Posted by Seth on May 24, 2012 under Flying, News | 
JetBlue has been big on their "Even More" suite of products. Starting with Even More Legroom a few years back and recently expanding to Even More Speed (priority security lines) and Even More Space (board first for overhead bin space), the product suite has been growing over time. The latest addition appears to be in-seat power on board.
Odds are they aren’t really going to call it Even More Power, but the concept is definitely there. The new A320 deliveries they are taking starting this year will have 110V and USB power ports installed in the rows which are also "Even More" everything else. This development was rumored starting this morning and unofficial sources suggest that the newest aircraft in the fleet, N804JB, is configured with the power outlets and is currently undergoing FAA certification for the new setup. It is not clear yet at what pace the existing 120ish A320s will be retrofit or whether the 50ish E90s will be similarly configured.
This is a great move in advance of the upcoming in-flight satellite connectivity solution that the company expects to begin deploying later this year. The only down-side is that the deployment is limited to the paid upgrade seats. Still, better than nothing and certainly a welcome development for the roughly 30% of the customers on the A320s who will have access to the plugs.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 22, 2012 under Flying, News |
When Southwest bought out AirTran they were quite up front about their desire to get rid of the 717s in their newly acquired fleet. Thanks to a new agreement between Delta and their pilot union, it seems like there is a deal on the table which will allow them to do precisely that. Assuming the pilots ratify the new contract Delta will lease 88 of the 717s from Southwest, putting them in to operation while also retiring the DC9-50s and some CRJs as well. The replacements will be in a capacity-neutral manner, which suggests more aircraft will be retired than will be brought in based on the seating densities.
The good news in this move is that fewer tiny regional jets generally should lead to a better in-flight experience for passengers. The bad news is that it may also lead to decreased frequencies as there will be fewer planes flying. Plus, the AirTran 717s are not known to be the most comfortable aircraft in the skies. That said, they are equipped with gogo’s in-flight internet service and Delta is also a customer of gogo so that should see the connectivity remaining in service.
As part of the deal with the pilots to bring the 717s into the fleet Delta will also be allowed to increase the number of 76-seat jets they have operated by regional carriers. These are not mainline pilot jobs, but the total number of regional pilot positions will likely remain steady as the smaller regional jets are retired and these are brought in to the fleet.
The overall position with the pilots at Delta seems to be quite positive these days. More flying will be mainline which means more pilots working for the parent company rather than a regional affiliate. It also seems relatively good for customers, with fewer of the small CRJs and the new planes all offering wifi and first class cabins. Seems to be mostly smiles all around.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 22, 2012 under Flying, News |
Looking to further leverage the value of the 787 Dreamliner on long, thin routes, United Airlines has announced today that they will be launching service between their Denver and Tokyo hubs starting in 2013. The route will begin with the 31 March 2013 departure from Denver; the first departure from Tokyo will be on 1 April 2013.
UA123 DEN1155 – 1500+1NRT 788 D 31MAR13-
UA122 NRT1640 – 1230DEN 788 D 01APR13-
Also of note on the schedule is that the total round-trip time for the flights is just over 24 hours. This means that there will be other connecting flights in and out of Denver to get the planes into position to operate the flights. Look for Houston-Denver to show up on the timetable operated by the 788 in the same timeframe.
Posted by Seth on May 17, 2012 under Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
Redeyes suck. When they’re less than six hours flying time they suck even more. And when they involve sitting in coach they suck even more. So maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but as part of this mileage run I was booked on a US Airways 757-200 from Honolulu to Phoenix, in coach. Ouch.
I was somewhat fortunate in that I got a window seat; that’s my preference anyways, especially on a redeye. When we boarded the plane I walked back to check out the other seating options and I was incredibly happy that I didn’t end up in the rear exit row. While the middle and aisle seats back there have tons of legroom the window seat has the slide housing which really gets in the way of a comfortable ride.
I headed back up to my row and settled in to 13A; triskaidekaphobia is apparently not an issue with US Air. That row has a misaligned window which is both good and bad. I found it nice for leaning against when I was sleeping but were I to want a view I’d probably be pretty disappointed with it.
As for the seats themselves, they are pretty tight. And pretty old. They actually still have ash trays in the arm rests.
I’m actually surprised they haven’t removed them to save on weight and cut the fuel costs a bit more than anything.
As for the in-flight experience, I slept the entire time. There might have been a drink service but I didn’t notice. I also have no idea if there was buy-on-board for food. I put in my ear plugs, donned my eye mask and was asleep before they made the announcement that personal electronic devices were permitted. I woke up when we landed in Phoenix.
