The FAA has ordered the inspection of all wing slats on newer Boeing 737s based on findings about a fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan last week. Investigators have discovered that a bolt from a right wing slat had pierced the fuel tank. Thus, within 24 days, all US planes must have…
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…
Alaska Airlines opened a new reservations call center in Phoenix, replacing a facility in Tempe operated since 1989. It specializes in serving elite frequent fliers and Spanish-speaking customers. We are currently unaware where the facility for most customers is located. American Airlines will offer new service to Buenos Aires, Argentina from Chicago-O’Hare effective December 13th.…
Security officials at Cairo airport were horrified when the search of a 22-year old passenger’s carry-on revealed live snakes, baby crocodiles, and chameleons. Transporting live reptiles out of the country is illegal in Egypt and the animals were confiscated. The Saudi man claims he was unaware of the ban and was transporting the reptiles for…
Today in the Sky reports that, unannounced, Delta raised fees on August 1st. Same-day confirmed standby has doubled to $50, the direct booking fee has doubled to $20, their $50 change fee is now a $75 change fee. $75 is now also the charge for redepositing unused frequent-flier miles and for booking frequent flier tickets…
Northwest CEO Doug Steenland continues to apologize for Northwest’s flight cancellation. Northwest continues to blame the problem on pilots, however, instead of blaming their own practices. Northwest Airlines and the Airline Pilots Association confirmed an agreement on contract issues and work rules to help improve the problem, the agreement implements contractual changes on work rules…
China…land of a thousand aviation opportunities…and a lucrative destination to gain for an airline. The DOT is once again accepting bids for new service to China. We’ve put off talking about these developments…but it is time to review the candidates. American Airlines has applied to operate Chicago to Beijing service. They even have a website,…
In a late breaking news story, ABC news in Salt Lake City has reported that sources has reported that Delta will unveil new service from Salt Lake City to Paris. Paris, unlike London, the focus of planned Delta expansion in Europe, is the hub of Air France, a Delta Skyteam Partner, which would give it…
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…
The Ithaca Journal reports that Delta Airlines is cutting all service to Binghamton, New York. The county was informed that service would end September 6th, surprising airport officials. Boardings are up 43 percent so far this year and Delta had just started service to Kennedy Airport. Flights to Atlanta and Kennedy have been running mostly…
On the lighter side of travel…teacher Dave Barclay flew from Toronto, Canada to Cardiff, in Wales to attend a wedding, only to discover that the wedding was scheduled for next July. Barclay, who spent $1015 on his flight, commented that on the bright side, his error has assured him a mention in the speech next…
As we mentioned in previous posts, and now available in a press release from Jetblue…JetBlue, in Partnership With Twentieth Century Fox, was named ‘The Official Airline of Springfield’ in Celebration of The Simpsons Movie. In addition to Mr. Burn’s wresting control of Neeleman’s blog, the airline will unveil its first-ever specialty aircraft, christened “Woo-Hoo, JetBlue!”…
We don’t appreciate the media reporting airline delays as Flights from Hell. It seems too much hype as opposed to more useful reporting. Reuters comments that if airlines “want to ensure long-term survival, they say they have no choice but to restrain capacity, fill as many seats as possible and cut costs wherever they can.”…
Lufthansa announced it would begin nonstop service from Orlando to Frankfurt on October 30th, using an Airbus 330-300 aircraft in a three class configuration. The flight will operate from Tuesday through Sunday. American Airlines announced it will apply for the right to operate from Chicago O’Hare to Beijing effective March 25th, 2009. American had previously…
Amadeus has signed an international rail distribution agreement with Wandrian, a global rail specialist, to distribute rail content to travel agents outside Europe who want to book rail globally. Through the web-based Amadeus RailAgent, travel agents outside Europe will have online connectivity and tools enabling them to book global rail passes and point-to-point tickets for…
For the first time, this Roundup was written while our editor was sitting at an airport, awaiting a flight. Hmm…perhaps a story on Airport Wifi is in order? The Coalition for Luggage Security….don’t you love their press releases as much as we do? They reported(and we use the term lightly) on the 13th about a…
USA Today has a good article today about very unhappy United Airlines passengers. United’s customer satisfaction rating dropped more than any other big US carrier this year. Check out the horror stories here. We think it is depressing it takes USA Today investigating to get United to do right by these people… In a positive…
Easyjet is promoting its vision of a shorthaul aircraft that will generate half as much carbon dioxide and can be delivered by 2015. They are working with aircraft manufacturers to make their dream a reality. US Airways won’t be allowed to serve alcohol once again in New Mexico, after being refused an extension on its…
There’s a lot to catch up on… Qantas is expanding its flight schedule to the United States, effective March 2008, bringing total flights to 46 flights per week. The increased schedule includes daily service between Los Angeles and Brisbane effective March 27th; Increasing to 17 weekly flights between Los Angeles and Sydney, effective March 30th;…
Air Canada will introduce daily nonstop service from Vancouver to Yellowknife with seasonal service from December 1st through April with a 50-seat CRJ. Flights are timed to connect with service to Tokyo, Osaka, and points within British Columbia. Airtran launched service today from Portland, Maine to BWI. The first flight from BWI brought a delegation…
Friday marked the inauguration of seasonal service from Montreal to Rome on Air Canada…with connecting flights on Air One out of Rome to onward destinations. Air Canada Jazz launched two nonstops on Friday from Calgary to Prince George, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington, operating both with 50-seat CRJs… American Eagle has added a weekly flight…
Northwest has exited bankruptcy…its shares have started trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning. Unlike Delta, Northwest has kept a low-profile during bankruptcy and is moving forward with plans to eliminate its oldest and most costly planes now that it has exited. However, Northwest employees are less than happy with the situation…as new…
The organization that runs LAX Airport(LAWA) has lost the lawsuit brought against them by several airlines involving the increasing of maintenance and operation fees to airlines not under a long-term lease. The Cranky Flier has a great synopsis of the situation. “Sounds like they’re just trying to get the airlines in T1/T3/TBIT to cover some…
Final assembly of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner began today with a ceremony. The Dreamliner has 568 firm orders from 44 airlines, and is the fastest-selling new airplane in aviation history. The first 787 is due to roll off the assembly line on July 8th. Eos has increased its fleet to four 757-200ER aircraft in preparation…
Qatar Airways will be launching a national advertising campaign in the United States today, with service to New York on June 26th, and to Washington on July 19th. Continental Airlines will be moving up the start of Newark to Mumbai service to October 1st due to positive market response to the proposed flights. Aer Lingus…