The Cranky Flier » Go!

Cranky on the Web (October 11-16)

CF — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:13:13 +0000

Bloggers offer paid travel services – Washington Times
Nicholas Kralev takes a look at my Cranky Concierge service as well as a frequent flier redemption service from View From the Wing blogger Gary Leff.

September 2009 Traffic Numbers – BNET
September traffic numbers are out and the results are pretty good for JetBlue and Southwest.

Episode 68 – Cranky Yet Again – Airplane Geeks Podcast
For some reason, they let me back in the door once again for another fun-filled talk about airplanes. Giddyup.

Frontier President Sean Menke Heads to Republic – BNET
Frontier’s chief is heading to Republic to oversee all their brands. Consolidation seems to be happening faster than I thought.

Mokulele and go! Join Forces to Cut Capacity in Hawai’i – BNET
Mokulele and go! are done competing. They’re going to effectively combine to once again make Hawai’i and two carrier market.

Republic Adds 10 More Embraers to its Growing Fleet – BNET
This week, Republic continued to build its arsenal of airplanes here on the mainland. They acquired 10 more Embraers 190s from US Airways.

Why Being Geeky is Cool – JetWhine
Rob has a really nice mention of my Airplane Geeks appearance and he talks about Cranky Concierge.

JetBlue’s All-You-Can-Jet Pass Considered a Success – BNET
Friend-of-Cranky and Aviation Queen Benet Wilson talks to JetBlue SVP Marty St George about the success of the All-You-Can-Jet program.

This Week on BNET (Feb 16 – 20)

CF — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:50:05 +0000

Delta Starts Consolidating Regional Carriers
Delta is taking pieces of Compass, Comair, and Mesaba and mashing them together. Seems like a good idea to me.

Why is Hawaiian Installing In-Seat Video?
Hawaiian is putting in seat video on its long haul fleet, but the case for installation is different in this market than in others.

Billions of Stimulus Funds Will Go to Transportation
The stimulus is now law, and the government is starting to dole out the funds quickly. How will the world of transportation benefit?

Mesa Makes Progress in Hawai’i with Mokulele on the Brink
Big changes could be in store for Hawai’i as a couple of airlines show very mixed results.

December Premium Air Traffic Down More Than 13 Percent
It’s time for the December premium traffic update, and guess what? It’s not pretty. Traffic continues to drop, but which area is getting hit hardest?

LAX Modernization is On the Wrong Track
LAX continues to push how proud it is that they’ve designed an architecturally-significant building for the airport expansion. It’s just sad to see how wrong that strategy is.

Frontier Has a Good December
I’m a little late with this, but I wanted to talk about Frontier’s good December. While the results are good, they’re not as good as you may think.

This Week on BNET (Dec 1 – 5)

CF — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:35:52 +0000

Mesa Settles Aloha Lawsuit, Wants to Use Aloha Name
Mesa wants to use the name of its now vanquished rival, Aloha, on its airplanes. There are so many reasons this is a bad idea, it’s not even funny.

Continental’s November Traffic Performance Shows Ominous Signs
Even Continental’s revised unit revenue estimates were too high for reality. The airline delivered a very anemic performance that should concern everyone.

Southwest Holds Capacity Steady, Sees Traffic Decline Sharply
Holy cow. Southwest’s capacity was steady, but it’s traffic fell off a cliff. There’s no question demand is heading down quickly.

Delta’s Self Serving Objections to the Continental/United Antitrust Application
Surprise, surprise. Delta isn’t happy about United, Continental, Lufthansa, and Air Canada’s proposal for world domination. They may say they’re standing up for the consumer, but I’d bet otherwise.

What Will Southwest Do With Its LaGuardia Slots?
Southwest has secured 7 flights a day to LaGuardia. Now everyone wants to know where they’ll go. That decision says a lot about how they view New York.

Delta Says Fuel Savings Can Offset 20 Percent Drop in Traffic
Delta released some very interesting numbers on the value of the drop in fuel prices. If you ever doubted it was huge, this will prove it to you.

