American: Protecting its New York Turf
By Ted Reed 08/18/10 - 01:53 PM EDT
DALLAS (TheStreet) -- After 84 years of operating in New York, American Airlines(AMR) is not backing down in the face of dramatic expansion by its competitors.
"It's a major issue for us to protect our turf here," said Art Torno, a 31-year American veteran who took over as vice president for New York in March. A big advantage for American, Torno said, is the $1.3 billion terminal the carrier opened at Kennedy Airport in 2007. "That terminal is the place to be, one of the finest in the country," he said. "It's modern, state of the art and roomy."
Now American is trying to squeeze more synergies out of the terminal. (Kennedy is among the few airports where terminals can be dedicated to a single airline.) For instance, it will move in more alliance partners now that regulators have approved a trans-Atlantic joint venture and may soon approve a trans-Pacific joint venture as well. American also wants to boost its level of cooperation with JetBlue(JBLU), Kennedy's largest domestic carrier, to enhance the feed to its international flights.
One thing American cannot afford to do is stand still, because competitors are ramping up dramatically in New York. Delta(DAL), already growing in New York, said last week it will spend $1.2 billion to upgrade its terminal at Kennedy.
Meanwhile, United(UAUA) awaits regulatory approval for a planned merger with Continental(CAL). Perhaps the biggest single prize in the merger is Continental's Newark hub, which will become the New York gateway for the world's biggest airline.
The Newark hub means that "Continental is in the driver's seat" in New York, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Hunter Keay.
But the region is too important for any Big Three airline to step back. "No one has retreated," said consultant George Hamlin. At LaGuardia, US Airways(LCC) sought to tactically pull back by trading slots to Delta in exchange for slots at Washington Reagan National, but regulators blocked that deal.
Kennedy is the epicenter because three of New York's four principal airlines operate hubs there. In March, American signed a deal with JetBlue that included an interline agreement and some slot trades. Now efforts are underway to expand on that. For instance, as TheStreet reported previously, American and JetBlue are talking about a code share, an extremely close cooperative agreement in which carriers can write tickets on one another's flights.
Unfortunately, the lack of a shared terminal means 90-minute connect times between flights, when an hour or less is typical for dual-airline connects. At Kennedy, connecting passengers must take a bus between terminals and pass through security a second time. But Torno said American and JetBlue envision a bus that would keep connecting passengers on the sterile side of security, reducing the connect time to 60 minutes. Conceivably, the bus will begin running whenever the code share starts, but the two carriers are not rushing to expand the agreement. "We're taking baby steps to make sure what we are doing makes sense," Torno said.
As far as American's partners in the Oneworld alliance, they too could be housed in American's terminal. Currently, partners including AirBerlin, Finnair and Malev are occupants. "We would like to see a facility that is the Oneworld New York gateway," Torno said. "We're in deep negotiations with British Airways to come in, [although] we're not close to finalizing them." Iberia could also be an occupant, as could Japan Air Lines, assuming an application for trans-Pacific joint immunity is approved.
Similarly, American's joint venture partners are moving to house their sales teams in a single midtown office building. "We will co-locate in one office, with fully-integrated sales forces working side by side." Torno said. "When we go to negotiate a deal, we will go in together."
As for LaGuardia, the close-in New York airport, American ranks second to Delta. In 2009, according to figures compiled for TheStreet by OAG Consulting, the combined passenger total for Delta, Northwest and regional affiliates was about 6 million passengers. American and American Eagle carried 4.7 million passengers. Third-place US Airways and regional affiliates carried 4.2 million passengers.
November schedules show that Delta will provide 33% of LaGuardia capacity, while American will provide 20% and US Airways will provide 19%, said OAG. American has been building its LaGuardia schedule, adding American Eagle flights to Minneapolis, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte on CRJ-700 regional jets that have first class cabins, as well as increased mainline service to Miami and Chicago.
Despite all the improvements, Avondale Partners analyst Bob McAdoo said he views American as New York's no. 4 carrier. The Kennedy terminal is spacious and imposing, but American doesn't utilize it sufficiently -- which is why alliance partners are being welcomed with open arms.
Additionally, he said, American has not sought to provide the type of classic hub that Delta has. While Delta has 876 weekly departures from Kennedy, not only to major cities but also to Akron, Burlington, Vt., and Indianapolis, American has just 426. "I look at the number of cities one guy brings to town versus another, the number of possible connections," McAdoo said. "It's one thing to say 'New York to London Heathrow is wonderful' and 'I have some good markets.' It's another to say, 'I have a hub.'"
Torno said the American strategy in New York, as elsewhere, is to serve the best, most profitable routes, such as Heathrow and Los Angeles and Chicago, and, in January, Tokyo Haneda as well as Tokyo Narita.
"We may not be the biggest in New York," he said. "But we are big where it counts."
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
American Airlines to charge for front-row seats
American Airlines to start charging $19-$39 for seats in the first few rows of coach cabin
Samantha Bomkamp, AP Airlines Writer, On Wednesday August 18, 2010, 3:56 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- American Airlines has found another fee.
The Fort Worth, Texas, airline said Wednesday it's now charging between $19 and $39 for "Express Seats" -- those spots in the first few rows of coach that include bulkhead seats.
American said the price of the seats includes getting on the plane in the first "general boarding" group of passengers. The seats that will cost extra are in the first two or three rows of the coach cabin, depending on the size of the plane.
Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, thinks passengers will see more packaged fees like this in the future -- where benefits like free standby or boarding perks are included.
