Archive for August, 2008
August 12 2008
JP Morgan took a bold step and upgraded a number of airlines today, including US Airways, based on lower fuel expenses and better liquidity. I’d like to call out JP Morgan for the stand that they’re taking now that US Airways has moved from $1.75 a share to $9.50. I’m not sure why they hated it at $1.75 and loved it at $9.50, but thanks so much. Really helpful.
Uncategorized | No Comments » 
Print This Post
August 12 2008
Pssst….wanna buy whatever the hell is left of MAXjet? Well, it looks like you can: the airline announced that its sale to NCA Sports (a charter company) has fallen through. No idea what you’ll get if you buy it, but I’m sure it’ll be a bargain.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
August 11 2008
Ryanair is taking a rather harsh stand against so-called Screenscraping Sites that search its site for fares. The airline now says that it will cancel the tickets of anyone who books through a third-party site that screenscrapes. As it would be rather difficult for you (the traveler) to know how a third-party site is accessing Ryanair’s fares, your best bet will be to just go to Ryanair’s website to buy tickets. This doesn’t affect most people - Ryanair says that less than 1% of its tickets are sold in this manner - but it’s rare to see an airline retaliate against consumers when they’re unhappy with 3rd party distribution (for example, American is now taking Kayak to court for how it displays their fares).
Ryanair | 2 Comments » Print This Post
August 08 2008
In yet another sign that the end may be near for Midwest, Northwest Airlines wrote off its $213 million investment in the carrier - a move that suggests Midwest actually may be worthless at this point. MIdwest also just announced declines in passenger traffic for July, a month when most airlines are seeing strong growth. Looks like we’re heading to a sad end for a once great little airline.
Uncategorized | 1 Comment » Print This Post
August 08 2008
Well, that was just to get your attention - it was actually his press plane trailing his plane to Africa that was delayed. The Washington Post has a mildly amusing story about the press traveling with Clinton for a 4-day whirlwind trip through Africa and the delays suffered by all. Short version? 55 hour delay at Newark, an electrical fire, a replacement Boeing 707, and Ted Danson flying Ethiopian Airlines from Ethiopia to Rwanda. I don’t know why the site of Danson on that plane cracks me up. It also begs the question of what the hell he was doing there. I can’t answer that. Maybe a very special Becker.
Weird Airline Stories | 1 Comment » Print This Post
August 07 2008
USA Today once again published the list of the 25 most delayed flights, and (quite impressively) two flights were delayed every single day. Well done. American’s flight 1639 from JFK to San Juan was delayed 100% of the time at an average of 2 hours and 8 minutes (bueno!) and Comair 5292 from Minneapolis to JFK (surprise) was delayed an average of 2 hours and 3 minutes. In fact, the top 5 most delayed flights were all to or from the New York area (I’m so proud!). It’s worth checking out the list before booking to at least give yourself a small bit of hope for getting where you’re going on time.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
August 06 2008
A follow up on one of my favorite stories from 2005:
You may remember that preacher Joel Osteen’s wife was involved in some sort of altercation with a Continental flight attendant prior to takeoff on a flight from Houston to Vail. Mrs. Osteen found liquid on her first class seat, asked the flight attendant to clean it up, fight ensued, blah blah blah.
Now the flight attendant is suing because the incident gave her hemmeroids. Really.
Continental Airlines | 9 Comments » Print This Post
August 05 2008
Allegiant reported a 95% load factor in July (ie, it filled 95% of its available seats), a number that is absolutely unheard of. I’m going to keep harassing you with Allegiant minutia until they get the respect they deserve.
(As always, for full disclosure, I own a small number of shares in the carrier).
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
August 05 2008
An executive for Malaysia’s Air Asia X told a conference that if fuel were to hit $200/barrel, the airline would consider charging passengers by how much they weigh. He later clarified the remark, saying that even though the airline may actually start weighing passengers to calculate aircraft weight, it would be “difficult to implement” a fare-by-weight system. That said, don’t be shocked when some airline does actually try this.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
August 05 2008
As you’ll no doubt see elsewhere, Delta will begin offering in-flight wi-fi on its MD-80s later this year, with their entire domestic fleet outfitted by mid-2009. The service will cost $9.95 for flights under 3 hours and $12.95 on flights longer than 3-hours - not terrible when you think about it. Also on the plus side, the service won’t allow you to make internet telephone calls. Whew.
Delta Air Lines | 1 Comment » Print This Post
« Prev - Next »
JP Morgan Upgrades US Airways - After a 400% Stock Jump