I survived and it wasn’t incredibly awful. It also wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience. In other words, exactly what I expected.
Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Flying, News |
And this one is working out in favor of the consumers. The recent hullabaloo about the premium cabin fares priced ex-Rangoon to various destinations at a very steep discount has been interesting to follow. Like most “mistake” fares the cycle of the booking process is following the usual steps. First euphoria at the deal, followed by apprehension and worry as to whether the fare would be honored and then confusion or outrage when the tickets were canceled. And now, euphoria again, as the tickets are being reinstated.
After trading emails with Vayama and ANA a couple weeks ago regarding the tickets I booked for our New Years vacation and their cancellation of those tickets I received the following today:
Dear Customer –
Following discussions with our airline partners the decision has been made to reinstate your previously canceled reservation from Rangoon.
There are more details, including a deadline to accept or decline the offer, but this is excellent news on the consumer rights front in the air travel world. For too long the airlines have held all the power in such situations. It seems that the tide may finally be turning.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Dining, Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points, Review, Trip Reports |
Having had so much fun the last time around (plus, I did book five of these!) I was off again last week for a quick trip to Portland, Oregon, again for just long enough to have dinner before heading back home on the redeye flight. And, like last time, the trip was pleasantly uneventful. I didn’t put together a video this time, but it still was a reasonably fun trip to document.
Somewhat shockingly we left on time from LaGuardia and made it in to Houston early. Alas, only a snack plate so I declined (I had just eaten at my favorite NYC taco truck) and took a nap instead. Incredibly exciting, right??
Flight number two had a meal service offering up two options that both sounded decent enough. I asked the flight attendant to surprise me and I ended up with a ravioli-ish option in tomato sauce. Nothing to write home about, good or bad.
A couple hours later we were on final into PDX, though we came in from the "wrong" direction. The winds were different than any other time I’ve arrived in PDX so we came in from the other side. It gave me a very different view of arrival than I was expecting
The really good part of the evening came when I arrived in Portland. A friend who lives there was available to go out to dinner that night so he picked me up from the airport and we headed out to some awesome Cuban food at Pambiche.
Just a quick stay in Portland, however, so I was soon back at the airport, just in time to clear security and head over to the gate for my departure back to Chicago.
I was happy to be upgraded for the redeye, though that may have worked against me. The two folks in the row ahead seemed to become fast friends prior to departure and they kept chatting into the first hour or so of the flight. Mid-con redeyes are already bad enough. Having chatty passengers nearby didn’t help the situation. I still managed to get a bit of sleep and was semi-functional by the time we made it to O’Hare.
I did rather enjoy being the only passenger in the first class cabin on the 6am ORD-LGA flight not wearing a suit. It was a pleasant reminder that life can be fun without having to dress up to play a part.
Departure from O’Hare was right on time and pretty soon I was napping again, all the way to New York City.
We arrived early and an hour later I had navigated the bus/subway transfer – including helping another passenger who didn’t have a MetroCard and who only had bills – back in to Manhattan. The day was just getting started and I was ready to go. Or at least ready to try to survive on just a couple hours of sleep.
Like I said at the beginning, nothing too amazing on the flights, but it was a fun day. Special thanks to Luke for driving out to the airport to pick me up for dinner, and for knowing where the good food is in Portland. Definitely made for a great night.
Related Posts:
Tags: Chicago, Dining, Flying, frequent flier, frequent flyer, houston, in flight, New York City, PaxEx, Photos, points, Portland, review, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Flying, News |
The wait is over. A couple months after carriers applied to provide service for four new slot pairs at Washington’s Reagan National Airport the DoT has announced the winners of the coveted operating permissions. And the winners are exactly what I predicted back when the applications were revealed:
JetBlue won their first choice of routes, adding service to their quickly growing operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alaska Airlines won their first choice as well, with service to Portland, Oregon being approved. Austin, Texas had two different applications for service; both Southwest and JetBlue indicated that they wanted to add the destination. Southwest was awarded that authority. Virgin America won their only application, adding service to their hub in San Francisco. The route to SFO will be the only of the new operations with direct competition on it; United Airlines is also going to be operating on that route. Southwest will face competition on the proposed through-service aspect of their Austin service to San Diego from US Airways which will operate that route with a non-stop flight.
So no real surprises in the route authorities awarded. Probably for the best; the routes picked were the favorites because they made the most sense based on the economics of the markets. Still, every now and then I do wonder if the DoT has a sense of humor and would award something like the Colorado Springs application Frontier put out there.
