July Premium Traffic Shows Gains – BNET
It’s premium traffic monitor time again, and traffic is still in the tank. But it’s not quite as bad, so that’s good.

Delta’s SkyClub Promotion Slightly Misses the Mark – BNET
Delta offered club access to some elite members for a day. Good idea, not great execution.

Guest Posts From My Favourite Bloggers : Brett Snyder – The Cranky Flier – Flying with Fish blog
I wrote a guest post for Fish about the recently announced V Australia/Emirates codeshare.

US Airways and Delta Raise More Money – BNET
Airlines are raising money left and right these days. Might as well do it while they can.

United Goes Back Into Mini-Expansion Mode Domestically – BNET
Don’t look now, but United has started adding new flights and new cities once again. That’s always encouraging, though I do wonder about some of these.

Virgin America’s Improved Second Quarter Performance Details – BNET
Now that the government data is out, we can take a look at Virgin America’s performance in greater detail. Not too bad, but there’s still work to do.

Last week, I had the chance to chat with Patrick Brannelly, Emirates VP Passenger Communications and Visual Services. The topic? Onboard mobile phone use. This should spark some pretty interesting debate.

Patrick was very encouraged by what he’s seeing on Emirates so far, and he thinks much of the anti-phone hype is just that . . . hype. Does that mean that the rest of the world should adopt it? It’s obviously quite a complicated subject, but I must admit that seeing how it’s being used in real life makes me less averse to the idea in general.

You can decide for yourself.

Cranky: Hi Patrick, thanks for taking the time to talk with me about mobile phone usage onboard today. I understand that you’re seeing some very good response to the program.

Patrick: Yes, we are. We now have it on 37 or 38 aircraft and we launched it over a year ago. We’re seeing about 35% of people switch their phones on – sometimes as high as 65% of known passengers. These are people who switch their phones on. Some who switch it on can’t roam or don’t have roaming agreements, so not all can use it. In the last year since we launched, over a quarter of a million people switched a phone on on an Emirates flight. We’ve never had a single complaint. People like to message. There’s been a lot of use of SMS.

Cranky: What aircraft types are those 37 or 38 aircraft?

Patrick: The Aeromobile system is on a number of aircraft types – the A330, A340-300, and also the 777s. I believe it’s on 5 aircraft types and we’re installing about one a week.

Cranky: Will it be on the entire fleet?

Patrick: That’s the plan. We have seen some complaints of people not being able to use their mobile phone on the plane, so we want to make sure they have the service.

Cranky: But you say you haven’t seen any complaints from passengers about people using their phones?

Patrick: No. I think it’s a little bit of journalistic hysteria. Nobody likes to be sitting next to someone who is jabbering away, but there are a lot of natural self limiters to prevent that.

1. It is roaming. People speak less when the price is a little bit higher. These calls are still via satellite so it does cost more.




2. At any time on a long haul aircraft, roughly about one third of the people you’re trying to call are asleep. We are seeing almost zero calls on night flights.




3. It is only allowed five calls on an aircraft at a time. I heard a US Senator or someone say he didn’t want to hear 100 calls on a plane at the same time. That wouldn’t happen; it’s impossible right now.




4. We have TVs on every seat, so passengers are watching programs with their headphones on and not listening to phone conversations.

Cranky: Are you seeing certain geographic areas getting more usage than others?

Patrick: Asia is turning out to have a lot more text messages as a percentage. If you go to Asia, a place like Japan, the use of a phone in a public place is very persona non grata. They like to text.

Cranky: But are there certain flights where you’re seeing more usage than others?

Patrick: Oddly enough, we’re seeing a lot of voice traffic before you get into countries that are more expensive to roam into. People are trying to make the call before they land. But one thing to note, even on the most heavy use flight, we’ve only seen three concurrent calls at one time. We rarely see two concurrent calls, but we do.

Cranky: Really? So you’ve never even hit the limit. Interesting. What about specifically on flights to the US? What has usage looked like?

Patrick: I don’t believe we have actually flown the system to the US. The reason for that is that the US is served with very specific aircraft types. None of the 777LR or A380s have that yet.

Cranky: But you could use it on US flights if you wanted to, right?

Patrick: It would be switched off on US flights. Even if we wanted to use it over the US, it would have to be disabled because the US uses a different system. It can’t be used without additional equipment and we haven’t installed that.

Cranky: But you could use it for the rest of the flight that isn’t over US airspace?

