Airline Fanatic

Fast CompanyMagazine just came out with their November issue, and inside I wasn’t surprised when I found an interview with Virgin America’s CEO: Fred Reid. Why was I not surprised? Fast Company is always interviewing people involved with “it” brands, and there is nothing hotter in the aviation world right now than Fred Reid and Virgin America. You can check out the mostly fluff piece over on Fast Company’s website.

Inside you’ll find mostly what would expect to see from Virgin and a new low cost carrier. The legacy carriers have terrible customer service, we improved on things a little bit from the way JetBlue operates, and added that little bit of Virgin flair that makes all of their companies special. Two things I found out about VA I didn’t know before: they will only fly to primary airports in the cities they serve. This means airports that are usually LCC favorites like Oakland (OAK), Long Beach (LGB), and Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), won’t see any red tails in the foreseeable future. Also, Reid plans to offer meals on his planes that cost $20! He thinks those able to afford first class will be able to expense it, and he is probably right, but I still find it hard to believe he can make airline food taste good enough to justify $20. We shall see though, after all, VA is part of the Virgin empire, and crazy stuff happens over there all the time.

The BBC is reporting that several Flybe pilots and crews are refusing to work on the the discount carrier’s Aerospace 146 fleet. According to the BBC, there have been 10 leaks of contaminated air over the past 15 months. One one flight, two attendants fainted in midflight and the entire crew had to be hospitalized upon landing. If the air crews were having this tough a time, its hard to imagined how unseasoned travelers would deal with the same air quality problems.

Of course Flybe corporate says: “Flybe is completely confident that its aircraft are operated and maintained to the highest industry standards.”  Not that they would ever admit anything if something was in fact amiss.  Either way, the problem will be gone soon enough – Flybe is phasing out the 146 by February 2008.

Delta Airlinesannounced today that they are going to expand their transatlantic partnership with Air France next spring with new flights across the pond.  Passengers will now be able to fly nonstop between Atlanta and London Heathrow, JFK and Heathrow, JFK and Paris-Orly, and JFK to Lyons, France.  The routes start operating and the end of March, and fares seems pretty standard.

You can see the official press release here.

This is one of many announcements we will see in the transatlantic department now that the Open Skies agreement has been signed.

In Scott McCartney’s The Middle Seat section today in the Wall Street Journal he takes a look at the ever increasing differences among low cost carriers (LCCs).  While at one time he claims everyone just tried to copy Southwest, differentiation is now the name of the game as low prices become common across all carriers.

Of course he hits on Virgin America, the supposedly-US-owned-but-everyone-knows-is-controlled-by-Richard-Branson upscale low cost airline, and how they offer premium services once you get on board.  I’ve tried to fly VA several times, but every time I’ve priced the trip (mostly between LA and New York) they’ve been several hundred dollars more expensive than legacy carrier Delta.  Between LA and San Francisco however they remain extremely competitive.

What boggles the mind however is why Scott spends so much time profiling Spirit Airlines.  Never have I seen such dishonest advertising as that spewed by Spirit.  They tout their $9 fares, which of course there is no chance of you actually being able to get because there is so little availability, but then neglect to tell you about how you are going to have to pay to check your bag, be able to fit in your seat, or even go for a glass of water!  They make their living bringing first time naive customers on board, but never have I heard of repeat business with their airline. 

Spirit’s CEO’s quote in the article shows us a lot about his attitudes towards customers: “We realize we’re either trendsetters or jerks, depending on your view of the world.”  Well from his perspective I’m sure he’s a trendsetter, he saves his company lots of money and shows the public really low fares, while making his real revenue selling them add-ons that should be included in the fare once they are already committed.  Anyone who has flown on Spirit knows them as jerks who falsely advertise rock bottom fares, but end up actually paying the same amount they would pay to any other carrier. 

