We haven’t reached the point of a strike, and the airline and its mechanics are headed back to the bargaining table with the National Mediation Board next week. However tensions have certainly been high. For instance a video of an American Airlines supervisor yelling at a mechanic went viral in June (though note there’s NSFW language):
Now we’ve learned that at least one mechanic took things way too far
Pan Am flight 73 flew from Mumbai to the U.S. with a stop in Karachi, Pakistan on September 5, 1986. It was hijacked by four Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization terrorists who wanted to use the Boeing 747-121 to free prisoners in Syria and Israel.
There were 380 passengers and 13 crew on board the aircraft. All but 22 survived, and much of the credit goes to the flight’s purser, 22 year old Neerja Bhanot who died near the end of the standoff.
An easyJet flight from Machester, England to Alicante, Spain was delayed without one of its pilots to fly the plane. The airline had called in a reserve pilot who was going to take 90 minutes just to get to the airport. Passengers would be taking off a couple of hours late, if they were lucky. With other delayed inbound flights last weekend, the pilot might wind up assigned to a different aircraft.
Fortunately there was a passenger on the plane with flying experience that easyJet could turn to.
In the grand tradition of regulators protecting the profits of large businesses at the expense of consumers, a member of of Germany’s governing coalition wants to set legal minimum prices for airline tickets.
This comes after Lufthansa’s CEO called Ryanair’s low fares “economically, ecologically, and politically irresponsible” and sought government protection in the form of a ban on low fares.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gerry Laderman and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella answered questions from Helane Becker at the Cowen and Company 12th Annual Global Transportation Conference.
During the discussion there were four things that stood out to me as being interesting, even if some were relatively tangential for analysts covering the stock.
On Monday Lufthansa left a wheelchair passenger to fend for themselves boarding an aircraft at a remote stand in Frankfurt. Reportedly Lufthansa ground staff asked passengers on the Frankfurt – Austin flight LH468 to lift the man onto the plane, because no one from the airline would do it. One of the passengers was injured in the process.
Marriott Chief Marketing Officer Karin Timpone will step down at the end of the year to “pursue new opportunities.”
She said “Having completed the Marriott Bonvoy launch with key marketing benchmarks ahead of estimates, this a perfect time for me to thoughtfully plan my next move.”
Delta Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson spoke at an industry analyst conference to make the case that their successes aren’t the result of being farther into their merger than competitors. There are specific things they’ve done that make them profitable, and they have a list of things they plan to do to grow profits growing forward.
This has implications for how other airlines run their businesses, and for what customers need to expect from flying Delta.
At the Cowen and Company 12th Annual Global Transportation Conference, while promising “no excuses,” American Airlines President Robert Isom essentially doubled down on everything that he and American leadership have said before: if only mechanics hadn’t engaged in an ‘illegal work slowdown’ and the MAX hadn’t been grounded the airline would have the financial performance they’re looking for because they’d have been able to continue Project Oasis, adding more less comfortable seats onto planes.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
