Southwest Airlines Suspends Flight Operation at New York LaGuardia and Long Island
Southwest Airlines has suspended its flight operations at New York LaGuardia and Long Island MacArthur as an intense “extratropical” storm pounds the East. The carrier says on its website that “we have suspended our afternoon and evening operations” at both airports today. Southwest adds that a “decision to resume our scheduled service is contingent upon the weather conditions and operational logistics.”
Southwest says its operations in Boston Logan and Providence also are being affected, though it continues to operate at both airports for the time being. However, the airline warns that “based on the forecasted weather conditions, there is a possibility that our flights could be disrupted (delayed, diverted, and/or cancelled)” at those airports.
Southwest is easing rebooking rules for passengers scheduled to fly to, from or through all four airports.
JetBlue also warns on its website that it has canceled flights to and from the hard-hit Northeast, though the carrier does not appear to have suspended operations altogether at any of its airports.
Continental, Delta and US Airways also have eased change-of-ticket fees for passengers affected by the storm. Each of the airlines operates a major hub in the path of the storm. The hubs are Newark Liberty (Continental), New York JFK (Delta) and Philadelphia (US Airways). Each carrier has a significant presence at numerous other airports in the region.
California-based low-cost carrier Virgin America also warned of potential operational problems at Boston, New York JFK and Washington Dulles.
Oil Prices Higher Make Trouble Airlines Industry
The rise and fall of the price of oil was the story for the airline industry for much of 2008, but as the year that brought big losses for many carriers drew to a close the erosion of demand for seats because of the recession was the main headline.
Airlines cut jobs, made dramatic reductions in capacity, sold aircraft, raised fares and imposed new fees for checked baggage and other once-free amenities to stem losses that were expected, by one estimate, to total $4 billion for the year.
Several carriers flirted with the idea of consolidation, but the only one to succeed was Delta Air Lines Inc., acquiring Northwest Airlines on Oct. 29 to create the world’s biggest carrier.
Despite all the maneuvering, investors had little reason to cheer during the year – the AMEX Airline Index fell about 30 percent in 2008. That compares to a 40 percent drop for the Dow Jones Total Market Index and a 39 percent drop for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
“The stocks got hammered as oil went up, and they have not recovered that much, though they have recovered some,” analyst Bob McAdoo said.
The price of a barrel of oil soared to a record high of $147 in July, causing a major cash crunch for airlines. Some small niche carriers folded or filed for bankruptcy. Even some big carriers were thought to be in danger of bankruptcy before oil prices dropped, plummeting to less than $40 a barrel in the final days of the year.
But, instead of rejoicing, airlines faced a new threat in the form of fewer people buying tickets as the global financial crisis took hold. Carriers also were weighed down by bad bets they made on the price of fuel when it was sky-high. After locking in prices that looked reasonable earlier in the year, some finished the year paying substantially more than market price for a portion of their fuel.
The news was bad for most airlines in 2008, though there were some winners.
One especially bright spot was Allegiant Air LLC. Las Vegas-based Allegiant focuses on flying travelers in small cities, including Fort Wayne, to leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. The carrier’s shares rose more than 51 percent for the year.
Southwest Airlines to Begin Flights To Newark Liberty
Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday it will boost its New York-area flying next year as part of a deal that also seeks to ease concerns from regulators about the proposed merger of UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc.
Dallas-based Southwest plans to lease take-off and landing slots at Newark Liberty International Airport from Continental, adding to its existing services in the region from New York LaGuardia and Islip on Long Island.
Southwest would lease slots to operate 18 daily round-trip flights at peak and off-peak times, which analysts said would likely be enough for high-frequency service to three yet-to-be-disclosed destinations. It would start some flights in March 2011, with a full schedule by next June.
Continental and United said in a joint statement that the plan was a fair solution to concerns raised by the Department of Justice about their proposed merger. The airlines have responded to a second request for information from regulators, and had previously said they were confident of closing a deal by year end. The Southwest plan is contingent on sealing a deal by Nov. 30.
Newark is the New York area’s largest hub and a stronghold of Continental, but rivals including Delta Air Lines Inc., AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and JetBlue Airways Corp. are seeking to buttress their presence in the country’s largest travel market.
Southwest has a limited presence at slot-restricted LaGuardia and successfully campaigned to block a planned transfer of slots at the airport involving Delta and US Airways Group Inc. Delta aimed to strengthen its position at LaGuardia while US Airways would have secured more access to Reagan National in Washington, D.C.