Patrick: Well, we could for part of it, but it doesn’t work above 82 degrees latitude, over the poles where some of our US flights go. We would like to be able to use it to and from flights from America but there has been talk that it may be prohibited, but we’ll resist that.

Patrick: One thing that’s being missed here is why has Emirates done this. We’ve had phones on the seatbacks and they have been used over the years. We see sometimes 40 to 50 phone calls on a flight to New York and never a single complaint. What this is about is more convenience. Passengers know the numbers, they can get billed to their phone and it might be cheaper than using the seatback phone. It’s about freedom. They have the freedom to choose more things. Some people will speak on the phone and speak loudly, but they’ll do that today on a seatback phone.

Cranky: Do you think this will work on flights anywhere on any airline or do you think it’s success is specific to Emirates which flies longer haul flights to countries that may have more expensive calling agreements?

Patrick: I think over time it’s bound to come down in price. Even if it stays at the same price, it’s deflationary. That’s given us tremendous freedom. I think this will work on any flight. People don’t just speak on their phones; they text, they email, they download applications on their iPhone, etc. This is all about allowing people to live normally when they’re traveling anywhere.

One of the most important things is if you’re traveling in an emergency – maybe you’re traveling with someone who is not very well – you’re on a 7 hour flight and you’re stressing about that. Having the freedom to diffuse the situation and calm you down is very important. It’s almost a human right. You should be able to communicate.

Cranky: Wait, did you say you can download applications? Do you have internet access via phones now or is it just voice and text?

Patrick: At the moment, it’s SMS and voice. We need to upgrade some of the other avionics on the aircraft, and very soon we’ll be offering GPRS data. I have GPRS data on my BlackBerry, and I can surf the internet. I can’t watch YouTube, but it keeps me in touch. I know what’s going on in the world. We’ll have that working on some planes within a year. Whether or not you can download an app, I’m not really sure.

You should be connected at the airport, you should be getting wi-fi for free, like airlines like JetBlue give. This is what it’s all about. In the future, people will be 100% connected 20 years from now. This is just about what happens in between.

Cranky: So what about onboard internet. Are you looking at putting a system onboard?

Patrick: There are a number of solutions out there. In terrestrial America, you have the GoGo product which has been well received. But you need to have a lot on the ground and that’s not possible over water or probably in Europe. We want them to have free, or very cheap, we want them to have free internet. It has to be easy to use. You don’t have to swipe credit cards and all that stuff. I don’t think travelers are prepared to pay $24 for a two hour session. We’ve done things like free wi-fi in lounges worldwide. People say, “you could make money, you could charge with this,” but that rubs us the wrong way. This is a service.

Cranky: Back to onboard mobile, let’s talk details of how this works. Do you or does Aeromobile (the mobile provider onboard) charge a fee for use or is it just what the networks charge?

Patrick: The way it works – it’s just like another country. Aeromobile has roaming agreements with about 150 operators worldwide – there are 900 total – and that determines how much the phone company is charged. The phone company can charge the customer whatever they want. We know one phone company that’s charging less than they’re paying and another that’s charging a 300% markup. Check with your operator. If you get ripped off, you’re likely to change service providers. Emirates are not in this. We will not make profit out of this. This is a service and we are not interested in making a profit out of it.

Cranky: So then you get one bill from your mobile phone provider at the end. But do you know if Aeromobile has agreements with US carriers?

Patrick: I don’t believe they have agreements with the major US carriers. [Further research found that no US carriers currently have an agreement with Aeromobile. I understand that Aeromobile simply isn't prioritizing US carriers because this doesn't operate on US flights, but they will get there eventually. Apparently, there is some demand. More than 400 US carrier subscribers tried to turn on their phone last month.]

Cranky: Great, thanks for taking the time to chat, Patrick.

You know that scene in American Pie where Jim wakes up after losing his virginity to the girl from band camp and exclaims giddily, “I was used. Cool!”? Well, that’s sort of how I felt yesterday morning when I woke up to see USA Today’s interview with JetBlue CEO Dave Barger admitting that his talking to me about the Long Beach situation was not inadvertent. In this case, being used is a good thing, and I’d say other airlines should be taking notes. Let me explain.

The interview (which was very complimentary toward my blog – thanks, Dave) shows that JetBlue takes blogs and other new media outlets very seriously.

My sense is that really – not just in America – but the world there’s what’s known as mainstream media. But, new social media, it’s there. It’s real-time.

I think when there was a challenge to the blog – not my comment, but somebody else’s regarding (blog author Snyder’s credibility as) a “professional” – I think that’s a very, very harsh comment. I mean it’s (The Cranky Flier) real.

