U.S.
Department of Transportation said on the
consumer protection front that the DoT has
initiated three rulemakings to enhance
passenger rights and protections. In November
2007, the DoT issued a proposal to double the
limits on the compensation required to be paid
to "bumped" passengers. It is also enhancing the
on-time performance data that carriers currently
report to the department. And it has requested
comments on various proposals designed to
provide consumers information or enhance
consumer protections, including proposed
requirements that airlines: create legally
binding contingency plans for extended tarmac
delays, respond to all consumer complaints
within 30 days, publish complaint data online,
and provide on-time performance information for
international flights. A Tarmac Delay Task force
is studying delays, current and proposed
practices of dealing with them, and developing
contingency plans. Gribbin also said that the
DOT looks to increase capacity whenever and
wherever possible, with its support for
expansion of O'Hare International Airport being
one concrete example. Apr 11, 2008
U.S.
Department of Transportation's new proposal
creates a stronger correlation between what
users pay and what it costs the FAA to
provide them with air traffic control service,
thus providing price incentives for systems
users to reduce delays. The DoT's New York Air
Congestion Working Group has developed a plan,
which included establishing a New York Aviation
Rulemaking Committee (ARC), holding scheduling
reduction meetings, implementing operational
improvements, and enhancing customer
satisfaction. The DoT has implemented some of
the working group's recommendations. Among the
actions being taken: caps on hourly operations
at JFK; proposed caps on hourly operations at
Newark; completion of eight of the 17 airport
and airspace recommended operational
improvements identified by the Air Transport
Association (ATA) and the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey. Apr 11, 2008
One in four
flights was delayed or canceled last year in the
U.S., according to the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics. On more than
88,000 flights, affecting about 5.9 million
passengers, planes sat on the tarmac for more
than an hour -- and often longer -- before
takeoff or after landing. Last summer, the
number of flight cancellations was 28% higher
than in the same period in 2006. A chorus of
committee members called the delays
unacceptable, urging both the airlines and the
government to do more to reduce delays. Rep.
Laura Richardson (D-Long Beach) recounted her
own flying horror story from Monday as she
waited through several delays while traveling to
Washington. Apr 10, 2008
TSA plans to
screen all passenger cargo. A new TSA
program expected to launch this summer is aimed
at screening all cargo on passenger jetliners.
The program will rely on packing companies to
voluntarily screen cargo that they bring to
airports, purchase screening equipment, and
subject themselves to TSA regulation. Apr 10,
2008
Airline
passengers are less willing to fly, have skipped
recent flights and plan to avoid air travel
in the future, a new survey of travel
professionals by the Business Travel Coalition
(BTC) reveals. The BTC survey on aircraft
maintenance, outsourcing and Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) oversight, underlines a
deepening concern over the safety of U.S.
airlines. The BTC says the survey shows concern
regarding passenger safety and homeland security
is driving a strong desire for additional
maintenance-related consumer information to
assist passengers in choosing an airline on
which to travel. BTC said there is also strong
support for an independent top-to-bottom review
of FAA policy as well as worry that the
environment is a victim of certain outsourcing
practices. The BTC survey was conducted online
from April 1-3 with 223 completing the survey.
Respondents were asked to consider the survey
from an individual passenger perspective.
Ninety-four (94) percent of participants are
very concerned or somewhat concerned about the
overall aircraft maintenance and FAA oversight
situation. Forty (40) percent are less willing
to fly due to current aircraft maintenance
issues. Thirteen (13) percent have skipped
recent flights due to maintenance concerns.
Twenty-five (25) percent indicate they are very
likely or fairly likely to skip future flights,
according to the BTC survey. Complete survey
findings can be found at
http://businesstravelcoalition.com/campaigns/outsourcing/maintenance_survey.doc
Apr 8, 2008
Open skies
lowers fares, but travelers face fuel
surcharges. Airlines, travelers feel sting
of soaring fuel prices. Travelers can expect
higher fares and crowded planes this spring as
carriers continue to face soaring fuel prices.
Three carriers shut down last week, and all
blamed higher fuel prices. Analysts note that
fuel prices are not threatening to shut down
large carriers, but they are forcing big
airlines to scale back costs. Apr 7,
2008
The nation's
air travelers may be wondering whether last
week's three airline shutdowns signal more
trouble ahead. But a bigger concern this spring
may be the likelihood of more flight delays,
jammed planes and even higher ticket prices.
