Fares to
Hawaii may climb after two carriers shut
down. Travelers to Hawaii will have fewer
choices now that ATA Airlines and Aloha Airlines
have shut down. Flights to Hawaii were a key
part of ATA's business. Domestic carriers that
continue to fly to the islands should see a
boost in traffic, observers note. Apr 4,
2008
Four U.S.
airlines are being investigated for their
suspected failure to comply with federal
regulations dealing with aircraft
maintenance, the Federal Aviation Administration
said Wednesday, although it stressed that the
nation's air fleet was safe. The FAA declined to
release the names of the four airlines, citing
the ongoing investigation and privacy issues,
but said fines might be levied. Two airlines
failed to complete inspections of wire bundles,
one didn't finish repetitive inspections, and
another lacked a plan for compliance with an FAA
directive, the agency said. The announcement
came as FAA officials prepared to testify today
about the agency's air safety efforts at a
congressional hearing. House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. James L.
Oberstar (D-Minn.) called the hearing, saying
the FAA had a "cozy" relationship with the
carriers it regulated. In a briefing Wednesday,
the FAA detailed results from the first part of
the agency's two-part audit of maintenance
record-keeping and performance of the nation's
117 larger airlines. The second stage of its
review will conclude June 30. During the first
phase of the audit, aviation safety inspectors
performed about 2,400 audits of FAA
"airworthiness directives" from March 13 to 28
and found a compliance rate of about 99%. Apr 3,
2008
U.S. air
travelers have endured longer lines, more delays
and the loss of amenities such as meals and
blankets. Now they are getting hit with a wave
of schedule disruptions caused by airlines
scrambling amid increased regulatory scrutiny to
ensure that the expanding air transport system
stays safe. The latest complication came
Wednesday, when United Airlines temporarily
grounded dozens of Boeing 777s to test their
cargo fire-suppression systems. United said it
canceled 41 flights and delayed dozens of others
as it carried out work on the long-haul jets
after a review of maintenance records showed
that a test on a bottle in the fire suppression
system hadn't been performed reported AP. Apr 3,
2008
U.S. carriers
are 99% compliant with mandatory FAA
airworthiness directives, according to the first
phase of an audit by the FAA. However, FAA
Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell said there
is room for improvement and that the FAA is
proposing plans to strengthen the regulatory
process. Apr 3, 2008
Stars still
get perks, special treatment when they fly.
Airlines still provide celebrities, politicians,
sports heroes and dignitaries with private
lounges and special entryways in terminals, the
Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney writes.
For example, American Airlines quickly escorts
famous individuals through the airport with its
"Five Star" service. Observers also note that
airlines benefit from celebrity customers.
"Airlines definitely want celebrities on
planes," said Nancy Suey Castles, director of
public relations at Los Angles International
Airport. Apr 1, 2008
The armed
pilot program was created by Congress over
objections from the Bush administration,
which favored stronger cockpit doors, closer
passenger screening and other steps. Guns are
otherwise prohibited in the passenger cabin.
More than 750 firearms were seized at airport
passenger checkpoints last year, 10 percent
fewer than the prior year, the TSA said. The law
enforcement officers permitted to carry weapons
are a particular concern to Joseph Gutheinz, a
former agent with the US Department of
Transportation. Gutheinz, who flew armed in his
job, said there is the distinct risk that a
hijacker could take a loaded gun away from an
inattentive officer. Apr 1, 2008
TSA says 10%
of airline pilots may carry handguns. More
than 10% of domestic airline pilots are cleared
to carry a handgun while they fly, according to
a projection by the TSA. Leaders of the Air Line
Pilots Association union say armed pilots help
deter hijackings. Apr 1, 2008
Statistics
consistently show that flying is the safest form
of transportation, but the aging WW2 vintage air
traffic control system, outsourcing of
maintenance and recent maintenance problems, low
income and ever increasing fuel costs are the
reasons why some travelers continue to worry
about safety. Mar 31, 2008
Air
Canada
Air Canada is
introducing optional "travel assistance" for a
fee, pledging to supply free meals and hotels to
customers affected by weather-related delays.
