American’s labor groups — including Flight Attendants — have now approved new wages, averting bankruptcy for the airline. American projects $1.8 billion in annual savings from these agreements. However, the airline lost $3.5 billion last year. While they have made other cuts that they say will save $2 billion, some of those cuts were in force while they were losing $3.5 billion — so they’re farther off from profitability than just adding $1.8 billion and $2 billion together. The airline needs bookings to pick up and the economy to improve or they will continue to lose large sums of money. These labor agreements buy them time to get their house in order and for external conditions to change. But both of those must happen or American will find itself staring bankruptcy in the face again.
Free Delta Miles
Apply by May 15 for the Delta Skymiles American Express and you’ll get bonus miles for signup and they’ll waive the fee for the first year. Get the card, charge something, get the miles, and you’re free to cancel. No cost.
Membership has its privileges
Double Continental’s 1000 mile online booking bonus (through May 31) by paying with American Express.
Only fly domestic?
John Bloom thinks some airlines need to be liquidated and others need to just fly domestic. He may have a point, but unfortunately he fails to make it in the piece. No doubt government subsidies and handouts have kept airlines afloat that should have shut down long ago. After 9/11, government bailout money put the twice bankrupt Midway Airlines back in the air after it shut down. That business plan didn’t work, and so they’re resurrecting themselves as a USAirways express carrier (third time’s the charm?). But giving up international flying isn’t the panacea that Bloom makes it out to be. While there isn’t “some rule that says United, American and Delta are REQUIRED to fly to Moscow and Hong Kong and Sydney?” they certainly should if the route is profitable and shouldn’t if it…
Thank heaven for small favors
The Transportation Security Administration says that it will train its people in Seattle not to violate rights.
Don’t you wish reporters writing about the airline industry actually knew what they were talking about?
Today’s Washington Post story on the Flight Attendants wage concession vote and an impending American Airlines bankruptcy makes the following statement in order to be relevant to the local community: Although [American] is the world’s largest airline, it is one of the smallest in the Washington area. The airline accounts for 9 percent of the flights at Reagan National Airport, 3 percent at Dulles International and 8.7 percent at Baltimore-Washington International. US Airways, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are the region’s most dominant major carriers. (Emphasis mine) The dominant carrier at Washington-Dulles airport is, of course, United Airlines.
Round up the usual suspects.. and protest.
It is rumored that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez want to star in a remake of ‘Casablanca.’ This will be the perfect film for people who liked the original, but wished it was terrible. –Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live Express your displeasure with the idea.
AA in the Balance
American’s flight attendants voted down their proposed contract. The pilots and mechanics had already ratified theirs. American has said that if the three groups didn’t approve concessions, it would seek to reorganize itself under bankruptcy laws. Since the vote was apparently decided by a few hundred flight attendants, and since several of those flight attendants cast their votes before last minute airline concessions, there may be an opportunity for a revote. Developing…
The Maple Leaf that Laid the Rotten Egg
Air Canada has introduced new fees for booking free award travel. There will be a $25 fee for awards not booked online, ‘fuel surcharges’ depending on the length of the flight (but not on international flights), and taxes on these new fees. At a time when the airline is in bankruptcy, they need all the customer loyalty they can get. Squeezing fees out of their loyalty program can only cause resentment and devalue the program that will be the key to the airline’s future. While some programs charge fees for booking awards close to the date of departure (a personal pet peeve of mine), Air Canada is the first to introduce across-the-board fees on award tickets (outside of recouping government-imposed security taxes). Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, the head of Air Canada’s frequent flyer program…
Make Darn Sure You Have Your Papers in Order When Traveling Abroad
This harrowing tale of a permanent U.S. resident denied re-entry into the United States should give pause to allow of us. With the INS broken into three parts and under the Department of Homeland Security, we have more vigorous enforcement with insufficient coordination — “a terribly inefficient agency on testosterone.” This agency has the power to deport a legal resident and refuse that reident the right to return to the U.S. for five years — even when the problem is a lack of documentation caused by an INS failure to provide proper documentation, and even when the documentation that the person has worked perfectly well in the past. Your papers, sir?
