News and notes from around the interweb:
- Traveling with your kids makes them better in school
- Purposely booking tight connections hoping the airline will provide a car transfer across the tarmac
- More subsidies for American Airlines: Tech Ops – Tulsa reopened Hangar 2’s Dock 2D after modifications paid for by taxpayers.
- The Norwegian Air 737 that had to divert to Shiraz, Iran is still stuck there because of sanctions.
- Ecuadorian carrier TAME will cancel its New York route and shed the Airbus A330-200 it uses for the flight.
- Lufthansa now beats out Air France as Europe’s biggest airline
- Government shutdown could delay launch of passenger flights at Paine Field
- Customs and Border Protection finalizes rules for social media surveillance
Copyright: andreyuu / 123RF Stock Photo
It’s disappointing that cities are reliant on airlines for so much else in their business world, enough so that they’ll taxpayer subsidize things the airline needs.
I know people like to feel “special,” but getting driven across the tarmac to make a connection is about as exciting as, well, taking an uber from the airport. UA did it for me once at ORD. I had plenty of time, and was actually headed to the lounge. If I didn’t have a tight connection, I’d decline the ride the next time. It’s unimaginable to me that anyone would try to schedule a tight connection (and risk getting delayed) for the slight chance of getting a tarmac ride.
Oh don’t start the AA hate for getting $2.7 million. Look at how much DL gets by NOT paying fuel taxes in Atlanta. . .and the list goes on and on. It’s called business people.
Interesting how “largest airline” changes when measured by number of passengers:
The World’s Largest Airlines by Passengers Carried
Rank Airline Country of Headquarters Number of Passengers Carried
1 American Airlines United States 198,700,000
2 Delta Air Lines United States 183,700,000
3 Southwest Airlines United States 151,800,000
4 United Airlines United States 143,200,000
5 Ryanair Ireland 119,800,000
6 China Southern Airlines China 84,900,000
7 China Eastern Airlines China 80,900,000
8 easyJet United Kingdom 73,100,000
9 Turkish Airlines Turkey 62,800,000
10 Lufthansa Germany 62,400,000
Sorry Gary – your view that Tulsa’s Dock 2D hangar modification, funded by taxpayers, is a subside of American Airlines is totally wrong and off-base. The American Airlines Maintenance & Engineering Base at Tulsa LEASES the facilities from the City of Tulsa (owner of the airport). As such, the city made improvements to the facilities in order to acquire more work (and tax revenue) at the site. Maybe you should do a little research before printing accusations.
@Work2Travel how on EARTH is that not a subsidy, that’s the EXACT same thing the US airlines criticize Gulf governments for doing with their aviation infrastructure.
@Gary: I think Work2Travel is saying that this is a landlord making some improvements to its property. Are those priced into AAs lease? If so the answer to “how on EARTH is that not a subsidy” is that it is paid via higher lease payments.
Were lease payments increased to cover this? You do not say. On that question Word2Travel is correct.
@L3 that is not what this is at all, this is a sales tax levy on residents to fund activities that draw jobs — it’s not a landlord offering up T/I money
@GARY: No. The rent went up as a result of the improvements, but more than their cost. Landlord investment.
Prove its not?
@L3 what on earth makes you think that? American doesn’t claim so. And that’s clearly not the intent of the program. Why make that up?
@Gary: Do you have any evidence?
Well I’m just describing it the way it was outlined in the AA article I snipped