Related Posts:
Tags: Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, Congress, DoT, FAA, Frontier, JetBlue, Portland, Puerto Rico, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Southwest Airline, United, United Airlines, US Air, Virgin America, Washington DC
Posted by Seth on May 14, 2012 under Dining, Flying, Mileage Run, Review, Trip Reports |
I had quite high expectations as I boarded United Airlines flight 15 from Newark to Honolulu. This is, after all, a flagship route and as a top-tier elite customer seated in the forward cabin I expected a level of service and comfort that would be truly unparalleled from the world’s largest airline. That expectation was shattered even before we left the ground when I was threatened with arrest for attempting to talk to the pilots before the cockpit door had been closed. Wh’ev.
Things went downhill from there.
One of the recorded pre-flight announcements indicated that the flight was operated by Continental Airlines, a brand that hasn’t existed since I put them out of business back in March. Seriously, it has been more than 8 weeks now. That they haven’t fixed the recording is an abomination and an insult to brand homogenization. Alas, following my prior chastisement I chose to bite my lip and accept that the flight was going to be a miserable 11 hours of my life rather than point out to the flight attendants that there was a mistake in the recordings that demanded resolution.
A meal was served shortly after departure. The flight attendants who had appeared so diligent in following my every move prior to departure had failed to notice that I had traded seats with another on the flight. This meant that my meal order was taken approximately 38 seconds after it should have been, with the FA going to the incorrect seat before finally noticing my new arrangements and coming over to ask what I wanted.
Continuing with the branding debacle which started with the announcement prior to departure, the linens, glassware and flatware were a mismatched mess of old and new names and logos.
The steak was fine – it tasted nothing like leather – but, as can be seen from the photo, there was no bread to be found anywhere near my tray. Truly insulting that the roll wasn’t served as it should have been.
The ice cream sundae trolley showed up after dinner, laden with gooey toppings and a few choices of digestifs for those of that persuasion. Of course, being a Hawaii trip I was more in to mai tais than liquor and I asked to have another. I was informed that the mai tais had too much sugar, meaning that I should stop drinking them. Oh, and no Grand Marnier, either. Alas, I was stuck drinking the cognac instead.
All this, and we still hadn’t cleared Wyoming airspace.
The flight continued, as did the abject mistreatment. I wasn’t awoken from my nap, meaning my fresh-baked mid-flight cookie cooled off before I could eat it. They simply do not taste the same when the cookies have cooled.
By this point in the flight, as if by some miracle, additional mai tais appeared in the forward galley and shortly thereafter at our seat. Of course, as part of serving the drinks at this point in the trip, questions were raised as to my consumption habits, including my willingness to mix rum drinks with other rum drinks and the impact that might have on my sobriety. Explaining to the flight attendants that getting drunk was the only way to deal with their subordination didn’t seem like the correct response; once again I bit my tongue.
About an hour before arrival our last meal was served, I accepted the tray from the flight attendant and then immediately realized my mistake. They served the meal with only 55 minutes remaining before arrival and that would mean insufficient time to digest before undertaking the hike from the gate to the curb. And I know how important it is to have time to digest before such strenuous exercise. I considered calling for a wheelchair to avoid issues but instead simply accepted the risk of getting a cramp as I walked out of the airport to our next meal.
Finally, our landing in Honolulu was anything but normal. We used a different runway than I’m used to from my previous trips to the island meaning that the views I was expecting on final approach didn’t materialize. It is hard to get good photos of a landing when the pilots change things like that on you without consultation.
At least the flight was finally over. Eleven hours I’ll never get back. Eleven hours of pure torture.
Yes, the entire post here was decidedly tongue-in-cheek. That said, the service really was rather below par from my previous experiences. Part of that stems from the downgrades in the service offered on the flight (fewer meal choices, entrees of lesser quality) and part of it was from a crew that didn’t really seem to be happy working, much less with a group of six guys in the forward cabin who actually intended to enjoy the trip rather than just idle through until the doors opened again on arrival. I really never did get a roll with my meal, for instance, and things like drink and snack basket service were essentially non-existent. Only one of the FAs was anywhere close to being personable. Oh, and the IFE on these planes really is an embarrassment. Just awful.
Clearly not actually a "trip from hell" but also not a particularly great ride.