The carrier, which is operated by parent AMR Corp., is following in the footsteps of several other airlines who already charge for special seats. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit and AirTran all have some seats that cost extra.
The American seats don't give passengers much extra for their money, said Steven Hall of CompareAirlineFees.com. Most of the other airlines' premium seats offer more legroom. But it is a benefit for passengers to be among the first to board the plane, he added.
The seats on American can only be bought at airport kiosks between 24 hours to 50 minutes before the flight for travel within the U.S.
American, the country's second-largest airline behind Delta Air Lines, still provides its elite frequent fliers those seats for no extra charge. American also charges fees for checked bags, priority boarding, booking on the phone or in person, "sleep sets," unaccompanied minors and pets.
On Tuesday, AirTran raised its fee for the first checked bag by $5 to $20 for travel starting in September. The cost is now on par with bigger airlines.
U.S. airlines collected about $1.9 billion from fees in the first quarter, the most recent period for which data is available from the Transportation Department. American's share of that was $261.1 million.
AP Airlines Writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.
Flight attendants: Bartenders or bad cops?
Hard-working airline crews juggling conflicting responsibilities
updated 8/17/2010 9:48:58 AM ET
Morris MacMatzen / Reuters
Given the agitation among both paying customers and the uniformed personnel, should the airlines formally and forcefully reaffirm the authority of flight attendants?By Bill Briggs
Steven Slater’s intercom-cussing, double-fisted slide into resignation — has launched a fresh examination of the two-faced persona all flight attendants are asked to master: grinning snack server one moment, frowning rules enforcer the next.
From bartender to bad cop in a snap.
In an era of “current threat levels,” and within a tense flying environment that gives new meaning to “cabin pressure," is it smart to ask airline crews to juggle such outwardly conflicting responsibilities?
Flight attendants have recently demanded and won heftier federal fines for unruly customers, and have been officially designated “first responders” — someone certified to provide pre-hospital care in a medical emergency — by the Department of Homeland Security.
Yet they are earning less and sleeping less, harder-worked and higher-stressed — all while tending to a seemingly rising number of passengers who board toting an edgy “sense of entitlement,” according to associations representing both U.S. airlines and flight attendants.
While the trade groups carefully veer around the central question — does fluffing pillows and dishing pretzels erode a cabin crews’ vital onboard authority — one former flight attendant believes that’s precisely the psychology taking root in the minds of some fliers.
“Yes, in a way, the service that people see day in and day out does make people forget and it does undermine the ... responsibility that the crew members have for the safety and well being of the passengers,” said Carolyn Paddock, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant for 17 years.
.“At times, it is difficult to balance being helpful and a good host, and then having to police people,” added Paddock, who left Delta about three years ago, launching InFlightInsider.com, a website offering tips on traveling smart and stylishly.
But as flight attendants shove massive snack carts through the aisles, they offer passengers just a tiny glimpse of jobs that have gained deep complexity since Sept. 11 — jobs that pay an average of $35,000 a year, according to Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, a labor union representing more than 50,000 flight attendants at 22 airlines. "However," Caldwell noted, "most newly hired flight attendants and those who have only been at their carrier for just a few short years often make less than $20,000 a year."
“What [travelers] never see, and what they’re not supposed to see,” Paddock said, “are the inner workings of what it takes to make a flight safe, secure, and work well.”
So what happens behind the curtain? “In the interest of your safety, I cannot reveal what goes on,” Paddock said. “But trust me when I tell you that there is more that meets the eye ... What I can say is the crew is making assessments. Who are the passengers most likely to help in an emergency? Who is acting or looks suspicious? Who looks unwell? Are they unwell enough to fly? Who is sitting next to that little unaccompanied minor and is she OK sitting next to that passenger? ... At times, being underestimated works to the crew's advantage.”
That “underestimation” — or, put bluntly, lack of respect — also reflects what flight crews see on the clock and off, at their hotels, at the mall, on the freeway, or in their neighborhood grocery store: a self-involved, me-first mentality, said David Castelveter, vice president of communications at the Air Transport Association of America. (The ATA is the nation’s oldest and largest airline trade group.)
“More than ever before, there’s a sense of entitlement in society and that’s what creates the challenges for these flight crew members,” Castelveter said. “At the end of day, we’re in the customer service business and the old adage ‘the customer is always right’ is still the norm. But we have to find that balance between the customer being right and [a flier who] does something that creates a potential hazard or inconvenience for another passenger.”
Msnbc.com contacted three domestic airlines to discuss the state of flight attendant authority. Southwest spokesperson Paul Flanigan said he would not discuss whether the Slater incident indicated that U.S. airlines, in general, needed to re-examine or address the command or clout held by flight attendants inside the cabin. "We, to date, have declined all media inquiries regarding the JetBlue incident," he said, and referred questions to ATA. United and JetBlue, meanwhile, did not respond to interview requests on the topic.
“It’s absolutely a rising factor,” said Beth Blair, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant until 2004 and now a travel writer whose job has put her in the sky as often as three times a month. “There are the people who are always looking for anything free. For example, passengers assume they deserve a complimentary upgrade just because a seat is available or they should be granted a free drink because their flight was slightly delayed.”
When such accommodations are not met, some passengers “simply stew in their seats while others react with an outburst which may or may not make the news,” Blair added.
The worst offenders? “Frequent fliers,” Blair said. They are “most likely to break safety rules such as cell phone use or not paying attention to safety briefings.”
Amid these ill-mannered trends — and following Slater’s famous meltdown last week (which may or may not have been sparked by bad passenger behavior) — has the time come for airlines to take pre-emptive action? Must they formally remind passengers of who is in charge in the cabin, and that it’s a federal crime, now punishable by a $25,000 fine, to disobey or interfere with flight attendants?
