The New York Times reports that USAirways is considering selling assets, including the DC-New York-Boston Shuttle.While discussions appear preliminary, and the existence of discussions shouldn’t be overread, this seems ill-advised.Selling assets will raise cash but do little to affect the underlying profitability of the enterprise. It’s likely that the only assets which will bring real cash are also the ones that are the most profitable or most likely to become profitable.Sometimes it does make sense for a business to sell off productive assets — either because the business underutilizes those assets and they’re worth more to another business (and hence will fetch more cash in a sale than profits to the original owner) or because the business believes that they can invest the cash more productively in other enterprises.In this case, it seems more like…
The first tax offer appears
I always procrastinate on my taxes — not out of anger at writing a check to the IRS (though I feel some) or a desire to put off unpleasantness (though I feel that too) — but because I want to wait for the best mileage offers to appear. Several credit cards will offer bonuses for making tax payments with their card. These bonuses tend to offset the processing fee for paying taxes by credit card. I want to get the best bonus possible. Two years ago I took advantage of a United Visa offer of 5000 miles for any tax payment (I paid $5 online and the rest with a check). Last year I earned double Starwood points for my online tax payment. I haven’t heard what the credit card offers are yet — they…
JetBlue’s Growth
JetBlue will begin daily flights between New York Kennedy and Sacramento, California on March 3rd. There is currently no non-stop service between those two airports.Sacramento is JetBlue’s fifth California city, joining Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego and Ontario.JetBlue’s strategy remains to grow with transcontinental flights, where their unique niche matters to customers. They offer DirectTV and leather seats, which customers prefer on long flights (at least price being equal). On short flights, this edge doesn’t shift customer decision-making.Expect JetBlue to continue raiding long haul bread and butter routes of the major carriers and avoiding short haul expansion, especially where they would face head to head competition from other low cost carriers.Update: Far from resting on their laurels, JetBlue will be adding XM satellite radio. Airtran, which currently offers no in-flight entertainment (but does boast a…
Why does the European Union keep airline safety records secret?
The BBC reports that unsafe airlines, even those banned from flying to member countries, have their identities concealed from the public. Five airlines which have such poor safety records they have been banned in at least one country are having their identities kept secret in an information black hole. Passengers boarding the Flash plane did not know Swiss record Flash Airlines, whose plane crashed in Egypt on Saturday, was only one of six airlines whose safety standards were considered so poor they were banned or restricted in a European country in 2002. But 133 French passengers boarded the doomed jet unaware that it had failed a Swiss safety test and remained banned from Swiss airspace. And future passengers who want to know the names of the five other banned airlines face a seemingly impossible task,…
New mileage earning — and burning — opportunity
United and Sony are partnering on a new music download site that will allow customers to earn miles for their purchases and redeem miles for music.The website is expected to launch in the Spring.
Freddie Awards date and location tentatively announced
Rumor (well, tentative scheduling) is that the Freddie Awards will be held April 29th at the Embassy Suites New York.Since I won a four night stay at the Wydnham El Conquistador last year as a door prize — not to mention the event was fabulous — I will have to make the trip again.The current lowest rate for the hotel is $303 pre-paid on the website. Last year there was a negotiated rate for the event. As insurance I’m holding an award night.
Aviation Security Update
Bob Poole’s Aviation Security Update is always interesting. The most recent issue (dated January 7, 2004) is not yet online, but I’d expect it to be available shortly.Some useful snippets: Hassle Factor Takes Its Toll on Short-Haul Flights(…)While full-year 2003 figures are not available yet, a recent comparison of second quarter 2003 with air travel in 2000 showed that overall traffic (passengers per day) on all routes was down by four percent. How much of this overall decline is due to the economy and how much to the “hassle factor” can only be guessed at. But when Ed Smick of SH&E crunched the numbers for the top 100 short-haul markets, he found traffic there had declined by 21 percent. And for the top 10 short-haul markets, all but two showed declines of between 26 and…
This isn’t so hard..
You be the security screener!
Does it take a drunken idiot to believe the TSA makes us safer?
The TSA chief for Washington Dulles was arrested on DWI charges during his shift on New Year’s Eve The chief of the Transportation Security Administration at Dulles International Airport was placed on administrative leave yesterday after being charged with drunken driving while he was on duty for a New Year’s Eve Code Orange alert, officials said. Acting federal security director Charles Brady was pulled over about 1 a.m. by a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police officer who saw him driving erratically on Route 28 near Dulles, airport spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said. Brady, 49, was taken to the Fairfax County jail, where he was booked at 3 a.m. He was released at 1 p.m. yesterday after being charged with driving while intoxicated, said spokesman Lt. Tyler Corey, who described Brady as “extremely cooperative” during his stay.…
Paris Hilton orders pizza in the nude and John Ashcroft pays the tip
And other weird pizza delivery facts … “Paris Hilton” is the No. 1 fake name used by people calling for pizza deliveries, according to a survey of Domino’s Pizza drivers in Washington, D.C., released Monday by the pizza delivery chain. … U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft might want to open an investigation into these findings — he was No. 2 on the list of assumed names used by people ordering pizza. … According to the survey of 630 drivers, nine percent of people who answer the door in the nude tip more than 20 percent, compared with 2 percent of people in pajamas.
