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Tags: Emergency Landings / Delta / ATL / Bad Ideas / → All Tags
Delta Flight Lands On Atlanta Taxiway, Narrowly Avoids Disaster
You know what? Landing your airplane on an airport taxiway is not a good idea, even if you have a "medical emergency" onboard. This is exactly what happened at the consistently busy Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on Monday, when a Delta flight inbound from Rio de Janeiro phoned in their emergency and then landed on the wrong stretch of tarmac.
Luckily for this plane and all the passengers on it, there were no other airplanes waiting on the taxiway to cause a collision, although there easily could have been what with Atlanta's congestion. The Delta flight should have landed on the runway, which is larger and longer and labelled as a runway, that sits parallel to the taxiway. Both the pilot and co-pilot have been relieved from flying while the investigation is pending; it's still not known what the medical emergency was. The FAA is concerned, and a spokewoman noted that "it was 'very, very rare' for a plane to land on a taxiway rather than the runway. 'None of us here, anecdotally, can remember this happening.'" Hopefully it won't happen again either.
Related Stories:
· Delta Flight Lands On Taxiway Instead Of Runway [AJC]
· Delta coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Jaunted]
Tags: Travel Health / Airports / Airport News / Atlanta / ATL / Airport Pharmacies / → All Tags
Atlanta's AeroClinic Will Hook You Up With Flu Shots In The Airport
When last we checked in on ATL's AeroClinic, it had just opened and was offering travelers diagnoses and scripts at $80 a visit. A couple years later and they've expanded into the flu shot market. They're even gearing up to ride swine flu all the way into profitability. Or at least news coverage:
The clinic dispensed about 10,000 flu shots last year, and ... the company is offering the shots starting Sept. 15 'to accommodate people who want to get a jump-start on flu season.'... Kelly says the AeroClinic hopes to get an allocation of H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available, which is estimated around mid-October.
The standard flu shots they're giving right now cost $35, with H1N1 vaccine pricing to be announced later.
Tags: Airline News / Airport News / Southwest Airlines / Atlanta Travel / ATL / → All Tags
Southwest Still Jonesing To Get Their Hands On Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport
As a result of losing the bid on Frontier to Republic Airways, Southwest Airlines has also lost its hopes of entering the Atlanta market by taking over Frontier's Hartsfield gates. Perhaps they haven't lost all hope yet, as industry watchers are convinced that the world's largest low-cost carrier isn't done with the world's busiest airport quite yet.
Southwest originally upended the airline industry by ignoring the traditional hub-and-spoke model, focusing instead on underexploited "point-to-point" routes. Recently the airline has seemed intent on challenging legacy carriers on their own turf, entering markets outside its traditional southwest and northeast strongholds. Having invaded other big markets, it now may have its eyes fixed on the mega-delicious Hartsfield. Says the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Tags: New Routes / AirTran / Atlantic City / Airline News / Gambling / ATL / ACY / → All Tags
AirTran Doubles Down With New Atlantic City Route
The impending arrival of warmer temperatures and sunny days on the east coast combined with the people's need to budget vacations better this summer means that previously underestimated destinations like Atlantic City may be getting some answers to their recession prayers.
Luckily for the struggling casinos and massive hotels that dot the boardwalk, the first wave of relief will arrive on June 11 when AirTran Airways begins direct service between Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson and Atlantic City International twice daily. As the 59th destination for the carrier, AC will now have all kinds of options for budget airline connections, including the option to make it a blowout week by flying between Las Vegas and Atlantic City via Atlanta, if your slots finger stays sharp.
With AC desperate to funnel anyone with some jingling pocket change into their casinos, the AirTran introductory fares on this route begin at a suggestive $69 each way. Pair this with a cheap room at one of the older casinos and don't loose too many Benjamins, and you've got the cost of a vacation in Vegas beat by a couple hundred dollars. Good old AirTran—always flying to the sunniest spots with the flashiest coin.
Related Stories:
· Airtran rolls the dice on Atlantic City [Today in the Sky]
· AirTran Airways Hits the Jackpot with New Service in Atlantic City, N.J. [FOX Business]
· New Routes Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: gTarded]
Tags: Airports / Atlanta / Delta / ATL / → All Tags
Hotlanta Airport Not So Hot for Delta?
Frequent travelers always gripe about Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the most congested airport in the nation but that could possibly change in 2010. The master lease agreements that several large airlines have with the airport are due to expire in 2010 and naturally, the airport wants to charge airlines more for new leases. But some airlines aren't down with that.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest carrier, and discount carrier AirTran Airways, a unit of Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., say that if their costs are too high they may be forced to move some connecting flights to other airports.
Together, Delta and Air Tran represent nearly 93 percent of the airport's traffic. Things also get a little more complicated at ATL as the airport is attempting to secure more financing for a planned $1.6 billion new international terminal. That construction has already begun with the new terminal to open in 2012.
While Delta and AirTran want to stay in Atlanta, the possibility of moving flights to other Delta hubs in Memphis, Cincinnati and Detroit, is very real.
So what does this mean right now for you travelers making connections in Atlanta? Nothing right now. But later this summer or next fall, you could be connecting in one of those cities mentioned above instead of Hotlanta.
Related Stories:
· Airlines threaten to move flights from Atlanta [AP News]
· Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport [Official Site]
[Photo: FrancoFolini]
Tags: New Routes / Virgin America / David Cush / AUS / ATL / → All Tags
The History of Virgin America's "Expansions"
While newly wireless Virgin America is holding off on acquiring new planes for now, that didn't stop CEO David Cush from talking up some new cities that his airline is eyeing. Where might we see VA in the next couple years? Austin-Bergstrom International and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.
Back in 2007, all the speculation was focused Miami and Boston, two cities that Virgin still says might be on the route map in the future. Then, of course, there's the Chicago situation, which VA says should be resolved soon.
Even more esoteric expansions we've heard mentioned in the past include Vancouver and Cabo; haven't seen flights to either of those cities yet, despite previous claims that Virgin would be in 10 cities by the second half of this year. Heh: This recession is killing everyone!
Related Stories:
· Virgin America Raises More Cash [Aviation Week]
· What's Next for Virgin America? [Jaunted]
[Photo: davitydave]
Tags: New Airlines / New Routes / GeorgiaSkies / ATL / → All Tags
Chameleon Airline Travel: What Is GeorgiaSkies?
Less than a week after one air taxi company cancelled all future flights, another is expanding service. Pacific Wings, which already operates commuter flights on Cessna 208s in Hawaii, will start flying from Atlanta to Macon and Athens on September 29 with a subsidiary called GeorgiaSkies.
But airfare watcher Rick Seaney is skeptical that the service will, ahem, take off:
The distance between Atlanta and Macon is 87 miles, while the distance between Atlanta and Athens is 73 miles. There are some who would call that driving distance.
But GeorgiaSkies isn't aimed at people headed out of Atlanta: It's designed as an air taxi service to Hartsfield-Jackson, where the daily parking rate starts at $9 a day. If you can fly there and back for $103 all-in, why not save the gas and leave the car at home in Athens?
Related Stories:
· GeorgiaSkies [Official Site]
· New Airline Enters the Fray [Rick Seaney]
· Very Light Jet Magazine Caters to the Ratplane Crowd [Jaunted]
· Chameleon Airline Travel: What Is Porter Airlines Exactly? [Jaunted]