With rising fuel costs, fewer planes in the sky
and heightened safety concerns with aging
aircraft, travelers can expect flights to be
more expensive, crowded and late, giving
passengers more reasons not to fly this year. If
fewer people fly, struggling airlines may not be
able to manage the high fuel costs and decide to
call it quits, following last week's demise of
Skybus, ATA Airlines Inc. and Aloha Airlines,
analysts said. The three regional carriers had
different reasons for ceasing operations but all
of them said high jet fuel costs helped push
them over the edge. ATA, for instance, abruptly
grounded all of its flights Thursday after it
lost a major military contract for charter
flights. Aloha cited "predatory pricing" from a
new competitor, Mesa Air Group Inc.'s Go airline
for flights between the Hawaiian islands, as a
major reason for ceasing operations March 31.
Apr 7, 2008
Travelers
will likely see higher fares and crowded planes
this spring as carriers continue to face
soaring fuel prices. Three carriers shut down
last week, and all blamed higher fuel prices.
Analysts note that fuel prices are not
threatening to shut down large carriers, but
they are forcing big airlines to scale back
costs. Apr 7, 2008
American
Airlines
American
Airlines customers scheduled to travel on any
MD-80 flight from April 8 to 11, even if their
flight was not been cancelled, may rebook
without a change fee to any American flight with
availability in the same cabin as long as their
travel begins by April 17. Customers who were
inconvenienced with overnight stays should go to
www.aa.com where a link has been established to
request information about compensation.
Customers also were encouraged to continue to
check ww.aa.com or to contact their travel
agents for flight status information. An AA
spokesman said the cancellations would continue
into Saturday, but that the airline expected all
of the grounded planes to be flying again by
Saturday night. For more information, visit
www.aa.com Apr 11, 2008
American
Airlines canceled 1,094 flights, or nearly half
its schedule, on Wednesday to re-inspect
aircraft, a disruption that affected about
100,000 passengers and triggered chaos at the
busiest U.S. airports. The airline said it
expects more than 900 cancellations on Thursday.
The disruption at American follows 460
cancellations on Tuesday and hundreds of
cancellations two weeks ago. The March
disruption was for the same reason as this
week's problem -- to ensure compliance with a
Federal Aviation Administration safety directive
on wiring inspections for MD-80 aircraft. Apr
10, 2008
American
Airlines expects to cancel hundreds of flights
on Thursday. The airline canceled more than
1,000 flights on Wednesday as it inspected its
fleet of MD-80 jetliners. American Executive
Vice President of Marketing Dan Garton said the
carrier is working to return operations to
normal. Meanwhile, some industry experts say
aging planes are the underlying cause of
maintenance issues. Apr 10, 2008
American
Airlines has canceled more than 2,000 flights
this week to perform emergency inspections on
wiring aboard its MD-80 aircraft. Other airlines
that operate the aircraft have followed suit.
The problems are not confined to the U.S.
British Airways this month was forced to cancel
dozens of flights into and out of its new
Terminal 5 building at London's Heathrow airport
following the failure of what was billed as a
state-of-the-art, computerized baggage handling
system. Apr 10, 2008
Canceled flights
for failed safety inspections have reduced air
travel to a crawl for many passengers, but it is
only the latest bad news in a series of woes for
an already battered industry. American Airlines
canceled 900 more flights - 40% of its schedule
-Thursday because the airline twice failed to
meet an air-worthiness directive by the Federal
Aviation Administration. That brings the total
number of inspection-related cancellations for
U.S. carriers to more than 3,100 in the past
three weeks - with the potential of
cancellations continuing into the summer,
leading to multi-million dollar daily losses,
according to industry analysts. But grounded
passengers are not the only thing hammering
airlines recently. Rising fuel costs, long
delays and public relations gaffes have also
beaten up the industry. Apr 10, 2008
FAA plans to
expand scrutiny of aircraft maintenance.
Cancellations at American Airlines suggest that
the FAA is taking steps to make sure airlines
strictly comply with safety regulations. Critics
note that the FAA does not allow inspectors to
conduct surprise inspections based on their own
instincts, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
editorial board says travelers will remain
vulnerable to canceled flights until the process
is improved. Apr 10, 2008
American
Airlines said it was canceling several hundred
flights on April 9 to conduct additional
inspections of its Boeing (McDonnell Douglas)
MD-80 fleet. American said the inspections will
ensure precise and complete compliance with the
FAA's airworthiness directive, related to the
bundling of wires in the aircraft's wheel wells.
