We’re catching up on our backlog of exciting news…While we do that…why don’t you head over to our new spinoff, Infrequent Flier, for a bit of sage advice…namely Don’t Book with Cheapoair.
- Cathay Pacific announced a third daily flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Hong Kong to begin November 15th. Currently, they operate one nonstop, and a one-stop via Vancouver. The new flight will be nonstop.
- Jetblue has added a Bill Me Later option to their website. Bill Me Later is a payment method that allows customers to get credit approval for travel purchase within seconds using basic information.
- Spirit Airlines announced nonstop Saturday service to Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba beginning November 10th from its Ft. Lauderdale hub.
- American Eagle will be flying from Flint, Michigan to New York’s LaGuardia Airport(The press release calls it LaGuardia International Airport…International it is not) effective November 4th. Service will be once daily using 37-seat Embraer 135 regional jets. Flint is already served by American four times daily to Chicago-O’Hare and twice daily service to Dallas/Ft. Worth begins September 5th.
- Delta Airlines will be serving newly upgraded Santa Fe Airport effective December 10th. Delta Connection partner Expressjet will operate its 50-seat Embraer 145 regional jets in twice daily service to Salt Lake City, and once daily to Los Angeles.
- The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the New York area airports, approved plans to erect barricades for terminals after last month’s car crash at Glasgow airport. The first will be installed at Terminal B at Newark and one terminal at LaGuardia Airport by the end of the year. The barricades will be at least three feet high and gaps would be wide enough for passengers and luggage.
- Icelandair will be adding winter serrvice to its service to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2008. The service is currently seasonal and will run through September 24th and resume in May. Icelandair will also expand to Toronto in May with service five or more times a week and is considering additional service under the new Open Skies agreement between Canada and Iceland.
- Jetblue launched service Friday from Salt Lake City to San Francisco(Twice daily) and San Diego(Once daily) using its A320 aircraft.
- Jetblue is also being sued by a man who claims he was fired after he told then CEO David Neeleman he was an observant Jew and thus couldn’t work on Saturdays. Joseph Bunick claims he applied for a job in 2005, told the recruiters about his needs, and was told it would not be a problem, and during training, repeatedly advised he could not do so. Things changed, allegedly, when he met Neeleman, and mentioned it to him, the reaction was negative. While Bunick still attended training, he was now advised he could not work there if he did not work on Saturdays. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission could not substantiate his claim and dismissed the charge, and now he is suing the company…which denies the charge.
More to come…and remember…if you want us to report on an issue in the industry or ask us a question…we welcome your comments.