That question comes with two critical caveats. First, due to post-9/11 union concessions that helped keep airlines in business, flight attendants are paid about 30 percent less than they were before the attacks and they are working about 40 percent more. Fatigue and stress among flight crews are both high, industry experts acknowledge. Couple that with the anxieties many passengers are carrying: strenuous security checks, fewer flight options, jam-packed planes and general worries about terrorism.
“I’m not sure I would say [they must take] official steps,” said Caldwell of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. “On a whole, the traveling public understands the role of flight attendants. [But] it certainly doesn’t hurt to remind them again — that flight attendants are certified safety professionals who are required to enforce federal aviation regulations.”
"Remember, their primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the traveling public," ATA's Castelveter said. "If any passenger is interfering with the duties of the flight crew member, it's a federal crime."
Caldwell concedes, however, that she can envision a day when the service slice of the flight crews’ job is substantially reduced and attendants ride purely to keep the peace and enforce the safety rules.
“That’s definitely a possibility,” Caldwell said. “If you look at the current business model that airline management has sort of set up, yeah that could be a possibility.”
Although, she added, flight attendants always will remain the face of the airlines and, as such, “there will always be just that little customer service angle. It’s the flight attendants who are in the steel tube at 40,000 feet with the passengers.”
Perhaps some airlines ultimately will find the need to designate certain flight crew members as “hospitality” attendants and others as “safety monitors” — both squads with clearly separate duties, perhaps even wearing different attire. That’s unlikely to occur until the economy rebounds, said flight-attendant-turned-writer Blair.
“I think an onboard safety team is a great idea because it does give the crew members a specific role,” Blair said. “I’m not sure, though, if the airlines will see it as practical or financially feasible.”
Still, fliers already recognize that the “service” elements offered by flight crews are dwindling as pillows and blankets become scarce, and as beverages and snacks are cut or switched to pay-only, pre-boxed meals.
“Other flight attendants, pilots and I used to joke that one day vending machines would replace the galley,” Blair said. “It seems like we may be heading in that direction.”
© 2010 msnbc.com Reprints
Airlines start lining up for Africa take-off
By Jeremy Lemer
Published: August 17 2010 18:14
Last updated: August 17 2010 18:14
The football World Cup is over, the vuvuzelas have been consigned to the dustbin and fans have turned their attention from Africa to Brazil, host of the 2014 contest. But for one group at least, the continent remains in sharp focus: international airlines.
According to the International Air Transport Association, airlines increased the amount of flying capacity to and from Africa by 8.6 per cent over the year to the end of June compared to 2009, more than any other region except for the Middle East.
While US and European airlines have been cautiously adding capacity to Africa for years, the drive has picked up in intensity in recent months, leading industry executives to talk of a new “scramble for Africa” as airlines position themselves for the future.
Executives point to high growth levels that suggest an increasing need, and ability to pay, for travel by air. Africa’s real gross domestic product was $1,600bn in 2008, having grown 4.9 per cent per year since 2000 – more than twice as fast as in the 1980s and 1990s.
Much of that can be put down to Africa’s large mineral reserves – which have become a focus of fast-growing Asian economies. Traffic between Asia-Pacific and Africa is forecast to grow at 9 per cent per year over the next decade according to some estimates.
US and European airlines are also boosting their connections to resource-rich regions. In June, Delta Air Lines started a service between Atlanta and Accra and aims to add services to Liberia, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya in the near future.
Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline group and a key provider to Africa, has ramped up its connections, adding two new services in west and central Africa and expanding several more since 2008. The group now has 222 flights a week to 33 destinations in Africa.
A recent report by McKinsey Global Institute, entitled Lions On The Move, suggests that the economic foundations of Africa’s recent success are broader and therefore will have more “staying power”.
Natural resources accounted directly for only a quarter of Africa’s GDP growth over the decade while “the rest came from other sectors, including wholesale and retail, trade and transportation, telecoms and manufacturing”.
Indeed, Airbus, the European aircraft maker, predicts the recent aviation ramp-up will be sustained. Over the next 20 years the amount of filled capacity on flights between Africa and other parts of the world will grow at 5.6 per cent each year, albeit from a low base.
“There is a lot of money in Africa right now,” says Glen Hauenstein, head of network planning at Delta Air Lines, the world’s largest airline by revenues. “GDP is small in absolute terms but it is rapidly expanding as political stability spreads.”
In this newly competitive environment, US airlines are playing catch-up. While European carriers have offered direct services for decades, non-stop flights from North America to Africa have traditionally been limited, and slumped after the industry recession following the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Mr Hauenstein says Delta began experimenting with flights to Africa in 2006 with a connection between its hub in Atlanta, Georgia, and the tourist destination of Johannesburg in South Africa, via Dakar, Senegal.
The success of that route has led Delta to try others, with an emphasis on west and sub-Saharan Africa where avoiding European connections can save US travellers time.
Part of the problem was aircraft technology, says Greg Hart, vice-president of network strategy at Continental.
Until the Boeing 777 was developed in the mid-1990s, many destinations in Africa were too far from the US for direct connections, and even then the 777 was too big to make some routes profitable. With the arrival of Boeing’s much delayed 787, due around the turn of the year, Mr Hart says that many airlines will for the first time have the right aircraft for the job. Continental plans to connect the energy capitals of Houston and Lagos with a service starting in November 2011. Still, considerable obstacles must be overcome.
