Flying the Unfriendly Skies
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
New York Times
Published: September 14, 2008

IT is a typical day for the flight attendants aboard American Airlines Flight 710, a 737-800 headed from Dallas to New York with a scheduled departure time of 9:05 a.m. As Debbie Nicks, 56, works in the first-class galley, brewing coffee and hanging up passengers’ jackets, she glances down the jetway and notices a crush of people at the gate. An earlier flight to New York has been canceled, and people from that flight are desperate to get on this one.

It is a familiar scene these days, what with many planes flying at near capacity, and so Debbie just continues her regular routine, making the announcement to passengers onboard that they should make sure all carry-on luggage is stored either in the overhead bin or below the seat in front of them.Back in coach, Anna Wallace McCrummen, 45, organizes the cart of drinks and food for sale that would later be pushed down the narrow aisle, then takes a blue rubber mallet to whack a bag of ice cubes that had frozen into a solid block.

She hits it over and over again, perhaps a little too keenly, as the sound — thwop, thwop, thwop — echoes off the walls of the small galley.Meanwhile, in the main cabin, Jane Marshall, 50, walks down the aisle, checking to make sure people are finding their correct seats, keeping an eye out for passengers who have sneaked on luggage that she knows won’t fit in the overhead space and trying to defuse any tense situations before they escalate into crises. But perhaps it is already too late.

Two women who have been double-booked stand sulking in the aisle, wheelie bags firmly planted by their sides, signaling that they are not about to budge.“What a mess,” mutters Jane once the double-booked women have been found seats and the line of stand-by passengers is turned away from the gate.

Only then, after every seat is taken, overhead bins shut, electronic devices stored and seatbelt sign on, do the three women finally settle in to their jump seats for one of the few moments of respite during their workday. Over the next 11 hours, they will fly from Dallas to New York and back again, a routine that is clearly second nature to them. In all, the three represent nearly 70 years of flight attendant experience.And today I am one of them.In a behind-the-scenes look at the other side of air travel, I donned a navy suit and starched white shirt earlier this summer and became a flight attendant for two days.

With the cooperation of American Airlines, I first went to flight attendant training school at the company’s Flagship University in Fort Worth, Tex., where I learned what to do in an onboard emergency, from how to open an emergency exit window on a 777 aircraft (it’s heavier than you may think) to operating a defibrillator (there are pictures to help you get the pads in the right place). I then flew three legs in two days: a round-trip journey between Dallas and New York, and then back to New York the next day.

And though the other flight attendants knew I was a ringer, the passengers did not. Thus I got a crash course in what airline personnel have to put up with these days — and, after just one day on the job, began to wonder why the phrase “air rage” is only applied to passengers. Believe me, there were a few people along the way, like the demanding guy in first class who kept barking out drink orders as the flight progressed (until he finally passed out), whom I would have been more than happy to show to the exit, particularly when we were 35,000 feet in the air.

WHAT’S it like to be a flight attendant these days? That’s what I’ve often found myself wondering as I sit in my seat, waiting impatiently as yet another flight is delayed and my connection threatened, while around me are passengers fighting with each other over the lack of space in the shared bin, or complaining about having been bumped from an earlier flight, or swearing “never again” to fly this specific airline because they have been stuck in a middle seat even though they booked their ticket six months ago.Is there a less-enviable, more-stressful occupation these days than that of a flight attendant?

Just the look on their faces as they walk down the aisle — telling passengers that no matter how many times they try to squeeze them in, their suitcases are not going to fit into the overhead bin, or explaining yet again that they will not get a single morsel of decent food on this three-hour flight — tells you all you need to know of their misery.

It was a feeling that was reinforced when I glanced at an Internet chat board for flight attendants, airlinecrew.net, and came across postings like this: “I’ve been a flight attendant for 6yrs now, and I can tell you this much - if I’m still a flight attendant in 20yrs, I’ll be a raging b*tch!” It wasn’t always this way, of course. Back in 1967, the best-selling book “Coffee, Tea or Me?” (subtitled “The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses”) portrayed life in the air as a nonstop party, one to which the authors felt privileged to be invited.

Another 60s artifact, the play “Boeing, Boeing,” recently revived on Broadway in a Tony Award-winning production, also pictured the life of stewardesses (as they were called then) as a glamorous romp, with suitors in every port. Most recently, the fictional ad executives on “Mad Men” were thrilled when they were asked to compete for an airline account, not only because of the business it would bring in but also because they would be in on the casting sessions for the stewardesses and would get to fly free.

Oh, such fun!It’s a fair bet that nothing about air travel today would inspire such rapture.In fact, the flight attendants I spent time with on my three flights took a grimly realistic view of their jobs, aware that temper flare-ups — “People just get nasty,” said Jane Marshall — are in some ways an understandable reaction to the process that passengers themselves have to endure in trying to get from one place to another.

“After they’ve been harassed by security, we’re the ones they see,” said Debbie Nicks, explaining why a minor inconvenience, like being told that there are no more headsets, might send someone into a fit. “Your shining personality only goes so far,” added Jane. Certainly the one lesson I learned quickly — along with how to cross-check the doors and that Dansko clogs are the footwear of choice among experienced flight attendants — was how to say “no” politely. No to the young Indian man who asked for a blanket for his mother who was shivering in her sari next to him. (There were none left.)

No to the hungry passenger who wanted to purchase a cookie. (We had already sold the only two stocked for the flight.) No to the guy who, like many of his fellow passengers, was concerned he wouldn’t make his connecting flight because of our late departure and pleaded, “Can you call and find out?” (Sorry, but here’s the customer service number you can try when we land.)I also got a crash course in stress management.

My return flight out of La Guardia was as packed as the morning one out of Dallas, and the passengers were even crankier. The plane was supposed to take off at 4:25 p.m., but at 5, passengers were still boarding, with many already anxious about whether they would make their connecting flights.

Meanwhile, two commuting flight attendants came aboard to ride in the jump seats. Jennifer Villavicencio, 35, a mother of two from Maryland, had been up since 5 a.m. working a four-leg trip — New York to Chicago, Chicago to St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago, Chicago to New York. As a newer flight attendant on “reserve,” she largely works on call. She spends days at a time away from her children, sometimes leaving them with her mother in Dallas, while she works out of New York.

In between shifts, Jennifer shares a four-bedroom crash pad in Queens with other flight attendants. She sleeps in a so-called hot bed, bringing her own sheets and grabbing whichever of the 26 bunks is available when she arrives. “I like the top bunk,” she said, “because you can sit up all the way.”Our chat was interrupted by some news from the gate agent: The plane might be shifted to another runway. “Oh, good, more drama,” said Anna, explaining to me what was about to happen.

“When it’s midsummer and it’s hot, and the runways are short, you can’t have a certain heaviness or you can’t take off. Because we’re switching runways they’re going to put a weight restriction on and they’re going to pull people off because of the weight.”Jennifer sprang to attention. As a commuter, she knew her seat would be among the first to go if the flight was deemed too heavy for the new runway.

She began counting the number of children onboard, a factor that could immediately minimize the weight issue, if there were enough of them. Thankfully, there were 11 — enough to save other passengers from being taken off. At 5:49 p.m., the plane finally took off, more than an hour late. I had been told that working first class was harder than coach, and so I joined Debbie at the front of the plane.

When I arrived, Debbie had already taken down the passengers’ drink orders, her neat handwriting listing 3A - BMary, B - RW, E -Vodka tonic, etc., on a pink cheat sheet posted on a cabinet. She warned me that Passenger 4B, a heavy-set young man with an iPod, was already proving to be a handful. He had taken some sort of painkiller for a bandaged wrist when he boarded, immediately followed by a Jack and Coke, followed by a Heineken, and now wanted a glass of wine, not in one of those standard-issue wine glasses, but in a fat cocktail glass instead.

I recalled what one flight attendant had told me when I asked about what they do when it looks like a passenger is having too much to drink: Water it down. In coach, where travelers mix the drinks themselves, some attendants invent their own rules — “I can only sell you one drink an hour.”First class was intimidating.

And I, frankly, wasn’t much help, finding all I was really qualified to do was hand out and collect the hot towels. Debbie, however, performed a series of in-flight culinary maneuvers so demanding it inspired a challenge on the Bravo television series “Top Chef”: Prepare an edible, multicourse meal, mid-air, in a narrow hallway, between two ovens at 275 degrees and a hot coffee maker.

As the flight wore on, Passenger 4B finally dozed off; dessert was served and the flight attendants became weary. Jennifer, who wasn’t even on duty, had taken pity on a mother with a screaming child and was walking him up and down the aisle on her hip. Later, she would occupy a toddler by letting him hold the other end of the trash bag as she collected garbage from passengers.