I have to say I didn’t see this one coming.  According to the South Florida Sun Sentinal, JetBlue has filed for approval to provide service between Bogota, Colombia and Orlando, FL beginning April 1st, 2008.  This service would be followed by seven weekly flights between Bogota and Ft. Lauderdale, FL beginning October 1st, 2008.  The new service isn’t a sure thing however, as American Airlines currently holds the authority for the 14 slots JetBlue would like to use.

American has of course not used these 14 slots for more than five years, and why would they?  They hold the monopoly on flights between Florida and Colombia, and so it’s in their interests to keep seat inventory low, and prices high.  Now that doesn’t seem very fair to me, plus who actually likes flying American anyway?  I hope regulators give JetBlue the chance to compete on this route and drive down costs while increasing frequency.  International travel, particularly in the less competitive Latin American market, has lagged far behind domestic competition for a while.  Its about time it caught up, even just a little bit.

This filing is also an interesting departure in strategy for JetBlue.  Their international exposure to date has been restricted to Caribbean islands and holiday destinations.  Now I’ve never been to Bogota, but I’m pretty sure its no Aruba.  I guess they see a consistent flow of business traffic, which makes sense as Miami is very Latin America focused.

Lastly and certainly least, Spirit Airlinesis also in the running for these flights, and they have a greater preexisting exposure to Central America.  I’m not bullish on their chances at all though, what with their internet inept CEO and poor customer experiences.  In my opinion having no flights at all would be better than letting Spirit start new service.

I’ll keep an eye on this and see how it plays out.

Singapore Airlines today finally took delivery of their first brand spanking new Airbus A380.  It’s been more than two years since they were supposed to have held this ceremony, but Singapore CEO Chew Choon Seng put on a big smile as he christened the “new queen of the sky for air travel.”  Another sound byte worthy of the best Washington politician: “We are glad that Airbus took the time to make sure that the plane is fully tested and developed before it enters commercial service.”  Yes, I’m sure you’re glad Airbus made one of the world’s most efficient airlines wait an additional two years to buy a plane that many consider ill suited for the traveling tastes of real people.  Carrying that many people on one flight in one plane makes great economic sense, but have you ever tried boarding one of those things?

To SIA’s credit, there seems to be some nice revenue opportunities in flying this big bird (which still clocks in  a few feet thinner than the infamous Spruce Goose).   For the A380 they’ve introduced new  “premium suites,” priced 20-25% higher than their already astronomically priced first class fare.  Business class and economy will also be getting upgrades with the latest amenities.  Basically, those who fly economy on Singapore Airlines still get far better seats, service and amenities than any first class passenger flying  domestic in the US.

So I wrote the previous paragraphs before I saw some delivery photos showcasing the interiors on this thing.  Can we just take a look at these “premium cabins” being flown around the skies starting in just 10 days?  This is officially now a hotel on wings, and comes with better service than the Ritz.  I officially take back anything bad I’ve said about Airbus and the A380.  Not really, there are still plenty of reasons they shouldn’t have built this plane, but still, WOW.  The super super rich now have no reason to go around buying private jets when they can travel is massive quantities of luxury this configuration provides.  In closing, Singapore Airlines, if you are listening, I am now ready to review your A380 firsthand as I lay flat in your suites cruising over the Pacific.  Just drop me a line and I’ll see if I can clear up my schedule.

Delta Airlines is adding two daily non stops between Tucson, AZ and LAX.  The flights will be operated by ExpressJet as Delta Connections flights and will use the amazingly cramped ERJ 50 passenger jets.  Delta already operates flights to Atlanta and Salt Lake City out of Tucson, but is adding service to LAX as part of its broad build up of service at the airport.

Delta must be counting on a lot of connecting traffic on flights through LAX, because people traveling exclusively between  LA and Tucson have a much better choice in the form of Southwest Airlines.  Southwest flies their ubiquitous 737s which come with a lot more room, and also has much greater frequency, flying the city pair six times daily.

All in all this announcement shouldn’t bring about a great upheaval in Tucson, unless you are stuck with lots of  miles and are heading to LA.