According to a 2009 World Bank report on Africa’s aviation infrastructure, while the continent is fairly well served by airports, lack of taxi-ways and terminal facilities and “inadequate” air traffic control systems are limiting capacity growth.
Safety is another concern. Last year, Africa had the worst record of any region, according to Iata statistics. While most problems relate to aircraft operated by local airlines, several reports have blamed Africa’s weak regulatory oversight, which raises wider issues.
In response, airlines have worked closely with government authorities and spent time and money to upgrade local infrastructure for their new services. Continental will help to upgrade the electrical facilities in Lagos airport to receive the Boeing 787.
In spite of those hurdles the airlines remain confident that the efforts will pay off. “The 787 is going to be the pride of our fleet and we are going to put it into Africa. That speaks volumes of our level of interest,” says Continental’s Mr Hart.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools.
If you're bumped from a flight, you may be stuck
By Evan Eile, USA TODAY
A power outage at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on July 15 delayed flights and closed security checkpoints for hundreds of travelers. Such a delay can cause a domino effect, bumping passengers.
MORE SEATS FILLED
Flights on domestic routes are more full than ever. Share of seats filled:
2005 77%
2006 79%
2007 80%
2008 80%
2009 81%
Source: Air Transport Association
Dan Reed, USA TODAY
Lots of luck catching another flight if you've been bumped or miss a connection.
Commercial airlines in the USA have never been so full. Seven of them — Delta, American, United, Continental, US Airways, AirTran and Alaska — reported filling at least 87% of their seats in July. Even Southwest, always the industry's laggard in load factor, beat the industry's average over the previous six Julys of 84.6% by filling 84.9% of its seats.
That leaves precious few spots available if you've been bumped off a full flight or miss a connecting flight. And because airlines are scheduling fewer flights than five years ago, travelers could face long waits for a direct flight to their destinations or have to settle for circuitous reroutings to get there.
Some travelers, such as Robert Beilstein, consider themselves lucky if a missed flight doesn't cost more than a day's time. Beilstein, a supply-chain software consultant from North Syracuse, N.Y., twice recently missed connections to San Antonio at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He made it to San Antonio both times, after being rerouted via Denver.
"I did lose a day's worth of consulting revenue," he says. "But at least I did manage to get there in one day and didn't lose two days of revenue." He says he's even more "lucky" he hasn't been bumped from a flight lately.
For those who've been bumped off flights against their wishes, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has proposed increasing the maximum compensation from $800 to $1,300. The proposal is included in a package of "fliers' rights" rules that LaHood wants to impose this fall. The Air Transport Association, the trade group that represents the nation's biggest airlines, says it won't object to raising the compensation. Missing a connecting flight as Beilstein did is far more common than being bumped as a result of an airline selling more tickets for a flight than the plane has seats.
However, most delays leading to missed connections are caused by weather. And unlike overbooking, the weather is outside airlines' control. Most passengers who miss a connecting flight aren't owed anything, although airlines sometimes provide vouchers for meals and hotel rooms. LaHood isn't proposing to change that.
Most airlines automatically reschedule passengers with computer software that often predicts missed connections before a plane has landed. The airlines say this lets them speed people who've missed flights to destinations as quickly as possible.
Some travelers aren't convinced.
"Airlines do not care at all anymore if passengers are inconvenienced," says Jill Naas, a project manager from Seattle who flies at least monthly. She has been able to get other flights after missing connections, she says. But, she says, she's "had to fight like hell" and "emphasize" her elite-level frequent-flier status with airlines to do it.
A growing problem
Bumping, known as "denied boarding" in the industry, isn't a big problem, statistically speaking. In 2009, 69,416 passengers were involuntarily bumped, out of 584 million passengers boarded in the USA. An additional 695,510 were coaxed into giving up their seats by offers of discounts on future travel. The rate of involuntary bumping in 2009 was minuscule: 1.19 per 10,000 passengers boarded.
However, it's a growing problem. In the first half of this year, the rate rose to 1.37 per 10,000 boardings, the highest first-half rate of people involuntarily denied boarding in 16 years. The rise in involuntary bumpings is a byproduct of U.S. airlines' record-high passenger loads. That's the result of the airlines cutting capacity, or the number of seats available, by 12% since 2005 by reducing the number of flights or moving to smaller planes.
"The people who volunteer (to be bumped) ... tend not to be all that upset about it," says Ira Gershkoff, a former airline scheduler who develops software for SlipStream Aviation Software that helps airlines better match capacity to fluctuating travel demand. "They brag to their friends about the compensation they got. But those who are involuntarily bumped are upset. They ... had to be somewhere."
Ed Perkins, a contributing editor at SmarterTravel.com, says airlines for the most part handle the job of bumping passengers off a flight fairly well, though he thinks that passengers who are forced off flights against their will often aren't compensated sufficiently for the inconvenience.
"(Airlines) are able to take care of roughly nine out of 10 cases of bumping by offering people some kind of goody," says Perkins, who was Consumer Reports' travel editor for four decades. "But times do come when nobody wants to get off the airplane."
In addition to providing a seat on a later flight, carriers must pay involuntarily bumped passengers — in cash or by check — an amount equal to the price of their ticket, or $400, whichever is lowest. If the passenger arrives more than two hours late, the compensation cap rises to $800.
But the average domestic ticket in the USA in the first quarter of the year was $328. Few involuntarily bumped travelers ever get paid the full $800, or even $400. Typically, only those who buy first- or business-class tickets or full-price coach fares qualify for the maximum payout. The budget traveler flying on a $139 ticket gets only $139.
