About me

My name is Tom, and I've been interested in the airline industry for as long as I can remember. I love the airplanes themselves, of course, but also the concept of flight; I'm still amazed that you can, relatively cheaply, fly across the continent and back in the same day. Furthermore, the airline industry is seemingly almost always in some sort of turmoil, so there's never a dull moment.Back before my sophomore year of high school, I created this blog as way to stay informed about the airlines and as a way of expressing my opinions about them....

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United pilots: remove CEO

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the United Airlines MEC (Master Executive Council) have created a website, GlennTilton.com, which calls for the removal of Glenn Tilton as United's CEO. The website said, "As professional pilots, we believe in accountability. Glenn Tilton, Chairman, CEO, and President of United Airlines, has failed all of us… costing shareholders, employees, and the travelling public billions of dollars."Is Glenn Tilton...

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American's new deal with BA, Iberia

American Airlines, Iberia, and British Airways announced earlier today that they were forming a three-way alliance that would allow them to cooperate on flights between Europe and North America. Although the three airlines are already part of the oneworld alliance, the deal allows them to work more closely together and to cut costs. Not surprising, Virgin Atlantic's Richard Branson took a dim view of the deal, which he said would create a "monster monopoly".The announcement comes at a time when other airlines are also seeking to link up: United,...

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Farnborough Airshow Review, Day 3

A quick summary of orders at the Farnborough Airshow on July 16:BoeingMalaysia Airlines ordered 35 737-800s.Aviation Capital Group ordered 15 more 737-700s.AirbusNetherlands-based lessor AerCap launched the A320/A321 freighter, with an order for 30.Asiana Airlines ordered 30 A350 XWBs, with 10 optio...

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American to retire A300

photo by Vidiot American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey said earlier today that the airline's fleet of Airbus A300s, which were due to be retired by the end of 2012, will instead be phased out by the end of 2009. Right now, the type is based at either JFK or Miami (there still is a significant AA A300 presence in San Juan, but this has declined as AA has started to downsize operations there...

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Farnborough Airshow Review, Days 1 and 2

The Farnborough 2008 Airshow, which runs from July 14 to 20, is the first major airshow to be held since the Paris Air Show last June. Boeing VP Randy Tinseth pointed out on his journal a few ways that the aviation world has changed since the Paris show:There have been 2,678 commercial airplane orders (Boeing and Airbus)Oil has gone from $67/bbl to $134/bbl Jet fuel has gone from $2.12/gal to $3.92/gal The U.S. dollar has gone from 0.75 euros/dollar to 0.64 euros/dollar, and from 123 yen/dollar to 107 yen/dollar The market has continued to liberalize...

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Northwest to cut 2500 jobs, add fees

photo by caribbNorthwest Airlines announced yesterday that it would be laying off 2,500 employees in all groups of positions (pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and other employees), but that it would first be looking for volunteers to leave the company. A variety of "voluntary programs including early-out programs, voluntary leaves, work rule modifications and attrition" will be offered, with the airline moving to furloughs as a last resort.“Our...

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Vladivostok Avia starts US service

For those of you in the US who have been wanting to fly on a Russian-built aircraft, here's a new opportunity: Vladivostok Avia has started seasonal twice-weekly service from Anchorage to Vladivostok, via Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky. The first flight, which arrived in Anchorage on Monday morning, was flown by a Tupolev TU-154, although the airline has said that the route will be flown with newer Tupolev TU-204 airplanes. The flights will be carried out...

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BA's OpenSkies to merge with L'Avion

British Airways has announced that it will purchase Paris-based premium carrier L'Avion to add to its OpenSkies premium transatlantic subsidiary. The deal, which only set back BA $52 million in cash, will be completed this month, and OpenSkies will formally combine with L'Avion shortly thereafter.In a statement, British Airways head Willie Walsh noted that "L'Avion is a successful airline that has built up a premium business in a relatively short...

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Continental to join Star, link with United

photo by sea turtle Even after merger talks between United and Continental fell through a few months ago, the two airlines are still interested in cooperating - yesterday, they announced plans to start codesharing and for Continental to join Star Alliance, of which United is a member. According to an email sent out to Mileage Plus members, United expects the deal to start sometime in 2009.It remains to be seen what this...

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Continental rejects United as merger partner

photo by Drewski2112Well, it was a bit of a surprise. After the linkup between Delta and Northwest a few weeks ago, many (myself included) expected to see continued industry consolidation. And a merger between United and Continental was seen as a likely one; rumors floating around pointed to an announcement as soon as this week. The merger would have created an airline that might rival Delta/Northwest in size, as well as international coverage...

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Eos Airlines shuts down

New York-based premium transatlantic carrier Eos Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday and operated its last flights earlier today. The airline flew Boeing 757-200s between New York-JFK and London's Stansted Airport, but had plans to expand to other destinations.Eos' shutdown was not necessarily expected, but given the current state that the industry's in, it wasn't too surprising, either. MAXjet, another premium transatlantic...

