Airlines Passengers Took Plane’s Survival Into Own Hands
Despite extensive spending since 2001 on intelligence and counterterrorism programs, sophisticated airport scanners and elaborate watch lists, it was something simpler that averted disaster on a Christmas Day flight to Detroit: alert and courageous passengers and crew members.
During 19 hours of travel, aboard two flights across three continents, law enforcement officials said, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab bided his time. Then, just as Northwest Flight 253 finally began its final approach to Detroit around noon on Friday, he tried to ignite the incendiary powder mixture he had taped to his leg, they said.
There were popping sounds, smoke and a commotion as passengers cried out in alarm and tried to see what was happening.
And then history repeated itself. Just as occurred before Christmas in 2001 when Richard C. Reid tried to ignite the plastic explosives hidden in his shoe on a trans-Atlantic flight, fellow passengers jumped on Mr. Abdulmutallab, restraining the 23-year-old Nigerian. Crew members poured bottled water on the flames, snuffing out the sparks of what could have been a planewide conflagration.
That close call was followed by several tense hours as counterterrorism officials checked on other United States-bound flights to determine whether more planes were targets, as in the thwarted 2006 plot to smuggle liquid explosives aboard multiple flights leaving from the United Kingdom.
They found no immediate signs that other flights were in danger, officials said. They tightened airport security but did not elevate the nation’s overall threat level, which has been at orange since 2006.
Although transportation officials had not announced new security measures yet, Air Canada said the Transportation Security Agency would make significant changes to the way passengers are able to move about on aircraft. During the final hour of flight, customers will have to remain seated, will not be allowed access to carry-on baggage and cannot have personal belongings or other items on their laps, according to a notice on Air Canada’s Web site.
In effect, that means passengers on flights of about 90 minutes or less will not be able to get out of their seats, since they are not allowed to move about while an airplane is climbing to its cruising altitude.
Air Canada also told its United States bound customers that they would be limited to a single carry-on item and that they would be subjected to personal and baggage searches at security check points and in the gate area. It said this would result in significant delays, canceled flights and missed connections. Air Canada said it would waive the baggage fee for the first checked bag as a result of the new policy.
Dozens of investigators led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation were working Saturday to understand exactly how a passenger managed to get flammable powder and a syringe of chemicals aboard the flight and what the implications might be for air safety at a time of heavy holiday travel. Intelligence agencies were studying intercepted communications to see whether clues were missed and assess whether the airliner fire could presage more attacks.
In London, Scotland Yard was conducting searches of apartments around University College, where a university spokesman said a man they identified at Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had studied mechanical engineering from September 2005 to June 2008.
Mr. Abdulmutallab, who was sitting on the left side of the aircraft, may not have been trying to blow up the plane, but possibly intended to cause a fire to distract the cabin crew, cause passengers to panic and create a stampede for the exits as the plane was landing, a senior airline industry official who had been briefed on the situation said Saturday.
One passenger who was sitting in the same row as Mr. Abdulmutallab, but on the right side of the plane, apparently hurled himself across a middle row of four seats to tackle him. The passenger who hurtled across the aisle was Jasper Schuringa, a filmmaker from Amsterdam, a friend of Mr. Schuringa said Saturday. A senior airline executive said that flight attendants also jumped in.
Richard Griffith, 41, of Pontiac, Mich., said he had been sitting in the back of the plane when the commotion happened. Mr. Griffith praised the crew for its professionalism in averting the threat and a panic among passengers.
After landing, he said, he talked to the passenger who was sitting next to the suspect, in seat 19B. The passenger told him the suspect had done nothing during the flight other than get up once midflight to use the bathroom. Then, about 20 to 30 minutes before the incident, the suspect got up again, apparently to brush his teeth, he said.
US Airways Jumps 12 percent to Lead Airline Sector Higher
US Airways Group (LCC 8.50, +0.69, +8.84%) shares jumped almost 12% to $8.73 in early trading on Wednesday to lead a broad advance in the airline sector after J.P Morgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock. The NYSE Arca Airline Index rose 4.7% to 37.39 points and has now gained 11% since the beginning of the year. All 13 components in the benchmark were in positive territory, with AMR Corp. (AMR 7.54, +0.40, +5.53%) gaining 9% and Continental Airlines (CAL 21.18, +1.26, +6.33%) up more than 7%.
Air Travel Performing Study, Low-Cost Airlines Quality
Low-cost carriers topped the rankings of U.S. airlines for being on-time and uniting bags with passengers, while the big guys such as American Airlines brought up the rear, according to a new study of airline quality.