The flight arrived in Dallas at 8:02 p.m., 52 minutes late. Debbie, Jane and Anna would be paid for the actual flight time of roughly eight hours for the two legs of the round-trip journey. They would also receive a per diem of $1.50 for every hour they were away on the trip. (For certain delays, American said its flight attendants receive an extra $15 per hour, pro-rated to the actual time, minus a 30-minute grace period.) Flight attendants’ schedules are often wrecked by delays and as the airline industry went into its steep downturn after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, many airline workers took significant pay cuts and reduced benefits in order to help the carriers stay in business.

There are roughly 100,000 flight attendants in the United States, according to the Association of Flight Attendants, down from about 125,000 in 2000. Depending on the airline, attendants earn between 7 and 20 percent less today than before 9/11, according to the association. The average flight attendant salary today is around $33,500 a year.

There are already fewer attendants working each flight. Most carriers now go by the minimum number required by the Federal Aviation Administration — one flight attendant per every 50 passengers. And though the benefits, like free flights for your entire family, still exist on paper, they are hard to claim as airlines continue to pack planes full of paying passengers. In other words, it’s not much fun anymore.

Certainly, it’s a far cry from the “Coffee, Tea or Me” years. “Who would have thought, after 30 years, that we’d be a flying 7-Eleven,” Becky Gilbert, a three-decade veteran of the industry told me during a break in our training session in Fort Worth. “You know, I mean we used to serve omelets and crepes for breakfast, and now it’s ‘Would you like to buy stackable chips or a big chocolate chip cookie for $3?’ ”When Anna, Jane and Debbie became flight attendants more than 20 years ago, tedious chores, like collecting passenger trash, were offset by the perks and quasi-celebrity status that came with the job.

“When you walked down the terminal, all the people would look at you,” said Jane, between bites of pizza on a lunch break at La Guardia, her back turned to a group of travelers paying no mind to her navy blue suit, her gold wings or the black roller bag by her side. “People used to,” continued Debbie, a well-groomed flight attendant with cropped gray hair and gold accessories who can finish Jane’s sentences after 23 years of flying together. “What girl didn’t want to be a stewardess?”

It was the layover in the old days that made it glamorous,” Anna explained. “You worked one leg to San Diego and you were sitting on a beach, margarita in your hand, and you were going, ‘I’m getting paid to sit here.’ That was the old days. Now, we’re like crawling into bed thinking, ‘I hope my alarm goes off.’ ” Luckily, the next morning at 4, mine did. Running on no more than five hours of sleep and no coffee, as the hotel takeout stand had yet to open, I caught the five o’clock hotel shuttle to the airport. After stumbling through security I arrived at the gate, an hour before departure, as required — bleary-eyed and beat. When I met the crew I would be working with, a jovial bunch who often fly together, I warned them that I might be useless. They could empathize.

David Macdonald, 51, an American flight attendant for 28 years, was on his fourth straight day of flying. Elaine Sweeney, 55, who has worked for American for 30 years, was on her third day. And Tim Rankin, 56, a 32-year veteran, was on his third flight in 24 hours. Standing in the aisle of the cramped MD-80, Elaine assured me that the passengers, mostly business travelers, would be relatively well-behaved. “It’s so early on this one,” she said, “that usually half of them go to sleep.” As with the flight attendants I worked with earlier, my new companions described their job as being one where they constantly had to calibrate the mood of the passengers. “Over a typical month,” said Tim, “I will be a teacher, I will be a pastor, I will be a counselor, I will be a mediator.”

As he slid his 5-foot-11-inch frame into the sliver of space between the cockpit and the first-class bathroom, he slumped into the jump seat and let out a barely audible sigh. “I’ll have to tell people that a two-and-a-half-foot-deep bag will not fit in a one-and-a-half-foot hole,” he said.“People need to understand that the rules of social order do not go away when you get on an airplane,” Tim added, his Texan twang kicking up a notch as he laid down his commandments. “You cannot have sex on an airplane. When you purchase a ticket, that does not give you the privilege of yelling at me. It does not give you the privilege of sitting anywhere you want to sit. They assign you a seat.

I do not have an extra airplane in my pocket if my flight’s delayed.”Elaine chimed in, “We joke that people check their brain when they board.” When we landed in New York at 11:04 a.m., I was wiped. Standing for the majority of the flight, which included a brief bout of turbulence, had unsettled my stomach and caused me to lose my appetite. My feet hurt. I had lost all feeling in my pinkie toes. Before we disembarked, Tim, in a touching gesture, ceremoniously gave me his gold wings. I then dragged myself through the terminal, past a throng of restless passengers gathered around the gate, anxiously waiting to board the plane.I was glad I was heading home.

American Airlines, pilots at odds over taxiing incident
Sep 09, 2008
Terry Maxon

In May, a management pilot at American Airlines was taxiing his airplane behind that of a pilot at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and decided the Los Angeles-based pilot was deliberately taxiing too slow.

As a result, the pilot in front has been suspended 15 days without pay, and the pilots' union, the Allied Pilots Association, is all in an uproar.

An American spokeswoman Tuesday defended the disciplinary action, but the incident has union officials yelling foul.

"The facts are undeniable," the Miami-based APA officers told their members in an email. "The resolution of this incident by a morally devoid Flight Management team should send a chill down everyone's spine."

"In my 30 years of employment with American Airlines I have never witnessed anything so blatantly ridiculous," the Chicago-based APA officers wrote, adding: "Make sure everyone you know has the opportunity to read and understand just how low our once great airline has fallen and to what extent the management of American Airlines will go to disparage and belittle it's employees."

The St. Louis union officers wrote that the incident "shows you the depth of poor labor relations here at AA and the lack of moderation on the part of the company when it deals with its pilots."
For details, keep reading.

First, American spokeswoman Tami McLallen didn't discuss the particulars, but sent this statement:
As you know, we take safety issues very seriously. Saying it is our number one priority isn't just an empty slogan, it's what we focus on each and every day. So when we see actions that we believe may compromise safety, it's our responsibility to investigate and take corrective action if needed.

As this is an internal personnel matter, we won't comment on the specifics, however in a message to pilots yesterday, Vice President-Flight Mark Hettermann said "Typically, the flight department doesn't comment on disciplinary cases. Proper protocol dictates that this matter remains as private as possible between the pilot and his manager. While we disagree with the APA's decision to publically discuss the details of this case, it's especially disappointing that they haven't provided full disclosure of the facts."And here's the long explanation from the Los Angeles-based union leadership:

By now you have probably heard of the incident in DFW on May 30th that involved one of our LAX-based pilots was accused by Captain Jeff Osborne (Managing Director of Flight -System) of taxiing too slow across a runway. Captain Osborne (B737) was clearing runway 18L behind our LAX Captain (S80) and Captain Osborne felt that our LAX Captain did not clear the runway fast enough. For some unknown reason Captain Osborne was very concerned for his own safety even though he was crossing a departure runway for which no other aircraft had been cleared to take-off or land.

Captain Osborne was so concerned about this incident that he used his cell phone while actively taxiing his aircraft (in violation of both Federal Aviation Regulations and Flight Manual Part 1) to contact SOC and have our Captain removed from the trip.

Captain Osborne later directed LAX Director of Flight Captain Bob Bush to conduct a Section 21 hearing regarding the incident. Our LAX based Captain was placed on "Paid Withheld" status (PW) for three months while the LAX Flight Office conducted the investigation demanded by Captain Osborne.

The Investigation
Upon first receiving the directive from Captain Osborne to conduct a Section 21 hearing, Captain Bush conducted an investigation and found no cause to pursue the issue. Captain Bush actually called the LAX Captain and apologized for even bringing this up, but explained that Captain Osborne was insisting on a Section 21 hearing regardless of the facts.

Two separate hearings were held, and in both cases there was no documentation or charges ever produced from the FAA, DFW Tower, or DFW Ground. Based upon this fact alone we can clearly see that the only one who had a problem with this situation was Captain Osborne.

The only evidence that we had been given was:

The written statement of Captain Osborne claiming "a blatant disregard for flight safety" and an intent "to cause an inconvenience to our local and connecting customers, intentionally disrupt our operation, and harm our company" An audio recording of the DFW tower frequency in which no safety problem is noted by the Tower controllers A video of the ramp arrival of the LAX flight which shows only normal ramp traffic A statement from an AA Ground School Instructor who was jump-seating on Osborne's flight, a statement which was dated two months after the incident. This statement notes that Captain Osborne's aircraft was on runway 18L for only a "few seconds", and that upon arriving at the ramp, Captain Osborne then encountered a long delay because his gate was occupied.

The Verdict
During and after both hearings that we conducted, Captain Bush stated several times "I can not find anything here...there is no reason to discipline...this was ops normal" and proceeded to communicate this to Captain Osborne, but Captain Osborne was not going to allow this to pass without some sort of punishment for his perceptions.
As a result of this Kangaroo Court our LAX Captain has been given 15 days off with no pay, based solely upon Captain Osborne's statement and a Ground School Instructor's letter dated 2 months after the incident.