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US Airways CEO mentions mergers

photo by caribbIn a letter sent to employees yesterday, US Airways CEO Doug Parker said that "airlines are going to have to make dramatic changes" if they want to survive. Although he said that he couldn't "comment on any specific discussions or transaction," he said that the media have suggested that US Airways is in merger talks with United and that American would make a good match as well. "Rest assured," said Parker, "if US Airways chooses...

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Delta and Northwest announce merger

It's official: the long-anticipated merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines has finally been announced. The combined carrier - already billed as "America's premier global airline", will be known as Delta and will be based in Atlanta. Delta CEO Richard Anderson would head up the new airline.A press release by the airline touted the benefits of the merger; it "creates a company with a more resilient business model that is better able to withstand...

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Virgin America gets more support

photo by Drewski2112Even after a wave of airline bankruptcies has recently shaken the US airline industry, Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson said on Thursday that he is "extremely pleased" with the airline's performance and that it is "well ahead of budget". He was also predicted that "in three or four years time, it'll be flying to all the major American cities."In addition, the Wall Street Journal reported today that British and American...

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Frontier files for bankruptcy

photo by Drewski2112Denver-based Frontier Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier today, citing a move made by its credit card processor, First Data Corporation, which has started withholding a larger percentage of proceeds from ticket sales."To be clear, we filed for very different reasons than those of other recent carriers, and our customers and employees can be confident that we intend to keep on flying and providing...

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American cancels more flights

photo by caribbOnly a few weeks after canceling hundreds of flights, American Airlines today canceled over 900 flights, affecting an estimated 100,000 travelers. The airline also canceled 460 flights on Tuesday and nearly 1,100 yesterday. The cancellations, which affected American's 300 MD-80s, are in response to an FAA directive involving the covers of wire bundles for the MD-80's fuel pump.The problem was first identified back in 2006, and if American...

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Austrian's 50th anniversary colors

photo courtesy of Austrian AirlinesTo celebrate its 50th anniversary, Austrian Airlines has painted an Airbus A320 (OE-LBP) in a "retro" colors. Austrian's first flight was on March 31, 1958, from Vienna to London (via Zurich) on a Vickers Viscount. Austrian is the latest European airline to commission such a livery - others, such as Lufthansa and SAS, have done so as we...

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Skybust: Skybus ceases operations

photo by OZinOHSkybus, the Columbus, Ohio-based no-frills carrier that famously started flying last May with $10 fares, announced on Friday that it will stop flying on Saturday, April 5. It becomes the fourth US carrier in less than a week to shut down (joining Aloha, Champion Air, and ATA). The news only broke late on Friday night, surprising both customers and employees."Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs...

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ATA ceases operations

photo by Drewski2112ATA Airlines announced today that after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it has "discontinued all operations and cancelled all current and future flights". "Following the loss of a key contract for our military charter business, it became impossible for ATA to continue operations," the airline said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice."When...

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Branson launches V Australian

As an Open Skies agreement between the United States and Australia takes effect, Richard Branson's newest addition to the Virgin fleet was announced earlier this week. V Australia, a division of Australian carrier Virgin Blue, will fly from Sydney to Los Angeles starting in December, competing with Qantas and United (which are the two airlines that currently fly the route). Branson said that "there is going to be very fierce competition, as there...

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Champion Air to cease operations

photo by Drewski2112Minneapolis-based charter carrier Champion Air has announced that it will end operations on May 31, after 11 years of flying. “This is a sad day for the entire Champion family,” said Champion President and CEO Lee Steele. He went on to say that Champion's "business model is no longer viable in a world of $110 oil, a struggling economy and rapidly changing demand for our services" and that "the management team and our board...

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Aloha to end passenger service

photo by Cubbie_n_VegasOnly days after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (for the second time in as many years), Hawaiian carrier Aloha Airlines announced that it will terminate all passenger service effective today. The airline has been fighting a three-way price war with Hawaiian Airlines and startup go!, which is owned by Mesa Air Group."This is an incredibly dark day for Hawaii,”" said David A. Banmiller, CEO of Aloha. "“Despite...

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"Defective airplanes or parts"? I think not

This morning I reported on how several U.S. airlines that operate the MD-80 had to perform additional checks on wiring covers. A few hours later, I received a comment on that blog post that was rather entertaining. (Here are a few excerpts - for the entire comment in all of its gloriousness, click here.) To: NATIONS OF THE WORLD – GOVERNMENTS, EMBASSIES, AND PRESS (Please See The Distribution List Below). DEFECTIVE AIRPLANES AND PARTS POTENTIALLY...

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American, Delta inspect MD-80s

photo by Kevin Boydston American Airlines yesterday announced that it was canceling 300 flights on Wednesday in order to inspect wiring covers in its 300-strong MD-80 fleet, with an American spokesperson calling the move an "abundance of caution" by the airline. Later in the day, Delta also said that it would voluntarily reinspect 117 of its MD-88s as well as 16 MD-90s. Delta said that as of last night, it had not found...

