Frontier Airlines New Owners Plan To Expand at Kansas City International Airport
Frontier Airlines emerged today from bankruptcy protection, providing a boost to its new owners’ plan to expand at Kansas City International Airport.
Denver-based Frontier is now a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which beat out a bid from Southwest Airlines Co. Republic also bought Midwest Airlines this summer.
Republic’s goal is to beef up service of both airlines at KCI. In particular Republic wants to bring Midwests’ service here back to levels similar to the first half of 2008, when the carrier had 31 flights to nearly 20 cities.
Frontier has five daily flights to Denver from KCI, and Midwest has 16 departures to several cities from Kansas City. A week ago, Midwest annnounced plans to start new seasonal, nonstop flights to Fort Myers, Fla. from mid December through mid April 2010.
Combining Republic, Midwest and Frontier work forces at KCI, total employment is near 300. More than half of the total work force is 155 pilots and flight attendants employed by Republic, the company said last month.
Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2008. It shrank while in bankruptcy and has been turning an operating profit for the past several months.
Nearly all of Frontier’s flights come or go from Denver.
Republic has said it will keep the Frontier name for its new subsidiary and there’s no change to its frequent-flier program, so passengers are unlikely to see any difference in the airline now that it’s out of Chapter 11 protection. Republic is looking for ways to make the operation more efficient, though, possibly including moving Frontier’s maintenance operation out of Denver.
“This is the end of a long, difficult journey and the beginning of a new, exciting one,” said Sean Menke, Frontier’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement picked up by Bloomberg News.
Full Party on Air New Zealand flights
Air NZ makes money from empty seats
Passengers on partly full Air New Zealand flights to the United States can guarantee an empty seat next to them – if they’re prepared to pay $75.
The airline’s novel way of making money out of empty seats during the long-haul travel slump has proved popular during a month-long trial.
Air New Zealand group general manager international airlines Ed Sims said it took the lottery out of whether or not passengers get an empty seat next to them.
Like other carriers, Air New Zealand has been hit with a steep fall in passenger numbers as a result of the financial crisis. The airline has been forced to lay off up to 200 staff.
“Necessity is the mother of invention. While we’ve got some empty seats we’d rather be making something out of that seat than nothing at all,” said Mr Sims.
The airline started the scheme just over a month ago on flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Up to 10 passengers a flight had opted for the extra seat which could be offered on more international routes, he said.
Passengers were offered the extra seat at check-in when flight numbers were finalised.
Mountain Lion Captured South Of Denver Airport
Colorado wildlife officers have tranquilized a mountain lion about six miles south of Denver International Airport on the eastern edge of the Denver area.
A man told the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department he saw the lion run into a storage shed Sunday morning. Deputies sealed off the area and called the Division of Wildlife.
The lion was a female about 18 months old and weighed about 65 pounds.
Wildlife officers planned to evaluate the lion, then tag her and release her in the mountains.
Airlines Waive Fees for Flights Affected by Hurricane Earl
Several major airlines are waiving change fees — and in some cases, price differences — for flights that are affected by Hurricane Earl, through Sept. 4. This morning, the Lede blog posted a graphic and a complete list, of the storm warnings and watches in effect on Friday morning. Here are the changes we’ve found. If you know of others, please let us know in the comments section below. As the weather progresses, check specific airline Web sites for changes.
AirTran
Airports affected: Asheville, Baltimore, Boston, New York La Guardia, Newport News, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, San Juan or Washington, D.C.
New travel dates: One day prior to or up to three days following the originally scheduled date of travel.
How to rebook: Itinerary changes can be made online.
American Airlines
Airports affected: Boston, Hartford, New York City, Newark, Norfolk or Philadelphia.
New travel dates: Depart by Sept. 10.
How to rebook: Call 800-433-7300.
Continental Airlines
Airports affected: San Juan, Antigua, St. Maarten, Norfolk, Richmond, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Asheville, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston or Providence.
New travel dates: Within one year from date of issue. For departures by Sept. 19, change fees and fare differences will be waived. For other dates, a difference in fare may apply.
How to rebook: Online or at an airport kiosk.
Delta
Airports affected: 21 destinations, from Bangor, Me., to Wilmington, N.C.
New travel dates: Depart by Sept. 11. If a flight is canceled or significantly delayed, Delta will issue a refund. The airline is not waiving price differences.
How to rebook: Online.
Frontier
Airports affected: Raleigh/Durham, Newport-News/Williamsburg, Philadelphia, New York La Guardia, Newark and Boston.
New travel dates: Reschedule by midnight on Sept. 4, travel by Sept. 18. If travel has not begun yet, the fare difference will not be waived.
How to rebook: 800-432-1359
JetBlue
Airports affected: Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, New York City, Newark, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Washington, D.C., White Plains, Nantucket and Bermuda.
New travel dates: Depart by Sept. 14.
How to rebook: Online.
Southwest
Airports affected: Boston, Long Island, Norfolk or Providence.
New travel dates: Within 14 days of the original date of travel.
How to rebook: 800-435-9792 or online.
Spirit Airlines
Airports affected: Boston
New travel dates: Depart by Sept. 30.
How to rebook: 800-772-7117
United Airlines
Airports affected: 21 destinations, from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Greensboro, S.C.
New travel dates: Many customers have already been rebooked on another flight.
How to rebook: If your flight hasn’t already been rescheduled, you can do so online.
US Airways
Airports affected: Hartford, New Haven, Augusta, Bangor, Bar Harbor, Portland, Boston, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Manchester, and Providence.
New travel dates: Seven days before or after the scheduled origination date. The airline is not waiving price differences.
How to rebook: 800-428-4322
Virgin America
Airports affected: Boston and New York.
New travel dates: Depart by Sept. 14.
How to rebook: 877-359-8474
Source : blogs.nytimes.com
Emirates Airlines warned Airbus Not Postpone Delivery of A350
Emirates Airlines has issued a strong warning to Airbus not to delay the introduction of the A350.
“We have clearly told Airbus that we will not accept again what they did to us with the A380,” Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark told The Daily at the ITB tourism exchange in Berlin. He pointed out that unlike in the case of the A380 – which was two years late – Emirates Airlines has alternatives to buy elsewhere: “All I have to do is pick up the phone and order more Boeing 777s,” Clark stressed. He showed concerns that the schedule could already begin to slip. “We have told Airbus numerous times that in our view they should build in more margin in terms of time and performance parameters, but they wanted to have it their way. Now they are already eating into margins,” Clark criticized.
Emirates Airlines has plans to retire 58 aircraft in the coming years, among them the A330-200s, A340-300s and the early 777-300s and 777-200s. If the A350 was significantly delayed, those aircraft would have to be kept longer. They would then well exceed Emirates Airlines’ usual aircraft retirement age which is at around 10 years. The airline received its first 777s in the mid-1990s.
Clark stressed that Emirates Airlines still has a keen interest in the larger version of the A380, the A380-900. According to the airline’s calculations, it could operate the aircraft in a 647-seat, three-class configuration. With a range of around 4,500 naut. mi., the A380-900 would typically operate eight-hour sectors and could thus mainly be used for destinations in Europe and Asia up to Beijing, but not Tokyo. Clark believes Emirates Airlines could accommodate up to 20 A380-900s and would immediately order the aircraft if Airbus was prepared to build it and Dubai airport can handle the additional aircaft. Emirates Airlines is already the biggest A380 customer with 58 on firm order. It has eight flying and will receive seven more this year.
