20% off Independence Air Extended
April 25 2005
Independence Air’s 20% off link has been extended through June 30th. It’s a great deal—20% off its lowest fares.
Archive for April, 2005
Nigeria to US Airlines: We Don’t Want You Here
April 25 2005
Take a deep breath and follow along: The Nigerian government has banned US airlines (Continental specifically) from flying nonstop to Nigeria in retailiation for the US government’s ban on Virgin Nigeria flying nonstop to the US from Nigeria, which was retaliation for what the US government considers to be anti-competitive regulations in the US-Britain market. The funny part about all this is that Virgin Nigeria is not a British company (it’s only 49% owned by Richard Branson’s company).
Cheap Package to Spain, Airfare to Japan
April 22 2005
2 quick travel deals for today (thx to Travelzoo):
–$599 gets you a flight and 5 nights at a brand new resort in the Costa del Sol in Spain. Travel is good in May.
–You have to book by today, but United has $300 round trips from San Francisco and San Diego to Nagoya, Japan.
Song Jeans
April 22 2005
This story from the NY Post is so unbelievably disturbing:
Song Selling ‘Mile High’ Jeans To Fill Its Seats
By Suzanne Kapner
New York Post , April 21, 2005
Delta’s Song airline and Henri Bendel are putting some style in their
version of the Mile High club.
As part of a two-week-long event to kick off Song’s new nonstop service from New York to Los Angeles, Henri Bendel is selling limited edition Chip & Pepper "Mile High" jeans, complete with Song’s logo on the back pocket.
The association with the pricey denim (the Mile High version sells for $238) is the latest attempt by Song to position itself as anything but a stodgy airline. Rival JetBlue has taken a similar approach, and is currently featured in the windows of Lord & Taylor, part of the department store’s "Destination Blue Skies" sweepstakes, offering shoppers the chance to win a trip for two to San Francisco.
Marketing experts say the maneuvers make sense. "It’s very hard to
build differentiation into an airline experience," said Allen Adamson, managing director, of Landor Associates. "You can’t just say, ‘We’re going to give you a better sandwich.’"
He thinks airline-branded jeans MAKES SENSE? Delta lost ONE BILLION DOLLARS last quarter.
Shuttle America Sold for $1 Million
April 22 2005
Republic Airways purchased regional carrier Shuttle America for $1 million, which is not particularly remarkable. I bring it up for 2 reasons:
1) While I don’t actually HAVE $1 million, I feel like had I sold everything I owned and borrowed some money I could’ve bought Shuttle America. So could you. Kinda cool.
2) Republic Airways and Shuttle America were OWNED BY THE SAME COMPANY. Shuttle America was owned by Shuttle Acquisition LLC, which was in turn owned by Wexford Capital. Wexford Capital happens to own Republic Airways. I know just about nothing about finance, so perhaps it only SEEMS that Republic bought Shuttle America from itself.
Earnings Roundup
April 22 2005
In case you haven’t seen all of the earning reports of the past couple of days, I’ll just let you know that they were miserable. In short, Delta lost $1.08 billion last quarter ($684 million excluding 1-time charges), while Northwest lost $458 million. Delta’s $1 billion loss was on $3.65 billion in revenue for Delta, which is amazing when you think that it costs Delta something like $1.30 to bring in $1 of revenue. Yikes. I especially liked that virtually each airline noted that excess capacity in the industry depressed revenue, as if they had nothing to do with that.
$5/night at the Sands Regency in Reno
April 21 2005
(Thanks to Travelzoo for this heads up):
Something called TripReservations.com is offering rooms at the Sands Regency in Reno for $5 per night Sun-Thurs through May 26th (that’s the Sands Regency, not the Sands).
I took advantage of a similar deal 2 years ago, staying at that hotel for $13 (upon checking in, they offered my wife and I a suite for $35, which I turned down because I thought that a $13 hotel room was a better story). The hotel is perfectly functional and right downtown. My wife said it best: "This room is worth at least $39."
$899 Package to Vietnam
April 21 2005
United Vacations has a great package to Vietnam on sale right now: $899 gets you a flight to Saigon from LA, SFO or New York and 5 nights hotel. That’s especially good from New York. It’s basically good for trips in November, as the January and February dates are apparently sold out (thanks to Travelzoo for the heads up).
AWA and US Airways Merger Rumor Followup
April 21 2005
Man oh man, were analysts unhappy with the news about the America West & US Airways merger. I’m not sure I read a single positive comment from anyone about that. Jamie Baker, a financial analyst, speaks for all when he says, "We would note that in past decades, there has
not been a single successful merger of two large airlines where
shareholder value didn’t suffer, though recovering airline management
addicts regularly appear willing to belly up to the bar for another
taste." Not good.
Continental: Fare Increase Actually Helps!
April 21 2005
Despite Continental’s miserable earnings report yesterday, there was one positive tidbit: the fare increases of the past week will lead to $80-90 million is additional revenue this year. Imagine that: if you raise prices, you get more money. Fascinating how that works. Every airline should plaster that story on the walls of their revenue management offices. Raise fares good. Lower fares bad. Yes yes, I know. There is a point where raising fares will drive away business. Understood. But clearly we’re not at that point.