Mokulele Hires Republic for Interisland Flying in Hawai’i

CF — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:18:18 +0000

I wrote about this on BNET last week when it was still a rumor. Now it’s been confirmed that Republic will operate Embraer 170s within Hawai’i for Mokulele. This seems like a smart move, and it will put some pressure on go!. [/caption]In fact, I’m tempted to refer to this as “go! Away Airlines.”

Here’s the plan. Republic will take up to four 70 seat Embraer 170s and operate them for little Mokulele Airlines in a traditional regional airline-style fixed fee agreement. Two of those aircraft will arrive in time for flights to begin between Honolulu and both Lihue and Kona in mid-November. I’m somewhat surprised to not see Kahului (Maui) on the list, but maybe we’ll see that when the other two aircraft join the fleet in March. Or maybe since that’s the most competitive market in the Islands, they’re going to play a game of wait and see. Either way, they’ll need to enter that route eventually if they want to be a serious player.

Unlike the all-coach airplanes that Republic will be flying for Midwest, these will actually have 6 First Class seats and 64 in coach. Republic spokesperson Warren Wilkinson confirmed that these were aircraft that had been operating for Delta Connection, but now that Delta has up-gauged to Embraer 175s, these aircraft needed a new home.

The one thing about this deal that makes it a bit more non-traditional is that Republic will actually open a line of credit for Mokulele worth $8 million. It’s unclear whether Mokulele will need to tap this line of credit, but if they do, Republic will have the right to turn it into an equity stake in the airline.

You might think the name Mokulele sounds familiar. I’ve written about them once before when they began flying as go! Express. Yes, that’s Mesa-owned go!, the very same airline with which Mokulele will now be competing. What’s the chance they continue to fly as go! Express for very long? Just about none. In fact, Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein was quoted as saying “he’s disappointed in Mokulele and says he does not plan to continue a partnership with a competitor.”

go! must be livid because this does not bode well for them. Economically, the 170s are better planes to fly between the Islands. So, go! is going to have a tough time competing on seat costs. Just when it thought capacity had rationalized with Aloha’s disappearance, this new operation comes along to make life more difficult again.

For Mokulele and Republic, I think this is a smart move. Mokulele enables Republic to fly planes under a local brand name, and we saw how much backlash their was against go! for being from the mainland. Besides, Republic has stayed away from being a marketing carrier in general, and they likely are not looking to build up the infrastructure required for things like marketing and revenue management. This partnership is good for both airlines. There also seems to be broad local and political support for this venture, especially since they are promising to put many ex-Aloha employees back to work.

In short, this is the right airplane for the market, and Republic had some planes it needed to get flying again. This is a very creative way to put those planes to work in a venture that I think has a decent chance for success.

Aloha ‘Oe, Aloha Airlines

CF — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:50:15 +0000

You may remember that I said last week that I probably wouldn’t book a flight on Aloha for travel more than a couple weeks out. It looks like the airline won’t even make it that long.

Aloha has announced that, not surprisingly, there just aren’t any investors to help keep the passenger business afloat. Today, March 31, will be the last day of operation for all passenger flights. The interisland schedule will operate as normal today, and flights FROM the mainland will go as planned as well. Flights TO the mainland won’t operate, and neither will flights within the mainland. The cargo and airport services divisions will continue to operate since there has been interest from outside parties in acquiring those.

It doesn’t matter if you think we have too much capacity in this country or not. When an airline with such a long and storied history as Aloha goes out of business, it’s just a sad day.

I will always remember Aloha under better circumstances. This photo, though of a more recent “retrojet” scheme, reminds me of how the planes looked during my very early childhood visits to Hawai’i. (Much of my childhood saw this, less fun design.)

Aloha (then called TPA – Trans-Pacific Airlines) started flying on July 26, 1946 with a war surplus C-47 (DC-3). At that time, it was hard for locals of Asian descent to succeed due to discrimination. Despite the odds being stacked against him, founder Ruddy Tongg was able to create a successful business that earned the nickname, The People’s Airline. Today will mark the end of nearly 62 years of passenger operation.

In a 1949 Time Magazine article, Mr Tongg was said to be “convinced there is room for two airlines in the air-minded Territory.” He was clearly correct. Sadly, there just wasn’t room for three.