The Double Standard
There has been no action initiated by the FAA against our LAX pilot, and no reports on this incident were ever received from either the DFW Tower or DFW Ground Control. Captain Osborne insisted on discipline even after he was told repeatedly that the Section 21 hearings were showing no evidence that supported his claims. Captain Osborne uses his cell phone while taxing an airplane (in violation of FARs and AA company policy) and our LAX Captain gets 15 days off without pay. Rest assured that the FAA was notified of Captain Osborne's cell phone use.

At this point we don't know what is more disgusting to us--that Captain Osborne insisted on punishing this pilot regardless of the facts, or that Captain Bush has issued the letter of discipline after apologizing initially and then stating several times in hearings that "I cannot find anything here...there is no reason to discipline...this was ops normal".

What This Means to You
We can only conclude after sitting through this whole joke of a process that our pilots are in jeopardy simply for coming in contact with the Chief Pilots, and that you should avoid any conversation with them except that which is absolutely essential to your duties. Idle chitchat with the Chiefs should be avoided, because anything you say to them can be used against you or another pilot in a disciplinary hearing.
If asked to engage in conversations politely inform them that your Union speaks for you.
As for Captain Osborne we would imagine his "do not pair with" list is growing by the minute in DFW.

One Final Note
This is not the airline of days of old when your Chief Pilot is sometimes your advocate and could solve minor issues without interference from DFW Flt. Dept. management. In this day and age, all the Chief pilots are just messengers with rubber stamps. Employee Relations writes the Hearing Notices, and Captains Osborne and/or Hettermann determine the results of hearings in advance. We cannot understand why under these circumstances anyone would want to be a Chief pilot, or why they have not all quit under this current VP of Flight.

APA will fight for this Captain with all of the resources we have. All of us need to stand behind this Captain and stop this abuse. We have seen this management team assault our contract, and compromise our safety time and time again. Enough is enough!

American Airlines says it won't furlough more pilots
10:59 PM CDT
on Friday, September 12, 2008

By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
tmaxon@dallasnews.com

It looks like American Airlines Inc. pilots will escape the massive layoffs sweeping through the airline this year.

American had warned the Allied Pilots Association in July that it expected to furlough 200 pilots in October as part of plans to cut flying capacity 7 to 8 percent before the end of the year.

But in a message to pilots, vice president of flight Mark Hettermann said the number of pilots on board is dropping because of the airline's decision to stop recalling pilots in June, as well as early retirements, military and personal leaves and pilots going through retraining as American grounds its aging McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and Airbus A300s.

Those factors have "left us very close to the pilot staffing needed to fly our projected 2009 summer schedule," Mr. Hettermann told pilots.

American spokeswoman Tami McLallen called the decision "very good news, and it underscores the importance of improving our operation's flexibility so that we can react quickly in the current volatile market."

Union's hopes
APA spokesman Karl Schricker said union officials "hope this is a signal that AA will resume recalling our furloughees and begin to man the airline rationally."

The union represents about 9,000 active pilots, with nearly 2,000 more pilots currently on furlough.

Agreement lacking
One reason American may have decided to avoid furloughs is that it had not worked out an agreement with the union for voluntary early departures, as it had with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and Transport Workers Union.

After American proposed incentives to get senior pilots to retire earlier, the union responded with a proposal to limit the hours that pilots would fly each month as a way to keep more pilots on the payroll, as well as the retirement incentives.

The carrier has targeted a cut of 6,500 to 7,000 positions throughout the company as it shrinks to fit its new flying schedule.

The reductions are still going on in most work groups, although American imposed the cuts on flight attendants at the end of August.

Most U.S. carriers have halted growth or announced plans to shrink in the second half of 2008, a reaction to a historic rise in jet fuel prices.

While fuel costs are going down as crude oil retreats to around $100 a barrel, airlines are going through with the capacity reductions.

Alaska Air Group Inc. announced Friday that it plans to shrink the available seat miles it operates by 8 percent in 2009, including a 15 percent reduction in flights, and will be eliminating 850 to 1,000 jobs.

It also said it plans job cuts and a 10 percent capacity cut at its Horizon Air subsidiary.

European Airline XL Folds, Stranding Thousands of Travelers
September 12, 2008, 12:10 pm
Posted by Matt Phillips

Passengers pass an XL Airways advert at Gatwick Airport in London Friday.
It’s been a bad day for some British holidaymakers.

European budget carrier and holiday operator XL Leisure Group became the latest casualty of high fuel prices and the downturn in consumer spending, when it fell into administration today — that’s British for bankruptcy — and canceled all flights.

Agence France Presse pegs the number of stranded passengers at 85,000 worldwide. Dow Jones puts it at 67,000. The Daily Mail puts that figure at 100,000, mainly in the US, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

XL’s collapse follows the recent failure of other foreign airlines. Early this week Spain’s Futura International filed for bankruptcy-like protections and last month Zoom Airlines, a Canadian carrier, was shuttered.

Stateside, airlines have had their fair share of problems over the last few years. But even when they invoke bankruptcy protections — as Delta, Northwest and United parent UAL all did earlier this decade — they managed to keep operating and avoid the widespread stranding of passengers.

But if flights did come to a shuddering halt, as Skybus and Aloha Airlines did in recent months, this column by Scott McCartney reminds travelers that the same high costs hammering some airlines into Chapter 11 also make solvent carriers more reluctant to take on stranded ticket holders.

McCartney writes:
That is a big change for consumers. They used to be able to buy tickets on struggling airlines with reasonable expectations that either the airline would keep flying if it went bankrupt, or other airlines would honor tickets for a small fee. Now, consumers need to be far more careful in picking airlines, especially for tickets bought months in advance.

For those who have been caught up in the XL situation, the British Civil Aviation Authority — sort of similar to the FAA — is working with other tourism companies and airlines to arrange flights back to Britain, according to the Guardian.

(The left-leaning British paper also has a pretty good video on the subject, here.) American travelers, would you expect the FAA to step in and help handle mass strandings of Americans abroad if a well-known carrier went belly-up?

Pilot Fatigue Spurs Calls for New Safeguards
By ANDY PASZTOR and SUSAN CAREY
September 12, 2008

Safety experts and regulators have long been concerned about the dangers of exhausted, overworked or downright sleepy pilots. But the problem is intensifying as financially strapped airlines try to squeeze more productivity out of pilots, who by most measures are logging more hours per month and flying more grueling schedules than at any time since 2001.

Many big airlines with new labor contracts bargained in bankruptcy -- or under threat of it -- have many pilots flying up to an extra 10 or 15 hours each month, closer to the 100-hour maximum allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. That's in addition to layovers and time spent on ground duties.

Flight schedules that look manageable on paper often don't account for storms, air-traffic congestion or other potential delays that can make a long work day longer. In July, according to the latest government statistics, 19 U.S. airlines saw one quarter of all their flights, on average, arrive late by more than 15 minutes.

And pilots say certain airlines schedule flight times at or just under eight hours -- the FAA-mandated limit that a pilot can be behind the controls per day -- on trans-Atlantic routes that regularly run longer, so they don't have to pay for an extra pilot.

Now, pilots and safety experts are stepping up pressure on the FAA to rewrite rest and scheduling regulations that basically haven't been updated since the 1960s. Critics say the rules don't reflect the current flying reality, and are based on outdated science that ignores the latest sleep research showing the cumulative impact of inadequate rest. At a hearing earlier this year, several National Transportation Safety Board members and staffers expressed concern that the U.S. was in danger of falling behind other countries in combating pilot fatigue.

Emergency crews surround a Delta commuter plane after it slid off a runway in Cleveland in February 2007. After working more than 12 hours in a row -- inside and out of the cockpit -- error rates shoot up, complacency increases and communications become impaired, says Peter Demitry, a former test pilot and fatigue expert who consults for pilot groups. One symptom of fatigue that scientists are now studying is "micro sleep," when pilots become unresponsive for a few seconds or a minute, though their eyes are open.

The NTSB identifies tired pilots as one of its 10 "Most Wanted" safety improvements, linking at least 10 U.S. airliner accidents and 260 fatalities to fatigue since 1990. Hundreds more close calls have been reported to pilot unions and confidential federal safety databases over the years. Fatigue-related mistakes have included pilots forgetting to extend flaps before takeoff, inadvertently shutting down engines in midair, and losing track of a plane's position on final approach. In several cases, crew members have nodded off at the controls.

Airline officials say their own internal programs help counter fatigue and allow pilots to stop flying if they feel unsafe. And overall, jetliner accidents in the U.S. are at historically low levels, with the last crash of a wide-body jet occurring nearly seven years ago. New rules "have to be based on conclusive research, not anecdotal evidence," says David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for major carriers. "You shouldn't change regulations simply because there are times airplanes run late" and pilots end up working longer than anticipated.