LaHood wants to raise the caps to $800 and $1,300. But Perkins says the formula, not the actual amount of compensation, is what's wrong.
"I see no reason why the dollar compensation should have anything to do with how much you paid for your ticket, because that doesn't have anything to do with the amount of inconvenience," he says. "The compensation should be a fixed amount. And for a lot of travelers, the money may not be near as important as fixing their trip. There ought to be more focus on that."
He says airlines should be required to put involuntarily bumped travelers on the next available seat to their destination, even if it means paying another airline to carry them.
Most airlines say they won't hesitate to put bumped fliers on competitors' planes if that's the best solution.
Monte Ford, chief information officer at American Airlines, says, "We have become more progressive in our thinking about how and when we put somebody on some other airline's aircraft. In a disruptive situation, we'll put somebody on someone else's airplane in a minute."
But critics such as Perkins say that's often done only as a last resort — often after a bumped passenger's frustration boils over into an ugly confrontation.
Missing connections
Airlines don't have to report the number of passengers who miss connecting flights. But Gershkoff, who is researching the issue, thinks about 7% of all passengers miss their connections.
On the surface, absorbing those fliers shouldn't be a problem.
Despite fuller flights, airlines still can't fill about 20% of their seats over the course of a year. But missed connections don't happen at a steady pace. They come in bunches, often when bad weather throws flights off schedule at one or more big airport hubs.
Delays, which often lead to missed connections, also tend to have a ripple effect. An hour's delay on one plane in Dallas in the morning becomes a 90-minute disruption in New York by noon, a three-hour nightmare in Chicago by 5 p.m., and a five-hour-late arrival on the West Coast by the end of the day. Along the way, 500 passengers scheduled to fly on that one plane have their travel schedules thrown into chaos. Chances are if one plane is affected, 30 others are, too.
"A 30-minute fog event at one airport can throw the rest of the day off," says Michael Baiada, president of ATH Group, a consulting group that does time-flow management consulting work for airlines. "The flights using that plane throughout the day just go later and later and later."
More than 1.9 million passengers board flights on U.S. airlines on the average day. If just 10% miss connecting flights or can't begin their trips on time because travel is disrupted elsewhere, about 125,000 people could be forced to compete for the few remaining unsold seats that day. (Schedulers estimate that about a third ofpassengers who miss flights are leaving from their home airport and go home to wait a day before flying or simply give up their travel plans.)
And there are fewer flights to get on than five years ago.
For example, travelers who missed United Airlines' first flight from Chicago O'Hare to Raleigh-Durham in August 2005 had six more United flights that day to choose from, a USA TODAY analysis of flight schedule data provided by OAG Aviation Solutions shows. Today, there are only four flights total each day.
Five years ago, Continental flew four times a day from Cleveland to South Bend, Ind., the data show. Today, it has three flights. American has cut the number of daily flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Huntsville, Ala., to three from six. In 2005, Northwest flew eight times a day from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Delta, which bought Northwest in 2008, flies the route five times a day now.
As a result, it can take travelers a day or more to reach destinations. It can cost hours of scrambling on the phone, extra expense and stress. It's also why travelers say it's important how airlines and airline workers treat them when things go wrong.
Mitchell Fong, a financial services industry executive from Mill Valley, Calif., who flies 200,000 miles a year, recalls a day last winter when his flight into Chicago arrived too late to make his connection to Milwaukee. United's computer system automatically rebooked him on the next available flight — the next morning. Fong would have missed his meeting in Milwaukee. Luckily, he hitched a ride that night with an associate who happened to be driving there.
"United was not sympathetic, did not offer any compensation and did not offer extras or perks to ease my situation," Fong says.
U.S. airlines' aren't obligated to provide anything beyond rebooking to travelers who miss connections for reasons beyond airlines' control, such as weather.Being an elite member of a carrier's frequent-flier program may be the single best way to avoid being bumped, and of getting one of the few available seats on the next flight. But it's no guarantee.
Airlines consider the price paid by each disrupted passenger for their ticket; whether any have health issues that require special attention or are unaccompanied minors; whether passengers are part of a group; and most important, which passengers will be the most inconvenienced, or delayed the longest, if they don't get the next available seat.
It also helps to check in early. Check-in times can be the tie-breaker.
Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman for United, says the difficulty in getting a seat nowadays is overstated. And, he says, getting one shouldn't be thought of as a contest between passengers.
"Every day of the week, there are airline employees and retirees who are at the bottom of the stand-by list, who do get onboard planes and enjoy a flight," he says. "It's a fallacy that with 85% load factors, you can't get a seat. Statistically, it is more difficult. But it is done all the time."
American, JetBlue Negotiate Code-Share
By Ted Reed 08/16/10 - 04:21 PM EDT
American Airlines/JetBlue story updated with comments from JetBlue.
DALLAS (TheStreet) -- American Airlines(AMR) and JetBlue(JBLU) are negotiating a code-share agreement that could be in place as early as the first quarter of 2011. "We are negotiating, working towards perhaps a code-share in the future," Art Torno, American's vice president for New York told TheStreet. He emphasized that no agreement has been reached so far.
A code-share, which enables airlines to sell tickets on one another's flights, would be a natural step in the increasing cooperation between American and JetBlue, which in March announced plans to work together in New York where both operate hubs at Kennedy International Airport. The two carriers recently announced plans to enable customers to earn frequent flier miles on either airline on connecting flights.
The next step, said JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin, is for the carriers to post interline itineraries on their websites.