Tags: Continental, Dining, Flying, Hawaii, Honolulu, IFE, in flight, Mileage Run, Newark, PaxEx, Photos, review, Trip Report, United, United Airlines
Posted by Seth on May 11, 2012 under Flying, frequent flyer, points, Review, Trip Reports |
I found it somewhat strange as I met folks in Puerto Rico last week; many of them wanted to know if it was my first trip to the island and I wasn’t really sure how to answer. Technically it was my third and it was the second time I actually managed to leave the airport, but it was still the only time I’d spent more than just a layover (the previous “visit” was about 3 hours in the middle of the night). Eventually I stopped trying to explain myself and went with the simple answer, that it was my first trip, but that seemed a bit like cheating. It did get me thinking about my previous trips, as well as the current one, and I realized that all three were flown on JetBlue. The first two were part of my All You Can Jet adventures a couple years ago and this time I had a choice – flights were pretty much the same price across a couple carriers – and I quite happily ended up on JetBlue once again.
Things started a bit ugly on Monday morning. The security line at Newark A2 was, as it often is at 7:30am, a complete mess. I could have splurged for the Even More Speed benefit from JetBlue but I managed to use my United elite status to get into the elite line. It helped a bit and soon enough I was inside security, ready to board If the Blue fits… for the 3.5 hour flight to San Juan. The line for departures was reasonably short and very soon after an on-time push-back we were on our way.
Booking on JetBlue I knew there would be no upgrades, something that I almost certainly would have received on United. Not a big deal for the short, daytime flight in general, and with the standard 34″ pitch on their A320s the JetBlue seats were plenty spacious for my needs. Plus, the snack options are way more fun on JetBlue; these were not the only two packs of Animal Crackers I had on the flight.
The flight was completely uneventful. I ate my snacks, read a bit and stared out the window at the Atlantic ocean.
Three hours later we were touching down at SJU, ready to get the week rolling.
There was a minor delay getting a JetBridge operator when we landed. Not a big deal at all as we were waiting on checked bags anyways and we had arrived early.
On the return flight I managed to tease myself a bit by taking a peek at the new JetBlue terminal at SJU. It is going to be a tremendous improvement from the existing facility when it opens later this month.
We successfully navigated the USDA inspection and the TSA process and shortly thereafter found ourselves in the rather Spartan gate area. This is, unfortunately, the one JetBlue focus city/hub where they do not offer free WiFi. Hopefully that gets fixed with the new terminal opening up. The good news is that we didn’t have long to spend in the terminal before we boarded our flight back to Newark.
A couple weeks ago JetBlue’s twitter account had mentioned a new feature beer in their service for the summer: Brooklyn Summer Ale. Given the opportunity to make friends with the flight attendants I rarely shy away and this seemed a perfect situation to play that game. While boarding was still happening I went back to the galley to see if they had actually stocked the new supply. It is a good thing I checked as they had it in the cart but it wasn’t cold. That could have been a disaster.
Seriously, though, it was a great ice breaker with the crew and we joked most of the trip back while I snacked away on cookies and beer – the sort of dinner that frequent fliers eventually come to know and love. Sure, I could have purchased one of the snack boxes for more sustenance, but they really don’t do much for me. I’ll stick with my empty calories, thank you very much.
Despite an evening arrival and weather in both San Juan and the Newark area the flight was, miraculously, on time. Shortly after wheels down I was in a car headed home; I was inside my Manhattan apartment only 45 minutes after we landed. Not bad at all.
For a few years now I’ve maintained that JetBlue offers the best coach class service. This trip further reinforced that notion for me. The product is simple but easy to deliver consistently and with a smile. The crew once again did that, making the few hours we spent together in the air fly by quite quickly and pleasantly once again. Yes, I gave up slightly more valuable points (though JetBlue is working on that to some extent with the upcoming partner opportunities) and I gave up the upgrade. I still had a great flight experience. Some days that’s really all that matters.
Related Posts
Tags: Dining, elite status, Flying, frequent flier, frequent flyer, IFE, in flight, JetBlue, Newark, PaxEx, points, review, San Juan, United, United Airlines, upgrade
Posted by Seth on May 10, 2012 under Flying, News |
Odds are you don’t know the answer to this question. I know that I have no certain answer to it. But I do know that the most recent revisions to it carry tremendous potential impact on passengers, travel agents and airlines. The most recent rules took effect only earlier this year, meaning there haven’t been many opportunities for test cases. It looks like a pretty significant test case has just shown up. The above referenced cite is the rule the DoT uses to handle unfair and deceptive advertising practices. While it is focused on truly misleading or bait-and-switch actions where one price is advertised and then the fare changes after a ticket is purchased, it also appears to have potential impact on mistake fares.
