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 any problems, but the airline was nonetheless forced to cancel about 325 flights yesterday, with a few more following today.

Other airlines flying the MD-80 also reviewed their fleets as well: Allegiant Air said that it reviewed its 35 MD-80s without needed to cancel flights; a spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said that its 10-strong fleet of MD-80s operated "normally".

The checks come at a time when airlines are scrambling to comply with FAA audits and safety directives. Earlier in the month, the agency fined Southwest Airlines $10.2 million for flying 46 of its Boeing 737s without proper safety checks. American Eagle grounded 25 CRJs last week in order to double-check inspection papers on the hydraulic systems and rudders.

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American to spin off Eagle

photo by caribb

American Airlines announced today that it will be spinning off its regional carrier American Eagle. In a press release earlier today, parent company AMR said that the spin off, which is expected to be completed by 2008, "is in the best interests of AMR and its shareholders". American Eagle could be spun off to AMR shareholders or to a third party (or in yet another way).

AMR went on to say that the spin off will allow American to focus on its mainline operations but still have access to a "cost-competitive regional feed". However, this depends upon how the spin off proceeds - if Eagle gets sold in parts (i.e., if one airline were to take its operations at Miami, and another airline were to take its operations at Chicago), then this might be a bit problematic.

A possible explanation for the spin off (besides the official corporate explanation) that I've seen comes down to finances. American Eagle uses a capacity purchase agreement with American Airlines. Eagle only makes money if it can operate for less than American Airlines pays it. But if Eagle's costs go up compared to other, similar carriers, the cut that American Airlines gives Eagle might have to go up to. It might be that AMR is looking for lower-cost regional feed in the future.

Since the event was only announced today, there are certainly going to be a lot more details announced in the future - stay tuned.

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Forbes: America's Worst Airlines

photo courtesy of tizzie

Forbes magazine recently released a list of the country's "Worst Airlines", based upon flight delays, lost bags and cancellations. ASA came in worst, although Forbes noted that air traffic control is more likely to delay flights with fewer passengers, and because ASA flies smaller jets, they're more prone to being delayed. And weather was also a factor - several storms at Dallas affected American Eagle's performance, and Comair, which has a large presence in the Northeast, is also affected by severe weather. (Note that Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Air aren't listed on the 'worst 10' - in fact, they're near the top for on-time performance, mostly due to a lack of severe weather.)

1. Atlantic Southeast Airlines: On-time performance: 63.3% (worst), Baggage mishandling: 16.9 per 1,000 passengers (worst), Cancellations: 4.4% (second worst)
2. Comair: On-time performance: 66.6% (second worst), Baggage mishandling: 11.9 per 1,000 passengers (third), Cancellations: 5.4% (worst)
3. American Eagle: On-time performance: 69% (fourth worst), Baggage mishandling: 13.5 per 1,000 passengers (second), Cancellations: 4.4% (third)
4. Mesa Airlines: On-time performance: 72.5% (seventh worst), Baggage mishandling: 10.1 per 1,000 passengers (fourth), Cancellations: 2.7% (sixth)
5. ExpressJet Airlines: On-time performance: 73% (ninth worst), Baggage mishandling: 8.9 per 1,000 passengers (fifth), Cancellation rating: 3.4% (fourth)
6. US Airways: On-time performance: 68.3% (third worst), Baggage mishandling: 8.6 per 1,000 passengers (seventh), Cancellations: 1.9% (ninth)
7. American Airlines: On-time performance: 69.9% (fifth worst), Baggage mishandling: 5.8 per 1,000 passengers (11th), Cancellations: 2.0% (eighth)
8. United Airlines: On-time performance: 72.4% (sixth worst), Baggage mishandling: 5.4 per 1,000 passengers (12th), Cancellations: 2.1% (seventh)
9. Delta Airlines: On-time performance: 75% (fifth worst), Baggage mishandling: 6.6 per 1,000 passengers (eighth), Cancellations: 1.5% (13th)
10. Alaska Airlines: On-time performance: 72.8% (eighth worst), Baggage mishandling: 6.6 per 1,000 passengers (ninth), Cancellations: 1.2% (15th)

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