easyJet's in-flight weddings won't be taking off

photo courtesy easyJetThose of you looking forward to getting married mid-air will have to wait; easyJet's request earlier this month to have its pilots be authorized to wed couples in flight was turned down. The Luton, UK-based low-cost airline, one of Europe's largest, claimed that it received many requests from couples seeking to tie the knot on board, and was aiming to be the first airline to offer in-flight weddings. But the Luton Borough Council...

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Virgin Atlantic posts profit, but can it last?

photo courtesy Virgin AtlanticOnly a few days after arch rival British Airways posted a record loss, Virgin Atlantic Airlines announced some surprising news this week: it made a profit for the 2009 fiscal year. Even more surprisingly, pre-tax profits doubled from £34.8 million to £68.4 million ($109.3 million). And to rub it in even more to British Airways, Virgin claims that the increase in profits came from an increase in premium passengers, a...

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Long-haul a loser for SAS

photo courtesy SASIntercontinental (or 'long-haul') routes account for 12.7% of sales at Scandinavian Airlines, but account for almost a whopping 50% of their losses, according to a boarding.no article. The recent economic downturn, which has seen a slump in business travelers, has only made a bad situation worse for SAS. "Half of our most recent quarterly deficit of one billion Swedish kronor [comes] from our inter-continental business," said CEO...

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After Skybus, there's JetAmerica

photo courtesy JetAmericaNo, this isn't the original JetAmerica Airlines, which operated a bunch of MD-80s out of Long Beach in the 1980s until it was bought by Alaska Airlines. This is a brand-new start up public charter carrier flying one wet-leased Boeing 737-800 from Miami Air International between cities like Lansing, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana from its base in Toledo, Ohio.Sound familiar? Well, Toledo is just halfway across the state...

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S7 Airlines to join oneworld alliance

photo courtesy S7Russian carrier S7 (formerly known as Siberian Airlines) has announced today that it will officially join the oneworld alliance next year. British Airways has 'sponsored' the airline, which is Russia's largest domestic airline and a large player on international routes, too. S7 recently switched to an all-Western built fleet (no more smoky Russian jets) and is quickly expanding. Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, released a boilerplate...

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Delta CEO: Goal of no layoffs

photo by sainzHere's an interesting paragraph from an article in yesterday's Atlanta Business Chronicle: Anderson credited employee for hard work despite an adverse economy, and said the carrier retains the goal of having no frontline layoffs. Delta and Northwest have offered buyout and early retirement packages to thousands over the past year, and officials have said 2,500 employees will leave the combined carrier after the busy summer travel season....

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British Airways posts record loss

photo by lrargerichBritish Airways today posted the largest loss since it was privatized in 1987, and CEO Willie Walsh warned that he sees "no signs of recovery anywhere." "I'm 30 years in this business and I've never seen anything like this. This is by far the biggest crisis the industry has ever faced," he told CNN. The airline halted its dividend and Walsh announced that he would work without pay in July: "This is no stunt. I want to make a contribution...

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Air France and Delta finalize joint venture

A Boeing 777 in Air France's new livery. Photo courtesy Air FranceAir France/KLM and Delta yesterday put the finishing touches on a $12 billion-a-year joint venture deal that would allow them to operate as a single carrier on North Atlantic routes. The pact extends a previous joint venture that KLM and Northwest have had since 1997. Air France merged with KLM in 2004, and Delta recently took over Northwest, allowing for a four-way alliance (all are...

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Southwest to begin Milwaukee service

photo by YoLoPeyThis morning, Southwest Airlines announced that it Milwaukee, Wisconsin would be the fourth addition to its route network this year, following Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York LaGuardia, and Boston. Apparently, Southwest has been adding these new destinations without adding any new aircraft to its fleet; instead, it's been trimming unpopular services and shuffling around resources. "As we have previously announced, we essentially slowed...

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Finnair - 40 years ago

On May 15, 1969, Finnair inaugurated service to New York with the DC-8, and in honor of the 40th anniversary, here are a few interesting pictures from the time period (courtesy the Finnair AV Department - click to enlarge).Finnair uniforms, newly designed in 1969.Finnair pilots in front of a DC-8.The Finnair 'space suit'.The interior of Finnair's Manhattan office.More uniforms.Flight attendants in yet another uniform design, at the door of a D...

