August 19 2008
This is completely anecdotal, but a number of people have mentioned to me lately that they have rented a small car only to have the car rental company offer them an SUV for no additional fee when they get to the counter. My wife had this happen last night at Enterprise and when she balked about the extra gas, they said she only needed to return it half full (well done, Enterprise). I’m curious - has anyone else seen an increase in SUV upgrades?
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August 15 2008
(Via WSJ and Christopher Elliott)
On odd one: A woman who filmed an altercation between two other passengers during a JetBlue flight to Las Vegas was hauled off the plane in handcuffs when they arrived. It’s a long story (you can read it via the link), but in short, a passenger heard an argument breaking out among two other passengers, she filmed in on her video camera; for some reason JetBlue’s flight attendants kinda freaked about it and told her she had to delete the video. She refused. They told her that the captain demanded she delete the video (they were lying), and she refused. She was handcuffed by police when she got to Vegas and, after she was roughed up a bit, released. I’ll file this under I’m-Guessing-We-Don’t-Exactly-Know-the-Whole-Story.
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August 14 2008
I have no idea why I care at all about Joel Osteen’s wife being sued by a Continental flight attendant but, in good news for her, me, and you readers, Victoria Osteen was found not guilty, so you’ll never have to hear about this nonsense again (I know, this is probably the 3rd or 4th time I’ve written about this. I apologize. Really, I do).
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August 14 2008
Whenever there’s a story about Southwest Airlines’ much-publicized fuel hedging strategy, there are lots of questions about why other airlines don’t do it. The answer? It can be risky. The example? This Houston Chronicle report notes that Continental’s most recent fuel hedges have a price floor of about $121 - around $8 higher than the current market price. They have the option not to exercise those options, so it won’t be a concern, but it just shows that while Southwest’s strategy is obvious when it’s working, today’s volatile oil market shows why hedging, while wise, can also be quite risky.
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August 13 2008
That’s the question this Business Week column asks and the answer they conclude is (of course) that United should be broken up and sold. The reasons aren’t particularly compelling - in fact, it appears that the reasons given are:
1) The pilots aren’t happy;
2) One of the columnist’s co-workers had a delay last week.
I’m not sure if covering the airline industry brings out the worst in most reporters (the Dallas Morning News, the NY Times, and the WSJ excepted), but this is just another example of bandwagon jumping by a reporter who hasn’t really done his homework.
United may very well be in trouble - and God knows the forces in the industry are lined up against them. But every article that mentions removing pillows as a reason why airlines are falling apart are way, way off the mark. Charging for pillows (and sodas) are remedies for the problems they have - not the problems themselves. After all the hand-wringing and complaining about pillows passes, we’ll all realize that charging for stuff was a smart move. As Cranky Flier points out, charging for this stuff is a good thing. Free drinks and whatnot was a relic of the regulated system 30 years ago. Fares have dropped considerably since then without (until recently) any drop in amenities. After all this time, they’re starting to charge for food (which everyone used to complain about), drinks ($2? Get over it), and pillows (really…you slept better on a coach pillow?). I’m thinking it’s about time that the backlash to the backlash kicks in.
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August 12 2008
JP Morgan took a bold step and upgraded a number of airlines today, including US Airways, based on lower fuel expenses and better liquidity. I’d like to call out JP Morgan for the stand that they’re taking now that US Airways has moved from $1.75 a share to $9.50. I’m not sure why they hated it at $1.75 and loved it at $9.50, but thanks so much. Really helpful.
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August 12 2008
Pssst….wanna buy whatever the hell is left of MAXjet? Well, it looks like you can: the airline announced that its sale to NCA Sports (a charter company) has fallen through. No idea what you’ll get if you buy it, but I’m sure it’ll be a bargain.
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August 11 2008
Ryanair is taking a rather harsh stand against so-called Screenscraping Sites that search its site for fares. The airline now says that it will cancel the tickets of anyone who books through a third-party site that screenscrapes. As it would be rather difficult for you (the traveler) to know how a third-party site is accessing Ryanair’s fares, your best bet will be to just go to Ryanair’s website to buy tickets. This doesn’t affect most people - Ryanair says that less than 1% of its tickets are sold in this manner - but it’s rare to see an airline retaliate against consumers when they’re unhappy with 3rd party distribution (for example, American is now taking Kayak to court for how it displays their fares).
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August 08 2008
In yet another sign that the end may be near for Midwest, Northwest Airlines wrote off its $213 million investment in the carrier - a move that suggests Midwest actually may be worthless at this point. MIdwest also just announced declines in passenger traffic for July, a month when most airlines are seeing strong growth. Looks like we’re heading to a sad end for a once great little airline.
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August 08 2008
Well, that was just to get your attention - it was actually his press plane trailing his plane to Africa that was delayed. The Washington Post has a mildly amusing story about the press traveling with Clinton for a 4-day whirlwind trip through Africa and the delays suffered by all. Short version? 55 hour delay at Newark, an electrical fire, a replacement Boeing 707, and Ted Danson flying Ethiopian Airlines from Ethiopia to Rwanda. I don’t know why the site of Danson on that plane cracks me up. It also begs the question of what the hell he was doing there. I can’t answer that. Maybe a very special Becker.
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