The airline said yesterday that its "On My Way"
service will cost $25 for each one-way,
short-haul trip up to 1,609 kilometres, and $35
for each one-way, long-haul flight of 1,610
kilometres or more. "It's really about peace of
mind," said Ben Smith, Air Canada's chief
commercial officer. He said the carrier's
program goes well beyond standard industry
protocols for helping travelers when there are
woes beyond the airline's control, notably
severe weather and air-traffic congestion. But
WestJet Airlines Ltd. spokesman Richard Bartrem
said his airline already offers many of the
features for free to stranded travelers that Air
Canada is charging for a fee. Apr 3,
2008
Aloha
Airlines
Aloha Airlines
will stop operating as of April 1 and said its
partner United Airlines will accommodate
affected travelers. Hawaiian Airlines has also
offered to honor Aloha tickets on a first-come,
first-served basis. Aloha filed for bankruptcy
protection earlier this month, citing soaring
fuel costs and intense competition. Mar 31,
2008
American
Airlines
American
Airlines, is the latest carrier to tinker with
the meals it sells on board its domestic
flights. American Airlines, which started
selling meals in February 2005, will test three
different items during April. In some cases,
these items will replace what the airline sells.
In others, these items will be additions to the
menu. The airline this month will offer
breakfast, with Special K cereal, 2% milk, fruit
cup and granola bar, for $5 on all flights three
hours or longer and departing before 10 a.m.
After that time, a snack of raisins, crackers, a
cheese wedge and mixed nuts will be sold for $4.
In addition, American will sell a deli sandwich
and a bag of potato chips for $10 on afternoon
transcontinental flights and most flights to and
from Hawaii. Passengers can pay for the meals
with credit or debit cards. Apr 2,
2008
American
Eagle Airlines
American Eagle
Airlines, the regional affiliate of American
Airlines, will add three daily nonstop flights
between Chicago O'Hare International Airport
(ORD) and Central Wisconsin Airport in Wausau,
Wis. (CWA), beginning June 1, 2008. American
Eagle will operate the service with 44-seat
Embraer ERJ-140 jets. For details, visit
www.aa.com Apr 1, 2008
Delta Air
Lines
Delta Air Lines
announced capacity cuts last month, including a
proposal to eliminate 2,000 jobs, mostly through
buyouts and attrition. Other airlines also have
trimmed growth plans to stem the impact on high
oil prices. Industry finances are growing
steadily bleaker when fuel costs, sagging
domestic travel demand and a weakening economy
are weighed. Apr 4, 2008
Delta Air Lines
will offer more designer $7 and $8 meals as part
of a plan to try and reap more revenue from
added services. Delta Air said Tuesday it will
have its food-for-purchase program -- "EATS" --
on all flights within the United States of 750
miles or more starting April 1. The program is
also now part of select flights between the
United States and beach destinations in the
Caribbean and Latin America of 1,550 miles or
more. The new menu features meals designed by
noted chef Tood English -- a chicken parmesan
sandwich for $8, chicken bistro salad for $8 and
hummus with veggies for $7. Delta began the
food-for-purchase menu in September 2007 on
coast-to-coast mainline flights between New York
John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los
Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.
And on May 1, Delta's EATS menu will feature XXX
and Power C flavors of vitaminwater from Glaceau
in 20-ounce bottles for $3 each. Apr 3,
2008
Delta Air Lines
said it plans to expand its food-for-sale
program, EATS, to all flights of at least 750
miles, or about 1.5 hours, within the U.S. The
airline said EATS will also be featured on
certain flights between the U.S. and the
Caribbean and Latin America of at least 1,550
miles, or about 3.5 hours. Carriers are seeking
different ways to raise money to help cover
ever-increasing fuel costs that aren't being
completely covered by higher fares. Some
carriers have recently begun charging customers
to check bags or for increased leg room Apr 2,
2008
Delta Air Lines
upped the ante, announcing a list of increased
fees. Among other changes, the carrier said it
has raised the fee to bring a pet into a plane
cabin to USD$100 from USD$75. The unaccompanied
minor fee was raised to USD$100 from USD$50 for
a nonstop flight. The price of a one-visit club
pass was raised to USD$30 from USD$25. Apr 2,
2008
The rapid pace
of air fare increases this year may be slowing
as airlines brace for weaker demand, but their
need to pass on fuel costs to travelers through
new fees remains greater than ever. Of the 10
fare increases initiated by legacy carriers in
2008, six have been broadly matched throughout
the industry, giving them the traction to remain
in place. But the last two attempts by Delta Air
Lines to raise prices by USD$10 failed. Delta's
fare increase on March 27 failed to attract any
matches by rivals and was promptly withdrawn.