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AA/BA alliance a "monster monopoly"?

photo by Jun SeitaVirgin Atlantic president Richard Branson has called upon the US Department of Transportation to reject a proposed alliance between American Airlines, British Airways and three other airlines, claiming that it would form a "monster monopoly" that would pose a serious threat to the survival of rival airlines and would mark the end of "red-hot competition."In an address to the National Press Club in Washington last week, Branson warned...

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Virgin America's top 10 requested cities

photo by Johnny VulkanVirgin America recently released a list of the ten cities that are most requested for new VA service. The survey is still up, so if you don't see your preferred route listed below, you can still vote.SFO- ChicagoSFO- HonoluluSFO- MiamiLAX- MiamiSFO- PortlandLAX- ChicagoSFO- PhoenixJFK- MiamiSFO- DenverLAX- Portland Many of these routes are currently flown only by a few legacy carriers. The San Francisco - Chicago and Los Angeles...

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Lufthansa's bmi takeover drama continues

photo by Ingy The WingyAlthough the takeover of British carrier bmi (formerly known as British Midland Airways) by German airline Lufthansa was approved on Thursday by European Union antitrust authorities, the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung yesterday reported that Lufthansa is backing out of the deal, apparently after taking a closer look at bmi's rather precarious financial situation and deciding that the price would be too high.bmi, which...

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UPS retiring DC-8

photo by So Cal MetroAnother aircraft retirement took place recently as UPS operated its final DC-8 flight into Louisville, KY Tuesday morning, receiving a 'water cannon salute' from fire trucks. Last month, UPS decided to accelerate the retirement of its 44-strong DC-8 fleet as a cost-cutting measure; originally, the planes were due to be phased out by 2013. Most of the airline's DC-8s were around 40 years old, and it will certainly sad to see the...

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Whatever happened to flying the friendly skies?

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles contributed by readers of The Airline Blog. If you have an airline-related article that you've written and would like to see it on The Airline Blog, please email it and it might be published! Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are of the author, and not necessarily those of The Airline Blog.Whatever Happened to Flying the Friendly Skies?by Sedef OnderI have a confession: I’m a frequent traveler. By choice. Even in these days of predictable flight delays, less predictable...

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Air New Zealand staff bare all for TV ad

A recent Air New Zealand advertisement has ANZ employees - including CEO Rob Fyfe - wearing body painted uniforms. It's part of the airline's campaign to differentiate itself against 'budget' airlines with 'miscellaneous' fees (i.e. drinks and checked bags) - ANZ claims that when it comes to fees, it has "nothing to hide."Edit: Sorry for the oversized video screen - I can't seem to figure out how to make it regular size. To view it without the text in front, just click on the "full screen" ic...

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Airbus slows A380 output

photo by NguyenDai Airbus unsurprisingly announced that it would lower the amount of A380 aircraft it produced this year to 14, down from 18. Originally, the company had planned to increase production this year compared with last (and still is expected to deliver 20 next year), but the weakened economy and recent scare over swine flu has had an impact on travel demand, causing airlines to defer/delay some aircraft deliveries. IATA has estimated that...

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AirTran's CEO says airline can remain profitable

photo by James WillamorRobert Fornaro, AirTran's CEO, was recently interviewed by the Associated Press. He mentioned how the airline had faced a troubling time last year when oil prices shot up. But in the first quarter of 2009, despite a weak economy and lowered travel demand, AirTran managed to post a profit. I'll post a clip from the interview at the end of this post, and more can be read in the original article, but here are some interesting...

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Canadian airlines create passenger bill of rights

photo by caribbCanadian carriers Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Transat, and WestJet have come up with new legally binding operating rules, or "airline tariffs," that give passengers more options if their flight is delayed or canceled. As part of the new set of rules, the four airlines must:Distribute meal vouchers for delays of four hours or longerLet passengers off the aircraft if the plane is delayed on the ground for more than 90 minutesPay...

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