Airlines Industry, Industry Stymies Airline Delay Guidelines
A federal task force is scheduled to vote Tuesday on recommendations a year in the making to help people cope with long delays aboard parked aircraft.
But none of the final recommendations up for approval requires airlines and airports to do anything. The tarmac task force, as it is informally known, couldn’t even agree on what a lengthy delay is.
Kate Hanni, a task force member and passenger rights advocate, said there is nothing enforceable in the draft document because the airline industry wanted it that way.
The 36-member task force was created last December after several incidents in which passengers were stuck for hours.
source : AP
Workers British Airways Airline Worldwide Will Support Cabin Crew Strike at British Airways
Unions representing airline workers around the world have plans in place to “take sympathetic action,” should cabin crew members go on strike at British Airways PLC, the International Transport Worker’s Federation said Thursday.
Unite, the cabin crew union, said Thursday it met with British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh in the hope of averting a walkout. The ITF said in a statement that all of its members remain “utterly committed to a hoped-for negotiated settlement” between the British Airlines carrier and its flight attendants’ union.
But aviation trade unions at British Airways destinations in the U.S., Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Norway, India, the Netherlands, Canada, Jordan and Argentina all have publicly declared that they are poised to take sympathy action on four strike days, set to begin Saturday.
The group said unions in other countries have similar plans, but haven’t made them public.
Gabriel Mocho, ITF Civil Aviation Section Secretary, said the unified plan comes “as a sign that this isn’t about the normal give-and-take of negotiation–instead, it appears to be an attempt by Willie Walsh to break the union.”
When negotiations with the cabin crew union reached an impasse this week, British Airways said it had signed on many other airlines to help maintain its flight schedule, should a strike occur.
All Nippon Airways Cooperation With Star Alliance to Add Service on International Flights at Haneda Airport, Tokyo
All Nippon Airways Co. is set to boost its international service amid a travel upturn in Asia by capitalizing on its Star Alliance partnerships, recent government aviation agreements and new slots at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Demand for international flights has grown in March and April, led by increasing travel to China, ANA President and Chief Executive Shinichiro Ito said in an interview.
“The worst is over,” said Mr. Ito, referring to the industry’s travails in the past couple of years due to the global downturn.
“It is vital how we can transform the growth in customer numbers to growth in income per customer,” he added, noting that income growth usually follows a pickup in passengers by several months.
ANA, Japan’s second largest airline by revenue, has said it expects a wider net loss for the fiscal year that ended Wednesday, due to sluggish customer demand.
It would be the carrier’s second straight year in the red.
Under a two-year business plan outlined two weeks ago, ANA aims to post a profit of five billon yen ($53.3 million) in the current fiscal year and a profit of 37 billion yen in the following year. The carrier has targeted cost cuts of 86 billion yen.
In the fiscal year through March 2012, ANA is looking to raise significantly the share of total revenue it derives from its international passenger business.
The carrier thinks it can do this as demand in China and other Asian countries grows, even as the domestic market remains sluggish.
ANA and its alliance partners, United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp., and Continental Airlines Inc., filed a request in December for antitrust immunity to expand their pact on U.S.-Japan routes. The move followed an “open skies” agreement between the two countries that will ease restrictions on cross-border flights.
Once the antitrust request is approved, the three airlines will team up to market routes offered jointly by the partners and will share revenue from the routes.
“Of course, we have to think about how to raise revenue from our own routes,” Mr. Ito said. “But we will also have to think about our partners as we share the revenue. This is a new stage.”
He expects the joint operations to start paying off next year, as the antitrust immunity should be approved by this autumn.
Meanwhile, ANA is studying how it might use new international flight slots that will be offered at Tokyo’s Haneda airport to increase flights between the U.S. West Coast and Asia.
The Japanese government will decide on the allocation of the slots among carriers by this summer, before the airport’s new, fourth runway becomes available for both morning and night use in October.
“If a plane arrives at Haneda at 6 a.m., can fly to countries like China with planes departing in the morning,” Mr. Ito said.
As part of its growth strategy in Asia, ANA may need a budget airline subsidiary.
But to run such a subsidiary in Japan, it would need a low-cost airport that operates around the clock.
Low-cost carriers usually economize by increasing the number of daily routes and flights per aircraft, and by using low-fee airports, such as in Singapore. But no such facility is on the horizon in Japan.
