Thanks to the IAG Blog for pointing out this excellent article on JetBlue’s operational issues in February. We’ve all heard the customer stories repeated over and over again, but this piece takes a different view. This looks at the airline’s systems, how they weren’t able to cope with the problems, and what JetBlue is doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Hopefully this gives you some perspective on how difficult the situation was for everyone at the airline.  It also shows how hard everyone worked to fix the problem, even if it wasn’t readily apparent to customers stranded at the time.

I saw this Skybus press release announcing their aircraft advertising program today and knew I had to blog about it.

In short, they are going to sell advertising on any white space they can find. This includes the outside of the plane, overhead bins, tray tables, and restroom doors. Nationwide Insurance is the first to do the outside, but I’m going to be the first to do the inside. . . .

Looks good, huh? Hmm, maybe not. I can hear all those naysayers cringing about this “horrible” development (onboard advertising in general, not the picture of my face specifically), but I say . . . bring it. This is a great move for them.

Remember, Skybus is going to have ultra-low fares a la Ryanair. That means you could see fares for a buck or even less (just speculating here). The only way they can offer those low fares is if they can make money elsewhere. Advertising is one great way to do that. That’s how all those free websites, including mine, make money. (Side note: Remember to use those Google links at the bottom of this post if you are genuinely interested so I can start paying to advertise on Skybus.)

Generally all those people who say this is a horrible thing are the same people who complain that airfare is too expensive these days. Well, here’s your tradeoff. If you’re willing to stare at an ad for awhile, you too can fly for cheap.Most airlines aren’t going to match this, and they shouldn’t. The idea of paying for a better product in coach is something that hasn’t really happened on a large scale in some time. If you just want cheap, go ahead and shoehorn yourself into a tight seat and stare at ads all flight long. Buy a cup of water if you want, but don’t complain about it as long as you get there on time. If you want more, then you’ll have to pay more to fly on another airline that won’t put ads up.

It’s all about creating a value proposition that will appeal to different segments of travelers, and I think there is plenty of room for this type of the service at the bottom end of the pricing curve.

Let’s forget about airline meals for a moment (if you haven’t already), and let’s focus on one of the few remaining frills in air travel: the snack.

Back in the blissful days of yore, a plethora of protein-packed peanuts filled hungry stomachs from coast to coast. Many of them were deliciously roasted with honey. Mmmm.

But times have sadly changed. Many airlines have done away with the complimentary snack (as I discovered on American last week). The ones who continue have been crushed under the pressure of the peanut allergy lobby. They have failed to defend the mighty peanut and have instead opted for the carb-filled, completely unsatisfying mini-bag of pretzels.

The lone holdout has always been Southwest, the shining beacon of the pro-peanut movement. They continue to hand out bags of peanuts for all to enjoy. Their peanut leadership took a step back in 2005 when they stopped serving the honey-roasted kind due to higher costs. Fortunately, news is out today that the decision has been reversed. Today in the Sky reports that the honey-roasted peanut will return!

A thank you is in order for Southwest’s nut supplier. They have found a way to bring the cost of the honey-roasted nuts down the to levels of the dry-roasted ones. The airline will go back to its alternating schedule. In even-numbered years, dry-roasted nuts will be served. In odd-numbered years (starting in 2009), the honey roasted nuts will be back.

Let this be heard as a strong message to all other airlines. Honey-roasted peanuts are back. Now I know the arguments from the peanut allergy-sufferers.

“We can’t be around peanuts or we’ll die.”

Let the airline know in advance and they’ll create a peanut-free zone around you.

“But I can’t even be anywhere where peanuts may have been at some point in the past.”

How are you still alive? Peanuts are everywhere. Bring your EpiPen and hope for the best.

