US Airways has just changed its baggage fee policies – though the increase is minimal. The airline was already charging $25 and $35 for the first and second checked bags, respectively, if paid at the airport. What has changed is the fee charged when passengers pre-pay the fees online – those have been raised to $23 and $32 from $20 and $30, respectively, aligning its fees with United, Continental, and Delta.
Monthly Archive for January, 2010Page 3 of 4
It was reported back in October that Singapore would launch A380 service to Zurich. Yesterday, the airline formally announced that the service will begin on March 28 (it was originally rumored that it would be starting next month), which makes the city Singapore’s seventh A380 destination. That makes Zurich the third European airport to receive regular A380 service, the others being London (Heathrow) and Paris (De Gaulle). The launch of the service is contingent on Zurich being certified for A380 operations. Test flights will be held next week.
Photo Credit: Singapore Airlines.
At first blush, the addition of the superjumbo makes it appear that the Zurich market is strong, but the schedule adjustment actually results in a small capacity cut. Currently, Zurich has 12 flights a week, all operated by 777-300ER aircraft. SQ345/346 operates daily, while SQ341/342 operates five days a week (Thursday – Monday). With the change, only SQ345/346 will remain, with the 777-300ER being replaced by the A380.
Overall, the adjustments represents a 1.2% decrease in total seats. The number of first class seats will decrease 12.5% (which isn’t exactly a fair comparison as Singapore has its suite product on the A380 and a more traditional seat on the 777-300ER), business seats will be down 16.7%, wile economy capacity will be 2.1% higher.
To be honest, a decrease in flights makes sense, especially when one considers load factors were only about 67%, according to this Business Traveller article from December. So Singapore keeps capacity essentially flat while reducing its total costs. But since the decrease in seats is very minimal, loads won’t improve a whole lot if passenger numbers don’t increase. But one good thing for Singapore here is Swiss’ decision to drop the service, with the final flight in the end of April last year.
Considering the load factor, I wonder why Singapore went with an A380 instead of a 747 on the route, though that fleet is relatively small, and one could strongly argue that the A380 has a superior inflight product. The aforementioned Business Traveller article did mention that “Switzerland has a wealthy customer base for lucrative premium fare tickets.” In addition, a recent CAPA article says that “airlines using the A380 are reporting higher yields and higher load factors, as passenger reaction to the improved product have been so positive,” which makes me think the superior passenger experience of the A380 could be what motivated Singapore to utilize the aircraft for its Zurich flying.
After dropping service to Iraq twenty years ago due to the Gulf War, Lufthansa has announced that it is “examining the possibility of launching several new services,” citing an increase in demand. No specific flight information has been released, though the carrier says it intends to launch service to Baghdad and Erbil from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs this summer.
The service would, of course, provide plenty of connecting opportunities thanks to Lufthansa’s vast network. The Star Alliance already has a presence in Iraq, however, with thrice-weekly service to Erbil from Vienna from Lufthansa-owned Austrian Airlines. Fellow Star carrier Turkish Airlines has daily service to Baghdad from Istanbul.
Lufthana’s announcement is also a competitive one. Starting next month Air Berlin will be launching very limited (twice a month) service to Munich from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, providing connections to Hamburg, Berlin, and Düsseldorf. Blue Wings and Iraqi Airways had formed a partnership in 2009, with the former’s aircraft being used to serve Europe for the latter, though I’m not too optimistic on that partnership at the moment, considering that Blue Wings grounded its aircraft yesterday due to financial issues (for the second time in a year). Viking Airlines also has some European service to Iraq, and subsidiary Viking Hellas is launching service to Iraq from Athens soon.
The foreign carrier with the most most Iraqi destinations, however, remains to be oneworld carrier Royal Jordanian. The airline serves Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah. It appears, however, that service to Mosul has already been scrapped as it is now absent from the airline’s timetable.
Anyway, a major European carrier coming in is certainly a positive sign for Iraq in general, especially with Lufthansa saying they will serve Baghdad, considering other carriers have focused on serving the northern part of the country.
Photo credit:
Not surprisingly, now that Delta has raised its checked luggage fees, the other airlines have decided to jump onboard with the exact same policy as Delta – $23 and $32 for the first and second bags, respectively, if the fees are paid online, and $25 and $35 if paid at the airport. (United, for some reason, has decided to not list the discounts for online check-in on its website.) Apparently all of these carriers think the smaller discount is enough to encourage passengers to pay online.
So we’ll have to see what the other legacies do here. US Airways already charges $25 and $35 at the airport, but the discounts are $5 each for paying online. American is charging $20 and $30 for the first and second bags (no matter what). I wouldn’t be surprised if both airlines adjusted their policies. Some other carriers might follow as well.
Meanwhile, I guess Southwest can adjust their “Bags Fly Free” advertising from $100 savings per roundtrip with two bags to $120 in savings – and I suggest they do it quickly, if possible, considering the number of ads they’ve been running during football games this season.