"We've said all along that we are open to discussions with American to grow this relationship, but at this time we have no plans to enter into a traditional two-way code-share relationship with American," Baldwin said.
The initial deal involved an interline agreement enabling sales on one another's flights, but the proceeds are remitted directly to the operating carrier. In a code-share, revenue is pro-rated between the airlines and each airline can put its own code on the other's flight. Interline agreements are far more common: American has about 135 interline partners. Both arrangements enable baggage exchange between carriers.
Torno said he has worked closely with JetBlue CEO Dave Barger since the initial deal was announced, but the two carriers want to take things slowly. "We're taking baby steps to make sure that what we are doing makes sense," he said. "Whatever we implement, we want to make sure it works."
As the biggest aviation market in the world, New York is hotly contested. Delta(DAL) said last week it will spend $1.2 billion to upgrade its facilities at JFK .
Meanwhile, a merger between United(UAUA) and Continental(CAL) means the combined carrier will push more traffic through the latter's Newark hub.
Torno said American has a competitive advantage with its $1.3 billion JFK terminal and plans over time to move its alliance partners British Airways and Iberia into the terminal as well. Additionally, if a trans-Pacific joint venture with JAL is approved, that carrier would also be expected to move to the American terminal.
American's parent AMR closed down 0.72% to $6.85 on Monday, while JetBlue shares closed down 0.33% to $5.96.
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
Howie Kurtz Scolds Media Over Coverage Of ‘Bogus’ Steven Slater Story
5:24 pm, August 15th, 2010
Howard Kurtz hates shark week. Kidding! Howie Kurtz simply does not approve of either Steven Slater nor the adoring coverage he received at the hands of the media. Especially the latter. Kurtz saved his Slater rant for the last few minutes of Reliable Sources today, the gist of it being that Slater could have killed someone, and the media has gone overboard in their coverage of his antics (cue: “those darn kids!”).
And here’s what left me with motion sickness: this JetBlue clown, the flight attendant who got ticked off at a passenger, then triggered the emergency chute at JFK Airport and slid his way out of a job and got himself arrested is actually being celebrated by the media.
Yes, I know, it’s August and he’s got over 200,000 Facebook fans. But Steven Slater could have killed someone on the runway with that reckless move. And yet, look at this — front page of “The New York Times,” front page of “USA Today,” front page of the New York tabloids, and television in a tizzy.
Yes, the media went overboard — as much as I enjoyed their coverage, by the end of the week the NYT appeared to have made Stephen Slater their personal mascot. However, in the grand scheme of overdone stories this year (and make no mistake this has been a banner year), overdoing a story 98% of the country enjoys hearing about seems to me to be a lesser sin than say, a beer summit clock
'What he did was despicable,' host of 'Celebrity Apprentice' tells 'The Insider'
8/12/2010 7:26:23 PM ET
America may be embracing JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater, who famously quit his job this week during an expletive-ridden rant on a loudspeaker.
"Celebrity Apprentice" host Donald Trump isn't.
"What he did was despicable," he tells "The Insider." "I think as an employee he's horrible and as an employer I would really go after him big."
Trump says it is wrong that people are "celebrating" Slater "who could have caused a major catastrophe and who is obviously not very stable. I think he's a wacko. I think he had a [disagreement] with someone close to him and he let it out on the passengers. I don't think he's a hero, and I don't think he's going to be a folk hero for very long. I think we should stop celebrating him pretty quickly."
Meanwhile, several passengers on the Slater's plane tells the Wall Street Journal he was the one who instigated the ugly confrontation that led to his nasty departure.
When one passenger asked Slater where her bag was stowed, he spewed an expletive before storming off.
Said a witness, "It really blew my mind. It was so inappropriate."
Copyright 2010 Us Weekly
American Airlines in talks to revamp JFK terminal
Published: August 12, 2010 10:59 AM
Modified: August 12, 2010 12:03 PM
Carrier seeks to bring alliance partners British Airways and Iberia under one roof to counter Delta's $1.2 billion renovation at Kennedy.
(Bloomberg) -- American Airlines is in advanced talks to bring alliance partners British Airways Plc and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA into one “premiere” terminal at New York's Kennedy airport to bolster overseas flights.
“It will require expansion and will be significant in terms of investment,” Art Torno, vice president overseeing American's New York operations, said in an interview. “When we finish that terminal, it will be a watermark for everyone to shoot for.”
Putting the Oneworld alliance members under one roof would help AMR Corp.'s American counter Delta Air Lines Inc., which unveiled plans yesterday for a $1.2 billion renovation at John F. Kennedy International Airport. American and Delta are vying for passengers in New York, the biggest U.S. aviation market.
The cost and scope of the possible changes at American's Terminal 8 are still under discussion with British Airways, Spain's Iberia and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK, Mr. Torno said.
Any investment would be in addition to the $1.3 billion that Fort Worth, Texas-based American spent on a terminal renovation completed in 2007, he said. The 1-million-square-foot facility is American's primary international gateway in the eastern U.S.
American, British Airways and Iberia couldn't begin talks on a single terminal until after July 20, when they won final U.S. approval to jointly set prices, sell tickets and schedule trans-Atlantic flights. That venture doesn't cover other Oneworld members, which include Japan Airlines Corp.
“New York is really a battle for market share,” Mr. Torno said. “I don't think anyone can own New York. Our reaction is a competitive response to protect our interests here in the world's largest aviation market.”
American is adding 15 new destinations from New York this year and 33 additional flights. It will announce more schedule changes involving its alliance partners for the summer of 2011, he said.
