As many of you know, I typically focus on legacy airlines when reporting on news, but something shocked me earlier today by Frontier Airlines that warrants a post and apology for a tweet I sent out:

My initial reaction was shock because I still hold Frontier in a class above Spirit and Allegiant, who basically charge for everything. But after reading the full press release and recalling that they’re significantly adjusting their strategy to stay alive, I’ll recant my disagreement with charging for all drinks (except water, I assume).

Why? Because I wouldn’t be shocked or upset to purchase coffee, soda, etc. on Spirit or Allegiant since it’s already in my brain that they’re an ultra low cost carrier. And as Frontier directly points out in the release:

As part of the transformation into an Ultra Low Cost Carrier…

And:

Frontier continues to make it easier for customers flying with Frontier to pay only for the services they use, which allows us to continue lowering fares…

So I recant my “not a good move” tweet-reaction to the news regarding this policy. If you can’t beat them, join them! Spirit, after all, has been quite profitable for some time. $1.99 here and there isn’t going to do it (which is the new fee for drinks for most fliers), but I understand why they’ll begin charging the fee.

And speaking of being Spirit-like, Frontier will also start charging for carry-on bags requiring overhead bin space – anywhere from $25 to $100 – for passengers who purchase “basic fare” tickets on websites other than FlyFrontier.com.

If you’re interested in the specifics of the new fees (and other changes, including modified EarlyReturns mileage accrual rates), click here.

• Twitter has been abuzz today covering American’s inaugural Boeing 777-300 flight. AAdvantage Geek has a great post reviewing his walk-through and be sure to follow @airchive for real-time flight updates.
• Meanwhile, another 777-300 inaugural was grounded. Aeroflot had planned to launch flights tomorrow, but forgot one minor detail… the “type certificate” from the Russian government. Oops. The inaugural has been postponed.
• Iberia Airlines unveiled their swanky new business class dubbed Business Plus. The cabin looks fantastic and features all-aisle access, fully flat seats and a nifty entertainment system. The new cabin will debut on the airline’s freshly delivered A330s, the first to enter service in February.
• Sticking with oneworld carriers for a moment, Malaysia Airlines becomes the latest oneworld alliance addition. And in celebration of the occasion, American Airlines is offering double redeemable miles for flights on the carrier from February 15 to April 15.
• The European Court has ruled that airlines must compensate passengers for severe delays or cancellations in the event of weather or natural disasters, not just mechanical related issues. I’m not so sure I agree… imagine the expense!
• Frontier Airlines will launch Denver to Cincinnati service this May. Six weekly flights aboard Airbus A320 jets will begin May 16. CVG has historically had some pretty high airfares… we’ll see if this brings them down a bit (in competitive markets).
• Boston certainly has had its share of aircraft incidents (glad my 4 flights last week to/from BOS were without troubles). A Delta Air Lines MD-90 evacuated its passengers on a taxiway due to a brake fire, possibly before the aircraft even took off.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 30, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 29, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 28, 2013

An article about Alaska Airlines appeared in last week’s Los Angeles Times that I think is worth a read. It quotes CEO Bill Ayer as basically saying Alaska is not for sale nor interested in a merger, effectively shunning away any courtship attempt from another carrier or entity. They do have codeshare arrangements with both American Airlines & Delta Air Lines, but Ayer’s goal is to stay independent.

Speculation has been frequent by analysts that Alaska would be an ideal acquisition for a number of large carriers, including American, Delta & US Airways, as well as other midsize carriers such as Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue & Spirit. According to Ayer again though, while Alaska knows growth is essential for its continued success (telling investors to expect 3% to 6%), it can do so by adding frequency in some of the markets it currently only serves once or twice a day. The carrier for the foreseeable future is staying away from the recent trend of mergers in the industry.

Financially, Alaska is doing quite well and posted a net income of $29.5 million ($74.2 million GAAP) for the first quarter of 2011. Its stock price is strong when compared against the industry, too, and the company would be valued as being worth $2.5 billion dollars on that basis alone. Scott Kirby, President of US Airways, acknowledges Alaska’s success and even points out that a merger between the two would, “take a cost structure that’s profitable and make it unprofitable.”

Still, though, from a route perspective I can see why investors would find the marriage of Alaska and other midsize airlines attractive, making such a combination into another large U.S. carrier to compete with the legacies domestically. Take a look at the route maps of Alaska (ex-Seattle), Frontier (complete route map) and JetBlue (ex-New York/Boston).

Also from what I’ve seen, Alaska receives fairly high marks in customer satisfaction, and will very soon have fleet-wide Wi-Fi capability given a tweet I saw from them on Friday. I’ve never flown with Alaska, but did have good experiences when I’ve flown subsidiary Horizon Air in the past. In a shrinking industry through consolidation, it was interesting to read the remarks from an airline CEO decisively against mergers… for now.