Here’s the text of 49 U.S.C. 41712 § 399.88(a) :
It is an unfair and deceptive practice within the meaning of 49 U.S.C. 41712 for any seller of scheduled air transportation within, to or from the United States, or of a tour (i.e., a combination of air transportation and ground or cruise accommodations), or tour component (e.g., a hotel stay) that includes scheduled air transportation within, to or from the United States, to increase the price of that air transportation, tour or tour component to a consumer, including but not limited to an increase in the price of the seat, an increase in the price for the carriage of passenger baggage, or an increase in an applicable fuel surcharge, after the air transportation has been purchased by the consumer, except in the case of an increase in a government-imposed tax or fee. A purchase is deemed to have occurred when the full amount agreed upon has been paid by the consumer.
Airlines have, with some frequency, cited clauses in their Contract of Carriage when they load mistake fares into the GDSes and sell them. Korean Air canceled a whole bunch of flights to Palau last year and British Airways did the same to customers who were ticketed to India (self included) prior to that. In each case the airline claimed that the fares were simple and obvious errors and therefore they could absolve themselves of their obligations simply by refunding the charge.
The DoT seems to feel otherwise these days. In fact, this specific type of case is directly addressed in their Second Final Rule on Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections FAQ:
Does the prohibition on post-purchase price increases in section 399.88(a) apply in the situation where a carrier mistakenly offers an airfare due to a computer problem or human error and a consumer purchases the ticket at that fare before the carrier is able to fix the mistake?
Section 399.88(a) states that it is an unfair and deceptive practice for any seller of scheduled air transportation within, to, or from the United States, or of a tour or tour component that includes scheduled air transportation within, to, or from the United States, to increase the price of that air transportation to a consumer after the air transportation has been purchased by the consumer, except in the case of a government-imposed tax or fee and only if the passenger is advised of a possible increase before purchasing a ticket. A purchase occurs when the full amount agreed upon has been paid by the consumer. Therefore, if a consumer purchases a fare and that consumer receives confirmation (such as a confirmation email and/or the purchase appears on their credit card statement or online account summary) of their purchase, then the seller of air transportation cannot increase the price of that air transportation to that consumer, even when the fare is a “mistake.”
A contract of carriage provision that reserves the right to cancel such ticketed purchases or reserves the right to raise the fare cannot legalize the practice described above. The Enforcement Office would consider any contract of carriage provision that attempts to relieve a carrier of the prohibition against post-purchase price increase to be an unfair and deceptive practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.
Seems like good news for consumers, right? Well, that depends on whether the airlines are actually held to the rule. Both Korean Air and ANA, among others, are now facing just such a question after a “mistake” fare for travel from Burma/Myanmar to pretty much anywhere in the world was available last week. The “mistake” came about due to a currency devaluation, essentially causing a few zeroes to disappear from fares. When just a few were being purchased here and there it was no big deal. Once the deal was widely publicized, however, hundreds were purchased and the airlines realized they had a problem.
They managed to pull most of the fares pretty quickly though some were still available several days later. But what to do about the hundreds of tickets already issued? For obvious reasons the airlines want to cancel them; in many cases the costs to cater for the passengers, much less carry them, are greater than the fare paid. The airlines are going to lose money on these fares. But does that give them the right to unilaterally cancel the flights?
At least for now, the carriers seem to be erring on the side of “Yes” for that question. Both Korean and ANA have contacted the booking agents and most tickets booked at the mistake rate have been canceled. But that doesn’t mean the DoT actually approves of such an approach. Korean seems to be taking the approach that since they never changed the fare and instead simply canceled the tickets they are not in violation of the rule. ANA has similarly responded that the “genuinely regret the circumstances that prompted [a complaint]” and that they are “now in contact with the appropriate agencies and departments.” Vayama, one of the booking agents which was party to many of the tickets issued has claimed, in part,
The DOT Ruling was set up in part to prevent unfair and unethical business practices associated with pricing on the part of airlines… [T]he cause of the dramatic decrease in fares out of Rangoon was not the result of unfair or unethical business practices on the part of the airlines.
… Although we have no way of knowing at this time how the DOT will rule on this case, we are confident that the actions taken were NOT in an effort to unfairly or unethically impact any customers.
