Grab Bag: Part 2 – Connecting the Dots, Collusion, Paris to Utah

By | August 23, 2007
  • Delta has officially announced their nonstop flight from Salt Lake City to Paris beginning June 2nd, 2008, with a Boeing 767-300ER. The flights will be operated in cooperation with Air France, and will offer over 200 destinations on either side beyond the flight’s endpoints on both carriers. The new route is also expected to offer up to five tons of cargo lift in each direction. From Paris, the top shipments will include cosmetics, fashion garments and wine, while Salt Lake City’s chief exports will be machine parts, computers and information technology equipment.
  • Midwest Airlines has added the option of purchasing via Paypal for online ticket purchases, joining an ever increasing number of airlines.
  • British Airways and Korean Air plead guilty to price fixing conspiracies and were each fined $300 million, one of the largest penalties ever imposed in a U.S. antitrust case and the first ever levied in a price-fixing investigation. Both airlines admitted to collusion with rivals on fares and cargo for the last few years. They were below the amount called for in federal guidelines, but the amounts were reduced due to their cooperation, which implicated other carriers. Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa agreed earlier to cooperate under a leniency program which allows them to avoid conviction. They must still pay restitution.
  • Jetblue continues to connect the dots of its cities with once daily Embraer 190 service from Burlington, VT to Orlando, FL. Service will begin January 10th, and will be Burlington’s only nonstop service to Florida.