Mr. Ito said that if ANA can’t find a base for a budget airline in its home market, it may have to look elsewhere, in Hong Kong, perhaps.
As for the woes of its larger rival, Japan Airlines Corp., Mr. Ito said the restructuring process shouldn’t undermine fair competition in the industry.
Japan Airlines (JAL), which filed a bankruptcy protection in January, has been extended a government-backed lifeline of $10 billion.
Such taxpayer funds should be used only to maintain routes that the people in the country need, and not to fund investment in a new business or sales promotions such as discount air tickets, Mr. Ito said.
Under its restructuring plan, JAL plans to shed 14 international routes over the next three years. ANA may raise the number of its flights on those routes if demand warrants, Mr. Ito said.
source: wsj.com
Spirit Airlines to Use Aircraft Seat Unadjusted on New Airbus A320s
Customers traveling aboard Spirit Airlines’s new Airbus A320 aircraft are among the first to experience Brice Seating’s new pre-reclined B3100 Featherweight™ Super Light seat design.
The new leather seats with a greater recline built into the design offer comfort throughout the entire flight as you do not need to put the seat in a full upright position during take-off and landing. The new design also offers more space under the seat in front of you.
The lightweight seat means greater fuel efficiency, which is better for the environment and reduces costs. It is more than 30 percent lighter in weight than other seats. 178 seats on Spirit’s A320 weigh less than 145 seats on its A319.
Since the new seats are stationary, customers have also praised the fact that there is no longer interference from the seat in front of you moving up and down throughout the flight.
In addition, fewer moving mechanisms mean less maintenance and fewer delays. The sleek design and fewer parts also speeds up cabin security checks and lend themselves to more secure life vest storage that is easily accessible for customers.
“Our customers are thrilled to be traveling on new planes with new seats all while paying substantially lower fares than other airlines,” says Spirit’s Chief Marketing Officer Barry Biffle. “In addition to providing an even greater recline and more living space, the lightweight design substantially lowers our fuel consumption, which is one of our greatest operating costs. As a result, we can pass these cost savings along to our customers. Ultra low fares are what our customers have come to expect and what we continue to deliver.”
The new seats are made by Brice Seating, a U.S. company based in California. Jerry Lalone, Director of Sales for Brice, said, “The B3100 Featherweight is designed to provide greater comfort for passengers with less seat weight. The Brice seat’s unique 28″ pitch design actually affords more room for passengers and 20-25% more under-seat space than other 30″ pitch economy seats. The extra room, coupled with the fuel savings from less weight, make the B3100 a top pick for customer-oriented airlines.”
The new seats are being installed on Spirit’s new Airbus A320 aircraft. Spirit has taken delivery of two A320s this year with two more arriving in coming months. The new 178-seat A320 features 174 deluxe leather seats and four Big Front Seats.
The additional A320s mark a more than 11 percent increase in seats year-over-year for the upcoming summer high travel season. The first new A320 began regular daily non-stop service between Fort Lauderdale and Washington, D.C. on March 14, 2010. The second began regular daily non-stop service between Fort Lauderdale and LaGuardia on April 12, 2010.
Spirit’s all-Airbus fleet, one of the youngest and most fuel efficient in the United States with an average age of less than four years, now consists of 26 A319s, two A321s and two A320s.
Brazilian singer says he was subject to racist comments aboard American Airlines flight
An American Airlines flight attendant allegedly made racist comments toward a black Brazilian musician and federal police are investigating the case, authorities said Wednesday.
Singer Dudo Nobre told local media that he and his family were flying from New York to Rio de Janeiro on Monday when a flight attendant referred to him as a “monkey” and made gestures like the animal.
Nobre told the O Globo newspaper an argument ensued and that a traveling companion was injured by a pen being held by the flight attendant. He also said that his wife was verbally mistreated by another flight attendant.
A spokesman for the federal police in Rio de Janeiro said authorities are investigating the case but declined to provide details as to the nature of the inquiry or if any criminal charges could be filed. The spokesman declined to give his name, saying he was not authorized to discuss the case.
It was unclear if either of the flight attendants allegedly involved in the case were still in Brazil.
Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines, wrote in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that no official complaint had been made directly to the company and that the airline only learned of the alleged incident after it was reported by Brazilian media.
“American Airlines takes these allegations seriously, and is in the process of investigating in order to gather all the details,” Smith wrote.
It wasn’t immediately possible to contact Nobre.
