Cranky on the Web (November 1-5)

A380, Accidents/Incidents, BNET, Qantas, Southwest

How Southwest Measures the Success of “Bags Fly Free”BNET Headwinds
Last week at Media Day, Southwest got into survey details on how it measures success of Bags Fly Free.

Airline reviews: Find out if an airline is any goodBudget Travel
Sean over at Budget Travel asked me how to find if an airline is legit or not. Here’s my response.

Southwest: Why It’s Promoting No Change Fees and Its Web SiteBNET Headwinds
Now that Bags Fly Free is working, here’s what’s next. From Media Day, of course.

In the Trenches: The Stress of Exhibiting at a ConferenceIntuit Small Business Blog
I have started blogging about my experience as a small businessperson at the Intuit Small Business Blog. My first post was on exhibiting at a conference.

Election 2010: Airlines Lose Key Merger Opponent in the House with Oberstar DefeatBNET Headwinds
Rep Oberstar, the constant airline merger opponent, has lost in the race for re-election. That’s good and bad news for airlines.

Southwest Tells Airports to Keep Costs Under ControlBNET Headwinds
Airport costs are skyrocketing, and I asked Southwest about that during a one-on-one interview with EVP Bob Jordan. He said airports do need to keep costs under control.

Qantas Grounds A380s After Engine Failure: There’s More to This StoryBNET Headwinds
The big news at the end of the week was Qantas grounding the A380 fleet. There has to be more to this.

Qantas A380: A History of Problems With the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 EnginesBNET Headwinds
This isn’t the first problem with the Trent 900 engine on the A380. Not sure what’s related at this point, but it’s worth taking a look.

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4 comments on “Cranky on the Web (November 1-5)

  1. Nice coverage of the Trent 900 story, Cranky. Any idea how many hours of testing these things had, pre-launch?

    I have two flights in the next week on Singapore A380’s, which also run the Trents – should be fun (if I actually get on them).

    1. I don’t know how many hours of testing these things had, but I imagine it’s a very significant amount. These are obviously really complex machines, but with the 900 and 1000 having issues, there’s clearly something Rolls needs to review in its processes.

  2. At first I was going to say if WN charged say $5 for a checked bag they would still be way lower then other and still make a few bucks. But then I thought if they did that, then passengers would just think WN has bag fees also but not pay attention that it would be way less then the others. So having no fee clearly makes it point.
    ——-
    Didn’t the Qantas 747 the next day that lost an engine also have Rolls Royce engines? Why weren’t the 747’s grounded like the A380’s? It does sound more like there is another issue or QF doesn’t want to be the first airline to have a major A380 accident so they are playing it safe.

    1. Yes, the Qantas 747 lost an engine as well, but that was a regular inflight shutdown and not an uncontained failure. I imagine the 747 shutdown was simply a routine event and the problem was identifiable. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the A380, at least not immediately.

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