Lufthansa’s Social Networking Effort
Lufthansa has launched its own social network. I’d be surprised if anyone used it. Keep reading to see why.

TSA’s Useless Photo ID Rules
As usual, TSA photo ID rules are full of holes. What are they focusing on now and why is it a problem?

Delta, Air Canada Among Carriers Weighing Benefit of Paint Stripping
There’s always been a debate about whether the fuel savings from going with bare metal can outweigh the corrosion protection from paint. The answer may be changing.

Republic May Be Looking to Start a Hawaiian Airline
Republic Airways appears to be sniffing around the Hawaiian market, plotting to jump into the fray. Why is this better than Mesa’s efforts?

Midway’s Privatization Could Mean Changes for Airlines
Chicago has privatized Midway Airport as part of a federal test program. There’s no doubt that airports and airlines will be watching closely to see what happens.

Delta Adds First Class to New York Shuttle Flights
Delta will reconfigure its Washington-New York-Boston Shuttle fleet to have First Class seating. This isn’t all about the customer experience.

Why I Didn’t Write About Delta and Northwest Approving the Merger
Delta and Northwest approved their merger last week, but there is still one more big hurdle. What is it and when will it happen?

Global Airline Traffic Slows in August
August numbers are out, and international air traffic continues to slow even at a faster pace than capacity. It may be time to cut capacity again.

SCASDP Grants Have Been Awarded
Remember SCASDP week over on BNET? Well, the grants have been awarded, and I didn’t exactly pick them as well as I would have liked. See which ones made the cut.

New York Airspace Redesign Reading
The airspace in the Northeast corridor is a huge cause of delays. Everyone is trying to tackle the problem, and here’s a nice long piece of reading to keep you busy over the weekend.

American Airlines’ In-flight Internet Raises Porn Questions
Now that American has started to test in-flight internet, some are getting angry that the airline isn’t restricting which websites people can see.

US Airways is Happy That Nobody is Buying Drinks
It hasn’t been very long since US Airways started charging for drinks, but the airline is already crowing about the benefits they’ve seen so far.

United Gets Smart By Allowing Economy Plus Upgrades Anytime
United is making it easier for anyone to upgrade to Economy Plus at any time before they fly. It’s a smart move that’s good for everyone involved.

Southwest’s Stance on Fees Could be Problematic
Southwest has been very clear that they will not charge fees. Are they backing themselves into a corner with this aggressive marketing?

Financial Crisis Likely to Contribute to Premium Cabin Weakness
Massive bank failures will hurt many areas of the economy and the airlines are not exempt. There will be fewer premium travelers flying the skies.

Vegas Hotel Rooms Growing; Flights Shrinking
Hotels rooms in Vegas are growing rapidly but flights are disappearing. How are they going to find enough people to fill all those rooms?

Hawaiian Adds Winglets to Some of Its 767 Fleet
Hawaiian is putting winglets on nearly half its 767 fleet. Why aren’t they going all the way? Is it really worth it to put these on?

United Double Second Bag Fee to $50; Unfairly Blames Fuel
Fuel prices are dropping like a rock, yet United is still blaming their “volatility” for adding on extra fees. Hmm, the word disingenuous comes to mind . . .

Does Spirit Really Have the Best Operating Margin in the US?
Spirit reported the best operating margin of all US carriers in the second quarter. Why isn’t this all that it seems?

United’s Fuel Hedges are Underwater
Fuel prices are down, so that means some fuel hedges are going to mean higher costs for airlines. United said it could lose millions, but this isn’t necessarily bad.

American Asks to Defer Beijing Flights
It wasn’t long ago that airlines were climbing on top of each other to grab slots to China. Now the DOT can’t even get airlines to start the flights they’ve earned.

The Problem with the $150 Change Fee
Now that airlines are going to a $150 change fee, they’re actually going to leave money on the table. Something needs to “change” . . .

Midwest Receives $60 Million to Restructure
Midwest has restructured once again, and the airline now appears to be on its way to a regional model. Republic has to be pretty happy right now.

United, Northwest See Steep Decline in Pacific Traffic
This summer has seen a pretty steep drop in the number of people flying from the US to Asia. This probably explains why airlines are rethinking Asian expansion.

American’s Pilot Fighting for Compensation Restoration Once Again
Once again, American’s pilots are fighting for “compensation restoration,” but take a look and you’ll see a very flimsy and inaccurate argument.

Frontier Gets Another DIP Option
A couple weeks ago, it was questionable whether Frontier would find any financing. Now they have a second offer to help.

Delta Adds Wi-Fi, Cancels Freedom Air Flying
Yesterday, Delta said it would add wi-fi to its entire fleet, but also announced that it would be ending its regional agreement with Freedom Air.

