again, it’s really officially on now: «Delta Air Lines absorbs Northwest Airlines» in a $17.7-billion deal:
‘Northwest and Delta announced their merger at 7 p.m. … Northwest shareholders will receive 1.25 Delta shares for each Northwest share, a total of $3.1 billion in stock. Including assumed debt, that gives the deal a total value of $17.7 billion … Headquarters: Atlanta, with “executive offices” in the Twin Cities. CEO: Richard Anderson. [Northwest CEO] Doug Steenland will get a seat on Delta’s board; [Northwest] Chairman Roy Bostock will become vice chairman … The airline said it will maintain all its current hubs: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo.’
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
And it begins … ★
• 120 Words written by Steve @ 19:30 | 14-Apr-08 in Delta-Air-Lines •
Frontier — Not Such a Different Animal After All
«
‘Frontier Airlines, the latest airline to file for bankruptcy, was pushed over the brink by a problem that could spread to other carriers: credit card troubles. The carrier blamed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on a cash squeeze caused by its credit card processing company, which has decided to keep a larger chunk of the Denver airline’s ticket revenue. The move ends a policy under which the processor, First Data Corp., passed on most of the money from ticket sales to Frontier. The change is intended to protect First Data, which would be on the hook for ticket refunds if Frontier stops flying. Frontier plans to continue operating while in bankruptcy.
‘First Data’s decision represents a new threat to an industry facing jet fuel prices that have soared 74 percent in one year, a new government focus on safety that has grounded thousands of flights in recent days and tight competition and falling demand that, combined, have limited carriers’ ability to raise prices. “It’s just a god-awful time for this industry,” said Bob Mann, an independent airline consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.’
—SFGate.com
Yeesh. Disgusting. ★
• 1 Words written by Steve @ 15:00 | 12-Apr-08 in Frontier-Airlines •
Didn't See That Comin'
I mean, who couldn’t have seen it coming? «
‘Skybus Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, becoming the third airline in less than three weeks to fail. The low-cost carrier filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Saturday night, Skybus spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said.
‘The Columbus-based airline was known for its $10 fares and a la carte, pay-per-service flying. Like other airlines, it has struggled with rising fuel prices and a slowing economy. Skybus declared bankruptcy less than a year after beginning service. Its final flight landed in Columbus early Saturday.’
—Journal-Gazette
A deserved (and inevitable) death, IMHO. ★
• 9 Words written by Steve @ 15:00 | 08-Apr-08 in Skybus •
Aloha, Aloha!
Inevitably, it seams, «
‘Aloha Airlines, which has been operating since before Hawaii became a state, abruptly announced yesterday it is shutting down passenger service after today.
The 61-year-old carrier, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just 10 days earlier — its second such filing in a little more than three years — said it ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for its passenger business.
David Banmiller, president and chief executive of Aloha, accused Mesa Air Group’s go! of pushing Aloha over the edge.
“Unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business,” said Banmiller, referring to a below-cost interisland airfare war that go! triggered when it entered the Hawaii market in June 2006.’
—Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Most people remember Aloha Airlines because of «Flight 243 on 28-Apr-88», (ironically almost exactly 20 years ago) which ended like this:
The landing of Aloha Airlines 243 | Kahului, HI | 28-Apr-88
‘On April 28, 1988, the aircraft, Queen Liliuokalani (registration number N73711) took off from Hilo International Airport at 13:25 HST bound for Honolulu. … Around 13:48, as the aircraft reached its normal flight altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 m) about 23 nautical miles (43 km) south-southeast of Kahului, a small section on the left side of the roof ruptured. The resulting explosive decompression tore off a large section of the roof, consisting of the entire top half of the aircraft skin extending from just behind the cockpit to the fore-wing area. … At the time of the decompression, the chief flight attendant, Clarabell “C.B.” Lansing, was standing at seat row 5 collecting drink cups from passengers. According to passengers’ accounts, Lansing was ejected through a hole in the side of the airplane. Flight attendant Michelle Honda, who was standing near rows #15 and #16, was thrown violently to the floor during the decompression. Despite her injuries, she was able to crawl up and down the aisle to assist and calm the terrified passengers. Flight attendant Jane Sato-Tomita, who was at the front of the plane, was seriously injured by flying debris, and was thrown to the floor. Passengers held onto her during the descent into Maui. … The crew performed an emergency landing on Kahului Airport’s runway 2 at 13:58. Upon landing, the crew deployed the aircraft’s emergency slide/rafts, and evacuated passengers from the aircraft quickly.’
