How the SkyTeam Alliance Became a Rehab Center for Global Airlines – BNET Headwinds
SkyTeam has picked up some of the more questionable names in the airline world, but it might be a great strategy.

How the Southwest-AirTran Merger Creates a Labor Problem – BNET Headwinds
The Southwest-AirTran merger presents an interesting problem. What can Southwest offer to labor to make this merger interesting?

Delta’s ScottEVest Ad Rejection Turns into PR Blunder – BNET Headwinds
It’s just a vest, but the company owner is turning it into a David versus Goliath story. It doesn’t seem correct to me, but he’s winning the PR battle.

Antitrust Immunity Enables New British Airways, American Airlines, and Iberia Flights – BNET Headwinds
The joint venture between American, British Airways, and Iberia is now in effect, and the airlines are celebrating by launching new routes.

Antitrust Immunity Deals: How U.S. Airlines Avoid Foreign Ownership Restrictions – BNET Headwinds
My editor at BNET asked me why all these antitrust deals were happening in this industry. The answer? Foreign ownership rules.

It’s been way too long since we’ve had some good airplane porn here on Cranky, so I couldn’t resist when I saw British Airways put the airline’s last 757 into this stunning retro paint job.

I mean, seriously. Why would they ever change these colors? While I did also really like the next Landor-produced colors, it all went downhill with the whole “World Tails” thing. I think Maggie Thatcher said it best.

We fly the British flag, not these awful things.

Amen. BA got away from these and the Landor colors because it seemed too stuffy and British in their eyes. But that’s why we love BA (and Britain in general), right? It’s called character, and the old colors conveyed that well. While the newest colors have returned to flying the British flag, it no longer has that same regal look.

So why are they doing this? Well, BA was the launch customer for the 757 and put it into service way back in 1983 (in these colors). The airplane has served the airline well since then, but at the end of this month, the 757 will be retired for good with the airline. BA has been kind enough to give it the 757 a farewell tour.

This particular airplane, registered G-CPET, is a young pup, delivered in May 1998. It still has plenty of life and will find work elsewhere, but for now, the last flight with BA is scheduled for October 30. Enjoy it while it’s still flying around in these colors.

By now, you undoubtedly know that the United and Continental merger has officially closed and United Continental Holdings is now the parent company of both airlines. But that was actually the third most interesting story on Friday, and of those three, the merger actually has the least impact on you as a traveler. The other two, one involving American and the other Frontier, have the biggest immediate impact.

See, the merger closing means absolutely nothing for you as a passenger. Ok, maybe that’s not true. It did mark the start of free beer and wifi in United’s Red Carpet Clubs. Nothing else has happened to impact you yet. That’s all coming later, and I’m eagerly awaiting details on what will happen and when. But for now, it’s all a financial deal and that’s boring. Let’s talk about the other two.

Use BA miles on American Transatlantic Flights and Vice Versa
To paraphrase Vince Vaughn from his earlier, funnier days, British Airways and American are now all growns up. Friday marked the day that American AAdvantage members could earn and use miles on British Airways flights over the Atlantic.

To those who don’t fly American, this may sound insane. You United Mileage Plus members and Delta SkyMiles members have been able to do this with your European partners for years, but BA and American have always been a pain in the butt. They didn’t allow “earning and burning” on each other’s flights because they weren’t able to get antitrust immunity. Nothing like punishing your customers, but hey, that’s all behind us now, right?

And yes, I have proof this works. My parents had been waiting for the day to book a planned trip to Europe in March, and I called American first thing on Friday to put it on hold. The agents said they had been receiving a lot of calls, and they seemed pretty happy about that. I got the seats for my parents without any trouble. Happy day.

The reaction has been mixed in the mileage community, but as usual, I look to Gary Leff at View from the Wing for his opinions as an expert. There are some goodies in here for BA Executive Club members, but in general, this is a very welcome move (except for those pesky fuel surcharges).