Airlines been battered mercilessly by record
high fuel costs, which are directly linked to
oil prices. One of the best ways they can offset
that expense is through fare increases. Since
2006, carriers have had success boosting fares,
overcoming the strong competition from low-cost
airlines such as Southwest Airlines. Apr 2,
2008
Delta Air
Lines, Freedom Airlines
Delta to cut
Freedom Airlines ERJ operations. Delta Air Lines
will terminate an agreement as of May 3 with
Mesa Air Group subsidiary Freedom Airlines,
which operates 34 ERJ-145s on behalf of Delta
Connection, for failing to meet an agreed-upon
completion rate. Mesa contends that the
completion rate in question is a direct result
of Delta's decision to bump some Mesa operations
in favor of mainline flights and denied there
was just cause to terminate the agreements. The
decision to drop Freedom's ERJ service comes
less than a month after DL's announcement that
it will reduce capacity by 10% in the second
half of 2008 and ground 20-25 regional jets,
presumably the less-fuel-efficient 50-seaters.
Apr 3, 2008
New
York
Passengers
deserve basic service during delays. An appeals
court recently rejected a New York law that
attempted to create rights for passengers
delayed inside commercial jetliners, the San
Francisco Chronicle editorial board writes. The
board says Congress should pass a law to protect
travelers. "The court case in New York should
slap Congress into doing its duty," the board
writes. Apr 2, 2008
A federal
court's decision to strike down New York's
passenger rights law was the right decision, the
Washington Post editorial board writes. The
board notes that states should not be allowed to
micromanage airline operations. "Ideally, rules
on how many hours one could be trapped on an
airplane and what kind of amenities must be on
hand when delays become excessive should come
from the airlines themselves," the board writes.
Apr 1, 2008
Northwest
Airlines
Northwest
Airlines said it would cut its schedules by 5%
and boost fares as part of an effort to offset
soaring fuel prices. The airline said it will
also add baggage fees and fuel surcharges. "Over
the past several months, the price of oil has
risen dramatically to all-time highs, and there
is no reasonable basis to conclude that oil
prices will materially decline any time soon,"
CEO Doug Steenland said. "These increased costs
are significant and call for a strong response
from us." Apr 4, 2008
Northwest
Airlines will join several US legacy competitors
and begin charging North American economy
passengers $25 for a second checked bag on each
segment. Policy goes into effect May 5, applies
to Northwest Airlink customers and includes an
increase to $100 from $80 for three or more
checked bags and to $50 from $25 for pieces
weighing more than 50 lb. Mar 31,
2008
Southwest
Airlines
US lawmakers
blast FAA for maintenance problems at House
hearing Lawmakers sharply criticized FAA
managers for maintenance lapses at Southwest
Airlines and attempts to hide the problems at a
House hearing on Thursday. The hearing
publicized many violations that had not been
disclosed over the years, and FAA safety chief
Nicholas Sabatini acknowledged that problems
"could potentially be systemic." The FAA said it
is taking steps to fix the problems but
maintains that voluntary disclosure by the
carriers is essential for safety. Apr 4,
2008
United
Airlines
United Airlines
has been forced to cancel flights after
grounding its entire fleet of Boeing 777
aircraft. United said that during a regular
review of maintenance records it had discovered
tests on a fire suppression system had not been
thorough enough. The airline canceled 31 of its
84 daily 777 flights on Wednesday and expects
more cancellations on Thursday. United has been
using other aircraft on the mainly long-haul
routes as well as booking passengers onto other
airlines. Coincidentally, the US House of
Representatives will be holding a hearing about
airline maintenance on Thursday. In recent
weeks, American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and
US Airways have all been forced to take aircraft
out of service because of lapsed maintenance
inspections. The Federal Aviation Administration
said in a statement that United's grounded
planes were not linked to a clampdown it is
currently having on safety inspections, which
led to some of the other recent groundings. Apr
2, 2008
United Airlines
is running a normal service from London Heathrow
Apr. 3 after cancelling a number of flights
yesterday when it grounded its entire Boeing 777
fleet for maintenance checks. The carrier
expects all 11 flights to depart the London hub
today, having cancelled 41 of 84 departures
yesterday across its worldwide network. Not all
of its 52 777s have been checked however, and it
is not clear whether there will be further
service disruptions in the US today. The airline
said it had discovered - 'as part of a regular
review of maintenance records' - that the
'functional test that checks the firing system
on one of the five bottles in the cargo fire
suppression system on the Boeing 777 was not
performed.' This was voluntarily disclosed to
the Federal Aviation Administration, but the
carrier confirmed that 'this system is regularly
tested as part of the pre-flight safety checks.'