These inspections based on FAA audits are
related to detailed technical compliance issues
and not safety-of-flight issues. At press time
it was not known how many cancellations will
result, but it could be as many as 500 today.
Additional cancellations are likely tomorrow,
American said. American will re-accommodate
customers on other American flights or on
flights operated by airlines in the same market.
Customers may be automatically notified of
flight changes, but should check www.aa.com. Apr
9, 2008
American
Airlines said late on Wednesday that it had so
far inspected 179 MD-80 planes, of which 119
still needed more work. The company said 60 were
returned to service, and 121 remained to be
inspected. Each MD-80 must be cleared by an FAA
inspector before returning to service. American
said it would hire an outside company to review
compliance with FAA requirements. American's
cancellations angered travelers at several
airports where agents struggled to book
passengers on other flights. Dallas was hardest
hit with 208 cancellations, followed by Chicago
O'Hare with 138. American offered vouchers to
travelers willing to take a later flight. Garton
said American also provided meals, hotels and
ground transportation. Apr 9, 2008
American
Airlines, Boeing
American
Airlines apologized for its flight cancellations
that may have impacted 200,000 passengers over
the past three days. American said it canceled
more than 900 flights on Thursday as it works to
complete the inspections of its MD-80 fleet. On
Wednesday, American said it canceled 1,094
flights in addition to the 460 canceled on
Tuesday. Customers who were scheduled on a
flight that was canceled may request a full
refund or apply the value of their ticket toward
future travel on American Airlines.
Additionally, customers scheduled to travel on
any MD-80 flight April 8-11, even if their
flight has not been canceled may rebook without
a change fee to any American flight with
availability in the same cabin as long as their
travel begins by April 17, American said.
Customers who were inconvenienced with overnight
stays should go to AA.com where a link has been
established to request information about
compensation. Apr 11, 2008
American
Airlines said on Thursday that it has canceled
around 570 flights scheduled for Friday as it
works to complete the inspections of its Boeing
(McDonnell Douglas) MD-80 fleet as required by
the Federal Aviation Administration. The airline
said that as of Thursday afternoon, 132 MD-80
aircraft were returned to service. On Thursday,
American canceled over 930 flights related to
the MD-80 inspections. That followed the
cancellation of 1,094 flights on Wednesday and
460 canceled flights on Tuesday. Apr 11, est
Airlines subsidiary, said it served nearly
500,000 passengers in its first year of
operation fl2008
Compass
Airlines, Northwest Airlines
Compass
Airlines, a wholly owned Northwying 17 Embraer
E-170s. It also announced that it was approved
for daily Detroit-Monterrey service beginning
May 2. Compass operates 74 daily flights to 26
cities as Northwest Airlink and expects to fly
36 aircraft and transport more than 2 million
passengers by year end. Apr 7, 2008
Continental
Airlines
Continental
Airlines became the fifth major US carrier to
raise its fees for a second checked bag,
announcing that economy class passengers who are
not premium members of CO's loyalty program will
pay $25 for the second piece effective May 5.
Policy applies to flights in the US, Canada,
Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. Apr 7,
2008
Continental
Airlines on Sunday launched flights from
Cleveland to Birmingham (twice-daily),
Charleston (daily), Green Bay (twice-daily) and
Tulsa (twice-daily) aboard 50-seat Continental
Express RJs. Apr 7, 2008
Midwest
Airlines
Midwest Airlines
and Alaska Airlines have pulled MD-80 jetliners
out of service for inspections. The inspections
have forced both airlines to cancel flights. Apr
10, 2008
Travelers
Advantage
As more airlines
announce additional bag charges to offset
near-record fuel prices, Travelers Advantage, a
leading national travel company, has begun
offering consumers relief at the airport.
Northwest Airlines recently joined United
Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways in
adding a $25 one-way luggage fee on second
checked bags for coach-class passengers
traveling within North America beginning May 5.
Travelers Advantage is offering an additional
bag rebate. As part of the rebate, active
Travelers Advantage members can now receive a
$50 rebate coupon -- $25 reimbursement each way
for additional bags -- on airline trips booked
worldwide through Travelers Advantage through
the end of the year. For more information, visit
www.travelersadvantage.com Apr 11,
2008
United
Airlines
United Airlines
has raised U.S. domestic fares by up to USD$30
round-trip, the company said on Thursday. Apr
10, 2008
Apr 14,
2008