But critics say new regulations are necessary to prevent incidents like one that unfolded in February. A flight operated by commuter carrier Go!, en route from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii, encountered a serious problem as it flew over Maui: Both pilots were fast asleep.

Cruising at 21,000 feet with 40 passengers aboard a Bombardier regional jet shortly before 10 a.m., the pilots for 18 minutes failed to respond to frantic calls from air-traffic controllers. The jet overshot its destination, crossed the big island of Hawaii and headed southeast over the Pacific. After traveling 26 nautical miles beyond its destination, the flight crew finally responded, reversed course and landed safely, according to the NTSB.

No official report has yet been released on the incident. In a letter urging the FAA and the airlines to more closely monitor pilot fatigue, the safety board said the pilots, who had been on duty four and a half hours that morning, "were on the third day of a trip schedule that involved repeated early start times and demanding sequences of numerous short flight segments." The letter concluded the pilots -- who no longer work for the airline -- "unintentionally fell asleep."
Go!, a division of Mesa Air Group Inc., is cooperating with the safety board's investigation. The company declined to comment on the incident, and hasn't identified the two pilots.

Pretending to Sleep

Pilots say short commuter hops are often more tiring than long hauls. Schedules can entail half a dozen legs in a single day, sometimes requiring planes to go up and down in storms that aircraft on longer routes are able to avoid. Since many commuter flights shuttle between hubs and outlying airports, they tend to run late and start early. That means crews can end up with short layovers in the middle of the night.

The routine can become "take a shower, brush your teeth, pretend you slept," says Tom Wychor, an 18-year veteran of Mesaba Aviation Inc., a wholly owned regional unit of Northwest Airlines Corp. Mr. Wychor recalls, in the early 1990s, nodding off on approach to the Houghton, Mich., airport in snow and fog.

"I was bathed in sweat and scared to death," when the runway suddenly appeared, he says. Mr. Wychor had started early three days in a row, and flown numerous 15-minute hops between Houghton and Marquette, Mich. Mesaba declined to comment for this article.

When Mesa pilots reach a destination late at night, they often want to nap before climbing back into the cockpit for an early morning departure. But for crews on the ground four hours or less, Mesa won't pay for hotel rooms.

'Camping Trip'

Pilots "call it a 'camping trip,'" says Kevin Wilson, a captain and union chief for the 1,400 pilots at Mesa, which flies for UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. He says pilots will sometimes curl up on a chair in the terminal "or sleep on the plane; I've done it once myself." The same crews then fly up to three more legs before calling it quits and getting their mandatory rest period.

Such punishing schedules are legal under FAA regulations. Michael Lotz, Mesa's president and chief operating officer, says the carrier complies with all collective-bargaining agreements, and its pilots can be scheduled to fly "as many legs" as the FAA allows.

"I've heard anecdotal stories" of pilots sleeping on planes between flights, he says. "We don't track that." With this segment growing -- regional airlines now carry one in four U.S. passengers and operate half the country's scheduled flights -- fatigue issues are coming into the spotlight. Peggy Gilligan, the FAA's deputy associate administrator for safety, recently suggested the most taxing commuter airline schedules may be reassessed. "This may be another area where we need to pay more attention," she said in an interview. Years ago, the agency pledged to establish a single level of safety for large and small airliners.

Airlines say they'd prefer to negotiate with their unions to set acceptable work limits rather than having Washington-imposed solutions. Fatigue "isn't a tremendous issue" for the 2,000 pilots at Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which owns three commuter carriers, according to Wayne Heller, chief operating officer, adding that the airline's work rules are stricter than the FAA's. "If we have fatigue," he says, "it's due to unplanned circumstances" outside the company's control.

The FAA, reluctant to impose additional financial burdens on the ailing industry, has hesitated to rewrite fatigue-prevention rules. But regulators acknowledge that fatigue in the cockpit is a significant threat. In an interview, former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey calls pilot scheduling disputes "the third rail of aviation safety regulation." And in June, the agency convened a comprehensive fatigue forum for the first time, gathering international airline officials, human-factors experts and sleep researchers. FAA officials say they intend to evaluate material presented in the sessions.

Foreign airlines and regulators have broken new ground in recent years by taking multiple factors into account when setting work limits for pilots. For example, pilots who fly numerous short legs or have so-called "backside of the clock" schedules -- requiring them to stay up all night or cross multiple time zones -- generally stop working sooner and are guaranteed more rest between trips than those following less demanding timetables.

The FAA allows all airline pilots eight hours of scheduled time behind the controls per day, and up to 16 hours of total duty time, which includes wait time at airports between flights. The agency allows up to 30 hours of flight time weekly and up to 100 hours monthly.

But pilots complain there are no explicit limits for overall hours of duty per week. And while most airlines schedule longer overnight layovers than Mesa, and will reserve hotel rooms for their pilots, ground duties combined with travel to and from hotels can reduce time available for actual shut eye.

Stalled Sleep Talks

The FAA's attempts to update its fatigue rules date back to the mid-1990s, when the agency proposed a wholesale revision of pilot scheduling limits. The goal was to ensure a 36-hour period of consecutive rest each week in addition to daily rest periods. (Currently, the agency mandates eight consecutive hours of rest in any 24-hour period.) To placate airlines, the proposal also sought to increase maximum daily flight hours behind the controls to 10 hours from eight hours. That would allow carriers to use a single crew to fly round-trip transcontinental runs the same day. But after heated debate, the FAA in 1996 jettisoned the package and later compromise attempts failed.

The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks made it virtually impossible to advocate far-reaching safety initiatives, according to current and former FAA officials. Traffic plummeted and the industry, fighting for survival, was shedding pilots and aircraft at a breakneck pace. Like many pilot-union leaders, the agency shifted its emphasis to security matters.

Once the industry started to recover financially about three years ago, business and government couldn't agree on what changes to pursue. Advances in cockpit automation and onboard safety-warning systems were supposed to provide extra protections against human slipups. New routes spanning huge expanses of the Pacific drew more attention to fatigue issues on ultra-long haul flights.

In April 2008, safety board member Steven Chealander told Congress that "little or no action has been taken" by the FAA to grapple with fatigue, and agency officials "have not indicated any firm plans" to improve their track record. That's in dramatic contrast to enhanced fatigue-prevention measures developed for operators of trucks, trains and ships in the U.S.

Two months later, the NTSB reiterated calls to fight chronic fatigue after it was found to be a factor in last year's nonfatal crash of a Pinnacle Airlines Corp. commuter jet. The safety board determined that the captain, making his fifth landing on a short airstrip that day, had been working for 14 hours in mostly bad weather. Landing on a snowy Michigan runway, he failed to heed various warnings and didn't perform basic calculations before the plane careened off the strip. The captain "absolutely made some poor decisions," says Michael Garvin, Pinnacle's vice president of flight operations. The pilot couldn't be located for comment.

Some airlines have struck independent deals with regulators to modify their pilots' schedules. The FAA and Delta, for example, at the end of 2006, signed an agreement authorizing pilots to fly longer than normal shifts on certain non-stop trips between the U.S. and India. Lasting 16 or 17 hours one way, such ultra-long flights pose formidable fatigue issues. The deal includes extra precautions such as extended rest periods for cockpit crews before leaving the U.S., and two full days off in India prior to the return leg. The FAA's Ms. Gilligan said at the time that the voluntary pact was "a very good example of what we are going to do" with subsequent requests.

Frustrated by what they say are unreasonably long shifts on certain domestic and transatlantic routes, pilots at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines recently delivered a report to the FAA and the NTSB documenting individual flights that consistently take longer than scheduled. On selected trips from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport -- which normally operate with two pilots -- scheduled trip durations of eight hours or less were exceeded more than half the time, say pilots. If the FAA determines American isn't adhering to "realistic" scheduling rules, those flights would have to carry an extra reserve pilot.

FAA officials declined to comment on the matter. An American spokesman said the company projects months ahead to "set realistic schedules about what out real flying time could be," factoring in historical trends, prevailing winds, aircraft types, specific airport operations and other variables. The airline has previously disputed pilot data on flight times.

Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com and Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com

JetBlue, NYC airports score badly on delays
DOT rates JetBlue most-delayed airline in July;

LaGuardia, JFK and Newark score low marks for airports; overall delays improve from 2007.

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: September 3, 2008: 12:29 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JetBlue Airways and New York City-area airports experienced some of the worst flight delays in the industry for July, according to a monthly report.

Among the major carriers, JetBlue (JBLU) flights had an on-time arrival rate of 64.6%, according to the survey released by the Department of Transportation on Wednesday. United Airlines (LCC, Fortune 500) did almost as poorly, with 68.2% of its flights arriving on time.

"JetBlue makes every effort to operate our flights on time," the company said in a statement emailed to CNNMoney.com. "We expect this of ourselves and we know our customers do, too. Flights can be delayed due to weather, congestion and a variety of other factors. We constantly evaluate flight data to determine how we can improve operating performance."

