As you know, I’ll be back on Monday with an all new post. There have been a lot of news stories in the airline world over the last two weeks, so I want your help in narrowing down which ones to write about. What story most interested you while I was gone?
43 comments on “Topic of the Week: What’s Happened the Last Two Weeks?”
I guess one of the bigger stories of the past two weeks has been the Southwest announcement of “Evolve: The New Southwest Interior” – especially since it looks like 717s will be getting the Evolve treatment
Oh boy. . . .adding an extra row while “improving customer comfort.” Sounds like a load of bull. . . .
Well Gary Kelly said it was coming a long time ago at the press conference announcing ATL. At least they’re acknowledging it and not being secretive and shady about it. I agree the eco-spin is a little over the top but the extra row they’ve been upfront.
Southwest has turned to crap! They remove and inch of legroom & put in thinner seat cushions all to ruin the flying experience! I’m 6’3 and flew them b/c of thier extra legroom. I love the spin that their idiot corporate big wigs put on it too! They are also not price competitive anymore. They are twice as expensive to fly from BNA out west than United and their FF program has gone to hell.
according to WN employees, they say the seat pitch will remain UNchanged. Sleeker seats.
That is incorrect. The seat pitch will naturally have to be reduced to put in another row of seating. The claim is that legroom won’t really change because they’re using a narrower cushion and repositioning it a bit. I have no clue how it feels, however.
Yep, that’s correct. according to the WSJ: http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012/01/17/southwest-like-other-airlines-to-squeeze-more-comfortable-seats-into-planes/
I think I’m going to try to weave this into a post that talks about Southwest’s big route announcements today on which AirTran cities are staying and which are going:
http://www.swamedia.com/releases/0a8e6c60-a120-4ede-816a-acb3cb03193e?int=GFOOTER-ABOUT-PRESS
AA bankruptcy was the big story, and all the rumors surrounding this (who is hunkering after them, what are their options, etc.)
I will try to address this next week, because I think it’s very interesting to discuss.
+1
Travelocity took down their 330 day search feature. It is hard to find out details on why. I did find a post that the government is after them since they say the fares shown can be misleading. I don’t know how that feature is misleading from anyother way of fares being posted. Can you create a post on what the issues are and what Travelocity and the Government are doing to try to rectify the situation?
I’m afraid I don’t know anything about this, but if I get any info, I’ll try to write it up.
Virgin America adds Philly and if their presence will at all hurt US Airs bottom line, or at the least drive down prices on the two transcon routes.
I agree. VX’s announcement is interesting in many ways, and it would be interesting to see your take on it.
I’m probably not going to write about this, so I figured I’d address it here a little. This is one of the rare consistent attempts by Virgin America in its strategy to service bigger biz markets. But Philly is no New York, as US Airways is quick to point out every time. There isn’t nearly the same kind of high dollar traffic here.
On top of that, US Airways is a brutally awesome competitor. Just ask Southwest how it’s been doing in Philly. There’s no doubt that going up against US Airways is a very tough thing to do for a low cost carrier.
I guess this route makes some sense considering the airline’s strategy, but I still just don’t think the strategy works.
More wing cracks on the A380 and how dangerous could this be
and
Have you figured out which end the diaper goes on……lol
I second (3rd, 4th!) the interest in the A380 cracks, if only to relish in the jingoistic comments that will undoubtedly result from a Boeing vs Airbus debate.
Love that plane. Just would prefer to know that the wings might stay in one piece each time I fly on it.
Hope you and Mrs Cranky are sleeping well:)
I actually don’t have much to add on this. The wing cracks aren’t really posing an issue at all, and it just provides an area that needs to be inspected closely, I suppose. I know, that’s not helpful.
And yes, I’ve got the diaper change time down from about 20 minutes initially to more like 5 now. Whew.
Is his shit green?
The wisdom of prerecording “we’re about to crash” messages.
Yeah, I’d also like to hear about VX and their expansion plans and what might be next for them? Welcome back Brett!!!!
I was curious on your take on USA Today’s story of Delta’s potential acquistion of American Airlines.
1. VX adds Philly and future expansion. I’m not exactly convinced that fares are going to drop cause there are so many connection possibilities
2. Air France restructuring and cutting all sorts of routes (MCO, CUN etc.)
3. AA stuff
4. A general post of your take on Turkish Airlines and their operation
I think other sites covered the Southwest interior enough.
Definitely Turkish Air. I am very interested in your take on their operational and safety issues that have been discussed so openly and for so long among professional pilots. Welcome back!
I already address 1 and 3 above. Number 2 is interesting, but I just want to see how this plays out a little longer. Not sure if it’s enough to write about – the airline is just trying to figure out how to get back to making money.
The Turkish one is particularly interesting, but it’s something that isn’t really time sensitive. There is a lot of concern out there about Turkish and its rapid growth. Should be worth looking into further.
Lots of good news….But I think the two most deserving of analysis and your writing are the a380 cracks and Air France cutting a bunch of routes.
Sure the VX PHL news is big, but its effects are somewhat obvious, I’d like to hear about Southwest’s new seats, but maybe those boys in Texas will fly you out for a real demo?
Trip report on the hospital? How comfy was the seat? Did they serve a good meal? Was it an on-time arrival? :) Welcome little Cranky!
I’d also like to read more on the A380 wing cracks. The AA situation is worth watching also, but airlines using CH 11 to restructure is old news.
Southwest announced that it is keeping its (subsidized) AirTran presence in Wichita and, more excitingly, coming to Wichita as SWA in 2013. More of a localized thing, but it sure is a big deal around here. Has been speculated and covered by the media for years now. http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-jab-airtran-airlines-remaining-in-wichita-changes-to-southwest-airlines-in-2013-20120113,0,5797473.story
Southwest is a good story, both for interiors and for routes. No need to speculate on DL-AA, since there will be many more rumors on that and other combinations in the coming six months. Air France restructuring is another that’s barely been covered. KLM is cutting routes too, and this follows DL pulling out of several ATL-Europe routes. So a look at DL-AF-KL changes might be worth it also.
The UK is moving towards banning credit card surcharges for purchases. This ancillary revenue is unpopular with us travellers but is important revenue for LCCs. So what effect will a surcharge ban have on the industry and flow on effects?
So, the story we’re most interested in is how the smallest “cranky flier” is doing and just how cranky that flier is :-).
I was most interested in the A380 wing cracks – are these really as benign as “they” say?
Yes. They really are.
Just media hype.
Saying “they’re nothing” is also just the media…
Nobody really knows for sure, so it’s a matter of waiting as of now for both sides.
How about the compromise on airline unionization that was reached in Congress?
I must have really missed this one. Link?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/21/us-usa-congress-faa-idUSTRE80K00U20120121
Delta/American rumors
Jet air has its fourth straight quarterly loss.
As an Atlanta native (currently in South Korea), I have been reading about the airport contract scandal and fighting. While it may or may not be a national story, it’s certainly salacious (and classic Atlanta politics). Any thoughts, CF (or maybe you could even blog post on it, if it’s good enough).
I actually haven’t paid close attention, but I’ll see if I can dig something up.
Oh it’s scandalous. Extralaborious bidding processes that were changed mid calendar, hundreds of applications erased, a big battle in City Hall between the Mayor and all the companies, the mayor’s cronies still getting business, blah blah.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/company-protesting-currency-exchange-1315763.html
is just one of many in the battle.