Essential Travel News for 2/12/07

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FAA/SECURITY

Lost luggage numbers for 2006 were worst in 16 years

U.S. airlines’ handling of checked luggage in 2006 was the worst in 16 years, with 6.73 lost or misdirected bags per 1,000 passengers, according to Transportation Department statistics released last week. At the same time, the industry’s on-time arrival rate declined from 77.4 percent in 2005 to 75.4 percent in 2006. The lower on-time arrivals rate was generally blamed on bad weather, like the late-December blizzard at Denver International. The ballooning number of lost bags could be due in part to a sudden increase in the number of checked bags after liquids were banned from carry-ons in August, and perhaps in part to ongoing layoffs and wage reductions at major airlines, resulting in a smaller and less motivated workforce. The worst record for lost and misdirected bags in 2006 was at Atlantic Southeast Airlines (17.37 per 1,000 passengers), followed by American Eagle (14.42), Comair (11.98), Mesa Airlines (10.55) and SkyWest Airlines (10.16). The best baggage handling was at Hawaiian Airlines (3.14 incidents per 1,000 passengers), followed by JetBlue (4.09), Northwest (4.60), AirTran (4.72) and Continental (4.76).

AIRLINES

Southwest will come back to SFO in the fall

For an airport that has had very limited service from low-cost carriers, San Francisco International is finally getting lucky. First, Virgin America picked SFO as its home base for new low-cost domestic service, although it is taking a long time for the carrier to win Transportation Department certification due to opposition from incumbent major airlines. Then JetBlue Airways announced plans to start flying out of SFO on May 3 to New York JFK and Boston. And now Southwest Airlines says it will resume service out of SFO sometime this fall. Southwest hasn’t yet said where it will fly from SFO; before it pulled out of the airport in 2001, it offered flights from there to Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego. Southwest is already a big player at other Bay Area airports, with 142 flights a day out of Oakland and 77 at San Jose. Those operations will not be affected by its re-entry to San Francisco International, Southwest said.

US Airways: Our merger attempts have ended – maybe

In his first interviews since US Airways’ attempted hostile takeover of Delta failed, US Airways CEO Doug Parker told the Arizona Republic and the Associated Press last week that his company has no intention of seeking out another merger target. But he left an opening, noting that if any other major carriers started to pursue a merger, then US Airways might jump back into the game. Parker has said that the only decent merger targets for US Airways were Delta and Northwest, because of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy status. The Delta bid failed after Delta’s creditors backed its plan to remain a standalone company, and Parker said last week that US Airways does not intend to pursue a Northwest acquisition – unless another carrier sets its sights on the carrier. While he said he still believes there is value to be had in mergers among the industry’s major airlines, “I think the rest of the industry isn’t there yet,” Parker told the AP. “I think that maybe it will take the next (economic) downtown before people realize that this industry isn’t fixed yet.”

Court bars pilot strike at Comair

A bankruptcy judge in Cincinnati ruled last week that pilots at Comair, the regional carrier that operates as The Delta Connection, cannot go on strike. The possibility of a walkout by pilots loomed large last week, as Comair management had said that it would unilaterally impose new wage levels and work rules on pilots unless the two sides reached agreement on a new contract by February 9. The pilots had threatened to strike if management took that step. Comair, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta, is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and maintains that it needs significant cost savings from the pilots in order to complete its reorganization plan.

Midwest Airlines sets regional expansion, upgrade plans

Midwest Airlines, still being pursued as a merger target by AirTran, said last week it will begin its new regional partnership with SkyWest Airlines in April, eventually bringing 15 to 25 50-seat Canadair regional jets into the operation. In April, the carrier’s Midwest Connect service between Milwaukee-Columbus and Milwaukee-Flint will be upgraded from smaller regional jets or turboprops to the 50-seaters. In May, Midwest Connect will introduce new 50-seat regional jet non-stops between Kansas City-Columbus, the only non-stop service on that route; upgrade most Milwaukee-Pittsburgh flights from 32-seat to 50-seat jets; upgrade Milwaukee-Louisville service from turboprops to 32-seat regional jets; and add more 32-seat regional jet frequencies between Milwaukee-Dayton and Milwaukee-Duluth.