—Wikipedia
Aloha! ★
• 4 Words written by Steve @ 15:00 | 31-Mar-08 in Aloha-Airlines •
MAXJet Goes MAXBankrupt
The experiment that was MAXjet with its all-bidness-class luxury (also known as economy class of the 1960s) is «over»:
‘MAXjet Airways ceased operations on Monday — leaving jets on tarmacs and stranding passengers on Christmas Eve — as the all-business class airline said it would file for bankruptcy protection. MAXjet cited soaring fuel prices and the deteriorating credit market for what it called a “drastic measure.” But analysts said the company’s failure may raise questions about the viability of all-business class airlines.’
—HuffingtonPost.com
Rivals EOS and Silverjet are said to be still running. Go figure. ★
• 99 Words written by Steve @ 14:52 | 29-Dec-07 in MAXJet •
LuftBlue
The continued sucky-ness of the American economy is having some interesting effects. Because of the Euro’s strength, the «Germans are able to take a stake in JetBlue»:
‘JetBlue, the struggling discount carrier, sold a 19 percent stake in its business to Lufthansa of Germany for $300 million Thursday, the first major investment by a foreign airline in an American rival since British Airways took a stake in American Airlines in the early 1990s. The transaction is also the latest example of a foreign company’s taking advantage of the weak dollar to invest in a prominent American company.
‘The stake sale may help shore up the lagging finances of JetBlue, which has $433 million in current debt obligations and has already substantially curtailed its growth plans and sold some assets like older planes. Some analysts have even suggested that the Lufthansa investment amounted to a rescue effort. William J. Greene, a Morgan Stanley analyst, said JetBlue was “hard pressed” to pay back its debt using cash flow from its operations and money on hand. While Lufthansa’s investment is strictly financial and does not include any strategic partnership for now, industry watchers speculated that the deal could lead to further cooperation and give Lufthansa an important foothold in the United States.
‘Under the terms of the deal, Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest airline after Air France-KLM, will buy 42 million newly issued shares at $7.27 each. It will also gain a seat on the discount airline’s board. Federal law limits foreign ownership of an airline to a 25 percent voting stake and 49 percent of equity. Both companies say they have not agreed on specific areas of cooperation.’
—NYTimes
No word on when or if foreign airlines would be able to serve internal American cities. We need more of that, not more low-cost Southwest knockoffs.
I get Lufthansa’s position here and smell JetBlue’s desperation. But in a couple of years or so, they’ll divest and go their separate ways. ★
• 325 Words written by Steve @ 22:51 | 13-Dec-07 in JetBlue •
Launched
Virgin America finally got off the ground last week with lots of hoopla at KSFO:
‘After three exhausting years of revving up, Virgin America – 25 percent owned by Branson – won the approval of US. regulators to begin flying as a low-cost carrier. The airline is starting small, with two flights a day to New York and five to Los Angeles from SFO. In the coming weeks, it will add service to Las Vegas and Washington.’
—SFGate.com
It’s about time. We may try it out and go to LA or DC in October or November. ★
• 94 Words written by Steve @ 20:41 | 15-Aug-07 in Airlines •
Midwest: Belle of the Ball
AirTran has reportedly given up (for now) on acquiring Midwest, but Texas Pacific (whoever they are) and Northwest «are making a play»:
‘Texas Pacific Group and Northwest Airlines Corp. are offering $16 a share in cash to acquire Midwest Air Group Inc. of Milwaukee. Midwest Air (Amex: MEH) has been fighting a hostile takeover attempt by AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) AirTran, based in Orlando, Fla., had offered $15.75 a share, or about $431 million, based on the value of AirTran’s stock and an increase in the cash portion of the deal to $9.50 per share, up from $9 a share previously, AirTran said Sunday.
‘Texas Pacific and Northwest would convert Midwest Air to a privately held company, leaving chairman and chief executive officer Timothy Hoeksema in place, according to a statement issued Sunday evening.’
—Dallas Business Journal
Forbes is reporting that AirTran may still make a later play, but if the TPG/Northwest play goes through, NWA would dominate Wisconsin:
‘The airline has hubs in Minneapolis and Detroit, and controls about 19 percent of the market at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport. Midwest has about 50 percent of Milwaukee traffic, and their combination would create a huge Wisconsin player.’