Regional carrier and Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500) subsidiary ComAir had the worst performance of all airlines surveyed, with 63.3% of its arrivals considered on-time.

The industry average was 75.7%. The DOT said this is an improvement from July, 2007, when the on-time average was 69.8%, and June, 2008, when the average was 70.8%.

Southwest Airlines was the best performer among major carriers, with an on-time arrival rate of 83.3%. Pinnacle Airlines (PNCL), which flies connecting flights for partners Delta and Northwest Airlines (NWA, Fortune 500), was the best airline overall, with an on-time rate of 85.3%.

In the DOT's study of hundreds of U.S. airports, the New York City-area hubs - some of the busiest in the country - were among the most-delayed. John F. Kennedy International had an on-time arrival rate of 57.4%, while Laguardia Airport scored 58.4% and Newark International scored 59.5%. For departures, JFK was on time 65.5% of the time, while Laguardia had an on-time departure rate of 70.8% and Newark scored 63.6%.

Pasquale DiFulco, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said his organization has made 100 recommendations to the Federal Aviation Authority and the DOT to increase capacity, which he said would alleviate congestion.

JetBlue relies heavily on New York City air space and is building a new terminal at JFK.
"We look forward to working with the [Federal Aviation Administration] on operational enhancements at JFK, which we expect would enable us to improve our on-time performance overall," said JetBlue, in an e-mail.

American Airlines Seeks Delay In Chicago-to-Beijing Flight
By KATHY SHWIFF
August 29, 2008 5:14 p.m.

American Airlines has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for a waiver that will allow it to delay for one year its launch of nonstop service between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Beijing.

Citing the high cost of fuel and other problems facing the struggling airline industry, American, owned by AMR Corp., asked to start the flight on April 4, 2010. It had planned to launch service April 9, 2009.

The government has granted similar requests from US Airways Group Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines.

US Airways has delayed by one year its planned launch of a 13-hour daily flight linking Philadelphia and Beijing, without giving up its right to the route. The carrier has said fuel increases would raise the cost of running the once-daily Beijing flight to more than $90 million, from $50 million when it applied for the route a few months earlier.

Northwest received permission to suspend for a year seven weekly all-cargo flights it was operating between the U.S. and Guangzhou, China. United won a year's reprieve on its planned launch of San Francisco-Guangzhou flights.

Access to routes between the U.S. and China is highly competitive because air service between the two countries is restricted by bilateral agreements.

The reason long flights are so vulnerable to the mix of high fuel prices and weak airline traffic is a combination of physics and economics. A passenger on a 15-hour flight uses more fuel for each mile of the trip than someone on an eight-hour trip, but the airfare per mile generally doesn't rise proportionally.

When fuel is cheap and traffic strong, airlines can absorb the difference.
AMR's shares fell 1.2% to $10.21 in after-hours trading.

United to furlough 1,550 flight attendants
United Airlines says it will furlough more than 1,500 flight attendants this fall as it reduces its flights.

By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — United Airlines said on Wednesday it will furlough 1,550 flight attendants as it reduces its flying this fall.

The furloughs work out to roughly 10 percent of United's cabin workers. United is seeking 7,000 job reductions companywide by the end of 2009, said spokesman Jeff Kovick. United has previously announced plans to cut as many as 1,600 managers and 5,500 front-line workers, and to furlough 950 pilots.

United said it would seek voluntary flight attendant furloughs first, but will need to get to a total of 1,550 by Oct. 31.

"As we reduce the size of our fleet and take other actions to enable United to compete in this environment of record fuel prices, we must take the difficult but necessary steps to reduce the number of people we have to run our operation," Kovick said.

United is also laying off 213 foreign national flight attendants based in Bangkok and Singapore. Those workers, who are not part of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, are required to be dismissed before any union members can be furloughed, the union said. United, along with Northwest Airlines Corp., is one of the biggest U.S. carriers in Asia.

Furloughed flight attendants keep their health insurance and flight privileges. AFA spokeswoman Sara Nelson said the union is encouraging voluntary furloughs in an effort to avoid involuntary ones.

Also on Wednesday, testimony began in U.S. District Court in Chicago on United's request for a temporary injunction to stop alleged sick-outs by pilots. The Air Line Pilots Association has said it did its best to discourage any organized sick-out. Testimony was scheduled to continue on Thursday.

Alitalia files for bankruptcy protection
By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press
25 minutes ago

ROME - Alitalia said Friday it has sought bankruptcy protection, taking the first step in a plan to reshape Italy's unprofitable and debt-laden national carrier.

The company said in a statement that its board had asked the government to appoint an administrator and had declared insolvency to a Rome court.

Alitalia has been losing some $3 million a day — hurt by labor unrest, competition from budget airlines and high fuel prices. Its shares have been suspended from trading since June.
The airline said its net debt at the end of July amounted to 1.172 billion euros ($1.73 billion). The figure does not include a 300 million euro ($442 million) loan that the government granted in April to keep the cash-strapped carrier flying.

Following Alitalia's announcement, the government named Augusto Fantozzi, a tax law expert and former finance minister, as the company's administrator.

Fantozzi served as economy minister in 1995 in a government headed by Lamberto Dini and then as minister of foreign trade in Romano Prodi's Cabinet a year later.

The government and others involved have been secretive about the negotiations to save the state-run carrier, but the plan reportedly calls for the breakup of Alitalia into two parts.
The profitable assets would be taken over by a group of Italian investors ready to inject 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) into the airline under the reported plan. The other assets will be spun off into a separate company for liquidation.

The plan is the latest attempt by the government to sell its 49.9 percent stake in the loss-making airline following a failed bid by Air France-KLM earlier this year. On Thursday, Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government approved key changes to the country's bankruptcy-protection law, tailoring it to Alitalia's immediate needs.

The decree passed at a Cabinet meeting allows for the breakup of the company and gives the administrator the power to sell off assets through private or exclusive negotiations.
It also makes exceptions to Italy's antitrust regulations, a move that could pave the way for reported plans to combine Alitalia with Air One, Italy's second largest airline.

A group of 16 Italian businessmen has stepped up to invest in the new company, headed by Roberto Colaninno, the chairman of motorcycle maker Piaggio. He is expected to become chairman, while Rocco Sabelli, a veteran executive who has often worked with Colaninno, is the designated chief executive.

Air One's head, Carlo Toto, also figures among the group of investors. The possibility of a combination of the two biggest Italian airlines has raised antitrust concerns, especially because the resulting company would have a virtual monopoly on the highly traveled Rome-Milan route.

The plan could also raise concerns at the European Union, which is already investigating whether the government's loan in April broke EU rules that limit public assistance for companies.
In Brussels, EU officials said Thursday they had received a draft plan and that they were examining it.

Saving Alitalia has been a priority of Berlusconi's government since he won April elections and returned to power. The conservative leader has stressed that the new Alitalia would remain in Italian hands, and that any foreign airlines would only be allowed to acquire a minority stake in it.

The government has been trying to revive talks for an international partner for the revamped Alitalia, which is expected to be a leaner company with a reduced but younger fleet, and fewer personnel that will work longer hours.

Colaninno said in an interview published Friday that Air France-KLM and Germany's Lufthansa AG are both negotiating for a possible partnership with Alitalia and are on equal footing.
"We are negotiating with both, and they're going at the same speed," he told La Repubblica daily, adding that a foreign partner is "indispensable" for the Italian carrier.

Lufthansa declined to comment on Friday, while Air France-KLM carrier has confirmed that it wishes to "remain a strategic partner of Alitalia."

The Franco-Dutch carrier tried to take over the airline earlier this year in a bid that was opposed by unions and Berlusconi.

Corrado Passera, the CEO of the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which is acting as the government's adviser for Alitalia, said Friday it would take about a month to see if the plan could go ahead.
Passera told the AN
SA news agency that Intesa Sanpaolo itself would invest 100 million to 150 million euros ($150-220 million) and take a 10 percent stake in the new company.

Passera also was quoted as saying that the deal for the creation of the new Alitalia would be conditional on approval by unions.

Reports have said the plan to save Alitalia would include between 5,000 and 7,000 layoffs, from a work force of about 20,000. The laid-off workers are expected to be enrolled on welfare programs for up to seven years.

In a statement Friday, the nine unions representing Alitalia workers said they wanted a say on the entire plan, not just on the labor aspects. A meeting between unions and the government is scheduled for Monday.

Passengers stranded by budget airline collapse

Friday August 29, 2:20 pm ET By Jill Lawless, Associated Press Writer
Stranded passengers scramble for new tickets, worry over refunds after collapse Zoom airline

LONDON (AP) -- Thousands of passengers scrambled to rearrange travel plans Friday after the sudden collapse of trans-Atlantic budget airline Zoom, amid concerns that hundreds would not get their money back.

