Posted by Seth on March 24, 2010 under News | 
The writing was on the wall for this one since a couple weeks ago when Delta, American Airlines and jetBlue applied for exemptions at JFK, followed by Continental applying for exemptions at Newark and LaGuardia. US Airways applied for an exemption for their operations at Philadelphia today.
The claim by US Air is actually pretty entertaining. Basically they’re saying that they pick up so much of the overflow from New York that it overwhelms their facilities. Just 11 flights diverting was enough to throw a spanner in the system.
…on March 13, 11 flights headed for New York-area airports diverted to Philadelphia because of bad weather. The extra demand caused a delay for departures from Philadelphia. This resulted in clogged taxiways and gates…"
These 11 diversions had such an impact that the airport informed the FAA that they were unable to accept any more diversions for fear of completely disrupting operations. For only 11 extra planes on the ground. Something doesn’t add up there.
The exemption applications have become a joke. I truly hope that the FAA denies all of them; doing otherwise would expose the new rule for the farce that it is and there’s no way the FAA is ready to admit that yet.
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Posted by Seth on March 23, 2010 under News |
When last we met, Delta and US Airways were in the middle of negotiations on one of the largest airline operations reallocations in recent memory. The two carriers were going to be trading over 150 slot pairs at New York City’s La Guardia and Washington, DC’s National airports. But that was seven months ago and since then both the US Air pilots’ union and the FAA have had some comments about the proposed move. The FAA was insistent that some of the slots be given over to limited incumbent carriers or to new entrants at the two airports. As of yesterday it appears that some agreements have been reached to make the swaps happen.
Delta will be giving up 15 of its 125 new slot pairs at LaGuardia, selling five each to AirTran, Spirit Air and WestJet. WestJet would be a new entrant at LaGuardia while AirTran and Spirit are considered limited incumbents based on their relatively minimal operations there. Spirit currently operates 11 daily departures, mostly to their hub in Ft. Lauderdale; AirTrain operates 18 daily flights to five destinations, 9 of them are to their Atlanta Hub. WestJet currently serves the New York City area with service to Newark airport and it is not clear whether they intend to move that service to LaGuardia or operate to both facilities going forward.
In Washington, US Airways will receive 42 new slot pairs, of which five will be ceded to jetBlue as a new entrant to the market. jetBlue currently has significant operations at Dulles airport but no service into National and has previously expressed interest in starting service there should slots become available. That opportunity appears to be on the horizon for them.
This deal is still subject to approval from the FAA and such approval should not be assumed. Previously the FAA suggested that 20 of the LaGuardia slots and 14 of the National slots would need to be shed. The proposal from the airlines doesn’t quite meet those targets. Still, with the number of other carriers involved it does seem likely that the deal will be approved. Of course, the pilots might still find a way to interfere.
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Posted by Seth on March 22, 2010 under frequent flyer, media coverage, News, points |
This week seems to be all about good ideas related to frequent flyer points and the best ways to both earn and burn them. A few weeks back NY1, the local news station in New York City interviewed a bunch of folks about best recommendations and habits for making the most of the points and the opportunities they present. There’s lots of good advice in the segment that was ultimately produced, including a couple appearances by me. I cannot get the video embedded here but you can check it out on the NY1 page: Take Your Frequent Flyer Miles To New Heights.
Got your own good idea about points to share? Drop a comment here this week and enter for a chance to win a trip to the Gold Coast in Australia!
Posted by Seth on March 22, 2010 under News, points |
Seriously free. No strings attached. Even the tax implications will be covered, thanks to the generosity of the contest sponsors. What’s more, you have 20 chances to win this phenomenal prize. Here’s the deal…
BoardingArea.com and American Express are sponsoring the contest. The grand prize is seven nights/eight days hotel accommodations, transportation, meals, activities and round-trip airfare for two people to the Gold Coast of Australia (Queensland). These are revenue tickets and revenue hotel stays so you’ll be earning points for the trip, too. On top of that, you’ll be receiving gift cards to cover the tax liability that winning the roughly $10,000 prize will cause. There is really no reason not to enter.
And here’s how to enter. Just answer one simple question in the comments of this post:
What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points?