Spirit reduces free checked bag allowance

Last week, we reported on British Airways’ tighter policies for checked luggage – and higher fees for excess baggage. Now Spirit Airlines, the low-cost U.S. carrier, is doing something similar. Could this be the beginning of a trend? Effective February 10, Spirit reduced the free checked-luggage allowance for its passengers from two bags to just one, with a maximum weight of 50 pounds. Previously, the airline’s fee for checking bags in excess of the allowable two free pieces was $100 per bag. With the new policy, travelers with two bags to check will pay just $10 for the second bag. The $100 fee kicks in for the third checked piece.

American sets new policy on ground waiting time

Faced with horrible publicity about its treatment of some passengers on December 29, American Airlines has adopted new internal policies and procedures to prevent passengers from being stuck on grounded aircraft that aren’t going anywhere, according to the Dallas Morning News. On that late December date, bad weather at American’s DFW hub forced the airline to divert several aircraft to other nearby airports, where they waited for clearance to proceed to Dallas. In the most egregious case, passengers sitting planes at Austin said they were stranded on board for eight hours, with no food and little water, and no opportunity to deplane. The newspaper said American has adopted a new rule that in the future, aircraft in such a situation will have a four-hour limit to keep passengers on board on the ground; after that, they’ll have to cancel the flight and return passengers to the terminal. The newspaper said American is also revamping its internal procedures to minimize such situations.

Delta, Continental beef up regional operations

Delta last week ordered a number of new 76-seat regional jets, and Continental announced a new regional partner and aircraft type for its Newark hub. Delta said it ordered 30 of the 76-seat jets from Canada’s Bombardier Aerospace, but it hasn’t yet said where they will be deployed or which regional partner will operate them under the Delta Connection banner. Meanwhile, Continental said it will use Pinnacle Airlines as a Continental Connection partner at Newark International starting early next year. Under terms of the 10-year pact, Pinnacle subsidiary Colgan Air will operate single-class, 74-seat Bombardier Q400 twin turboprops for the Continental feeder operation.

INTERNATIONAL

JetBlue, Aer Lingus to start online ticketing connection

JetBlue Airways, which currently has no partnership deals with other airlines, could soon be launching its first. JetBlue and Irish carrier Aer Lingus confirmed last week that they are working on a link-up that would make it easy for passengers to buy interline itineraries on both airlines. They said they do not expect to offer true code-sharing, but instead will hook up through a booking link on each other’s web sites. Aer Lingus transformed itself into a low-cost carrier in the face of stiff competition from Ryanair on routes to the U.K. and continental Europe; Aer Lingus will drop out of the Oneworld global alliance on April 1. Passengers would switch from one airline to the other via New York JFK, where Aer Lingus operates out of Terminal 4 and JetBlue out of Terminal 6 – although it is planning to move into a new Terminal 5 next year. Both carriers also serve Boston Logan.

News Briefs: Emirates comes to Houston; United sets IAD-Beijing start

*In a route announcement of interest to the energy industry, Emirates said it plans to start flying non-stop later this year between Houston Intercontinental and Dubai. Emirates said it will launch service three times a week on December 3, going to daily in February 2008, using a 777-200LR.

*United Airlines last week won final approval from the Transportation Department to begin daily non-stops between its Washington Dulles hub and Beijing, using a three-class 747-400. United said it plans to start flying the route March 28; seats go on sale this week.

*Eos Airlines, which operates 48-seat 757s between New York JFK and London Stansted, said it will add a third roundtrip on peak travel days starting April 15.

*Iberia Airlines will begin new service between Boston and Madrid – the only non-stops in that market – on May 6, with five flights a week.

*US Airways and Qantas will terminate their code-sharing and frequent flyer partnership on February 28. That will be the last day when Dividend Miles members can book award flights on the Australian carrier.

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