Asked if the aircraft had therefore been
dangerous to fly, the United spokesman said,
"No, there was no danger." The tests to each
aircraft take around 90mins. Apr 3,
2008
As carriers are
less able to raise fares, they have become more
aggressive at finding new revenue streams. Major
carriers such as United Airlines and US Airways
announced earlier this year that they would
begin charging passengers a fee to check a
second bag. The move, which has drawn criticism
from some travelers, is a continuation of a
trend toward unbundling some items and services
that used to be included in the price of a
ticket. Apr 2, 2008
US
Airways
US Airways
freshened up its Envoy (trans-Atlantic business
class service) experience to meet the
expectations of today's discerning travelers.
Envoy is available on all nonstop flights
between US Airways' international gateways --
Charlotte, N.C. and Philadelphia -- and all 20
European airports served by the carrier,
including new service to London's Heathrow
Airport which the airline introduced on March
29. In addition to the focus on more
personalized service, improvements were also
made to Envoy meals. The new menus include a
choice of three entrees and one optional express
meal, available at the customer's leisure. The
dishes feature fresh, higher quality ingredients
with an emphasis on healthier choices. Customers
may also taste and select their favorite from a
variety of highly rated fine wines. On morning
and early afternoon departures to the United
States, US Airways will serve brunch, a popular
American tradition, onboard. Further
enhancements to Envoy include new, fully
adjustable near lie-flat seats on its Boeing 767
fleet. Each seat is located on either a window
or aisle and features a drop-down inner armrest
and 170-degree recline for greater personal
space and comfort. Other highlights include
personal touch screen entertainment devices,
110V AC in-seat power and generous stowage,
including multiple literature pockets and
personal water bottle holders. For more
information, visit www.usairways.com Apr 3,
2008
The recent
accidental firing of a pilot's gun highlights
tensions over whether the number of authorized
guns aboard US commercial aircraft translates
into safer skies. A long list of travelers are
permitted by law to carry guns on planes,
including federal air marshals, certain pilots
and law-enforcement agents traveling for
business. Supporters of the practice insist that
the presence of armed pilots and law enforcement
agents -- on and off duty -- cuts the chances of
hijacking. But others argue that the sheer
number of guns on planes greatly increases the
likelihood of an accident such as the one on a
US Airways flight on March 22, when a gun
carried by a pilot went off in the cockpit
during flight. No one was injured. Klaskin says
it is unnecessary for so many people to travel
with weapons. Pilots, in particular, have enough
to think about during a flight without worrying
about keeping their weapons safe. Apr 1,
2008
The US Airways
pilot was a Federal Flight Deck Officer and
authorized by the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) to carry a firearm. The
armed pilot program was enacted after the
September 11, 2001, hijack attacks in New York
and Washington. Pilots are trained to use
weapons to defend the aircraft in the event that
a hijacker manages to get through the reinforced
cockpit door. In the six-year history of the
armed pilot program, the US Airways incident was
the first time a weapon had been fired in the
cockpit, the TSA said. The agency would not say
how many pilots carry guns, but said thousands
are qualified to do so and interest in joining
the program remains high. Apr 1, 2008
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