Midwest is Finally Dead
It seems like such old news, but Friday also marked the official (in my mind) death of Midwest Airlines. Oh sure, it had been left for dead years ago, but up until Friday, you could still book a flight at midwestairlines.com on flights with the old YX code. On Friday, the switch was flipped and that was gone. This is all good news for travelers, and to celebrate, I’m bringing back an old favorite image.

I’m very happy about this one, because it means all reservations are on a single (Frontier) system now and there are no confusing crossover issues. I had all kinds of problems before with a Midwest record locator on a Frontier flight operated for Midwest or something like that.. It was just a mess. No more. Thank you.

This does not, however, mark the official end of the Midwest Airlines website. It’s still hanging around for Midwest Miles redemptions for now, but that’s about it. If you try to book a regular flight, it redirects you to frontierairlines.com.

I suppose it’s an appropriate end for Midwest. The airline had long ago been forgotten about by most people in the US, so the fact that its disappearance was overshadowed by other news is quite fitting. It is important to remember that the one thing most people remember about Midwest, the cookie, will continue to live on. So this is all good news, except for those people who used to work for the airline, I imagine.

The management team at British Airways must be doing their best impression of a manic depressive this week as they swing from great news to crappy news. The great news? The airline received final approval for antitrust immunity with American. The crappy news? The flight attendants have once again rejected BA’s offer. Unbelievable.

The flight attendant deal is actually the one that has me shaking my head the most. These guys are absolutely insane. After BA put out an improved final offer, it was thought that the deal might have had a chance. It didn’t even get close.

There are about 11,000 union members and not even half voted. In fact, only 5,105 voted, two-thirds of which voted no. You would think that a vote on a contract that has resulted in a lot of strikes and tons of losses for the airline would get a bit more turnout than a mere 50% That’s just downright pathetic. It’s even more surprising since there’s a good chance that these flight attendants will end up out of a job once this is all said and done. I’m not sure what the flight attendants think they’re going to get out of this, but they might want to consider the likelihood that the only thing they’ll get is a pink slip.

But let’s not focus on all the idiocy. Instead, let’s talk about the good news. British Airways and American found themselves leaders of a shiny new joint venture with antitrust immunity yesterday. After getting European Union approval earlier this week, the Department of Transportation gave its final blessing. It’s now a done deal. American and British Airways will be able to compete on equal footing with the Lufthansa/United-led Atlantic Plus Plus venture as well as the Delta/Air France/KLM deal. If those two groups are able to operate with antitrust immunity, so should the combined BA and AA-led venture.

So now we have a much strengthened oneworld alliance. This will ultimately mean that BA Executive Club members will be able to earn miles on American flights between the US and the UK. American AAdvantage members will be able to earn miles on British Airways flights between the UK and the US as well . . . assuming BA’s flight attendants don’t ground the airline again.

Damn, I just have to keep coming back to the negative, don’t I? The flight attendants aren’t likely to strike again until after the busy summer season, but that problem will be back.

If only BA could take medication to temper the problem.

Strong June Traffic Means It’s Time For Airlines to Raise Airfares — Cautiously – BNET
Continued strong traffic numbers mean airfares are going to continue on the march. But airlines need to be careful not to go too high. Huh?

US Airways Shows Stellar Operational Improvement, but Nobody Knows It – BNET
US Airways has really done wonders for its operation and that’s great, but nobody else knows about it. They need to work on that.

How JetBlue Tends To Its Brand – BNET
There was a good interview with JetBlue SVP Marty St George about how JetBlue focuses on its brand.

A road trip is a great way to tell a person’s story, as The Cranky Flier proves -Budget Travel
Sean over at Budget Travel had a great review of my newly-released book.

Why Allegiant Shuffles Airports in Ways Most Airlines Wouldn’t Dare – BNET
Allegiant is switching its Idaho Falls flights from LAX to Long Beach. Seems strange, but there is a method to the madness.

American, oneworld Step Closer to Legitimacy with EU Approvals – BNET
The EU has approved the American and BA joint venture along with the BA and Iberia merger.