When most people think of a Delta airplane, they probably still think of the livery that was introduced back in 1959. Those colors adorned Delta’s aircraft for almost 40 years (38 to be exact), and they served the airline through many different phases.
According to Delta’s corporate history, the “widget” was introduced in 1959. I’m not sure if the familiar colors came about right away, but I know that by the early 1960′s, they were there. At the time, Delta was just a southern airline with grand plans. By the early 60′s they had started flights to the west coast but everything connected into their southern operation.

In 1972, Delta acquired Northeast, and that gave them a foothold in the northeastern US. This was a big change for the airline, but it did not prompt anyone to come up with a new color scheme.

In 1987, Delta again expanded by purchasing Western Airlines. This gave the airline a solid footing in the West with hubs in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Now a truly nationwide carrier, they still didn’t feel the need to change their colors.

Fast forward to 1991. Delta purchased Pan Am’s European route network and that made the airline a global player. Once again no change in colors was seen as necessary.

Now, we get to 1997. Management decides that they need a new, updated look. Well, Ron Allen’s ill-fated regime ended and a mere 3 years later, new management thought that the colors were too reminiscent of the old leadership. So, in 2000, they changed again. You can read the press release here to get some laughs. Some of my favorite quotes. . . .

Fred Reid, Delta’s CMO at the time (and now soon-to-be-former CEO of Virgin America), said that “Ultimately, we are evolving as an airline, and our look has to evolve with it.”

Design-agency Landor’s executive creative director Richard Ford said “Over recent years, Delta has been an airline in transition; it is now the top-performing major U.S. airline in customer service, and its visual identity and more colloquial brand name reflect the confidence they have in their future. The new identity is a strong visual statement that reinforces this leadership position within the airline industry.”

And from the press release text itself, “The refinement of the logo, along with simple, clean and solid typography, contributes to a more timeless image for Delta.”

Timeless? Um, guess not. Because now it’s time for another livery, even though the Landor quote is still exactly what Delta is trying to be today. That’s three new liveries in 10 years, and that’s if you don’t count Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Song, and some slight variations on the design over the years. So why now?

Well, they’re exiting bankruptcy, and they’ve decided that it’s time for another change. The old look isn’t fitting for the airline anymore and blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

The photos of the new livery have been making the rounds, and I first saw them at Holly Hegeman’s PlaneBuzz. Apparently, these pictures were taken of the model that’s being used for advertising purposes. That’s why I picked up shots of the other colors on models as well. (credit: Gemini Jets). Head over to PlaneBuzz to see a close-up of the new tail.

Do I like the colors? They’re fine. Not inspiring or anything like that, but to be honest, it doesn’t matter. It’s just another thing that will take the airline’s focus off of important matters in the first crucial months after bankruptcy. I fully understand the idea of updating a dated livery, but this is the third one in ten years.  If the same livery could take the airline from a small southern carrier to a global giant, I don’t see why they feel the need to allocate resourced to yet another one so soon.

For some crazy reason, Josh Marks, SVP Planning & Development for MAXjet, was willing to sit down (at his computer) and talk (email) with me about the latest news at the airline. I’m hoping this is the first of many chats I can post here, so I’ve even decided to create a logo for my new “Across the Aisle” series.

For those who don’t know MAXjet, I’ll let Josh explain it in his own words. The interview is below, and I have a few comments at the bottom. Take it away, Josh.

Josh: When MAXjet started all Business Class service between New York and London Stansted in 2005, we had a clear value proposition. We offered the perks of international Business Class (fast check-in and security clearance, spacious departure lounges, deep-recline leather seats, 60” seat pitch, on-demand entertainment and gourmet meals) at a flexible Economy fare. After establishing service in New York, we added flights from London Stansted to Washington and Las Vegas.

Cranky: You recently seasonally canceled your Washington DC flights. What as the impetus behind that move? Were the flights not performing well or was it due to opportunities elsewhere?

Josh: Washington is a great summer market but turned out to be quite seasonal. So we changed Dulles to seasonal service and we will be back this May.

Cranky: There have been rumors about high front line employee turnover. Is that something you’re seeing? If so, what do you attribute it to? Are you concerned about it?