Overall airline performance continued a 5-year slide during the first half of this year, the researchers said in the study released Monday. But there were encouraging signs that the performance of the nation’s top 17 airlines might be improving, as on-time arrivals and customer complaint rates improved in early summer over last year’s levels.
The report’s authors said the airlines might continue to sharpen their on-time performance because the skies are less crowded. Carriers have been eliminating flights in a move designed to reduce costs and drive up ticket prices by creating seat shortages.
“Air travel will cost more, but if you can find a seat, it may be operating better,” said Dean Headley, a co-author of the report and a marketing professor at Wichita State University.
Headley said the dreaded holiday travel season — December is usually the worst month for airline performance — also could be better than expected.
The researchers said low-cost airlines led the rankings, trailed by the bigger legacy carriers that operate vast and complicated hub-and-spoke flight networks.
Hawaiian Airlines was rated best at being on-time, at 92 percent for the January-June period. AirTran Airways was tops at handling baggage, and Southwest Airlines Co. best in customer complaints, at one for every 300,000 customers. JetBlue Airways had the fewest denied boardings.
AMR Corp.’s American Airlines was the worst in on-time performance, at just 63.2 percent. UAL Corp.’s United Airlines had the highest rate of customer complaints, seven times more than Southwest.
AMR’s American Eagle, a feeder airline for American, was the worst baggage handler, mishandling luggage more than three times as often as AirTran.
Ratings by the Wichita State and Saint Louis University researchers were based on information compiled by the U.S. Transportation Department.
The academics’ report is one of several widely watched measures of airline quality. Last week, the Transportation Department reported that more flights arrived on time in September but that cancellations increased.
Airline Stocks Rise for Ninth Day, Longest Streak Since 1995
Airline stocks rallied for a ninth day, the longest streak since 1995, following forecasts from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. that the economic rebound will boost travel spending.
The AMEX Airline Index jumped 3.8 percent to 28.63 in New York, bringing its climb since Sept. 2 to 26 percent. The measure, which includes companies from Alaska Air Group Inc. to AMR Corp., has soared 125 percent since reaching a low on March 9.
JPMorgan analysts upgraded UAL Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. in a Sept. 10 report that said the industry’s revenue in the last two months has beaten estimates. Delta, the world’s largest carrier, increased its profit margin estimate yesterday as customers scooped up lowered fares for summer vacations.
Economic reports from U.S. retail sales to manufacturing in China have signaled that the global recession is easing. The Dow Jones Transportation Average climbed 0.3 percent today, extending an eight-day advance that has lifted the measure by 11 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“You’d be hard pressed to find anything more levered to an economic recovery than airlines,” said Blaze Tankersley, chief market strategist at Bay Crest Partners LLC in New York. “Business is resuming to a normalized state and that’s going to help airlines. We’re seeing the return of leisure and business travel.”
‘Buy’ Call
Bay Crest recommended investors buy stocks in the industry in an Aug. 27 note. The airline index has jumped 16 percent since then.
UAL, owner of United Airlines, has risen 55 percent since Sept. 2 for the biggest gain in the measure. JPMorgan boosted the Chicago-based carrier to “overweight” from “underweight.”
Delta is up 25 percent since Sept. 10, when the Atlanta- based company said it will have a positive operating margin of as much as 4 percent for the current quarter, higher than previously forecast.
FedEx Corp. has climbed 16 percent in the past eight days. The second-largest U.S. package-shipping company reported first- quarter profit on Sept. 11 that topped its forecast, a sign that shipping demand is starting to pick up.
European Transport Commission Wants “all-inclusive” Airline Tickets
The European Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, wants once in for all that all low cost airlines be required to show all-inclusive prices instead of tender prices which exclude additional fees and taxes.
The warning from the European Commission is unofficially aimed at the Irish airline, Ryanair, which advertises all of its flight with attractive prices. These prices though do not include administrative fees, £2 fee added in April to off-set the ash-cloud cancellations of 2010, other taxes and fees depending on the destination, the cost of paying by credit card and a mandatory £6 fee for checking-in online.
Nothing is ever as it appears with Ryanair. A one-way flight from London-Stockholm is advertised for £12 on their homepage but by the time you reach check-out, even if you opt out of all the extras like travel insurance, priority boarding, etc. the total is more than £20, almost double.
Siim Kallas is advocating for full price transparency so that consumers don’t feel cheated. Although this mainly concerns Ryanair, all airlines will have to follow suit. Apart from price transparency, airlines could also be banned from charging passengers extra to check-in online, carry luggage and even pay by credit card.
Until then, know that when you compare flight prices on liligo.com, the prices shown include all applicable taxes and fees for low cost airlines so there aren’t any surprises when you reach check-out. What you see is what you pay.