When Mesa Airlines brought go! to the market, not many people I knew thought that three airlines could survive. Since go!’s inception, Mesa has lost a great deal of money with low load factors and even lower fares. Of course, since Mesa had deeper pockets than either Hawaiian or Aloha at the time, it could put its planes in there for the long haul and just wait for one of the local carriers to disappear. Since that time, Mesa’s financial strength has been eroded tremendously, but the airline was still able to outlast Aloha.

So, now one of Hawaii’s great airlines is gone, and so are scheduled passenger operations on the 737-200 aircraft in the US. If you had a ticket on Aloha, you’re out of luck. Contact your credit card company for a refund or you’ll have to file a claim with the bankruptcy court and hope you get anything back. (Don’t count on it.) If you need to travel between the islands, let me recommend a few airlines that can help.

Hawaiian – Flying between all the major airports in Hawai’i
Island Air – Flying primarily to smaller airports in Hawai’i
Pacific Wings – Also flying to smaller airports in Hawai’i on a less frequent basis

And yes, there’s go! as well, I suppose. No matter who you fly, the fares are likely to go up soon. Those ridiculously low fares that go! put in the market aren’t sustainable and never were. In fact, I’d be surprised if the airline can even make money at previous market fare levels with the CRJ. So, you may see fares go to levels even higher than before, assuming Hawaiian is willing.

As I mentioned above, Aloha will actually live on in a couple ways. The cargo business is still going to keep running as there have been interested parties in buying it. Also, the airport services operation will continue as well. That’s music to the ears of all major US airlines that contract with them to keep their planes running right now.

But, but most people know the airline for its passenger business, and that will end today after nearly 62 years of flying. Aloha ‘Oe, Aloha Airlines.

Edited 3/31 @ 9a to make it clear that the schedule will only operate today. After today, no passenger flights will operate.

go! Flying to the Mainland

CF — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 14:02:54 +0000

No, don’t worry Hawaiian and Aloha fans. There’s no need to have a heart attack. go! is not expanding beyond its interisland network with $49 fares to the mainland. Besides, could you imagine that ride in a CRJ? Yikes.

They’re actually just doing a one time trip to the mainland to bring 15,000 ti leaves to University of Hawai’i fans traveling to see their team play in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The ti leaf is thought to ward off evil spirits in Hawaiian culture. Something tells me that some of these fans would like to ward off go! from flying within the islands any longer.

But if these fans are really smart, they’ll get together and make the world’s largest batch of ‘okolehao. That stuff is moonshine that’s made from the ti leaf, and I have to imagine it’ll get you nice and drunk. Just picture 15,000 drunk Polynesians wandering the French Quarter after a victory on Tuesday night. Heck, I’d fly a CRJ all the way from LA to see that.

Airplane Porn from Airplane Airlines

CF — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:14:00 +0000

Yeah, that’s a confusing title until you remember that “Airplane Airlines” is what Mokulele Airlines translates to in English. These are the guys who are planning to fly as go!Express out in Hawai’i, and they’ve finally received their first airplane for the new operation. Here’s the picture, courtesy of the Star Bulletin:

You will likely agree that it’s not exactly the most attractive looking livery around. Yikes. While they originally claimed they’d be flying as go!Express last December, it looks like they’ll now be shooting for April.

In the meantime, they’re flying on their own. They have a timetable up on their site that was effective last December showing flights from Kahului (Maui) to Kona, Hilo (Friday/Sunday), and Hana (Sunday only) as well as Kona to Hana (Sunday only). These were being flown with older aircraft, but they’re now transitioning to the new fleet.

That Wacky Pacific Islander

CF — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:37:00 +0000

I haven’t written about the saga in Pago Pago for quite some time. In fact, the last time I wrote about it was this post on the PriceGrabber discussion forums, so I thought it was time for an update.

There are two main players in this story. First, we have Hawaiian Airlines. They are the only airline to serve American Samoa (that’s where Pago Pago is) with the exception of some local flights to Samoa (the un-American one). In the other corner, we have this not-so-friendly looking guy on the left.