Southwest’s Fee-Fighting Marketing Efforts
Southwest has really gone all out to promote its “no-fee” strategy. They’ve even brought in the Super Heroes. But will it work?

Northwest Writes Off Midwest Investment
Northwest has decided to write off its investment in Midwest. Is this an ominous sign for the little airline or is it just a clean-up exercise before Delta comes in?

I have more from NBTA on BNET this week including discussions with both ANA and Lufthansa.

Frontier Receives DIP Financing from Perseus
I never thought we’d see it happen, but I’ve now been proven wrong. Frontier picked up $75 million to help them restructure and exit bankruptcy.

Continental’s Flat Seat Business Decision
It’s a large investment, so it has to be done right. Continental took a lot into account when deciding how to go flat in BusinessFirst.

Delta and Air Canada CEOs Talk to the Crowd at NBTA
NBTA had its big airline CEO roundtable yesterday, and Air Canada’s Montie Brewer combined with Delta’s Richard Anderson to talk shop and answer questions.

Emirates and the A380
Emirates picked up its first A380 this week, and with 57 more in the pipeline, the airline has big plans for the future.

Chatting with Star Alliance Members ANA and Lufthansa
I had the chance to sit with both ANA and Lufthansa at NBTA this week. What do they have in store for the US market?

This week was Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) week over at BNET. Grant applications for this year’s program are rolling in, and I look at some of the best and worst. The federal government offers up this money to help small airports build up service in their area. Some take better approaches than others, and some come off as downright greedy.

Elko Applies to SCASDP for More Service to Reno
It’s SCASDP week here at BNET Travel. I’ll be looking at a new airport grant request every day. Today, it’s Elko and it’s odd request for more Reno flights.

Escanaba Looks to SCASDP for Marketing Funds
A new airline, new connecting hub, and two months without service. Escanaba wants a SCASDP grant to help tell the community what’s happening.

Dubuque Looks to Expand Its Unique Marketing Plan with SCASDP
An airport with a frequent flier program? That’s the kind of innovation the SCASDP should be supporting.

Midland Applies to SCASDP for More Flights to the West
Midland/Odessa has flights from American, Continental, and Southwest, but apparently that’s not enough. They want more to the West.

Bangor Wants SCASDP Grant for More New York Service
Bangor already has year-round service to the New York area. Why is it trying to get funds for even more?

DOT Rejects Blanket Dormancy Waiver
The DOT has decided to deny the request by seven airlines to allow them to suspend international routes without losing the rights. This could get interesting.

Ramping Up Alternative Propulsion Systems
With fuel prices climbing, engine manufacturers are looking for new ways to reduce fuel burn. At least one concept is almost ready to fly.

Virgin America Appeals DOT Decision with a Vengeance
Unhappy with the DOT’s decision to require public submission of Virgin America’s data, the airline has decided to appeal with fists flying.

Allegiant Leaves Green Bay for Appleton
Allegiant really does practice what it preaches. Green Bay started charging more, so Allegiant packed up and moved 33 miles down the road to Appleton.

The Airlines Attack Oil Speculators
The ATA has gathered US airlines to fight oil speculation. Will it help or just end up making things worse?

I know I mentioned it before, but I thought it worth mentioning again that I’m now the airline blogger for BNET. My posts on Cranky are primarily focused on the frequent (or not so frequent) flier, but over on BNET, I get into more on airline management. Since I know that the last thing you want is to have to check two different places to see what I’m writing about, I thought I’d do a couple things to make this easier to find my content.

First, I’ve started using Google site search. Now anytime you search for something on Cranky in the upper right hand corner search box, it will also return results from BNET if there’s a better match for what you’re looking for. Cool, huh?

Second, I’m going to start posting every Saturday a summary of the previous week’s posts in BNET. If you’re interested, head on over and check out the full posts. If not, well, no big deal. Since today is the 4th of July, I’m not posting a regular post today. So, I thought I’d kick off my first week of this effort by posting a day early. Usually, you’ll still see my regular number of weekly posts with this bonus summary on Saturdays.

Monday, June 30
Midwest Facing Pay Cuts, Fleet Cuts, Layoffs
Midwest Airlines is facing some massive cuts in flying and employee pay right now. What will the future hold for these little guys?

Tuesday, July 1
Mesa Air Group Releases Delayed Second Quarter Earnings
Mesa announced a profit in its very-delayed 2nd quarter earnings release, but thanks to a settled lawsuit, all is not as rosy as that may sound.

Wednesday, July 2
Frontier Loses $22 Million in May
Bankrupt airlines have to report their finances monthly, and Frontier’s May was a very ugly one.

Thursday, July 3
Allegiant’s Incredible 94% Load Factor
Allegiant posted a fairly amazing 94% load factor in June. How is that even possible?