News and notes from around the interweb:
- Free meals in economy weren’t particularly good so here’s this month’s reminder that you don’t really want them back: Virgin Australia passengers sick after being served smelly parmesan cheese sandwiches. (I once almost had to cater a full Boeing 757 with… Chinese food but fortunately managed to bribe a sandwich shop inside the terminal to stay open late and hurry.)
- Emirates and Airbus are deferring deliveries of 12 A380s although the net effect is just a shift in 6 planes from 2017 to 2019. (Six are deferred from 2017 to 2018, and six from 2018 to 2019.) Emirates’ love of the A380 nothwithstanding, the aircraft has largely been a commercial failure and this doesn’t help.
- American Airlines is shrinking in Phoenix (shocking literally no one).
Phoenix remains important, but its purpose in the American route network is different than it was in the US Airways route network. It’s an inferior hub compared to Dallas, and it’s not nearly as important for local traffic as Los Angeles. That was pretty obvious from the start but also something that American (wisely) was unwilling to admit publicly.
Phoenix is Home to a Great Many Regional Aircraft - Delta officially kills their Boeing 787-8 order (shocking literally no one).
- Korean Air will allow more active use of inflight tasers because Richard Marx (HT: Josh F., Paul H. and several others.)
- 5 creative airline patents from 2016 including the British Airways pill passengers would swallow to get better service. If you’re flying British Airways Club World, you do need to be medicated…
@ Gary — Why would you be catering a full 757?
No corporate HQ are going to locate or even stay in AZ as long as it’s a right wing fever swamp with illiterate freaks like Jan Brewer sticking her face in the President’s face. Even American won’t stay if it gets any worse. PHX will go back to how it was before being a hub with a bunch of wrinkled portly hicks wandering around in polyester cowboy outfits. When I went to school at ASU, the most popular song on FM was “Arizona” (GIve Up your Redneck Ways….)
I’d think it’s another nail in the A380’s coffin, not in the actual airplane. Or is using nails a French way to build aircraft?
I can’t help but think that AA could be well served by reactivating the old LAS HP night hub system more than running flights to PHX.
Between PHX’s trouble O&D market, it’s summer operating limits, and its awkward terminal layout, it’s a subpar place to hub for an airline like AA.
A lot of news that shocks no one, but was slipped in during the quiet period, probably in the hopes that it would rough any feathers.
What’s your point about almost having had to cater a full B757 with Chinese food?
@Jeff that THAT would have likely been worse than a parmesan sandwich
We flew on United recently and out of desperation we ordered Chicken Sandwiches. We were on a delayed International flight and then 3 hours mechanical delay out of LGA.
The sandwiches were disgusting and smelly. We could not tell if it was Chicken or dog meat.
It was waste of 20 bucks and no refund was offered.
We were not even given a hotel room in Denver and had to sleep on the floor. Although our reservation was documented because of the Mechanical/Crew delay the rude agents in Denver kept saying it was weather. A total lie, to avoid providing us hotels at the airport. We missed our friend’s parents funeral in Seattle. Ended up going to California. No refund on the ticket, miles or the taxes!
We flew on United recently and out of desperation we ordered Chicken Sandwiches. We were on a delayed International flight and then 3 hours mechanical delay out of LGA.
The sandwiches were disgusting and smelly. We could not tell if it was Chicken or dog meat.
It was waste of 20 bucks and no refund was offered.
We were not even given a hotel room in Denver and had to sleep on the floor. Although our reservation was documented because of the Mechanical/Crew delay the rude agents in Denver kept saying it was weather. A total lie, to avoid providing us hotels at the airport. We missed our friend’s parents funeral in Seattle. Ended up going to California. No refund on the ticket, miles or the taxes!