—Forbes.com
The article notes that analysts “prefer” more industry consolidation in 2008 and 2009. Yowtch. ★
• 208 Words written by Steve @ 12:55 | 13-Aug-07 in Midwest-Airlines •
Jet Contrails in the Moonlight
While soaking my weary joints in the hot tub tonight, there was a beautiful, round full moon directly overhead. As I lay steeping in the 103-degree heat, clouds of steam swirled up into the sky and the last leaves on the tree in the front yard fingered out the light from the streetlamp; it was very movie-esque.
Looking back up at the moon, a passing jet, high up on a jetway (perhaps a Delta flight from KHNL to KSLC?) passed by just below the moon. The moonlight was trapped in the contrail left by the jet. It was a gorgeous scene. I managed a picture of the moon, but had to Photoshop-in the contrail and jet … but at least you get an idea of what a beautiful night it was:
Jet contrail in the moonlight | Brentwood, CA | 22:33 1-Jan-07 ★
• 138 Words written by Steve @ 01:17 | 12-Aug-07 in Airlines •
Getting a Point Across
I love the photos on Airliners.net, but they rarely make me laugh out loud. Until now. With this one, photographer «Blake Mallery» ended up with a slyly subversive little photo. Wonder if it was intentional? I’m guessing yes. The conjunction of all three aircraft tails is almost just too perfect. (Their design-by-corporate-committee look makes it appear that DL-US-AW is already one airline, doesn’t it?)
So what’s up with the billboard? Are some folks in Phoenix unhappy with a certain highly touted merger? Umm, that would be a big «yup!» And they took out a billboard close to the runway? That’s fabulous.
Even better is the photo, though. Point well taken, Blake! ★
• 116 Words written by Steve @ 21:08 | 30-Dec-06 in Delta-Air-Lines •
PT Barnum: Proud
I always enjoy reading the Boyd Group’s Aviation Hot Flash, written (I think) by Michael Boyd. He’s got a lot of good old fashioned horse sense, particularly when it comes to the so-called experts on Wall Street and those yahoos in the Transportation Sicherheitsdienst. He’s also a tireless advocate for local service for small communities.
«Here is his take» on the USAirways hostile takeover bid for Delta:
‘This is a holiday week, so we’ll probably have to wait until next week for the debut of the circus that is sure to develop from the US Airways hostile offer for Delta.
‘But, start it will. And it’ll have all the wonderful characteristics of a 1950s TV variety show. Sort of a latter-day Ed Sullivan Show – entertainment, big-name acts, appearances by stars from stage, screen, and Wall Street, you name it.
‘There’ll be dancing bears in the form of Wall Street analysts, jumping through hoops in perfect obedience to their handlers. Magicians making data disappear and re-appear in reality-defying forms. Puppet acts, too, with politicians doing routines dictated by whichever way the dollars may go. Wild animal acts, with fierce state Attorney Generals growling the merger blues, at least until they’re tossed a service bone to shut them up. Chorus lines of big-name East Coast “advisors” singing whatever tune they’re paid to belt out, and bringing in the best back-up orchestras of jive numbers money can buy.
‘Yup, Ed Sullivan would be proud. So, unfortunately, would P.T. Barnum. That’s because no how much glitz, glitter, promises and paid PowerPoint presentations will be spit out to hype this deal, it’s still a bad one for the consumer. No matter what good intentions US Airways may have, the fact remains that the consumer won’t benefit from this deal.’
—Aviation Hot Flash
The guy knows how to tell it like it is. And write. There’s lots more besides this excerpt. Go read it. ★
• 321 Words written by Steve @ 22:05 | 22-Nov-06 in Airlines •
Apatosaurus Meets Brontosaurus
Sally B. Donnelly of Time has something to say about «USAirways’ play for Delta»:
‘Oh, great! That’s just what we need before the busiest travel time of the year—a merger of two flying dinosaurs to create the country’s first behemoth airline. And to top it off, the proposed $8 billion takeover of Delta Air Lines by US Airways would join the two major carriers that finished at the bottom of one of the 2006 quality ratings.’
—Time
Apatosaurus Air. ★
• 79 Words written by Steve @ 19:18 | 19-Nov-06 in Delta-Air-Lines •