I offer tips here all the time, as do many of the other BoardingArea.com bloggers and we’re looking to see what other stuff folks out there know about to help the traveling public. This is your chance to show off your knowledge of loyalty programs and win an awesome prize along the way.
You can only enter once on this blog (subsequent comments will not count) but you can also enter once on each of the other participating blogs in this contest. Check out BoardingArea.com/GoldCoast for the full list of participating blogs and make sure you get your comments in. The contest closes on March 28th so don’t wait.
UPDATE: A couple bits of fine print worth mentioning:
- You must be a US resident to win
- You must provide a valid email address in the comments so we can contact you if you win
I didn’t write the rules; I just have to play by them. Lots more fine print on the main contest page linked above.
Posted by Seth on March 22, 2010 under Trip Reports |
There is something special about Spring Training. I’m sure that a big part of it is getting away from the cold north to the reasonably warm and sunny south but there is more to it than that. The trip itself is pretty easy; flying to Florida or Arizona is hardly a grand adventure and hotels are cheap enough. But there is more to it than that. Everyone has fun at Spring Training. Lots of it.
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| Getting the field ready for play |
Built to the same dimensions as the old Yankee Stadium, but with cheaper seats |
For the fans, there is the opportunity to be up close to the game, much more so than is possible at most MLB stadiums in the country. Even better, the tickets are way cheaper, even if you have to buy from scalpers since they happen to buy most of the season seats the minute they are released. Top notch seats run a fraction of the cost as during the regular season. Sure, the ball being played isn’t as good, especially early on in the spring, but it is still baseball and after four months off small allowances can be made for things like that. And the fans don’t seem to mind at all. Young and just young at heart, fans flock to Spring Training in droves. And they are rewarded with access to the players.
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| Up close watching batting practice |
Getting some autographs before the game |
Just as entertaining as the fans out enjoying the spring weather and the return of baseball is the fun that the players are having. Whether a veteran just getting back into shape or a minor leaguer making a play for a roster position, the guys are all enjoying the time they have there.
You just don’t see that attitude as much in the regular season.
And, as noted above, the travel is really easy. A late Friday night or early Saturday morning flight south can have you in Florida in plenty of time to catch a couple games one weekend and be back in time for work on Monday morning. With a rental car you can even make it to a road game if the schedule deals you a split weekend like they all were this year for the Yankees. And, quite frankly, going to parks other than the Yankees’ facility is recommended. Like just about everything else they do, the Yankees’ facility is overpriced, a bit more removed for fans and underwhelming choices for food and beer variety. The Twins’ park down in Ft. Myers had way better choices and was an easier overall experience, other than being in a smaller town.
This may have only been the second year we’ve been, but it looks like this is going to be one of those recurring trips that we don’t miss going forward.
Lots more photos in the slideshow here.
Posted by Seth on March 18, 2010 under News |
Virgin America announced today that they will be increasing transcon service from their west coast hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, adding service to Orlando and Toronto. The service will start this summer (August 19 for Orlando, as early as June for Toronto) and will coincide with the closure of the carrier’s operations at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, effective May 26, 2010. On the change in service, CEO and President David Cush noted:
With strong financial performance, a new ownership structure and growth in fleet size, we’re pleased to be able to expand to world-class destinations like Orlando and Toronto this year. Both cities are major travel destinations from the West Coast, and we’re looking forward to introducing our service to travelers in these and other new markets in 2010 and beyond.
Despite the strong downward pressure on transcon fares, Virgin America believes there is value in these routes and will be operating once daily service each from Los Angeles and San Francisco to the new destinations. The introductory price on the Orlando service from Los Angeles is not a huge discount over the existing non-stop service that United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines all provide. The San Francisco market is a bit more significant due in large part to the route only being served by United currently. For passengers willing to make one stop there are fares below the introductory sale prices. And there are Virgin America fares for less than the initial sale prices on some days. Go figure.
Still, Virgin America thinks they can make money on these routes and they’re committed to them. We’ll see how it works out for them.
Posted by Seth on March 18, 2010 under News |
jetBlue has made some waves in the transcon market with announcements this past week. The carrier is moving service around in the Los Angeles market to better reflect consumer demand. The main shift comes in the form of transcon service moving out of Long Beach, the carrier’s west coast hub, and into Los Angeles International Airport where they introduced service last year.