Yup, that’s Governor Tulafono and he really hates Hawaiian Air. Apparently, he thinks they charge too much and they don’t run according to schedule, so he wants them out. Even though he thinks he has the right to kick them out, the US government begs to differ. Hawaiian currently flies to Pago Pago as part of the Essential Air Services program sponsored by the US government. That means they get subsidies to fly there.

So, the governor has decided to take on the US government and try to kick out Hawaiian on his own. The government says that’s not going to happen. It’s been quiet for a few months, but now it looks like the governor is trying a different tactic – smear campaigns.

This article from a San Francisco newspaper says that the governor is blaming the fact that Hawaiian operates the Oakland Raiders charter on some flight disruptions to Pago Pago. He claims that every time they run a charter, the flights to Pago Pago have problems and it’s just another reason why Hawaiian should be kicked out.

Hawaiian says the problems are related to a delay in introducing a new aircraft into its fleet. It purchased some older Delta 767s and these apparently have taken longer to certify than they thought.

So, the governor will continue to whine and try to replace Hawaiian’s service even though he has no authority to do so. He says he’s been talking to United about a stop in Pago Pago (I’d say chances are slim to none) and that another airline in Hawai’i is interested but they are looking to see if their current equipment could fly the route. Well, Aloha knows it’s current equipment could fly the route – they’ve done it before and pulled out quickly. That means they must be talking to go!, and there is no way those CRJs are going to go 2600 miles over the ocean.

At least it’s entertaining.

Hawai’i Update: Slurs are Fun!

CF — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 17:18:00 +0000

It’s been awhile since I’ve sent out an update on the fight in Hawai’i. Things certainly haven’t quieted down at all.

go! continues to flounder. Even with really cheap seats, the airline only managed to fill 62.9% of seats in October. That isn’t going to get them even close to profitability. Meanwhile, Hawaiian managed an almost $8m profit in the third quarter thanks to cost cutting measures and despite the increased competition. But that’s the boring stuff . . .

It continues to get uglier and uglier in the slugfest between the state’s airlines. You might remember that airline workers for all the other airlines (not go!) in the state formed a group called H.E.R.O. Last week, that group held a rally with 150 supporters outside the state capitol to protest go!’s alleged attempt to bankrupt Aloha. At the rally, they passed around a t-shirt that said “go! is not a Hawaiian airline” on one side and “Mesa has no Aloha” on the other.

Now this wouldn’t be a big deal except they passed it around and had people sign it. After it was done, they Fedex’ed the t-shirt to Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein. And on that shirt, there just happened to be some slurs against Ornstein’s Jewish heritage. The only one this article referenced directly was “J.O. ‘The Jew’ Borat” (which doesn’t actually make any sense) but it says there were more explicit remarks.

Now, I don’t believe that H.E.R.O.’s leaders condoned the remarks. In fact, they’ve issued a statement on their website to the contrary. But, it does show that this organization is running fully on emotion and really needs to take a step back and figure out what they’re trying to do here. I understand that people’s livelihoods are at stake in the state, but you need to run a smart campaign and not an emotional one that can lead to hate. That being said, it sure does make for interesting writing.

Aloha Means Hello and Goodbye

CF — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:13:00 +0000

The first casualty in the battle for Hawai’i (see this post) has arrived. No, it’s not an airline going away (yet), but it does involve nice looking airplanes.

Island Air had been operating 37 seat Dash-8 aircraft for years, but recently, they decided to expand with three 74 seat Q400s. They’re awfully proud of those planes, as evidenced by this purty picture on their homepage.

According to an article in ATW, go’s $19 one way fares have made Island Air change their minds about this whole expansion thing. The one Q400 they already received will be returned and the other two will not be taken up.

It sounds to me like they’re just using go’s fares as an excuse. They had originally acquired these larger aircraft to compete head to head with Aloha and Hawaiian on routes like Kahului (Maui) to Honolulu. They had fewer flights than the big guys and they were flying props. Even though I love flying on props in the islands, most people gravitate toward jets.

Either way, it’s the end of their grand experiment. My guess is that they will shrink back to their roots, connecting smaller island airports like Kapalua (Maui) to the bigger cities.