All three seem to be of the opinion that, because it was truly an accident that they should be excused from the rule. I can certainly understand the position of the airlines in this case. Maybe they shouldn’t be held responsible for a country devaluing its currency by a few decimal points. Then again, they’re the ones who publish the fares and they’re the ones who have control over such things, so maybe they should be held accountable. After all, what is the threshold for really an accident versus not?
One thing is certain: the DoT has quite a doozy of a first test for their revised rule. They’ve shown little sympathy with respect to fines handed out relative to the 3-hour tarmac rule since that went into force so perhaps that is a hint as to their consumer-friendly leanings these days.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 10, 2012 under Flying, Internet, News |
American Airlines announced that they are moving forward with a retrofit of their long-haul fleet, updating the cabin interiors to improve the premium cabin experience. Mostly. The upgrades will expand the deployment of the new business class product, previously announced for the 777-300s which the company will begin receiving later this year. It will also mean the removal of the first class cabin on those aircraft, continuing a trend in both the global and the US markets to limit the long-haul premium cabin offerings to select markets with demonstrated demand. The retrofits are slated to begin in 2014.
The new business class seats will be retrofit into the carrier’s 777-200ER aircraft and into a portion of their 767-300ER aircraft. The 767-300s which are not reconfigured will be retired from the fleet.
The carrier has also indicated that their Main Cabin Extra configuration, offering an additional 4-6″ of legroom, will be part of the redesign on the 763s and 772s. On the 772s there will be 5 rows of these seats, 45 of the 215 total economy seats. On the 763s there will be only two rows of Main Cabin Extra, 14 of the 181 total economy seats. Customers holding elite status in the AAdvantage program, as well as with oneworld partners, will have access to the MCE seats.
The new cabin configuration will also include major upgrades to the in-flight entertainment systems and in-flight connectivity options. The IFE system for the 772s has impressive spec’s. It will have roughly 700 hours of audio and video available, up to 120 movies, 180 TV programs, 350 audio selections and 30 games. In business class the screens will be 15.4″ while economy will have quite generous 9″ screens. All seats on the 772s will have 110V outlets and USB plugs as well.
UPDATE: AA has confirmed that the regular main cabin seats will be 3-4-3 on both the 777-200 and 777-300ERs, and without any extra pitch. That’s going to be quite tight.
The satellite-based WiFi service will allow for global connectivity for customers. That said, no vendor has been chosen for the implementation yet so there is plenty of time for the company to see how the various options in the market shake out in the coming months, particularly as others add similar service, to pick the correct product for their fleet.
The 763 refits will not include the new IFE systems; the company will continue to rely on personal tablets for business class passengers on those aircraft for the IFE systems. The 763s will also not receive the WiFi connectivity. Combine that with the very limited MCE seating and those might just become the aircraft to avoid in the American long-haul fleet.
I’ve read through the release now a few times, looking for some hint of a magic paragraph previously missed which makes the planned upgrades tremendous. I still cannot find it. The release has many exciting phrases like “among the first in the industry” and “Business Class suite.” These plans, unfortunately, seem to be mostly playing catch-up to the rest of the industry. The “new” business class seats are based on the same product that US Airways just completed deployment of on their A330 fleet. The IFE upgrades are great, assuming you’re on the 77s; the 763s, not so much. And the seating density of the new seats raises a few red flags.
Type for type, United will offer more premium cabin seats (admittedly not all with direct aisle access) and more economy seats with increased legroom., along with a comparable IFE and connectivity scheme. And United is rolling out the seating and IFE config this year, not starting in 18 months. Delta is similarly ahead of American in the offering, both in terms of timing and product.
I have to give AA credit for trying to build a buzz about the announcements. The press conference included a number of bloggers and other social media folks, trying to tap in to the newer venues for sharing such announcements. And the bit I managed to catch on Twitter suggests that it has worked in come circles. Still, the implementation of these changes are 20 months off. It is going to be hard to keep the buzz alive that long.
There is no doubt that it is increasingly difficult to both offer a top-notch product and to do so in a manner that allows a company to remain competitive in the ever-changing market. In this case, however, it seems that American is barely even able to play catch-up, much less leap ahead. And if this is supposed to revitalize the company, inspiring creditors to ride out the bankruptcy and see a strong future for the carrier I’m very concerned about their strategy. The phrase “too little, too late” comes to mind.
For a different, and somewhat more positive, take on the new seats check out Gary’s post here; he was at the event where they were unveiled.
Related Posts
Tags: American Airlines, bankruptcy, Delta, Flying, IFE, in flight, internet, OneWorld, PaxEx, United, United Airlines, upgrade, US Air
