New York Snowstorm Sees Delta Start Canceling Earlier Than JetBlue, American – BNET
You may have been stranded but from an operational perspective, the airlines did pretty well at JFK during this major snowstorm.

US Airways and Continental See Different Fortunes with United at Washington/Dulles – BNET
As Continental ramps up Dulles, US Airways cuts back. Clearly they’re each seeing different opportunities with United.

Three Reasons Why Delta Slashed First Class Fares Between New York and the West Coast – BNET
Delta made some pretty steep cuts to First Class fares between New York and LA/SF last week. Here’s why I think they did it.

Airlines find coach travelers willing to pay extra for perks – Chicago Sun Times
This week, the Sun Times took on the issue of fees, and I was asked to comment.

Continental has announced that it is finally getting into the wifi game by installing wifi on its 757-300 fleet. That makes them the last major to announce wifi plans, and I think this move is interesting for a few reasons.

We all know that Delta and American are well into their wifi rollouts. United is doing a limited test on its p.s. fleet which flies between JFK and LA and San Francisco. And even US Airways has announced wifi plans for its A321 fleet. So what took Continental so long?

Remember, Continental opted for the LiveTV product on much of its fleet, including the 757-300. I was wondering if they were holding out for a LiveTV broadband option, but clearly that’s not the case. I assume this means they’re unsatisfied with LiveTV’s narrowband product (which offers email and a couple websites but that’s it) now that they have broadband coming into place. LiveTV must be watching closely.

It’s also interesting to me that they’ve chosen the 757-300 for wifi. It’s the 737s that tend to do most of the long haul domestic flying, so I would have thought that would have been a better fleet for this. Maybe the fact that this is a smaller fleet makes this a better test fleet in their eyes.

This to me also signals that the 737 will remain the airplane of choice for Hawai’i. There is no GoGo internet service over the water, so if they were planning on having these planes fly to Hawai’i, they probably wouldn’t bother installing this.

I always thought of the 757-300 as a Florida airplane. It can hold so many people that it actually can squeak out a living by carrying snowbirds down to the swamp for the winter, even on those cheap fares. But those aren’t the demographic that Continental would want to target with its wifi product. It’s the business travelers that benefit the most. So I find myself wondering what Continental is planning to do with this fleet.

Do they have something up their sleeve?

Reason Number 1,423 Why the Essential Air Service Program is a Huge Waste of Taxypayer Funds – BNET
Little Visalia, California is getting a ton of money to maintain air service that nobody uses. Great.

US Airways Pilots Oppose New York Slot Swap with Delta, Defy Logic – BNET
I roast the US Airways pilots for their decision to oppose the slot swap. It makes no sense.

best flying tip: arrive early – antibride.com
If you’re stressed about travels, the best thing you can do is arrive early. Just give yourself some extra time.

Airports in Boston and San Francisco Team Up with Twitter Promo – BNET
You don’t often see two airports getting together for promotional purposes, but that’s exactly what Boston and San Francisco are doing.

ExpressJet CEO Leaves for a Lesser Title at American – BNET
Looks like ExpressJet’s CEO has had enough of the regional biz, he’s heading to American to run maintenance. Hmm.

Airline Year Over Year Unit Revenue Changes Aren’t As Good as They Seem – BNET
Yes, the year-over-year comparisons are good, but that’s because things had fallen off a cliff last year. It’s not time to get excited just yet.

I suppose it’s inevitable. Any time two airlines move closer together, the speculation that it means they’ll merge picks up. Right now, the noise surrounding a United-Continental merger is deafening thanks to the announcement that elite members will now get upgrades on each airline. That doesn’t necessarily mean a merger is going to happen.

Let’s start with the actual news here. United fliers will be given access to “premium” seating (better seats) in coach as well as upgrades on Continental. Continental fliers will get access to Economy Plus and upgrades on United. This begins “mid-2010.”

As usual, Continental has done a far better job communicating this change to its customers than United. Sure, they put out a joint press release, but other than that, United has been much less active in getting the news out. Continental, on the other hand, had a full FAQ on its website regarding the upgrades immediately and it posted details on FlyerTalk for Continental Elites. (There is now a page on United.com as well, and I eventually heard back from United’s PR team.)

In short, United and Continental elites are now basically treated the same regardless of which airline they’re on. This is good news for top tier elites, but for the entry level guys, this is just a further devaluation. I think entry level elite status can basically be considered a way to avoid fees and that’s about it now.

When people are flying on United, this is how upgrades will clear:

1. United Global Services
2. United 1K
3. United Premier Executive
4. Continental Platinum Elite
5. Continental Gold Elite
6. United Premier
7. Continental Silver Elite

When people are flying on Continental, this is how upgrades will clear:

1. Continental Platinum Elite
2. United Global Services
3. United 1K
4. Continental Gold Elite
5. United Premier Executive
6. Continental Silver Elite
7. United Premier

So as you can see, the United Premier and Continental Silver elites will be very unhappy about this. The Continental Gold Elites may be pretty unhappy as well since they’ll be bumped on their own airline by top tier United fliers. But remember, where the United top tier fliers are, the Continental top tier fliers likely are not. It’s not like American and United are doing this and having people battle it out in Chicago for upgrades.

I guess we can now see why United started allowing domestic upgrades for free. They wanted to align with Continental to implement this program.

Does this mean that the airlines are going to merge? Beats me. I’m sure United management would love to get that payday, but I don’t know that they are willing to completely walk away as they’d need to do. In my eyes, if this is going to be a successful merger, United needs to become a Houston-based airline.

But I look at moves like this differently than most. When airlines align their offerings closer and closer, it makes the actual benefits of a merger less than before. Sure, it would take some complexity and cost out of the system, but for the customer benefit, a merger isn’t necessary.

That doesn’t mean we won’t see a merger, of course, but it doesn’t mean it’s a done deal either.

Cranky Concierge watches your back – Hartford Courant
More on Cranky Concierge. It’s picking up steam.

Delta Air Lines Rips Into International Association of Machinists – BNET
The IAM has postponed its representation efforts for Delta’s fleet service workers, and Delta is pissed.

United Seems to Be Closer to Buying New Aircraft – BNET
Word on the street is that United may finally pull the trigger and buy new planes. But what will they be?

getting your guests to your wedding for less – AntiBride.com
If you’re getting married, getting people out there can be pricey. Here are some tips for saving a little cash.

Therapy for delayed fliers – Houston Chronicle
A great article on using Cranky Concierge. Check it out and sign up!

Continental Airlines Revenues are 15 Percent Worse Than Last Year – BNET
October revenues are coming in, and the year-over-year comparisons look better but the numbers still look bad.

Ontario Airport’s High Costs Showcase Missed Opportunity – BNET
A followup on Ontario Airport’s high costs shows that too many employees making too much money are putting a big burden on the airport’s cost structure.

United Airlines Looks Toward Africa for Profits – BNET
United will start flying to Africa for the first time, and my guess is that it’s not because Africa is looking more interesting. It’s because the rest of the world is looking pretty bad.