Monthly Archives: November 2006

Southwest Releases New Schedule to Optimize Dallas Connections

Effective March 11 of next year, as they cover in their blog, Southwest will have implemented a large scale schedule change to take maximum advantage of through-ticketing opportunities from Dallas Love Field. The number of one-stop, same plane itineraries between Dallas and cities outside the Wright Amendment perimeter will increase to almost 100 every business…

Security Updates

The following updates are courtesy of Schneier on Security’s TSA Security Round-Up… An Alaska Airlines employee was apparently arrested on suspicion of being under the influence after a disagreement over a giant ball of rubber bands that he volunteered to surrender. The employee in question was subjected to random drug screenings and a ten year…

Spirit Airlines applies to serve South America

Today in the Sky reports that Spirit Airlines has filed an application with the DOT to serve Caracas, Venezuela from Ft. Lauderdale. It hopes to start selling tickets as soon as possible for an April 1st inauguration of service. Spirit serves multiple destinations in the Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale, but this would be its first…

Los Angeles Tries to Recruit an Airline for Palmdale Airport

As if the Los Angeles area does not have enough airports, Los Angeles officials approved a proposal to restart commercial service at Palmdale Regional Airport, hoping to recruit an airline to operate daily jet connections to a hub airport sometime next year. The airport, currently used by the Air Force, lost its last commercial service…

Newsbrief: Logan Opens New Runway

Logan Airport in Boston opened its sixth runway, a 5000 foot runway designated Runway 14/32 to be used for regional jets and other small planes. It is expected to reduce delays by twenty-five percent. Usage of the runway was planned to begin on Thanksgiving Day, but the winds were not favorable that day. The runway…

Travelocity Poll Reports Holiday Travel Satisfaction

In a press release today, Travelocity reported that their airport monitors surveyed a random sample of 1079 travelers at ten of the busiest airports in the United States. 73% of travelers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their experience going through security. Only 9% reported being unsatisfied or very unsatisfied. Only one in ten…

Boeing Sold Out of Planes

The New York Times reports that Boeing has turned down the request of Southwest to add 2 planes to its recent order of 80. Demand for Boeing aircraft is increasing, especially considering that Airbus has had problems with the A380 and the A350. Scott E. Carson, the new head of Boeing Commercial Aviation, has vowed…

Better Pack Your Deodorant

Reuters reports that a German court has rejected a man’s claim for compensation after he was ordered off a plane because others were offended by his smell. The man, a corporate lawyer, was returning with his wife from Hawaii via Los Angeles on a British Airways flight operated by American Airlines last year and missed…

Imams cry Islamophobia

Earlier this week, we reported on an incident with several Muslim imams…religious leaders…being denied boarding on a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix. Passengers, police, and flight crew continue to insist the group raised the security warning flags…that it was a combination of factors that caused them to remove the group. They were praying…

Survey Says….Phoenix?

Airtran today announced the airline will be offering new nonstop service between its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. Effective February 15, they will operate one daily nonstop, increasing to two a week later. On March 6th, a third flight will begin, with its return beginning the following day.…

Delta Recalling More Staff

Reuters reports Delta announced yesterday it will recall an additional 200 furloughed pilots for its international route expansion. This year, Delta recalled roughly 130 pilots, 900 maintenance workers, and 1200 flight attendants. It is also assembling a team to oversee a new hiring process if it has to hire new pilots next year.

Jetblue Launches Nonstop Service to Cancun

Jetblue launched its service from New York’s JFK Airport to Cancun this morning. Cancun is Jetblue’s eighth Caribbean destination. Serving Mexico expands Jetblue’s international destinations, all in the Caribbean or Atlantic area, and its service to sunny vacation spots. Vacation spots like those and the various Floridean destinations it operates can be very lucrative. Certainly…

South African Airways Announces Chicago Service

Beginning May 2007, South African Airways will operate direct service from Chicago-O’Hare Airport to Johnnanesburg, South Africa four times a week. The flight will make a short stop in Dakar, Senegal. South African Airways features the only nonstop service from the US to South Africa…a flight from Washington, adding to their longstanding direct service from…

Bombardier to Reconsider 110-seater aircraft

Pierre Beaudoin, president of Bombardier Aerospace, said the company, known for its Canadair Regional Jets, the Learjet, and its Q400 Next-Generation Turboprop, seat the company expects to decide by January 31st whether it will go ahead with a $2 billion project to develop its CSeries passenger jet. Last January, Beaudoin announced it would not develop…

Fake Boarding Pass Website Creator Goes Free

We opted not to report on the Fake Boarding Pass Website created by Indiana University student Christopher Soghoian. Soghoian’s website could generate Northwest Boarding Passes close enough to pass a visual inspection, but not a machine inspection. While Soghoian created the site to call attention to security issues originally raised by Bruce Schneier and other…