Josh: Our voluntary turnover has been very low. We pay our pilots and flight attendants an annual salary and we don’t have a seniority system. It’s a different kind of environment with a unique appeal. We’re now opening a crew base in London and we’re excited about having international crews on board.

Cranky: The annual salary for the front line is a really interesting concept. How does that work? Is there a baseline number of hours they fly and then if they go over they get paid overtime?

Josh: Annual salaries work for crews when paired with a line-allocation concept called fair assignment. Essentially lines are assigned by computer to employees in order to maximize equality. Employees have some ability to express preferences. So the number of hours a given crew will fly in a month can vary, but we guarantee them a salary number regardless. In our system there’s no concept of overtime or baseline hours. Similarly, there’s no seniority system (since there’s no bidding for lines).

Cranky: How are the Las Vegas flights performing? Do you see additional opportunities for growth there?

Josh: We’ve been surprised by the mix of business and leisure travelers. People assume we draw business traffic, and we do – many take our flight to Vegas and connect on Southwest to points like San Diego, Orange County, Burbank, San Jose and Sacramento. But we also draw a lot of leisure traffic – not surprising given how many families want Business Class but aren’t willing to pay exorbitant published fares.

Cranky: Are there any plans to begin flying to new cities in the US? Which ones?

Josh: We’ll be announcing new markets shortly as we’re already overhauling our next two aircraft. We like the B767-200ER because it offers a unique combination of trip cost, widebody spaciousness and usable range. Stansted has a long runway so the aircraft is really limited only by fuel. With our payloads (100 passengers on a plane built for 250) we can top the tanks and that means markets like London to Los Angeles or San Francisco are within our capabilities. We’re finding in Las Vegas that the longer the haul, the more our value proposition increases.

Cranky: Have you considered flying to other European destinations from the US or are you focusing solely on Stansted for now?

Josh: We’re just looking at Stansted for coming years. Open Skies dramatically increases the routes we can serve out of Stansted. That said, if the right opportunity comes along, we’ll consider it.

Cranky: You still haven’t submitted financial data to the DOT for the first half of 2006. Why has that been delayed and can we expect to see it soon?

Josh: We filed the DOT data; however it’s clearly not showing. We are investigating what happened.

Cranky: Do you have statistics about on time performance and canceled flights that you can pass along?

Josh: We had some rough periods last year due to both aircraft and weather events. By redesigning our schedule and designating a spare aircraft, we’ve become one of the best operations across the Atlantic. In the past 60 days we’ve had one flight cancellation (weather-related) and more than 90% of our flights were within 30 minutes of schedule.

So there you have it. Thank you Josh for taking the time here. And now for a couple comments.

There have been a lot of rumblings about MAXjet’s reliability in the last few months, and a look at Skytrax passenger opinions clearly shows problems. What you will notice, though, is that there haven’t been any really bad reviews over there in well over a month. (No, I don’t count the complaint that the flight attendants weren’t smiling as a really bad review.) With only one cancellation and a 90% arrival rate within 30 minutes of schedule over the last 60 days, it sounds like they may have their ship in order now, and that is crucial.

From the sound of it, we could see some more longer haul markets in the future from Stansted. I wouldn’t be surprised to see West Coast markets pop up soon. Will they go for the big airports or maybe try for a place like San Jose instead of San Francisco? For their product, I think they need to go straight for the big ones.  San Jose might work because of the business base there, but a place like Ontario instead of LA probably would not.

I like the idea of west coast flights. As Josh mentions, people find more value in the product when the flight is longer. So even if there are fewer people traveling from the West Coast to London than from New York, a higher percentage of people flying those routes may be willing to pay up for the product.

It seems to me that the MAXjet model of business class at an economy fare has a lot of growth potential. That being said, there will be plenty of competitors, and MAXjet needs to make sure they keep their operation running smoothly. The more people pay, the more they expect.