The Ottawa-based carrier suspended all flights Thursday, citing high fuel prices. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority advised passengers to fly on other airlines and apply to their credit card companies for reimbursement.

While passengers who reserved their flights by credit card or as part of a package holiday are all but guaranteed a refund, there is no such protection for those who paid by cash or check.
Morven MacLeod had been scheduled to travel with Scotland's Inverness Gaelic Choir to a music festival in Nova Scotia in October. She said the 25-member group had paid about 7,000 pounds ($12,750) for their tickets by check.

"Everyone has worked so hard, so for this to happen is hard to take. It's all still a bit surreal," MacLeod said. "There's no way we can raise funds in the next five weeks through the normal means, so short of finding a rich benefactor it's hard to know what we can do."

Travel industry group ABTA called on the British government to require all airlines to provide financial protection for their customers.

"This failure in a tough economic climate, along with numerous other airline failures this year, highlights the importance of having financial protection in place when you book flights," said the association's chief executive, Mark Tanzer.

Zoom was a leading trans-Atlantic budget airline, specializing in flights from regional centers such as Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff in Britain and Ottawa and Calgary in Canada. Its routes targeted vacationers, with the winter schedule packed with flights to Canada's ski slopes, and the summer and Easter break schedules teeming with sun destinations like Florida.
Zoom's founders, Hugh and Jack Boyle, apologized to passengers but said the economic downturn and sharp rise in the price of aviation fuel had made it impossible to keep going. The Boyles said the airline had tried and failed to pay bills to airports, suppliers and aircraft creditors.
Zoom said British Airways and Virgin Atlantic had agreed to offer special rates to Zoom customers who had been left in the lurch. But some of the 4,500 people in Britain due to fly on the airline in the next week were struggling to make alternative plans.

"The other airlines are quoting 2,500 pounds ($4,500) and we just can't do it," said Isobel Shannon, who had planned to fly from Glasgow for a two-week holiday in Nova Scotia with her husband. "We'll have to cancel our trip but the Canadians need to get home, they are just going to have to pay out."

The effects of rising fuel costs have been evident for many airlines. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. have all announced capacity cuts, most of which take effect next month.

Zoom employed 450 people in Canada and 260 in Britain.

As summer ends, flyers brace for airline changes
Friday August 29, 2:56 pm
ET By Harry R. Weber, AP Business Writer

Higher fares likely as airlines offer fewer domestic seats for fall travel ATLANTA (AP)

The grip U.S. airlines have on travelers' wallets is about to get tighter as carriers go ahead with plans to trim their domestic schedules due to the high cost of fuel.

Executives acknowledge that despite the economic downturn, fares will rise, discounts currently available will be scarce, and routes and frequencies of flights will be reduced as domestic capacity is cut through the end of the year. The changes starting in September come on top of a litany of new charges -- for luggage, drinks, pillows and other amenities -- announced by some airlines earlier this year.

"Airline travel is airline travel -- it's been bad for a long time," Chris Bardasian, an American Airlines frequent flyer, said recently at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. "I suspect prices will go up, fewer people will travel, and if you're willing to pay the price it will be fine."

There were sharp capacity cuts during prior weak economic periods in the early 1990s and between 2001 and 2003, but fares went down as discount carriers moved in and filled the void, offering more competition, analysts said. But the high price of oil, airlines' limited ability to further cut certain costs and the fact that many of the discount carriers are facing the same difficulties as the big carriers make things different this time, analysts said.

"Despite this sluggish U.S. economy, the general demand picture is better than it was post-9/11," said Standard & Poor's analyst Philip Baggaley. "In addition, you have this consistent response across the board of airlines raising fares and adding fees."

On average, domestic fares between large metro cities are already up roughly 16 percent since Jan. 2, while fares between small cities are up roughly 37 percent year-to-date, according to Rick Seaney, head of airfare research site FareCompare.com.

The cheapest roundtrip ticket with a 10-day advance purchase, for example, on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to New York cost $258 on Aug. 26, excluding government and airport fees. That was an 87 percent increase from the $138 it cost on Jan. 2 for a similar advance purchase, according to FareCompare.com. The cheapest roundtrip ticket with a 21-day advance purchase on a United Airlines flight from Denver to Washington cost $382 on Aug. 26, excluding government and airport fees. That was a 37 percent increase from the $278 it cost on Jan. 2, Seaney said.

Recently announced airfare sales for travel during the traditionally slow fall season will be harder to come by as more capacity comes out of the system in the last four months of the year.
"If somebody sees a good fare, they should grab it," said Kevin Healy, senior vice president of marketing and planning for AirTran Airways.

Booking early for travel during peak times like the holiday season generally can get you a cheaper ticket than waiting until the last minute. But, airlines usually do not offer fare sales for travel over the holidays.

American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue Airways, AirTran and Alaska Airlines plan to cut domestic capacity during the third and fourth quarters by single- to double-digit margins.

JetBlue, for instance, in September will end service between several cities, including Boston to San Francisco and Washington to Las Vegas. Southwest Airlines Co., which had resisted the kinds of capacity cuts being made by other carriers, will end service in November between Kansas City and Sacramento, Calif., and between Oakland, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz.

Some airlines, including JetBlue and Southwest, are adding or expanding service to states where other carriers are reducing service, like Florida. However, Southwest said recently that it will eliminate nearly 200 flights early next year as it struggles with high fuel costs and a weakening economy.

Fewer overall seats in the air means planes that remain will be fuller, which gives airlines pricing power to raise fares.

"The reality is -- and I don't want to diminish this -- the industry is going to have to cover its costs," American Airlines chief Gerard Arpey said in an interview.
Travelers are bracing for the impact of higher fares.

On a recent day at DFW Airport, passenger Vicki Schweiss, a classic rock DJ in Wichita Falls, Texas, said she might not be visiting her parents in Los Angeles quite so often this fall.
"If I can find a $200 ticket, I'll go," she said. "If there are fewer flights, that won't bother me, but if flights are really expensive, I just won't go or I'll go by myself instead of bringing my son and husband."

At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, passenger Melinda Larson, a retired municipal worker, said she can afford the fare increases. What bugs her, though, are all the new fees.
"I'd just rather they incorporate that in the fare," Larson said of baggage fees some airlines are charging. "And then you're good to go. You don't have to worry about that."

Several airlines are now charging fees for a first checked bag. Some have imposed a fuel surcharge on frequent flier reward tickets. US Airways is even charging for soda.
Cuts in the number of flights in the U.S. also could mean people who booked flights far in advance for travel after September might have to fly at a different time or, if a route has been eliminated by their carrier, they might have to find another airline to get them to their destination. But airlines don't expect that to be a big issue.

"A very, very small number of people would have purchased tickets for travel in September or thereafter before the flights were taken out of the fall schedule in May and June of this year," American spokesman Tim Wagner said.

If someone had purchased a ticket for a flight that is canceled later, airlines provide remedies for passengers. In American's case, the airline would put the passenger on another American flight, accommodate them on another airline or refund their money.

As for frequent fliers, capacity cuts could mean fewer award seats available at the lowest level of award travel. Wagner said that in American's case, people could pony up more of their frequent flier miles to guarantee they get a reward ticket for any available seat on a flight. Atlanta-based Delta recently announced a similar guarantee.

While the price of a barrel of oil has fallen from a high of $147.27 in July to about $117 recently, that is not likely to slow the upward spike in fares, according to fare researcher Seaney. The current price of oil is still more than five times what it was in mid-August 1992, and it is more than four times what it was in mid-August 2002.

"I think if oil prices continue to go down, you will hear calls for relaxation of fuel surcharges, but that doesn't mean they won't hike base airfares," Seaney said.

He said that if load factors reach 90 percent, "There will be no reason to discount."
Another airfare observer, Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com, said recently he believes that fares could fall early next year because discounter Southwest has already published its schedule and fares for that period. But Seaney said any fare decreases by major carriers would be limited to routes they compete on against Southwest. And Parsons said he believes other airlines will probably again charge higher fares for travel after March of next year.

Healy said that while fewer discounted seats may be available in the fall, he is confident AirTran will continue to provide value to its customers.

"I don't think most people in every aspect of their trip will notice a difference," Healy said. "If there is a silver lining, it may be that as a result of fewer overall operations, they may see better on-time performance."

The question on a lot of travelers' minds is how long will airlines be able to continue to raise fares. Airline analyst Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities said in the short-term that depends largely on the economy.

"That's the thing that will be tested this fall," Neidl said.

AP Business Writers Samantha Bomkamp in New York, David Koenig in Dallas and Chris Kahn in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Probe reveals oxygen tank burst on Qantas flight
By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 29, 1:38 AM ET

CANBERRA, Australia - An oxygen tank exploded and blew a car-sized hole in a Qantas jet last month, air safety officials said Friday, but investigators appear to be no closer to figuring out why.