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ANA to start budget airline

photo by Giyu (Velvia)Japan's All Nippon Airways, which has been experiencing increased pressure in recent years from growing low-cost carriers in Asia, has announced plans to launch a budget airline of its own. ANA is considering a joint venture with another Asian airline, and the new carrier could be flying as early as March 2009. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the airline would probably be based in another country in Asia - Japan is...

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United to downsize fleet

photo by Drewski2112United Airlines, facing a slumping economy and rising fuel prices, announced today that it would ground 10 to 15 of its "older, less fuel efficient, narrowbody aircraft" as part of a plan "to offset what could be more than a $1 billion increase in fuel costs in 2008". "We are taking a prudent step now by reducing our fleet, taking assets out of the network that don't make sense at these fuel prices, to better position United...

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Northwest: $100 oil to lead to mergers

photo by caribbOil, which has been hitting record highs seemingly every day now, has always been a problem for airlines. But when the price of oil starts getting above $100, it becomes a really big problem. On a pre-recorded telephone message for Northwest employees, CEO Doug Steenland said that oil was becoming a "serious budget-breaker". "If fuel remains where it is today, our increased fuel costs will again create a difficult financial challenge...

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US Airways to start charging for bags

photo by TypophilesLess than a month after United Airlines announced that it would be charging most passengers $25 to check a second bag, US Airways has announced that it would do the same, starting on May 1. US Airways claims that higher fuel costs are partly to blame and said that this new luggage fee will give the airline $100 million in additional revenue. It's a sign that the à-la-carte baggage trend is continuing throughout the major carriers...

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Presidential candidates and their airplanes

photo by Drewski2112With all the recent news about Super Tuesday in the US, I thought it would be interesting to see what airplanes the candidates are using. Apparently, Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both chartering Boeing 737-800s from ATA (Clinton has already dubbed hers "Hill Force One"). On the Republican side, now-former candidate Mitt Romney used a chartered Xtra Airways Boeing 737-400 (and even though he also...

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Delta-Northwest, United-Continental mergers soon?

photo by Cubbie_n_Vegas The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a merger deal between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines could happen as soon as next week. Talks between the two were previously strained as the senior management of both carriers disagreed over whom would keep high-ranking management positions, but they have since come to an agreement.As a result of Delta and Northwest's merger potential, merger discussions between United Airlines...

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United's luggage fees: a mixed bag

photo by kpishdadiUnited Airlines recently announced that, "as part of its continuing effort to offer customers choice, flexibility, and low fares," it will start charging passengers who purchase nonrefundable economy tickets for US/Canada flights $25 to check a second bag (the first one is still free). Exempt from the fee are passengers who have Premier or higher status in Mileage Plus/Star Alliance will be able to go by the old rules of checking...

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Branson to start Virgin Russia

photo by Cubbie_n_Vegas The man that brought you Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Blue, Virgin Nigeria and others is preparing to do it again.Billionaire Richard Branson has announced plans to start an airline in Russia, tentatively called Virgin Russia. He plans to take advantage of the oil-fueled Russian economy, which has given the average Russian more money (and an airline market that's growing at around 10 percent a year). "We hope to...

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Ryanair in trouble over ads

(click on both to enlarge) Irish discount carrier Ryanair is facing a bit of trouble after recently running two advertisements. The first features French president Nicolas Sarkozy with his girlfriend, French singer Carla Bruni. "With Ryanair," thinks Bruni in the advertisement, "all of my family can come to my wedding." This is a reference to the rumors of marriage between the two. A Ryanair spokesperson called it a "humorous comment on a matter...

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United would consider leaving Star Alliance

photo by striaticAccording to United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton, if United had to leave Star Alliance in order to finalize a merger, it was prepared to do so. "You can assume that absolutely everything goes into the mix of consideration," he said in a Chicago Tribune article published yesterday. The quote has sparked rampant speculation on internet forums as to whether or not United would actually seriously consider withdrawing from Star. United...

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Delta moves toward merger talks with United, Northwest

photo by Franco FoliniPublish PostDelta Air Lines, which has reportedly been interested in a merger for some time now, has requested permission from its board to start "formal" merger discussions with United Airlines and Northwest Airlines soon, with a plan to choose one of the airlines with which to merge.In the last few years, Delta has carried opposing views on mergers: it exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year after successfully fighting off...

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British Airways launches OpenSkies

Although it’s no secret that British Airways has been looking to expand in the transatlantic market, the airline made an announcement yesterday that it is starting an “airline within an airline”. OpenSkies, as the new entity is called, will start flying in June with a single Boeing 757-200 from New York to either Paris or Brussels. Another 757 is planned to join the fleet later this year, with six aircraft in all by 2009. In a statement, Willie Walsh,...

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Aeroflot retires Tupolev 134

photo by Leonid V. KroujkovFirst off, happy new year! It's been a while since my last post, so here's a short story that might be of interest: Russian carrier Aeroflot retired the Tupolev Tu-134 on Monday, December 31, with a flight from Kaliningrad to Moscow. The 14-strong fleet of 134's will be replaced by Airbus A319s and A320s, as well as the Sukhoi Russian Superjet-100 (starting in late 2008). It's too bad that the Soviet aircraft are being...

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