Airline Fanatic

Yes you read that headline correctly, US Airways has a GOAL this holiday season of having 60% or its flights leave the gate on time.  Of course that means a full 40% of flights wont leave within 15 minutes of their schedules departure.  And that is just was US Air EXPECTS to happen.

This depressingly low goal was circulated in the Arizona based carrier’s employee newsletter as a background for their Holiday Hustle incentive program.  The 60% ontime departure rate was one goal for which employees can be rewarded, the other is if only 7 bags per 10,000 passengers get lost.  If both goals are completed employees will get a $100 bonus, if only one is completed they all get $50.  Unfortunately for the employees, and given last year’s number, I have a feeling they wont be getting anything this year.  Besides, I don’t think the $100 will motivate those in the position to actually influence whether those planes leave on time and those bags find the right way.

[Via Business Week]

There hasn’t been much merger talk in the airline industry since US Airways attempted a hostile takeover of Delta while they were still in bankruptcy. That has fallen by the wayside now though, and this time discussion is ramping up around the once down and out carrier Delta and its possible merger ideas with Northwest (or should I say Northworst?). Business Week is the latest to comment on this, providing a pretty good argument in favor of consolidation. I also feel consolidation between some of the major carriers would be great for the industry as a whole, though it would be bad for passengers.

Having said I’m in favor of airline consolidation, why does the headline say Delta shouldn’t think about going through with this? For many reasons, first and foremost being the fact that combining two mediocre airlines does not automatically mean they will come out on the other end being a great airline. This is the same kind of ill fated logic that brought America West and US Air together several years ago, only to have the combined carriers place last on the Department of Transportation’s complaint list. As someone who has had the unfortunate pleasure of flying on Northwest, I can safely say their customer service and passenger experience ranks among the worst in the entire industry, something Delta would only inherit in a merger.

Speaking of passenger experience, Northwest throws up another giant STOP sign with their aging fleet of over 100 DC-9s. The average age of this group of planes is an astonishing 35 years old. Needless to say the passenger comfort, cabin noise, and environmental standards of these things aren’t what they are today. Any suitor for Northwest would be forced to put up a lot of cash for planes that actually detract from passenger’s overall experience. Not that Delta is the poster child for new planes and clean interiors, but why make your fleet older than you have to?

One of the biggest incentives for a Delta-Northwest merger would be reduction in capacity in the domestic market, which in turn means healthier revenue numbers as prices go up. This drop in capacity wouldn’t happen to any great extent in this merger however, as Delta’s and Northwest’s route structure are largely mutually exclusive. Delta has major hubs in Atlanta and Cincinnati, while Northwest works out of Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis. Reductions in point to point departures only leave more room for the low cost carriers to take more market share from legacy carriers. Internationally, Delta would gain an extensive network in Asia, which would complement its own network in Europe and make it a truly global airline. Delta has already won approval to start Atlanta-Shanghai service however, and is continuing to rapidly expand its own international offerings. Delta is already in a headlong rush to add its own international service, and so will probably catch up with stagnating Northwest before too long.

Delta should definitely be interested in industry consolidation, but only if doing so would provide any benefit to the bottom line. In my opinion swallowing up Northwest would produce bigger headaches than efficiencies. Instead Delta should take a look at an airline that isn’t as ancient and customer unfriendly as Northwest, such as ATA or Midwest.

One of the leaders of the airline industry, Singapore Airlines, has just signed a new codesharing agreement with primarily domestic carrier US Airways.  This move is a little confusing for me, as both airlines are already members of the Star Alliance, and so allows passengers to fly other airlines while still receiving miles on their primary carrier.  I guess the goal here is for tighter integration between the two, and so Singapore and US Air customers can book their entire trip through one company’s website.

Essentially, the new agreement allows US Air customers to fly through to Singapore via Los Angeles or San Francisco, although LAX is the only city with nonstop service.  Singapore airlines customers can likewise extend their trip in the US on any US Airways flight leaving out of those two cities.

More important than that though it the faith Singapore Airlines is putting in US Airways to take care of their customers.  Singapore is perennially one of the top, if not the best airlinein the world ranked by service.  Taking those comfortable, pampered customers and putting them in the cramped, dirty, and poor service environment that is US Air could set them up for a nasty shock.  A better choice could have been, well lets face it, pretty much any other carrier except for Spirit Air.  Especially out of Los Angeles and San Francisco, the two US cities for which this has the biggest impact, United Airlines has much larger operations and a better reputation for service, though only slightly.  This may end up being a bigger liability for the brand image and customer experience of Singapore’s customers than a feature of convenience.