Jaunted

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Taking On Virgin America at SFO

September 4, 2007 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

If Virgin America were the only new airline landing at SFO, we wouldn't think twice about it: Routes and airlines come and go. But the SFO-LAX route is heating up now that Southwest Airlines is jumping into the mix, beginning November 4.

The carrier best known for its sarcasm, free-for-all seat system and its own reality show will be flying eight times a day between SFO and LAX. Just what does that mean? According to Bill Owen, Southwest's schedule planner, big things:

While I won't make predictions here...if I were a bettin' man, now that Southwest is flying between LAX and SFO, I'd bet that the fares in that market will drop like Brittany [sic] Spears' approval rating. We will bring our pricing to the market, which will give far more people the Freedom to Fly....and we'll do just as we have everywhere else in this Country--grow the market!

Celeb reference or not, we're wondering when this fare drop is going to happen: Southwest's advance purchase tickets start at $39. Virgin America offers tickets for the same price--without the cattle call boarding.

Related Stories:
· A Tale of Two Markets [Southwest]
· Southwest Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Plane Buzz]

Airlines

Airline Report: Insane Singapore Seats Reach SFO

January 16, 2007 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

Leave it to Singapore Airlines to actually roll out its new cabin products, albeit in limited release, in such a timely manner. Not following through probably gets your ass kicked in Singapore. It was only October when the airline unveiled its revamped seats, including a 23-inch AVOD screen in first class.

The new planes have made it to the US, and will fly from SFO to Singapore every Monday, Thursday and Sunday. Expanded service, both from SFO and LAX, will come later in the year. FlyerTalk reviews of the seats are starting to trickle in, and they're not all positive. It turns out that first class seat may not be so comfortable, but the huge TV is still pimp.

[Photo: sq002 boeing]

Related Stories:
· Singapore Airlines Launches New Plane, New Product [Yahoo! Finance]
· SQ 777-300ER new product [FlyerTalk]
· Rich and/or Of Size? SQ's Got Your Back [Jaunted]

Alaska Airlines

Spotted in the Wild: Alaska Airlines' King Salmon

January 15, 2007 at 3:03 PM | 0 Comments

While suffering through a delay this morning at San Francisco International Airport, we caught this wild salmon hanging outside on the tarmac.

That's Alaska Airlines' "Salmon-Thirty-Salmon" promo airplane which the airline introduced last year as  a way to celebrate/demonstrate//inform the public about the carrier's role in transporting millions of pounds of fresh salmon and other seafood out of Alaska each year.

The "Salmon-Thirty-Salmon," sporting the glimmering image of a wild Alaska king salmon, is among the world's most intricately painted commercial airplanes. Complete with shiny scales, a dorsal fin and gills, the livery on the Alaska Airlines 737-400 passenger aircraft is the result of a dedicated team of 30 painters working nearly nonstop for 24 days.

Unfortunately, from our vantage point we could not see the fish head so you'll have to rely on the pic after the jump.

Related Stories:
· Alaska Airlines takes flying fish to a whole new level [Anchorage Daily News]

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