Dan Michaels of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says that wine onboard planes is getting better. That hasn’t been my experience at all, but of course oenophiles have varying tastes. Michaels does pass along one interesting tidbit, however: British Airways, which traditionally put bottles of free champagne atop food-service carts at each meal, halved consumption on short-haul flights, saving
Just admit it was a mistake
Now-defunct TWA’s biggest problem — it was the only major airline losing money in the late 1990s — was that its primary hub was in St. Louis.All the other major airlines were pulling in about 6% full fare travelers. TWA, based in a dying city without the high flying commerce of major centers like Chicago, San Francisco, and Dellas, just wasn’t pulling in premium revenue.It always seemed strange that American saw acquiring the St. Louis hub as desireable when they acquired the bankrupt airline. They explained that they would relieve the pressure on Dallas by routing more travelers through St. Louis. That strategy turned out to be a dog, as American is scaling back flights out of St. Louis, and building up flights out of Dallas. American says their focus on St. Louis will be…
Government Handouts Skew the Numbers
American lost a whole lot less than it would have otherwise, and Continental, Delta, and Northwest all reported quarterly profits that would have been losses without one-time events including government handouts. None of these airlines made money off of their airline operations. Delta and Northwest had help for their bottom-lines from the sale of the Worldspan Computer Reservation System.And as Northwest disentangles from Worldspan, they have struck a deal to give Sabre (a competing reservation system) access to its web fares that are currently only available on its own website and on Orbitz in exchange for lower booking fees.Remind me again why the government thinks we need to regulate these distribution vehicles?
Jonathan Ornstein, Call Your Office
It’s a refrain we’ve heard many times before, but Richard Branson says he wants to start a low-fare carrier in the U.S. Silly U.S. laws limit foreign ownership of U.S. carriers to 49% and voting control to 25%. The much-maligned (by me) Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta wants to increase voting control to 49%. That would encourage Branson in his quest.But there’s still no reason that ownership should be limited at all.
Need a new cell phone?
Amazon is offering a $300 internet and camera enabled phone for free with activation. They also have a $250 phone for $50 with activation.
C’mon, JoeB, you can do better
Joe Brancatelli is defending the TSA. He explains away profligate spending as complaints from Hypocritical sleazeballs from the Republican Congressional delegation Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security’s own Inspector General is investigating extensive use of resorts by the TSA. The inquiry was prompted by a letter from Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ron Wyden of Oregon, who questioned a seven-week stay by 20 Pearson recruiters at the Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo. The resort boasts an 18-hole golf course, spectacular views, an indoor pool and fluffy robes. Democratic Senators Wyden and Dorgan. Not what I’d call “from the Republican Congressional delegation.”Brancatelli doesn’t specifically address the major concerns about the TSA in any case…
If I had shares, they’d still have value… today
Midwest Airlines has avoided a bankruptcy filing. At least for now. While their costs will be reduced with the new agreements they’ve reached, it’s unclear (at least to me) that their lower service business model will attract the revenue they need to prosper over the long term.
A mile high flight, a bed, and a contest from Virgin
Enter to win two Virgin Atlantic “Upper Class” tickets and two nights hotel. You actually have to answer three questions in the “make your bed and lie in it” game, but the answers are obvious and the “incorrect” answers are funny.
What to do with a million Membership Rewards points?
Reader William writes: My father has been banking American Express miles for the last 15 years. To date he has accumulated 1.3 Million AMEX miles. By the time he retires, in about two years, he thinks he will have nearly 2 Million miles. He uses his card for major purchases at his firm. His plan is to use the miles to fly and vacation with after he retires. I am worried that keeping your miles in one place – especially that many – might mean he could also lose them all at once. For example if AMEX drops a FF partner he would like to fly or a hotel chain he wants to stay at – he would then be out of luck. Should he start moving them into certain programs or just leave them…
Instant Airline Elite
Two recent Flyertalk threads discuss how to get elite status on KLM and on Continental without jumping through any special hoops (you know, like actually flying).