The release of the interim report by Julian Walsh, acting executive director of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, confirmed earlier suspicions by investigators that the tank was the cause.

"We don't really know why the bottle failed — and that's the key question for the investigation," Walsh told reporters in releasing the report. He said the investigation will likely continue for months.

The Boeing 747-438 aircraft, carrying 365 people, was flying over the South China Sea July 25 when the explosion blew a hole in the fuselage 79 inches wide and 60 inches high, the report said.
Walsh said one of the seven emergency oxygen cylinders below the cabin floor had exploded.

The 26-pound steel cylinder, pressurized to 1,850 pounds per square inch, "sustained a failure that allowed a sudden and complete release of the pressurized contents," Walsh said.

Most of the cylinder rocketed up through the cabin floor, shearing off an emergency exit door handle and narrowly missing a crew seat before striking the cabin roof. It ricocheted back down through the hole it created in the cabin floor, the report said.

Walsh said the cylinder had undergone a safety inspection shortly before it was installed in the jet and six weeks before it exploded.

The plane — en route from London to Melbourne, Australia — rapidly descended thousands of feet with the loss of cabin pressure and flew about 300 miles to Manila, where it made a successful emergency landing.

No one was injured, but questions were raised about the much-lauded safety of Qantas Airways, which has never lost a jet aircraft because of an accident.

In the weeks after the incident, Qantas planes experienced a number of other problems, including a loss of hydraulic fuel that led to an emergency landing, failure of landing gear, and detached panels.

The problems prompted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Australia's aviation agency, to launch a review of Qantas Airways' safety standards. Qantas Airways backed the bureau's findings.

"The preliminary report was a factual account of the incident and investigation to date," Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said in the statement. "Our own investigations agree with the ATSB's preliminary conclusions."

Qantas earlier this month temporarily pulled six planes from service because of irregularities in maintenance records. Qantas said it was a record-keeping issue and there were no safety implications for the aircraft.

When (a) buddy pass is not so friendly
Discounted flights can leave you stranded

By Clint Williams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, August 23, 2008

Cheap isn’t always a bargain.

Ming Han Chung of Duluth figured he was saving a bundle using a Delta Air Line buddy pass to fly to Berlin last month, paying just $400 for a round-trip ticket that would normally cost about $1,300. The trip ended up costing much more —- about $1,500 as well as three unplanned vacation days.

In a city that boasts the world’s busiest airport, it’s easy to find a buddy pass. Delta Air Lines, which has about 25,000 Atlanta-based employees, annually gives every employee eight buddy passes. AirTran Airways, which has 6,000 local employees, issues six a year (employees will get two extra to use in September and October).

The buddy pass, a common airline perk, allows the holder to fly standby at a steeply discounted rate. The savings can be significant: coast-to-coast and back for $100; to Ireland and back for less than $200.

But Dad was right, you get what you pay for.

Passengers with a buddy pass board only if there are no paying customers to take those seats. A buddy pass traveler is the lowest priority. Even 200 pounds of cargo gets priority over 200 pounds of buddy pass holder.

Fly with a buddy pass and you risk being stranded. Like Ming Han Chung.

“The flight from JFK to Berlin was perfect. Business class. Very, very nice,” said Chung, who flew from Atlanta to New York before heading east across the Atlantic Ocean.

Chung’s July 29 flight home was canceled because of bad weather, and he was told that because of the backlog he wouldn’t be boarding the next day.

So he took a train to Frankfurt, then Dusseldorf, looking for a U.S.-bound plane with empty seats. “I spent an extra $200, $300 on train tickets around Germany,” he said.
Chung spent nights at his friend’s place in Berlin and days at airports.

“Luckily, I had enough vacation time saved up, although my boss was calling every day [after July 29],” Chung said, adding he built in a couple of extra days into his schedule to accommodate minor snags in getting a seat.

Finally, on Aug. 2, Chung gave Air Berlin $1,019 for a one-way ticket to Fort Myers, Fla. On Aug. 3, he used a second buddy pass to get home to Atlanta.

While Chung’s trip shows what can go wrong, there is a lot you can do to get where you want to go, roughly when you want to go there, when flying with a buddy pass.

Airline employees said that with the buddy pass they give out caveats and warnings: You’re the last one on the plane; there is a chance you might get stranded.

“It just takes some common sense,” said Fran Shockley, a Delta flight attendant who has been sharing buddy passes for more than two decades.

Don’t plan on flying out on Friday or returning on Sunday evening, said Shockley and other buddy pass vets. Don’t expect to drop into Vail during ski season or Rome in the summer. Be flexible. Very flexible.

“You’ve got to know what Plan B is,” said retired flight attendant Mary Towler of Powder Springs.

Christine Solomon of Marietta booked a flight from Atlanta to Seattle for her husband and two children using buddy passes. The three got bumped again and again. Then the relative who provided the buddy passes advised that the surest distance between two points isn’t always a straight line.

“We wouldn’t have thought of going to Houston to get to Seattle,” said Solomon.

Another trick: Solomon used frequent flier miles to secure a guaranteed seat on the return flight. The buddy pass worked for the return flight, so the $100 fee for returning the miles into the bank was sort of like an insurance premium, she said.

Knowing the risk associated with flying with a buddy pass, Solomon also said she makes sure she can cancel without penalty hotel reservations, car rentals and train tickets should she not get to where she is hoping to go.

All the uncertainty makes traveling with a buddy pass a bit nerve-wracking. Even for the employees who pass them along.

“I make it my business to watch the progress of those using buddy passes I gave them,” said Fowler, who logs on to the computer to see if friends and relatives have made it onto a flight.
A flight that appears to have plenty of empty seats the night before can fill up before standby passengers board, so employees said they serve as on-call travel agents to help buddy pass flyers find alternatives.

“I want it to be a good experience for everyone involved,” Shockley said.

TIPS
Taking to the sky with a buddy pass? Here is what you need to know, according to experienced travelers:

• Dress for success. If you want to travel in business class, you can’t do so in sweatpants and flip-flops. Airline policy for use of buddy passes includes a dress code.
  
• Be unfailingly polite and courteous to the gate agents. You have no clout, as paying passengers might.
  
• Pack light. You travel with only carry-on luggage.
  
• Get online early and often. The airline Web sites can tell you how many empty seats are on a flight. Check your flight before even leaving for the airport. Things can change quickly.
  
• Don’t use a buddy pass if you must make it to a destination for something like a wedding or you have to be back home by Tuesday or get fired.
  
• Think long and hard about using a buddy pass for international travel.

Airlines Plan Big Job Cuts After Holiday
By JOSH MITCHELL
August 21, 2008

(Delta and Northwest say ther will be no layoffs if and when they merge. Just like the TWA employees were informed by then AMR CEO Don Carty, there would be no layoffs after TWA was absorbed by AMR...and thousands of TWA'ers lost their jobs...and some are STILL off the payroll...we shall see what happens at DL and NWA!)ed.

The airline industry is set to suffer its biggest wave of job losses since 2001, as carriers prepare to shed tens of thousands of jobs after the Labor Day holiday to cope with high fuel prices.
Airlines have collectively announced plans this year to cut more than 36,000 jobs, according to the Air Transport Association of America, an industry trade group.

Most of the cuts will happen in the weeks and months after the summer flying season ends.
By year's end, the work force, which numbered 414,600 full-time equivalent employees in June, is projected to have been slashed by between 12% to 15%, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics officials.

That would be the biggest wave of job losses in the industry since 25% of jobs were lost immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Many of the staffing cuts are required by the elimination of flights. The bulk of those cuts will come after the summer travel season.

The cuts come as airlines have also reduced services and added fees to increase revenue.
"As the months of this year go by, the employment ranks in the U.S. passenger-airline sector continue to decline, which should not be any surprise, given the financial condition," said John Heimlich, vice president and chief economist of the trade group. "High energy prices have taken a toll on us in two ways -- higher fuel expenses and less disposable income for our customers to spend on air travel and shipping."

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the U.S. industry's largest employer, is aiming to cut its full-time equivalent work force by as much as 8%.

No. 2 United, a unit of UAL Corp., has said it will cut 5,500 jobs by year's end, and Continental Airlines Inc., which ranks fourth in size of work force, will shed 3,000 positions, mostly through voluntary buyouts.

They aren't alone, as most other big airlines have announced cuts."Our industry is shrinking to survive," said Mr. Heimlich.

Fuel prices appear to have already discouraged hiring. The Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Tuesday that airline employment increased a slight 0.1% in June from a year ago -- the smallest year-over-year increase since a decrease in January 2007. Employment has increased every year-over-year month since then. But then increases have been in the single digits, percentage-wise, and haven't been nearly enough to return staffing to pre-Sept. 11 levels.

The Air Transport Association estimates that airlines will spend $61 billion on fuel this year, $20 billion more than they spent in 2007. It blames fuel prices in part for the closing of 10 airlines since 2007.

