News and notes from around the interweb:
- A city in Northern Norway is moving its airport 900 meters. (HT: Marginal Revolution)
- Singapore Airlines now offers some free inflight wifi for premium cabin customers and top elites
- So this isn’t going anywhere but Congressman Dave Brat has introduced the ‘Free to Fly Act’ which would allow foreign airlines to establish US subsidiaries that could fly US domestic routes. This is how we get the competition we need though access to gates at congested airports would remain a challenge.
Repealing the prohibition on foreign air carrier ownership, Brat’s office said, would increase competition and consumer choice, create jobs and improve the financial stability of U.S. airlines by giving them more access to capital.
The law would require that all foreign-owned carriers that obtain a certificate to fly domestic routes hire only American citizens, U.S. nationals or permanent legal residents. Such carriers would be prohibited from hiring temporary visa holders, a provision that Kronzer said would make sure they aren’t shipping in cheap labor.
- Alaska Airlines and Virgin America have reached a tentative merger agreement with flight attendants
- For the entire year of 2017, Uber sustained a loss of $4.46 billion on sales of $7.36 billion. UberEats is now 10% of their business.
- Maldives government debt to China exceeds 100% of the country’s GDP and if they can’t make payments that begin soon agreements have them ceding ownership of land and projects to China which will generate public resentment. Indeed the opposition is using this issue to do so. (HT: Marginal Revolution)
- ANA is now promoting ‘Experience Class’
I can just imagine Delta arguing that a foreign owned airline required by law to hire only US citizens poses a threat to US airline jobs.
@Gary, Are US airports capacity challenged because of a lack of gates or a lack of available takeoff and landing slots? If the former, wouldn’t bus gates be a way to increase capacity?
” access to gates at congested airports” If the airport is that congested, either bid for gates, or fly to a non-congested secondary airport. Not every airline needs to fly to LAX or JFK
Congrats to Congressman Brat! The only way we can bring a semblance of sanity to flying, i.e., competition, choice, etc., is to encourage the introduction of competent foreign airlines to serve U.S. routes. When we look at the despicable devolution of flying with U.S. legacy carriers, what they need is a good shot of B12 in their corporate HQ!
Just don’t let the crack Berlin Airport construction crew anywhere near Bodo.
“Such carriers would be prohibited from hiring temporary visa holders, a provision that Kronzer said would make sure they aren’t shipping in cheap labor.” Now that is really rich. To placate a country whose companies import H1-B employees to escape higher wages, or better yet, shift everything overseas to escape both wages and taxes. American exceptionalism at it’s finest.
Brat has got my vote.
As for ANA, how much does the mileage upgrade cost from Economy to Experience class?