Cranky on the Web (January 31-February 4)

Alaska Airlines Becomes One of the Last Carriers to Outsource Some Flights – BNET Headwinds
Alaska has decided the time has come to outsource some flying. You’d think Horizon wouldn’t like this, but it does.

American May Be Turning the Tables in Its Feud With Orbitz – BNET Headwinds
American’s deal with Priceline pokes holes in some of the arguments against the direct connect model, including the idea that it will be difficult to compare across airlines.

How An Airline Justifies Investing in Its Onboard Service (Since Most Don’t) – BNET Headwinds
I sat with Air New Zealand’s outgoing chief of long haul Ed Sims to talk about how the airline decided to invest in the product.

In the Trenches: The Difficult Process of Hiring – Intuit Small Business Blog
My plan to do some limited hiring has been thwarted by complex regulations around having an employee. I need to find a different way.

Ranking America’s Safest Airlines Is a Silly Exercise – BNET Headwinds
US News decided to rank America’s safest airlines. This is ridiculous.