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| A view inside the Long Beach terminal |
The crux of the change is an increase in service on between LAX and the hub at New York City’s JFK airport. Starting July 1 service will increase from two flights daily to four. At the same time, transcon service from Long Beach will shrink by two flights, one each to Boston and JFK (hat tip to Dan for figuring out where the cuts came from). Considering the peak of eight daily flights between JFK and Long Beach this drawdown to only two daily is rather significant.
It appears that the market demand for transcon service in the Los Angeles area is heavily focused on LAX. That makes sense in many regards. But the overall number of flights at Long Beach don’t seem to be decreasing too much. Takeoff slots at Long Beach are highly coveted and jetBlue holds a lot of them. So cutting transcon flights does not necessarily mean a decrease in the total number of flights from Long Beach. More likely those slots will be leveraged by regional service on the west coast.
In this way the carrier is segmenting the service on the west coast between transcon customers and regional passengers, reducing the number of connection opportunities. But given the relatively low number of decent connections that existed previously the overall impact of that cut should be low. And the increased revenue from the new transcon operations should make up for it. LAX is still the premiere airport for the longer service options while the convenience of Long Beach is great for passengers making quick hops up and down the coast. Everyone wins.
Posted by Seth on March 18, 2010 under News |
Two of the worst airports in the country for tarmac delays are in the New York City area: Newark and JFK. And the carriers with the most operations out of those airports, Delta, American Airlines, jetBlue and Continental, have significant exposure to the impending DoT rule regarding 3-hour delays on the tarmac. The response of those carriers has been two pronged, one in the public and one to the government. The carriers are very publicly stating that they will be canceling more flights rather than risk the fines and they are also applying for exemptions from the rule at those airports.
The exemption applications started with Delta and jetBlue last week. American submitted a similar request a couple days later. And now, feeling a bit left out, Continental has now submitted an even broader request, claiming that all three NYC airports should be treated equally because the runway construction at JFK will have a cascading impact on the entire airspace, not just on JFK directly.
As ridiculous as I think the rule is, the way the airlines are responding is even more ridiculous. I fully expect that United Airlines will be applying for an exemption at Dulles US Airways at Philadelphia (they each more 3+ hour delays than Newark did last year) just to round out the party. I also don’t expect the DoT to grant the exemptions. If they do it will be an admission that the rule was never intended to actually be enforced in the first place.
Yes, flights will be cancelled. Yes, passengers will suffer for that. And there’s even a decent chance that a flight or two will actually cross the magical three hour limit and the carrier will suffer for it. But the cry-baby attitude that the airlines are displaying is pathetic.
No matter which way the DoT rules on these applications, the situation is a joke.
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Posted by Seth on March 17, 2010 under News |
The American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) program is one of those benefits that their cardholders find either incredibly valuable or an incredible waste of marketing materials. The benefits are certainly tangible but the cost to get there can be quite high. Paying extra to be in a fancy hotel just to get the free breakfast doesn’t always make sense, especially when one wouldn’t otherwise be in that level of hotel.
Still, the annual update of the properties in the program is a much anticipated event by many as the changes can change booking habits for a number of customers. In previous years the property list came as a huge glossy book with tons of photos and detailed descriptions of each property. This year the update was a matte post card with only the new properties listed. Indeed, budget cuts are deep, even in the luxury travel sector.
So, what are the new properties this year? There are over 60 new hotels joining the program, about half of which are Four Seasons properties. In addition to the 30ish Four Seasons properties there are a number of Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency locations joining the program (Tokyo, Goa, Shanghai and Aruba) as well as a couple Mandarin Oriental properties added (Barcelona, Las Vegas and Jakarta). There are a number of non-affiliated hotels as well such as The Pierre, Montage Beverly Hills, The Resort at Pelican Hill, Lizard Island and La Momounia Marrakech.
This year’s new additions look like a solid group of properties and represent good growth in the FHR program. Too bad that I’ll still likely not use it this year.
Posted by Seth on March 16, 2010 under News |
Probably not the best way to start a trip. One passenger had a sudden realization at push-back that he actually left the car running at the curb rather than parking it. Whoopsie. Probably doesn’t matter too much if that was the white zone or the red zone, huh?
At least he got it back in one piece for only $200 and a ton of embarrassment