And you know what? That’s smart. Look what it’s done for them in Long Beach. They have put the issue of terminal improvements back on the front burner. But this isn’t about just saying something to a blogger and hoping it gets picked up. There’s a lot more to it than that.

I have had a good relationship with JetBlue’s PR team ever since I reached out to them with a question when I was just a fledgling blogger a couple years back. They’ve always been quick to respond with helpful information, something that isn’t always easy to find from other airlines. For JetBlue, it’s even bigger than just responding to blogs. They’ve extended their influence to a much broader area by responding quickly with Twitter to anyone out there who needs information. And responding quickly helps them to shape the story.

Now this doesn’t mean that everything I write about them is rosy. Far from it. I went through my past posts and I’ve actually given them two Cranky Jackass awards (one, two) and almost given them a third. And let’s not get started on the whole “controllable irregularities” issue or the early customer bill of rights stuff. But their willingness to engage quickly undoubtedly helps them to avoid some of the bad press that might otherwise come their way.

For example, when I flew them last weekend up to the Bay Area (trip report coming eventually), I sent a couple tweets about the TVs not working. I received a direct message back quickly asking about it and requesting that I follow up with them if I haven’t received any compensation for the problem. It’s a brilliant use of new media to further their cause. Not only have they placated me as a traveler, but they’ve turned a potential ugly piece of my trip report into a positive outcome.

Of course, they aren’t the only ones to do this. Southwest does an excellent job as well. They were probably the first to understand the importance of quick response in a world where there are no old media-style deadlines. Things get published to the rest of the internet as soon as they’re ready to go. The sooner you can give good information, the better chance you have to shape the discussion.

More and more airlines are starting to involve themselves with new media, but I’m not convinced that many of them know what they’re doing. I don’t need a bunch of tweets about a new fare sale to Zimbabwe, but I do need fast answers to questions and good access to the people who have those answers.

For all those airlines who still don’t think embracing new media is a good thing, well, there’s not much I can say to you except you should pull your heads out of your asses. But for those who are still trying to figure out the right way to embrace new media, let me offer some tips.

• Respond quickly – There are no deadlines in the world of new media. If someone sends you a note with a question, respond as fast as you can because that post will go up whether they have your comment or not. Even if you don’t have the info, write back to say you’re looking for it and they will likely wait. Of course, you can’t respond to everyone out there so . . . .




• Find the influencers – There are a million blogs out there and a lot of them are terrible. So you need to figure out which ones are actually influencers and focus on them. Influencers are those that are well-respected and have the ability to touch a lot of people. You’ll want to be most responsive to those you see as influencers. And remember, the list will change over time. But even beyond the influencers, there’s more you can do . . . .




• Use Twitter for good – I fully admit that I hate Twitter. I just can’t figure out how to use it to my liking, but customer service businesses that can benefit from offering real-time solutions to problems should be all over this tool. JetBlue and Southwest may have been early adopters, but others are catching on. Even United has started to use this to help people, and they’re slowly finding their groove. This is a great way to reach beyond the influencers to have a much broader impact, yet in a targeted way.




• Be more proactive – Some airlines are decent at responding to questions, but they aren’t good at reaching out on their own. I just received a note earlier this week asking if I would like to talk to an Emirates VP about their onboard mobile phone program. Of course I did, and now I’m writing up the interview for next week. (It’s actually very interesting.)

So is Emirates using me in some way to get a conversation going in the US about mobile phones onboard? I don’t doubt it. Did JetBlue use me to get things moving again in Long Beach? Probably. But that’s smart. Both airlines have opted to provide excellent access and interesting content, a blogger’s dream. This won’t always work out well. I might disagree completely and absolutely thrash something that comes out. But when airlines are willing to engage even after receiving bad press, it makes the relationship even more powerful for the future. An airline that cuts someone off for writing something bad will be hurting itself more than anything else.

Companies work to manage the media all the time, and now they need to start managing new media as well. JetBlue has shown that engaging the right new media outlets can have some major positive benefits. Hopefully other airlines will start to realize that they can do the same.

And when the rest of you guys do figure it out, you know where to find me.

US airlines have done an excellent job of holding back on capacity lately, and that has left them with at least somewhat decent results considering the state of the economy. But not everyone has been so disciplined. Emirates recently announced that it would grow 14% in 2009 despite some seriously worrying signs from its hometown of Dubai. Is this smart? Probably not, but who cares? It will likely lead to some great deals for travelers.

