News and notes from around the interweb:
- United is auctioning two Polaris seats for a special trip on their very first Boeing 777-300ER between Chicago and San Francisco. It’s a charter before the plane flies its domestic inaugural. (HT: Zach Honig)
- American Airlines wants a trade war with China. They say the Chinese government won’t give them the takeoff and landing slots they need to fly Los Angeles – Beijing (a route awarded to them by the DOT), so they object to renewal of Air China’s Houston – Beijing authority and they’ll “continue to object to any requests to serve U.S. routes by Chinese carriers until it is granted commercially viable takeoff and landing times at the Beijing airport.”
- Southwest Airlines gets on the Trump train. Or, rather, they see an opportunity to profit as a result of special government privilege. Which is ironic considering that they were founded fighting the government privilege of entrenched legacy airlines who tried to stop them from operating out of Dallas Love Field. Sad! (HT: @AndreaAhles)
Saying that ‘Mexican carriers’ (Aeromexico) have the most slots as a reason not to give slots to other, different airlines from Mexico with small presences now which would increase competition is disingenuous. And is Aeromexico even a Mexican carrier when it’s nearly half-owned by, and sharing revenue with, Delta?
- Bank of America seems to be closing credit card accounts of people with lots of open cards but leaving them with four open cards.
- Expedia-owned HomeAway is trying to cut down on communication between property owner and guest.
- My Coke Rewards is being discontinued
So, the USDOT gets to tell Mexican airports to give slots to American carriers? I would have guessed that was the purview of the Mexican version of their own DOT….no? Or am I misunderstanding what was written?
By jumping on the p***y-grabber train, Southwest just gave us moral authority to commit every type of conceivable fraud against them.
@henry LAX Based on your comment, I’d say you are totally lacking in any sort of moral authority.
… says the guy posting under “Robert Hanson”
that should be “Robert Hanson [sic]”
As for China, they already have a trade war going with the US. They have 3 slots at LAX for their Beijing flights, but refuse to give AA a single slot there. It’s typical of the way the China do business, dumping subsidized goods in the US to grab market share, and taxing US goods coming into China. It’s not that AA wants a trade war, they are just acknowledging that China is already at war with US, and now want to fight back.
So the story is US airlines wants the US government to support them?
And in related news, henry LAX is apparently a terrible individual that others should be wary of.
“As for China, they already have a trade war going with the US.”
See, saying that we should respond in kind is like Cleavon Little holding a gun to his *own* head in Blazing Saddles as a threat to the townspeople of Rock Ridge.
Sigh, this blog is becoming tiresome. American does not want a trade war. They simply want reciprocity. All of your posts are now either bashing US carriers or bashing Trump. Please go back to reporting on interesting travel information, otherwise I’m done.
Right on Henry….I will now boycott South West Ai,r let the white supremacists fly them
@WR you realize that retaliatory trade actions are the definition of a trade war though, right?
Nice Blazing Saddles reference!
It’s not a “war” until someone retaliates in kind? So we weren’t at war with Japan after Pearl Harbor, it only began when we counter attacked?
AA trying to get help from the US Government to get slots at Beijing is “like holding a gun to it’s own head”?
Seriously?
And anti-Trump post after anti-Trump post….
I don’t know who’s writing this blog lately. Someone should make a missing person report to the police about Gary Leff, maybe they can find him while he’s still alive. .
RE: BofA closing credit cards without your knowledge. At least that’s better than Wells Fargo opening credit cards without your knowledge.
UM, to say AA “wants a trade war with China” is about the biggest whopper you’ve said on your blog. I think the most honest reading of their statement is that they want to be treated fairly by the Chinese airport authority. As you no doubt know, the lack of commercially viable slots is often a problem when airlines get new route authority. It seems to be a bit of a game with the local airport authorities dragging their feet and, more often than not, things seem to eventually get worked out. AA asking the DOT for help with this matter seems insanely logical, no? What should they do instead? Give up? Bribe Chinese officials?
@iahphx “AA asking the DOT for help with this matter seems insanely logical, no?” They aren’t “asking the DOT for help” they are asking for retaliation. Which hurts US consumers and risks further escalation in a trade war.