- Oy, more 787 issues as an All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet makes an emergency landing in Osaka. This is breaking as I type, so further details will certainly emerge.
- United Airlines will lay off 472 workers at Newark Liberty Airport. A spokesman at United confirms it’s due to outsourcing of cargo operations, but adds the airline will help them find other jobs with the airline.
- A shipment of 18 human heads was seized at Chicago O’Hare Airport. A mix-up in paperwork reportedly delayed the shipment and subsequent delivery of the medically-researched heads on their way for cremation.
- San Francisco International Airport could soon be renamed after the legendary gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Voters will decide on the potential name change/addition this November.
- Air China may soon fly nonstop from Houston to Beijing. The airline announced the route today, which still requires government approval. It might bring decent Star Alliance award availability into play.
- United Airlines is (finally) introducing Wi-Fi to their international fleet. The satellite-based Wi-Fi service is presently equipped on one Boeing 747-400 and two Airbus A319s, with plans to roll it out to 300 more aircraft this year. Fingers crossed one of the two United 747s I’m flying next week is the sole -400 offering the service so I can try it out.
- Hilton has a 24-hour promo beginning tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. EST. Part of the Any Weekend, Anywhere Sale, it offers up to 40 percent off weekend stays and 2,500 bonus points. The sale is ongoing through January 31, but book tomorrow for the bonus points.
- The moron who called in a fake bomb hoax will submit a written apology to each of the passengers on the US Airways flight forced to return to Philadelphia airport resulting from his call. That’s not nearly as bad as the fines and prison term he’s facing.
Related posts:
Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: January 14, 2013
ANA grounds all its 17 Boeing 787 jets for emergency checks
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST9N09U05G20130116
@Truthiness: Thanks for the link… and I now hear Japan Air is suspending 787 flights tomorrow (today NRT time).
Darren,
As much as I enjoy reading your blog and others, I must say that I think you and they are doing the “dirty work” for the airlines by prepping us for revenue-based programs in that the more we read it is coming to our favorite programs, the more conditioned we will be to accept it without the strong reaction we would otherwise have (kind like when you watch enough violence, sex, or whatever on TV, the more conditioned you are to accept it as normal). While this article is informative, I do not find it helpful to your reading public for the reason given.
@Frank: Thanks for the feedback. My blog is hugely minor compared to others exposing the revenue-based likelihood, but I’ll agree I’m providing further fodder. Check out my soon to be published post today for more!