Roundup

The Star Alliance has launched a Visit South Africa campaign to “promote travel to Southern Africa and underscore the wide choice of flight connections to the African continent provided by the Star Alliance member carriers to US and Canadian traveler.” They want to highlight how easy it is to plan your dream trip to Africa.…

Virgin America Gets Tentative Approval to Launch

Reuters reported yesterday that Virgin America will be able to win government approval to operate if they replace their chief executive and increase its independence from the Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. In December, the DOT ruled that Virgin America’s “close relationship with the U.K.-based Virgin Group indicates that the carrier is not under the actual…

Someone at Jetblue Thinks We’re Idiots

Last month, we ran a post summarizing Carl Howe’s thoughts on “The Difference Between Good and Bad Airlines” Howe thought that the defining characteristic of a good airline, or…to generalize, a good company is one whose employees are empowered and respond to problems. Today we received a comment from ‘Steve’ stating simply that…”Whoever wrote this…

Cranky Flier Shoots A380 Video

For those of you who want to feel like you were there…which alas we here at Flight Wisdom could not be….The Cranky Flier was present for the arrival of the LAX A380 earlier today. Click here to catch a look at his report… “It’s definitely not the best looking plane around, but man is it…

Airports that Can Handle the A380

Courtesy of Business Week, a list of airports that meet FAA standards for the A380. Anchorage Denver Dallas-Fort Worth New York-JFK Los Angeles(LAX) Orlando(MCO) Miami San Francisco Washington-Dulles Memphis(Cargo Only) Louisville(Cargo Only) Ontario, CA(Cargo Only)

Roundup

A passenger on a regional flight to Auckland, New Zealand from New Plymouth managed to bring a rifle onboard the flight. As reported, he was pulled aside only before he boarded another flight to Kerikeri. Skywest Airlines has apologized for forcing him to urinate into an air sickness bag on a flight from Boise to…

US Airways Still Has Thousands Stranded

The Associated Press reports that thousands of US Airways passengers are on their third day waiting to reach their destinations. Many passengers were diverted to the airlines’ hub in Charlotte and they were still, as of this evening, trying to find spaces for 100,000 passengers systemwide whose flights were grounded on Friday. Flights today were…

New Developments at Boeing

Boeing has started negotiations with airlines around the world over the future design of the popular 737 as it prepares to dominate that market. Boeing is already dominating the market for larger jets, exceeding rival Airbus’s orders. Airline input is essential in producing a new product that sells. Over six thousand 737s have been sold…

Imams Sue for Discrimination

We are not surprised that the Imams thrown off a flight last November are now suing for discrimination. While US Airways told them that they were banned, forcing them to take another airline home, they now claim that was a miscommunication and they are welcome back on the carrier. US Airways, however, stands behind its…

Daily News Roundup

TAM will start operating service from Sao Paulo to Cordoba, Argentina effective March 29th. Midwest Airlines will launch service from Milwaukee to Raleigh/Durham beginning June 1st. Also on that day, it will upgrade Milwaukee to BWI from 32 to 50 seat regional jets, and from Milwaukee to Des Moines…all service will now be on 32-seat…

EU-US Open Skies Updates

We’re very much in favor of Open Skies between the United States and the European Union. Despite the shortcomings of the plan, the overall benefits are distinctive. The Guardian reported that the United Kingdom would approve the deal despite the “American advantage.” Their concern now is that the valuable slots as London Heathrow might be…

Spirit Airlines Goes a Step Farther with the $9 Club

Spirit Airlines, along with its new bag policy, has opted to go a step further with its pay for everything platform. You can join the $9 Fare Club…which gives you… Guaranteed Exclusive Member-Only Low Fares(at least once every six weeks) On-site and e-mail access to deals Automatic enrollment in the “innovative” FREE SPIRIT frequent flyer…

FAQ about Controllable Irregularity

We keep an eye on David Neeleman’s blog to see what he has to say about things. He acknowledged that people have some issues with the term Controllable Irregularity and clarified them himself… What are some examples of Controllable Irregularities? “Controllable” means “within JetBlue’s control.” Some examples include: gate unavailability upon arrival; flight delay or…

The Coalition calls on Congress

Our friends at the Coalition for Luggage Security are always good for a bit of amusement. On Thursday, they commented on the security breach at Orlando, where airline employees were able to travel with drugs and weapons to San Juan. They are calling for Congressional Hearings. We don’t necessarilly disagree with them that the situation…

Labor may Mean Problems for Airline Management

American Airlines is setting aside money to pay its employees their first profit-sharing payments since 2001. This is subsequent to their ongoing labor issues. American avoided bankruptcy in the last decade through cost-cutting and concessions made by labor, and as the employees watch management receiving bonuses…they feel entitled to their fair share after the sacrifices…

Service Roundup

ATA will be adding service from Chicago-Midway to Oakland and Ontario, effective May 11th. ATA will also add service three times per week from Oakland to Kona, Hawaii effective June 14th. On June 15th, they will begin service four times weekly from Oakland to Lihui, Hawaii and daily nonstop service from Las Vegas to Maui,…

Service Roundup

Continental announced that it will launch daily flights from Newark to Mumbai beginning October 30th…subject to government approval. Continental has operated service to Delhi since 2005. The flights will be operated used 777-200 aircraft. Delta will add service from Ft. Lauderdale to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic(Eff. June 7th) and from Los Angeles to Belize City,…

Plane News

Boeing took the first step Friday in ending production of C-17 military cargo planes in 2009, by notifying suppliers it will no longer buy parts for the jet not under contract or firmly committed. Unless the U.S. or other government expresses interest in additional aircraft, Boeing will shut the production line. Embraer delivered the first…

Jetblue News of the Day

Jetblue can’t seem to stay out of the news. We’d love a good Northwest story right now. We’ve always admired them, and continue admire them even after this…but our patience wears thin. So…we’re going to consolidate them. This in no way belittles the seriousness of the situations. An accidental fuel spill at Kennedy Airport left…

Security Roundup

An Iraqi man wearing wires and concealing a magnet inside his rectum triggered a security scare at LAX yesterday. USA Today reported that he was carrying a “suspicious item.” We suppose the truth was too shocking…His bags, however, made it onboard and the US Airways plane bound for Philadelphia was diverted to Las Vegas where…