Delta will renovate Kennedy's Terminal 4, which is used by foreign carriers, and link it with Terminal 2, where the Atlanta-based airline has flights.
The 1960s-era Terminal 3, formerly used by Pan American World Airways, will be demolished to make room for parking jets. Delta will begin work next month and finish by mid-2013. JFK is a Delta hub for overseas flights and became a focus for expansion after the airline's 2007 bankruptcy exit.
American also is remodeling Concourse D and Concourse C at New York's LaGuardia airport, where its domestic flights are based. The carrier, which is investing about $30 million in the projects, is considering whether to connect the two terminals or build an additional Admirals' Club lounge, Mr. Torno said.
Filed Under : American Airlines, Commercial Real Estate, Delta Air Lines, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Upset flight attendant grabs beer, activates chute, goes home
Witness says Steven Slater looked 'happy' — but is he facing more stress?
A JetBlue flight attendant got into an argument with a passenger on a jetliner arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday, then grabbed a beer from the galley, deployed an emergency exit slide and fled the plane, authorities said.
And though he could be seen smiling as authorities led him away from his nearby home in the Belle Harbor section of Queens, Steven Slater's acquaintances and his apparent profile on a social networking site indicated that he has been dealing with some stressful events in his life.
Slater was ordered held on $2,500 bail, WNBC's Tim Minton reported. Slater faced charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing, and was in custody overnight.
By Monday night, several Facebook pages had been set up in tribute to Slater, who is facing charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing, with many users of the social networking site expressing support for him for walking off the job. One such page had more than 16,000 fans early Tuesday.
Twitter users also showed support, with declarations such as "Free Steven Slater!" and "Steven Slater is totally my new hero."
Slater was working on JetBlue Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh when he got into an argument with the passenger, who was pulling down baggage from an overhead bin, the Port Authority said.
The luggage apparently hit Slater in the head and he asked for an apology, but the passenger refused, the agency said.s the plane was landing, Slater got on the public-address system and cursed at the passenger, the Port Authority said.
He then grabbed at least one beer, activated the slide, slid down and went to his car, it said. Port Authority police were notified about 25 minutes later.
Phil Catelinet, a passenger on the flight, said on the TODAY show that Slater " was smiling — he was happy he had done this. He was happy he was done with his job at JetBlue."
"I think it's funny that he could quit his job that way … [but] I don't think he thought this through."
'One day at a time'
A MySpace profile appearing to belong to Slater notes that: "Beating alcoholism and substance abuse 'one day at a time' has opened up new worlds of opportunity for me, and I am so thankful to those who have guided me along the path to successful living, and given me new wings to fly. See you above the clouds. ..."
Slater's former roommate, John Rochelle, told The New York Times that Slater was rarely home, and often traveled to Thousand Oaks, Calif., to care for his ailing mother.
A neighbor of Slater's mother told the newspaper that he had also cared for his father, who died of Lou Gehrig's disease.
"It could be the pressure of his mother's illness, because that's not the type of behavior or conduct that Steve exhibits," neighbor Ron Franz said. "He's a very conscientious, responsible individual."
A woman who answered a phone at a previous residence listed for Slater in Thousand Oaks, Calif., identified herself as his mother but said she wasn't speaking to the media.
The district attorney told NBC News that Slater had not yet been arraigned, but that was likely to happen at a Tuesday morning court session.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said in a statement that it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority police to investigate the matter.
It said the safety of its customers and crew members was never at risk. JetBlue would not say how long Slater had been employed by the company.
A National Transportation Safety Board official said the incident was a result of "a little too much cabin pressure."
The Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report.
Delta Nears JFK Deal
By MIKE ESTERL
Delta Air Lines Inc. is poised to get the green light for a $1.2 billion overhaul of its outdated terminals at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to people familiar with the matter.
The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to vote on the massive project on Thursday, these people added.
Delta, the largest U.S. airline, has been in talks with the Port Authority for years in a bid to upgrade its facilities at JFK and capture a bigger share of the biggest U.S, air-travel market.
The JFK construction project coincides with a sharp rebound in the U.S. airline industry after the recession sent traffic plunging last year and an increasingly heated battle for Manhattan's lucrative business-travel market.
Several airlines are vying for the upper hand over New York skies. Delta is trying to narrow the gap with area leader Continental Airlines Inc., which operates out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Continental and Delta also are trying to fend off AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and JetBlue Airways Corp., two other major players in New York.
American and JetBlue have completed major terminal overhauls at JFK in recent years. Delta's facilities, by contrast, date back about half a century and company executives have described them as the worst the carrier operates in the U.S.
Under the plan, Delta would move out of JFK's Terminal 3, the iconic but beaten-down former Pan Am Worldport, and relocate to an expanded Terminal 4. Delta also would continue to fly out of Terminal 2.
Construction on an expanded Terminal 4 would begin this autumn and be completed by mid-2013, according to people familiar with the plan. Terminal 3 would be demolished and the site would be used for additional parking, they added.
The project would be financed with some mix of special project bonds backed by the lease on the new terminal and passenger financing charges, people familiar with the matter said.
Heightening competition, American Airlines and JetBlue joined forces in a limited partnership targeting the New York market earlier this summer. Under the agreement, American and JetBlue offer customers ``interline'' service that allows one-stop booking and check-in, as well as automatic bag transfers, on some connecting flights.
Delta also has been trying to expand its presence at New York's LaGuardia Airport, which serves mostly domestic flights. But those efforts hit a roadblock after U.S. regulators thwarted a plan earlier this year under which Delta would have traded some of its slots at Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport for LaGuardia slots befrom US Airways Group Inc.
