4/26/2006 at 3:39 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis, Travel Media (all tags)
Well well! How the worm turns, Airbus. After yesterday's fiasco in the New York Times, which published a story
asserting that Airbus had been quietly pitching standing-room seats to Asian carriers that included a graphic of what they would look like, Airbus is
denying such plans were ever in place. More than that, an Airbus spokesman called it "crap", according to a CNN report.
We don't think that the graphic just magically appeared, Airbus. We understand that you have to deny everything--after all, you were
quietly pitching it, not shouting it to the high heavens--but we don't think the report was crap. After all, why would you certify the A380 for so many people (853) when the only way to fit them would be with all-economy seating?
Of course, SRO seats might allow you to have multiple classes and still fit that many. So, if you want to stand and fly, don't lose hope just yet. Maybe they can hook up some stationary bicycles to run the electricity and save on fuel costs? It'll be called the "fitness fare", perfect for those flights back from extravagant vacations.
[Image via Joseph Robertson/Flickr]
Related Stories:·
Stand Up for Your Rights [Jaunted]
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Airbus Denies Report [CNN]
by AVB
4/25/2006 at 12:29 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)
Are there plans afoot to make flying even more miserable than it already is? Beyond whatever nickel and dime policies carriers are toying with these days, a new concept for airlines could be headed to an Airbus near you: Standing room only seats, first
reported in the New York Times. Passengers would be secured to a padded backboard with a harness like wearing a backpack; Airbus is pushing hard for this configuration on their new A380.
Is it safe? According to the Times, there are no legal impediments to standing room seats here in the U.S.:
The Federal Aviation Administration does not mandate that a passenger be in a sitting position for takeoffs and landings; only that the passenger be secured. Seating must comply only with the agency's rules on the width of aisles and the ability to evacuate quickly in an emergency.
The Air Transport Association, the trade association for the airline industry in the United States, does not have any seat-comfort standards. Nor does it issue any recommendations to its members regarding seating configurations.
The standing room configuration is just one solution available to airlines as they contemplate how to fit more passengers in each plane. Slimmer seats and a inch less of legroom can combine create another six seats on a 737. Presto! Instant revenue.
Given the choice between hideously cramped seats and standing, we choose standing. Is it any worse than taking the subway?
Related Stories:·
A Place to Stand [NY Times]
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Airbus considering SRO Seats [Today in the Sky]
by AVB
4/24/2006 at 11:16 AM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)
Great
round-up from this weekend's New York Times Travel section on
affordable Europe (sample advice: public transportation is cheaper than a taxi!) on the different ways to get around the continent without blowing your budget. The usual suspects all make appearances--a
Eurail Pass, long-distance bus travel, Ryanair--but there are some interesting nuggets as well.
One, low-cost carriers are multiplying like rabbits, so much so that each European nation has one--just like the old days of air travel on the continent! New carriers that we hadn't heard of before include Spain's
Vueling and KLM-owned
Transavia. Looks like
Wizz Air has some company.
Beyond that, all those taxes and add-ons for LCC tickets add up. A Ryanair ticket between Stansted and Dublin or Berlin, advertised for less than a dollar, works out to $62 round-trip. It's enough to make a budget traveler in Europe support the flat tax. Almost.
[Image via lorentey/Flickr]
Related Stories:·
Getting Around Europe Cheaply [NY Times]
by AVB
4/20/2006 at 3:56 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)
When it comes to the airline industry, being wedded to an idea spells trouble.
British Airways is learning just that. They are feeling the heat from Ryanair and easyjet, and have responded by cutting fares within Europe by about ten percent. Their fares will remain higher than their competitors, but they offer free luggage check-in, food and other amenities than the low-cost carriers do not give away. Even in these tough times, B.A. is shooting for ten percent margins on their tickets. Ryanair, however operates on a twenty-five percent margin; that's tough competition for B.A. to match.
Northwest, meanwhile, is already
tweaking their horrible $15 charge for exit row seating. They plan to set aside some of the quality coach seats for frequent fliers who amass 25,000 miles a year in their World Perks program. That's right, getting an aisle seat has officially become a perk. Frequent fliers will get a crack at the seats for free the same time they go on sale for everyone else. Northwest will stop selling the best coach seats to regular fliers entirely, setting them aside for World Perks members. Northwest is trying to enrage just about everyone this with this new program, and it looks like they are succeeding.
Of course, if you don't get a coveted coach seat,
you'd better bring your special socks. According to a British study, "flight socks", which compress the leg to regulate blood flow, reduce the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis by 90%. Unless you're Alfonso Soriano, they look dorky, but wearing them is still preferable to giving Northwest that extra $15 for an aisle seat.
