Since the dawn of time, or, uh, the dawn of Virgin America, the airline has planned to go public. There has always just been one little problem. Virgin America was losing tons and tons of money. But after 7 years of flying (one of them profitable), the airline has decided …
Month: July 2014
On July 4, 1997, I couldn’t believe my luck. It was my first summer as an intern at America West, and this was my first attempt at traveling on my benefits. I, and every other person working for America West in Phoenix, had the same brilliant plan. Let’s get the …
I don’t talk about cargo much on the blog, but it is most definitely an integral part of the business. Chances are, on every flight you take, there is some kind of cargo in the belly of that airplane. So when Southwest asked if I’d be interested in taking a …
Cranky Analysis: Picking Apart Spirit’s Plan of Attack – PlaneBusiness Banter ($$Subscription Required$$)
I dug into Spirit’s performance this time and found that while Spirit does stimulate a market when it enters, it also takes traffic from other airlines in some cases. Subscribers to PBB can read the whole thing.…
It’s time once again for the monstrous event known as the GBTA Convention. I haven’t gone in a few years, but this time I’m going to be moderating a panel on Tuesday about the various government fast pass programs (Global Entry, Pre Check, etc). I’ll also be on the …
With the recent launch of the A330neo, it seems that both Airbus and Boeing have almost fully formed their planned portfolios for the long haul, widebody market. Both companies have created three aircraft families that are expected to serve every airline’s needs. But from a capacity perspective, it looks …
When I woke up on my final morning on Oʻahu, I had that usual sense of dread. There’s something really depressing knowing that the next time your head hits the pillow, it won’t be in paradise. But before it was time to go home, I first had a date with …
Just about every person I met with during my visit to Hawaiian brought up the Honolulu International Airport modernization plan. This is a project that has been in the works for years, but it’s clear that Hawaiian sees this as absolutely crucial to its future growth. To understand why the …
Understanding the Value of Social Media at Airports for Customer Engagement – Transportation Research Board
I was one of the panelists who oversaw the creation of this report. It was a long process that ultimately saw us choose a firm to do the research, and then we refined it with …
JetBlue announced last week that it is going to put an end to the practice of making people check-in. At launch, anyone on a domestic itinerary sitting in Even More Space seats will be automatically checked in 24 hours in advance. An email will be sent with a boarding …
You might think Germans would just be spending this week basking in the glow of their World Cup victory, but that’s not the case at Lufthansa. In a stilted press release, Lufthansa laid out its vision for the future this week. What’s the plan? Turn the focus to building and …
After my abbreviated interview with Hawaiian President and CEO Mark Dunkerley, it was time to move on. Next up was Peter Ingram, Chief Commercial Officer. I first met Peter a couple years back when I moderated a panel with him in Phoenix. After Peter, I met Avi Mannis who …