—Sean Gardiner contributed to this article.
Write to Mike Esterl at mike.esterl@wsj.com
SkyWest to buy ExpressJet for $133 million
SkyWest, regional carrier for Delta and United, buying ExpressJet, which flies for Continental
Samantha Bomkamp, AP Transportation Writer, On Wednesday August 4, 2010, 11:46 am
NEW YORK (AP) -- Regional carriers for merger partners United and Continental Airlines are combining in an all-cash deal valued at $133 million.
SkyWest Inc. said Wednesday its Atlantic Southeast Airlines unit will buy ExpressJet Holdings Inc. for about $6.75 per share. That's more than double ExpressJet's closing stock price Tuesday of $3.28. ExpressJet shares doubled on the news, surging $3.25 to $6.53 in morning trading.
Atlantic Southeast and SkyWest operate as Delta Connection and as United Express. Houston-based ExpressJet operates as Continental Express. The companies said Wednesday they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter.
The airlines will be based in Atlantic Southeast's home base of Atlanta. They'll continue to serve Continental's current hubs in Houston, Newark, N.J. and Cleveland, and United's hubs at Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles. The move comes as Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines move ahead with plans to combine in a $3 billion merger that will create the world's largest airline.
The announcement is the latest shakeup in the regional airline industry. Delta Air Lines Inc. sold two of its regional carriers that operate as Delta Connection for $82.5 million last month. Also in July, American Airlines' parent AMR Corp. said it's considering whether to sell or spin off regional carrier American Eagle for the second time in three years. Big airlines are increasingly outsourcing their regional flights to cut costs.
SkyWest has tried to buy ExpressJet before. The company made an offer of $3.50 per share in April 2008, but that price was rejected by ExpressJet's board as too low. ExpressJet, which was spun off from Continental in 2002, has been exploring options for its business ever since.
In morning trading, shares of St. George, Utah-based SkyWest rose 7 cents to $12.48.
Spirit Airlines: no hitch with carry-on fees
Spirit Airlines says first day of new carry-on fees is going smoothly despite some grumbling
Andrew Vanacore, AP Business Writer, On Monday August 2, 2010, 7:06 am EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spirit Airlines' controversial carry-on fees took effect Sunday, catching some customers unhappily by surprise. But the low-fare carrier contends that the move will cut down on flight delays, potentially allowing Spirit to add new flights.
Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said the new approach already appears to be working. "The check-in process is going well so far," Pinson said Sunday afternoon. "It looks like this is going to speed things up."
Samantha Robles, 22, who was getting ready to check in for a flight at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, called the new charges "ridiculous." After finding out about the carry-on fees at the airport, she said she checked her suitcase because it was cheaper than paying for a carry-on. Robles said she would probably not fly Spirit again.
Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza admitted the company has received "an understandable number of complaints," mostly from people who don't realize that Spirit's ticket prices have been lowered. Spirit has cut fares overall, in some cases by more than enough to offset the cost of a carry-on bag.
"I think what we'll find is over the next weeks and months as this program evolves, and more and more people understand it, that people will see that the trade-off is a really good one," he said on Sunday. "Not everyone will think that, and those people may choose to fly someone else, but they'll likely pay more for their total travel than they will on Spirit."
Since airlines started charging for checked luggage, more flyers have brought carry-on bags on board. Spirit's new fee -- the first in the industry -- is aimed at discouraging passengers from stuffing the overhead bins because it often takes extra time to get bags settled and gate check those that won't fit onboard.
Spirit is charging $30 at check-in for any bag that's too big to fit under the seat. The price goes up to $45 for passengers who wait until they get to the boarding gate to pay, another step aimed at saving time. Members of Spirit's special fare club will only pay $20 for a carry-on. Umbrellas, camera bags, strollers and car seats are among the items that will remain free of charge.
Airlines have been able to wring extra profits from new fees over the past few years, charging for checked bags, extra legroom and refreshments. Spirit, based in Miramar, Fla., says it does not expect to profit from carry-on fees directly because price cuts have offset fee gains. But Pinson said that by shaving 6 or 7 minutes off the time that it takes to load and unload a plane, Spirit hopes to be able to add more flights.
The privately held airline currently operates about 150 daily flights. Most carry leisure travelers from big airports in the U.S. through Fort Lauderdale and on to Latin America. Spirit had extra employees on hand Sunday at airports to assist passengers. The airline was expecting to handle 23,000 passengers on Sunday, including 5,800 in Fort Lauderdale.
The Spirit terminal in Fort Lauderdale was mostly calm as passengers checked in. One couple could be seen going through two large suitcases, trying to make room for items they were taking out of a duffle bag. Another man, after being told he'd have to pay to carry his bag, rushed to the ticket counter to check the carry-on and make the flight.
Angel Aviles, 35, was traveling back to Puerto Rico out of Fort Lauderdale with his wife, daughter and father. They had a towering pile of suitcases on a cart that he said he had prepaid for online. There were also two carry-ons, which he said he did not know carried a charge.
"It's a surprise," he said as he waited in a line approaching the ticket counter. "It's too expensive. Compared to other airlines, they've raised it too much."
Spirit will be collecting data over the next few weeks to see how the plan is working out. No hard numbers were yet available.
Whether or not passengers eventually warm to Spirit's new fee, some other airlines have agreed that they won't take the same approach. New York Sen. Charles Schumer extracted a promise from five of the nation's biggest airlines, including AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc., that they won't charge for carry-on bags.
Associated Press Writer Christine Armario reported from Fort Lauderdale.
American: Protecting its New York Turf