For Southwest, an enhanced New York presence fits its strategy of winning more premium business travelers. The country’s largest carrier of domestic passengers is revamping its frequent-flier program to secure more high-paying corporate accounts, as well as providing in-flight wireless service and credit card tie-ins, a key revenue source for the industry.
The airline, like other low-cost carriers, had reeled in growth plans over the past 18 months but continues to add back limited capacity to balance supply with recovering demand. Southwest had previously announced plans to add two new cities next year to expand its network to 71 destinations. It will also decide in December whether to order larger versions of the Boeing 737 that would suit more congested airports like Newark.
Source : WJS
Air New Zealand Crash in France Due to Pilot Error
French prosecutors said they would not press charges against anyone over a 2008 Air New Zealand crash after they received an investigators’ report that blamed pilot error.
The crew lost control of the Airbus A320 and crashed it — killing all seven people on board — as they tried to perform a low-speed test “in inappropriate conditions” off France’s Mediterranean coast, the prosecutors said.
They cited a report by experts appointed by a court in Perpignan, near the site of the November 27, 2008 crash.
The expert report, drawn up for a criminal investigation for manslaughter run by the prosecutor?s office, essentially agrees with air safety investigators who in their ongoing parallel probe have blamed human error.
The air-accident investigation bureau (BEA) said in its interim report based on black box data recorder readings that the plane stalled during a low-speed, low-altitude test manoeuvre as it was coming in to land at Perpignan airport.
The BEA’s final report into the accident is due to be delivered by the end of the year.
Air New Zealand said it was unable to comment on the findings until the final report is issued because of a confidentiality agreement under French law.
Five New Zealanders and two Germans were killed when the twin-engine plane they were testing plunged into the sea.
The plane had gone to France for tests and to be repainted in the colours of Air New Zealand before heading to Germany from where it was scheduled to leave for New Zealand.
The experts’ report presented in Perpignan largely matched the conclusions of the BEA interim report.
It said the plane should have been flying at an altitude of 5,200 metres (14,000 feet) in order to carry out the manoeuvre that led to its crash but was instead at 600 metres, prosecutor Domnique Alzeari told reporters in Perpignan.
That was too low to recover from the stall, he said.
The report spoke of “an inappropriate test, in unsuitable conditions, with a manoeuvre carried out in an unprepared manner, which made it all the more perilous,” said Alzeari.
He also said that faulty sensors essential for the plane’s computerised flying system might also be partly to blame for the crash.
Two of the three sensors were not working and thus the excessive pitching “could not be corrected by the electronic brain of the aircraft”, said the prosecutor.
He said the malfunctioning of the two monitors could be “linked to cleaning operations” on the plane the day before the crash but insisted that “the accident is not due to a maintenance or design problem of the aircraft”.
There was speculation after the crash that one or more of the plane’s sensors might have been painted over as the jet was repainted in Air New Zealand colours.
Alzeari said his office had no plans to indict anyone in the manslaughter investigation that had been opened in the wake of the crash.
He noted that families of the victims or other parties had three months in which to request alternative expert opinions on the causes of the crash.
An examining judge and lawyers for various parties involved will now study the experts’ report and any further expert opinion that may be submitted.
Built in 2005, the plane had been leased to German charter firm XL Airways since 2006.
It had been undergoing servicing at EAS Industries in Perpignan and had been flying test circuits before it crashed.
Aviation Workers In India Promise Strike Action Over Sackings
Workers at an Indian airline have pledged to take strike action to defend two colleagues who were sacked following their involvement with a newly formed pilots’ union.
Jet Airways pilots are to take indefinite strike action in India on 7 September if D Balaraman and Sam Thomas are not reinstated. Balaraman and Thomas are respectively the general secretary and joint secretary of the National Aviators’ Guild (NAG), which was set up in June and registered in July. Shortly after the NAG’s registration, the pilots received letters of dismissal, stating that their services were no longer required. It has been reported that management gave no reasons for the dismissals, nor did it follow proper legal procedures.
The NAG, a member of the ITF-affiliated Aviation Industry Employees’ Guild, represents 600 of the 750 Jet Airways pilots. This is the first time since the company’s establishment in 1993 that workers have been represented by a union.
In a letter dated 26 August, ITF general secretary David Cockroft warned Jet Airways’ chief executive officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer that the actions taken against the pilots were illegal. They contravened not just Indian law, but also international freedom of association conventions.
He said: “We consider this to be a highly provocative anti-union course of action” and demanded the immediate reinstatement of the workers.
Jet Airways is India’s third largest airline and currently operates a fleet of 84 aircraft.