You would think the management team at Emirates would be getting nervous right now. Dubai’s economy is really getting hit hard. The Dubai stock market has plunged more than 75%, real estate prices have tanked, and jobs are disappearing. Just this week, the United Arab Emirates said it would buy $10 billion worth of bonds from Dubai in order to prop it up.

Considering that backdrop, Emirates seems like it’s from a different world. The airline still expects to take on 58 A380s, more than a quarter of all A380s ordered worldwide, and it placed an additional order for 60 smaller Airbus widebodies less than a year ago. During the airline’s fiscal year (which runs April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010), Emirates will take on a new passenger widebody every 20 days, including 7 A380s. Surrounded by a collapsing economy, where will they put these planes?

Many of those A380s were expected to be outfitted with massive numbers of Economy seats to shuttle workers between labor-rich India and Dubai, but now there will be fewer people going back and forth. And with fewer visitors coming to Dubai in general, demand will be dropping dramatically from that angle as well. They will apparently focus the new aircraft on “on routes where there is a greater demand from our customers. All of our new capacity will be deployed in markets where we see growth potential, particularly Africa and the Middle East,” though from what I can see, there will be increases to just about every region of the globe, including North America which will see increased frequencies in San Francisco and LA.

So what does this really mean? There is going to be tremendous price pressure on Emirates in the near future until the economy is able to catch up. Keep an eye out to see if any massive discounting happens. It’s likely only a matter of time, and it could make for some great deals.

Now let’s see, where did I leave off after yesterday’s post? Ah yes, we were leaving coach behind and heading up to business class. (As a reminder, you can see all the pictures and videos here.)

At the top of the rear stairs, we entered the rear galley area and then saw the lav (bathroom). This thing is decked out with wood trim throughout and a nice big window. It’s too bad they couldn’t have the toilet face the other way so you could actually stare out into the blue while you do your business.

After the lav, you enter the super cool guy lounge. If this were on the ground, I’d probably be denied at the door since my name clearly wouldn’t be on the list. Ok, maybe it’s not that cool, but this is probably the best that’s been on a commercial jet since the 747 upper deck lounge days many years ago. There’s a fully stocked bar in the middle along with couches and a big screen lining the walls.

Keep moving and you walk into the business class cabin. This has a 1-2-1 configuration, and it seems like these seats take up a huge amount of space. It’s interesting how they’re set up. On the sides, one row’s seat will be right on the window while the one behind it will have the seat more on the inside. You’ll have to take a look at this video with my friend, Paul Tomasiello from Expedia, explaining the pros and cons of the cabin layout to get a better idea.

Ok, enough about business class. Let’s head to the big show . . . First Class and the suites. There’s no doubt these are really nice from the moment you walk in. How do they stack up to the Qantas and Singapore suites? Good question, and I’m not sure I can answer it. I didn’t have enough time to play with them all, and they’re all really nice so it’s tough to pick a winner without actually taking a flight in each. That probably won’t happen anytime soon, so let’s just leave it by saying that I’d gladly fly in any of them. I do have to give Emirates a pat on the back for the personal minibar. That’s completely excessive but kind of fun. No matter what, you’ll have plenty of privacy and a lot of luxury. Take a look at the video for a tour of the cabin.

The one thing that Emirates First Class passengers have that nobody else will is the onboard spa. There was a question about this when I talked about it last week, and I’ve confirmed that the water does stay stored in a tank after it’s used. It’s not expelled during flight, so they carry all that extra weight around. It’s clearly not an environmentally friendly option in any way, but it is definitely an impressive differentiator.

The two spas are located way up front on the upper deck on either side of the front stairway. These areas couldn’t be used for seating because of the stairs, so it’s a smart use of otherwise wasted space. The shower water didn’t turn on when we were there, but we were assured that you get full, “five-star hotel” quality water pressure. The attention to detail is unreal. They even have heated floors. Take a tour for yourself.

And that was about it. As you might have heard in the video, we were the last tour and we had to return to our seats for landing. I won’t bother embedding these last two videos, but you can see us turning toward the west with my home in Long Beach in the distance and then finally landing if you’re interested.

And that was it. After we got off the plane, I dropped Paul off at the airport for him to fly on a seemingly tiny 737 back to his home up north, and I headed on my way back to work. Emirates has really put together a great product here. If I get the chance to fly it one day, it will probably be in the back of the bus, but I wouldn’t mind. Even in the back, it’s a very nice experience.