January 28

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

I didn’t learn about this until yesterday and was very saddened to hear of the loss of fellow aviation geek and editor of NYCAviation.com, Matthew Molnar. The New York Times ran a very respectful article yesterday (linked above) of his passing noting his incredible passion for aviation.
Delta Air Lines will debut outdoor terrace ‘Sky Decks’ at its Sky Club lounges in Atlanta and New York’s JFK. I’ll certainly be buying a day-pass my next time through ATL or JFK after they open to take in the #avgeek beauty and inhale a few Jet A fumes.
The Northeast was particularly hard-hit by flight cancellations today as a winter storm moved through the area. More than 1,000 flights were cancelled today according to FlightAware.com as of this posting.
A Hawaii tax judge has ruled online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity owe $150 million in taxes to Hawaii. The ruling states the OTAs should have paid hotel taxes based on the retail rates they sold the rooms to clients for, not the wholesale rates they are charged by the hotels. I’m a bit surprised such tax language and requirements aren’t spelled out clearly in the agreements between OTAs and hotels, if that’s indeed the case.
Air France is looking to launch a new regional airline named HOP! beginning this summer. The carrier will reportedly serve short- and medium-haul routes in France and throughout Europe with 530 daily flights to 136 destinations.

Posted by Darren | One Comment

August 30

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: August 30, 2012

A judge ruled American Airlines’ antitrust suit against Orbitz, Travelport and Sabre may proceed after finding reasonable grounds that the companies orchestrated a boycott of American. All parties, however, agreed for a stay as they seek renewed negotiations.
Avis is dropping their “We Try Harder” slogan, used for 50 years, for “It’s Your Space.” They say it’s targeted to busy business travelers, but I just don’t get it. Bad move, in my opinion.
Air New Zealand posted a NZ$71 million (US$57 million) net income for its full fiscal year, down 12%. The airline expects to more than double its earning for 2013, however, through “improvement initiatives” and alliance synergies with Virgin Australia and ANA.
The Miami Dolphins experienced a delay as their chartered American Airlines jet clipped another AA aircraft at DFW early today. Their 767′s wing clipped the tail of an MD-80.
Several airlines are offering last minute Labor Day airfare sales. So far I’ve read about sales at US Airways, United and Virgin America, mostly via email or Twitter.
Earlier this month, a woman gave birth on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Manila. While I’ve heard about babies being born inflight before, I’ve never heard about the newborn being named after the airline. The parents named the boy “EK,” Emirates’ airline code. I thought it was cute at first, but now… not so much. Maybe as middle name instead?