Airlines have begun offering voluntary severance packages to employees in the hope of avoiding layoffs.

"Right now we're seeing flight attendants weighing their options, deciding if this is something they can do, they want to do," said a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents more than 55,000 workers at 20 airlines.
Write to Josh Mitchell at josh.mitchell@dowjones.com

United Airlines to Charge Up to $9 for Snacks
By LAUREN POLLOCK August 21, 2008

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines will adjust its flight attendant staffing to the minimum level required by the Federal Aviation Administration and begin charging up to $9 for snacks on certain domestic and international flights in October, the latest sign of distress in the airline industry.
Rising fuel costs have forced airlines to cut staffing in most employee groups and charge for a range of services that were previously considered part of the ticket price, as well as identifying new ways to extract revenue from airline passengers.

Carriers, including United, also have been forced to slash projected capacity for this year. Critics say the airlines risk making customers feel "nickel and dimed," but the companies say that the new charges are needed.

In a memo sent to flight attendants on Monday, United said it will no longer offer customers complimentary cookies and pretzels on certain flights and will expand its selection of snacks for purchase on flights lasting about two to three hours, effective Sept. 2, following testing in select markets.

In the memo, United said, "In the wake of high fuel prices and a challenging economic environment, we must continue to examine every aspect of our business and find new ways to improve our day-to-day operations through efficiencies that still meet our customers' expectations."

In October, the airline will raise prices of its snack boxes on longer flights. Shelf-stable items will see prices rise a dollar to $6, while fresh items will go up to $9 from $7.

The changes won't apply to customers traveling in the first-class cabin. Those in business class will receive complimentary beverages but will pay for snack items.

The buy-on-board offering will also replace complimentary meals on most flights to Europe.
In June, US Airways Inc. became the first airline to charge for nonalcoholic beverages.
Several U.S. carriers, including United and US Airways Group Inc., have begun charging passengers a fee for the first checked bag on top of a higher fee for checking a second bag.
Write to Lauren Pollock at lauren.pollock@dowjones.com

American Airlines launches in-flight broadband service
02:14 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News
smarta@dallasnews.com

The rehearsals are over and last-minute tweaks have been made.
American Airlines' new in-flight broadband service goes live starting today.

For $12.95, passengers on AA flights using its Boeing 767-200 will be able to surf the Net, check e-mail, instant message and access corporate VPN accounts using the system by Aircell LLC.
The ground-based system – called GoGo – won't enable any voice-based functions.
American says it will test GoGo on its fleet of 15 767-200s, which are used primarily on transcontinental flights, for three to six months.

Assuming everything goes well, the carrier may expand to the rest of its fleet.
American allowed passengers on a handful of flights test the system on June 25 and Aug. 13.
Rival Delta Air Lines Inc. announced earlier this month that it will install the system on its fleet of 133 MD-88/90 aircraft this fall and plans to offer it across its 330 mainline domestic fleet by mid-2009.

Several other carriers are testing in-flight connectivity. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. plans to test a satellite system by Row 44 Inc. next month.

Henry Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research, said the new service would provide the backbone for future airline in-flight entertainment and it won't be long before consumers come to expect the access.

"It's a game-changer," Mr. Harteveldt said. "You're no longer forced to be isolated from what's going on in your office, with your clients or with friends or family. For business travelers, this will greatly aid productivity, and for leisure travelers, it means they will be in control of their entertainment."

In-flight connectivity will also be a key driver as airlines compete for business.
"Live TV is great for now, but the Internet is what people want for the future," Mr. Harteveldt said. "Airlines that don't offer Internet access are going to lose business."
In-flight broadband is expected to generate $6.6 million in passenger revenue this year, according to a June report by MultiMedia Intelligence.

The research firm estimates the industry will skyrocket to $936 million revenue by 2012.

Quick Hits: In-Flight Meals, Now With In-Flight Porn
Scott Reeves Aug 20, 2008 12:30 pm

Bless the cash-strapped airlines, who may soon allow your seatmate to enjoy Internet pornography in-flight. Blame it on fuel costs. American Airlines (AMR) has expanded the availability of Internet access on non-stop flights connecting New York with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. For $12.95, American Airlines customers can browse the Internet and check e-mail from their seats.

In-flight Web surfing is part of the airline industry’s ongoing effort to develop new sources of revenue in response to rising fuel costs. So far, efforts to boost revenue have included new fees for extra bags checked and charges for in-flight snacks. If American’s expanded Internet service is a money-maker, you can bet competitors will soon copy it.

Who knows, maybe United Airlines (UAUA), Delta (DAL) and JetBlue (JBLU) will offer a similar service in the future. American tested in-flight Internet access on 2 flights in June. In-flight Web surfing is a good idea - until the pervert in the aisle seat clicks to a porno site and kids nearby ask their parents what’s going on. American Airlines won’t filter the Internet, and says current policies governing unruly passengers will be applied to bozos sniffing around naughty Web sites. Good luck with that.

You can bet that someone will complain about just about everything available on the Internet. Sports Illustrated and the bikini babes? Shocking! Hot cars? Evil carbon footprint! Cats? Just the thought of felines is bound to trigger an allergic reaction in someone. A religious Web site? Hah - the mug in seat 15A is almost certain to argue that there’s a Constitutional separation between church and airline, or ought to be.

There’s also the problem of confidential e-mail, both personal and corporate. After you read an intimate note over Kansas, a bumptious seatmate is bound to say, “Hey buddy, I can help.” All this may turn flight attendants into kindergarten teachers, soothing and cajoling passengers - or telling those in a snit to put a sock in it. This is guaranteed to beat the crummy in-flight movie for entertainment value - at least for the first thousand miles.

149 dead in plane crash at Madrid airport
By HAROLD HECKLE, Associated Press Writer
58 minutes ago

(This MD-82 aircraft must have been jammed with people as the normal configuration on a US based similar aircraft is 140, including a first class cabin) ed.

MADRID, Spain - A Spanish airliner bound for the Canary Islands crashed, burned and broke into pieces Wednesday while trying to take off from Madrid's Barajas airport, killing 149 people on board, officials said.

There were only 26 survivors in the mid-afternoon crash, a Spanish emergency official said.
A police officer said the bodies were so hot that police could barely touch them and told El Pais newspaper the shattered wreckage bore no resemblance to a plane.

Dozens of ambulances rushed to the site as columns of smoke billowed from the wreckage. The prime minister broke off his vacation in southern Spain and rushed back to Madrid, heading straight for the airport.

"I have never seen anything like this in my life," ambulance driver Luis Ferreras was quoted as saying by El Pais.

A Spanish emergency rescue official said only 26 people survived the crash and the rest of those aboard were given up for dead. The official with the SAMUR municipal rescue service gave the toll after touring the site of the crash. He spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of department rules that barred him from giving his name.

Spanair Flight JK5022 — bound for the popular Canary Islands off the West African coast during the height of Europe's summer vacation season — sped off the end of the runway, crashed and broke into pieces, reports said.

Spanair spokesman Sergio Allard told a news conference the plane was carrying 175 people and the cause of the crash was not immmediately known.

El Pais said the plane's takeoff had been an hour late due to technical problems. It eventually managed to get slightly off the ground but crashed near the end of the runway, El Pais said, quoting an employee of the national airport authority AENA.

Helicopters and fire trucks dumped water on the plane, which ended up in a wooded area at the end of the runway at Terminal 4.

A makeshift morgue was set up at the city's main convention center, officials said.
The plane was an Boeing MD-82 on a codeshare flight to Las Palmas with Lufthansa's LH255, Spanair said. Departures from Madrid's airport were suspended for several hours but later resumed.

Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said the company would send at least one person to assist in the investigation of the crash as soon as it receives an invitation from Spanish authorities.
"We stand ready to provide technical assistance," he said, reading from a prepared statement.

Why Airlines Employees Are Fed Up!
Editorial

There always seems to be financing for new aircraft, mergers, integrations, managment bonuses, but nothing left for employees. The ticket agents and flight attendants, who take abuse, the ramp people who load bags in the rain, heat, humidity, are the backbone of the industry.

These might be the only jobs not outsourced to India. Where will it end? If the employees worked for free for a week, I would love to see the balance sheet. Ouch! The CEO's still will bitch and complain these workers, who worked for free, are still overpaid! They are out of touch with frontline employees!

Costs to run these airlines are built into the price structure of the product. If an airline can charge for bags, food and the like, why not add a bit more to pay the frontline employees who are the final and last contact with passengers? Make sense?

Productive employees are happy employees and that is a proven statement. Would not an investment in the workforce not hit the bottom line and increase profit for the company?

Until airline executives realize keeping the workers who face the customers on a daily basis happy and do make a difference, instead of feeling beat up, then will customer service improve.

"Hey, I flew ABC airline and they treated me a like a valued customer". Does that not make sense? Your comments are welcome!