[Image via jecate/Flickr]
Related Stories:·
BA Slashes Prices [Times of London]
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Northwest Drops Legroom Fee for Some Fliers [USAT]
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Flight socks can cut risk [Guardian]
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Previous Airline Analysis [Jaunted]
by AVB
4/19/2006 at 10:25 AM
Tags: Airlines, Airline Analysis, Cheesecake (all tags)
Coffee, tea, or me? If you need to get attention, taking off your clothes is always effective. That's why some long-standing (geddit?) stewardesses have created their second annual pin-up calendar -- to raise awareness about the cutbacks flight attendants have had to endure in their retirement packages and pay. This week marks the upcoming release of the 2007 edition. Sadly, there are no pics from the new calendar online just yet.
Of course, if the ladies are old enough to worry about their retirement pacakges, they may not all be pin-up material. Even so, the proceeds goes toward helping fellow flight attendants who are in financial trouble, and that's all right by us.
They've got really strong legs, though. Look at those gams!
Related Stories:·
Stewstripped [via
Fleshbot]
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Surrendering Modesty but Cloaked in a Purpose [NYT]
by johnrambow
4/13/2006 at 2:18 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)
The news is grim this week from the world of airlines. From the struggle of low-cost carriers to compete with rejuvenated legacy airlines, to possible strikes at others, it's hard to say when the outlook will ever be rosy for the industry. So what else is there to do other than keep on expanding and focus on branding, right?
Well, that's what JetBlue is doing. Everyone is
hurting from increased fuel costs--even Southwest, who heavily hedged their purchases of fuel back when oil was about $30 a barrel--since hedges eventually run out. JetBlue
announced this week that they will begin flights from JFK to Charlotte and Raleigh. Both are huge hubs; Charlotte for US Airways, Raleigh for American. JetBlue may not be ready for that kind of competition, but they're diving in headfirst nonetheless.
Many of the low-cost carriers are moving into tough markets because they are desperate to find additional revenue. Southwest is looking for gates in Dulles and Philadelphia, which is a serious turnaround from an operator whose only presence in the New York City area is at Islip airport. Still, the LCC's are likely to start reevaluating where excess capacity can be trimmed very, very soon if this new strategy doesn't work.
Delta, meanwhile, is
facing serious pilot problems; they are negotiating with their pilots, asking them to take an 18 percent pay cut, which amounts to $305 million. If they don't agree, the pilots could strike as early as Tuesday. Where do we stand in this labor dispute? Let's just say that a lot of that money could come from executive pay, and that the pilots took a 32 percent pay cut, or $1 billion, in 2004. Delta needs to look elsewhere for that money. Maybe getting rid of Song wasn't such a good ideal after all.
[Image via yuzu/Flickr]
Related Stories:·
Delta Stays Quietly Hopeful [WaPo]
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Cost Advantage of LCCs Eroding [Reuters]
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Carolina Blue? [Today in the Sky]
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Previous Airline Analysis [Jaunted]
by AVB
4/10/2006 at 4:26 PM
Tags: Airlines, Airline Analysis (all tags)
Frequent fliers and road warriors aren't the only ones up in arms about Northwest's new policy of charging $15 for exit row seats. The Professional Flight Attendants Associaton
sent Northwest's CEO an open letter over the weekend, claiming that the new policy goes against FAA rules for who can sit in the exit row.
The PFAA claims that by charging for exit row seating, it can be used as a reward, instead of ensuring that there's someone capable of, you know, opening the door in an emergency. Northwest's response? Other airlines are doing it, so what they are doing has to be kosher.
To review: Airlines are happy to take your money for exit row seating, but you may die as a consequence. It's still better than a center seat.
Related Stories:·
Flight Attendants Object to NWA Plan [USA Today]
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Airline Analysis [Jaunted]
by AVB
4/06/2006 at 2:31 PM
Tags: Airline Analysis (all tags)
Airlines are always looking for new ways to separate you, a supple, helpless traveler, from your money. Some are sneaky and newfangled, like security fees and charging for snacks, while others are as old as time itself. That's right! Many of the major U.S. carriers have
fare increases planned for this summer.
United, in response to surging fuel prices, announced they are increasing one way fares by as much as $50. Delta quickly followed suit, though the increase breaks their own promise to streamline fares and keep last-minute tickets under a self-imposed limit of $599.
American and Delta, meanwhile, will no longer absorb the security fee imposed on them by the TSA, instead passing it on to ticket holders. That will be a $9 increase round-trip. In effect, it's $9 to have surly high school graduates force you to remove your shoes before they fondle you. Lovely.
Northwest isn't concerned with TSA fees. Instead, they're
expanding their $15 charge for aisle seats, previously limited to domestic flights, to planes flying to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. They expect to make $15 million in revenue from the program. It's not so bad, right? Just think of it as a
height tax.
[Image via eye2eye/Flickr]
Related Stories:·
Northwest Expands Fee-Seat Offers [USAT]
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Airlines Raise Fares to Counter Fuel Costs [WSJ]
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We Wuz Robbed [Jaunted]
by AVB
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