Delta to start flights to Nairobi, Kenya
March 31, 2009
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) is expected to start flights from its Atlanta hub to Nairobi via Dakar, Senegal on June 3, 2009. The Boeing 767-300ER flights will depart Nairobi every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sundays.
FAA sees 9 percent fewer air passengers this year
March 31, 2009
The FAA predicts that nearly 9 percent fewer passengers will board major U.S. airlines for domestic flights this year, and that traffic on international flights will also decline as the bleak economy curbs business travel and vacation plans. Domestic boardings on major U.S. airlines are expected to fall 8.8 percent, and by 2.4 percent internationally in 2009. Including smaller regional carriers, enplanements on U.S. routes are expected to drop 7.8 percent this year — a substantial decline compared with 2008’s 1.5 percent year-over-year dip. But the agency says that traffic will pick up again in 2010, with domestic boardings growing 2.3 percent a year to reach 690.2 million by 2025. International boardings on the big carriers and smaller regionals will grow 4.3 percent a year from 2010 through 2025. The FAA forecast that total enplanements will hit 1.1 billion in 2025, up from 757.4 million last year.
Alaska Air cancels all Anchorage flights as Volcano erupts
March 27, 2009
Alaska Airlines has canceled all flights to and from Anchorage as Mt. Redoubt continues to erupt. The volcano, located 100 miles southwest of Alaska’s largest city, erupted again today at 8:40am AKDT, sending a fresh plume of ash 50,000 feet into the atmosphere. An airline spokesman says Alaska Airlines is continually monitoring the situation, and will issue further updates as the situation warrants. UPS, FedEx, and other cargo airlines that heavily utilize the Anchorage airport as a freight hub have also canceled all operations.
Boeing 787 too heavy, client IFLC says
March 18, 2009
The first version of the Boeing 787 needs to slim down, says the chief of International Lease Finance Corp., the airplane’s biggest customer. “Rest assured that the first batch of 787s will be overweight,” ILFC chief Steven Udvar-Hazy said Tuesday at a conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to Air Transport Intelligence. “In the long run, this will be an excellent aircraft,” Udvar-Hazy said. “But I pity the airlines that get the first ones. Obviously those aircraft will not be the same standard as those 787s later on.” Last year, Udvar-Hazy said that weight gains by the 787 would limit its range. Boeing subsequently acknowledged that it had cut its range forecast for the first Dreamliners.
AirTran launches service from Baltimore to Cancun, Mexico today
March 7, 2009
AirTran Airways launched daily nonstop flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, MD, to Cancun Airport International in Cancun, Mexico.
“Cancun is a favorite travel destination for U.S. travelers, and AirTran Airways is making it easy to get there from Atlanta and now Baltimore. We offer reasonable prices at all times, but our introductory fare is especially low to encourage travelers from Baltimore to get acquainted with the convenience of the new flight and accessibility of the destination,” said Kevin Healy, senior vice president of marketing and planning for AirTran Airways.
Earlier this week, March 5, AirTran Airways launched daily nonstop flights from Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The expanding carrier will be the only airline to offer nonstop daily service between Port Columbus International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Southwest to pay $7.5 million fine
March 7, 2009
Southwest Airlines will pay a fine of $7.5 million for flying planes that had missed crucial safety checks – $2.5 million less than government regulators initially ordered last year. The agreement announced by the Federal Aviation Administration also gives the Dallas airline nearly two years to pay the fine in three installments of $2.5 million each. The airline was fined for flying 46 airplanes on 59,791 flights without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage cracks. The planes carried an estimated 145,000 passengers.
February traffic data for airlines
March 7, 2009
Nine largest U.S. airlines has provided information about February mainline operational data by passenger traffic, compared with the same month a year earlier:
----Traffic---- ---Capacity--- --Load factor--
RPMs pct chg ASMs pct chg pct Change Delta* 12.83 -11.0 17.26 -7.8 74.3 -2.7 pts American 8.63 -13.5 11.67 -10.1 73.9 -2.9 pts United 6.75 -17.2 9.22 -15.9 73.3 -1.1 pts Continental 5.24 -13.1 7.19 -9.4 72.9 -3.1 pts Southwest 5.10 -6.0 7.39 -6.5 69.1 +0.5 pts US Airways 4.04 -9.3 5.24 -9.3 77.2 0.0 pts JetBlue 1.86 -8.3 2.50 -5.5 74.5 -2.3 pts Alaska** 1.27 -10.2 1.73 -10.5 73.5 +0.2 pts AirTran 1.23 -13.6 1.66 -9.1 74.2 -3.9 pts
Traffic is measured in billions of revenue passenger miles, the distance traveled by paying passengers.
Capacity is measured in billions of available seat miles, reflecting the number of seats available for sale and the length of the flights.
Load factor is the percentage of seats occupied by paying passengers and change is in percentage points.
*Figures for Delta include data for regional affiliates.
**Alaska Airlines doesn't include unit Horizon Air.
U.S. airlines lose fewer bags because passengers are trying to avoid paying fees
March 2, 2009
U.S. airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags in 2008 in large part because more people now carrying on bags rather than paying checking fees, travel experts say.
“The fewer bags you check, the fewer bags you lose,” Robert Mann, an aviation consultant told the Chicago Tribune in a story published Monday.
Charging to check bags is part of a push by airlines to charge for services, such as pillows and blankets, that used to be included in the ticket price.
Aside from handling fewer reports of lost and damaged bags, the airlines also are making millions of dollars from the new charges while saving money from having to transport bags between flights and among carriers, Mann said.
Despite some initial grumbling, regular customers have adjusted to paying the fees and adjusted in a way that benefits airlines and passengers — they all carry less, said Joe Brancatelli, who publishes the travel Web site “Joe Sent Me.”
American Airlines Offers Triple AAdvantage Miles on Flights Between Boston and the West Coast
March 2, 2009
American Airlines today announced that it is offering triple AAdvantage® miles for nonstop travel between Boston - Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego from March 2 through May 31, 2009 (nonstop service to San Diego begins April 7). In addition, American said today it is putting nearly all of its destinations from Boston - not just the West Coast - on sale for travel through May 20.
With the AAdvantage triple miles promotion, after just two round trips to the West Coast, customers will earn enough miles for a free** MileSAAver® Economy Class award within the United States or between the U.S. and the Caribbean. After just three round trips, customers will earn enough miles for a MileSAAver Economy Class award to Europe.
World’s airlines lost more than $8 bln in 2008
March 2, 2009
The world’s airlines lost up to $8 billion last year, far more than the $5 billion previously estimated, IATA says.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airline losses exceeded $4 bln in the fourth quarter of 2008, a period in which the global economic crises became acute.
While falling oil prices have provided some respite in past months, many airlines committed themselves to paying higher prices in the last months of 2008 because of hedging.