You can see Continental’s baggage policies here and United’s here.
Yes, the big focus right now is on JAL’s financial issues, but today the airline announced an enhanced partnership with oneworld parter Mexicana, enabling the carrier to maintain a presence in Mexico. Because of its many route cuts, JAL must leverage its partnerships to ensure access to some markets, and this expanded relationship is a perfect example.
JAL is ending its twice-weekly service to Mexico City. Right now, service between Vancouver and and Narita is five days a week. Twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays), the aircraft arrives from Narita, and instead of going back to Japan, it flies to Mexico City. It then overnights there, flying back to Vancouver and Tokyo the next morning.
During the rest of the week, JAL uses its codeshare agreement with Mexicana for YVR-MEX service. Because of the Mexico City cut, service between Mexico City and Vancouver will now be daily. As a result, the codeshare with Mexicana will also be daily.
As another way to increase access between Japan and Mexico City, Mexicana will be placing its code on flights between Nartita and San Francisco, and JAL will place its code on flights between Mexico City and San Francisco. A similar codeshare is in place in Los Angeles. Speaking of Los Angeles, JAL is will also be placing its code on Mexicana’s flights to León/Bajío.
So, a smart move for JAL here…but interesting that they’re building a relationship with a Oneworld partner when it has been widely reported that they are readying to leave for SkyTeam.
Photo Credit: Chris Weyer.
Remember Southwest’s Denver promotion that I talked about last week? The one available atsouthwest.com/denverfree? I thought it was a shot at Frontier, and maybe it was, but regardless, it got United’s attention. United has gotten really creative and has launched a similar promotion, which can be found at, um, united.com/denverfree.
Southwest is giving out a free roundtrip for every Business Select fare purchased, and United is doing something similar – a free North American roundtrip for every roundtrip in North America, and a free systemwide roundtrip for every international roundtrip booked. One will earn two North American upgrades after the first qualifying flight.
Southwest’s promotion is targeted at Business Select, which is a fully-refundable ticket. While United hasn’t gotten that far, the promotion is not available for the more-heavily discounted economy fares (V,W,S,T,L,K), nor is it available for First Class or Business fares.
While the promotion focuses on Denver, it is available for any Colorado resident leaving from Aspen, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Eagle, Hayden, Grand Junction, Gunnison, or Montrose.
Registration is required. Travel must be booked by February 14 and completed by March 5. More details here.
Denver’s certainly been fun to watch with all this competition. It actually make me think of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome at times. (And shame on you if you don’t get that reference.) 
Photo Credit: Chris Weyer.
Well, fortunately for Virgin America, the DOT has ruled that the airline is in full compliance with foreign ownership rules, and as such, is an American citizen. But some big changes were made in their ownership structure, and some concessions were made. Cranky’s posting from yesterday provides a great summary about the changes, but I just wanted to add my $0.02.
The biggest investor in the company is now Cyrus Aviation Investor, LLC, with 41.6% of the airline. That name might sound familiar – Cyrus Capital was a previous investor in the airline. So it seems that a new company was formed, probably for some legal reasons to protect the larger hedge fund.
Another large investor is VAI MBO Investors, LLC with a 20.8% share in the company, made up of four current board members and one new member. One of those members is airline CEO David Cush. Having board members take a stake in the company sends a strong message, I think. Of course, Virgin was doing what it had to to make sure it was in compliance, but I really like this move. Sure, every CEO with stock options gets a stake in the company, but there’s a difference between receiving shares that can be easily sold on the open market as a bonus and making oneself an investor in a new compnay.
Meanwhile, VX Employee holdings has a 12.5% stake in the airline that will be used for distribution to employees when the airline is sold or goes public. That’s certainly a nice gesture by management and provides a goal for all employees to get behind.
I read this weekend on Marshall Jackson’s blog that Delta has decided to up its bag fees, starting with tickets purchased on or after January 5 (last Tuesday) for travel on or after January 12 (next Tuesday).
Previously, Delta was in-line with other carriers with charging $20 for the first bag and $30 for the second checked bag. Those fees were $5 lower if a passenger paid the fees online, which provides a nice incentive and saves time at the airport.
But Delta has upped the fees to $25 and $35, respectively. While the new fees are higher, they are the same as those charged by US Airways at the airport. But Delta has reduced the incentive to pay online. Passengers can now save a measly $2 on the first bag and $3 on the second, while it is still $5 for both bags on US Airways.
To provide some perspective here, Ryanair’s fee for the first bag online is now cheaper than Delta’s.
To be honest, I’ve accepted bag fees. Bags add weight to the plane and labor is required to move them around. But I doubt the cost of transporting a bag has increased that much. It’s clearly a sign on how important carriers see ancillary revenue these days. According to the BTS, Delta and Northwest made $670.7 million in ancillary revenue in the third quarter of 2009, with $208.4 million of that coming from bag fees.
I wouldn’t be shocked if more carriers decide to match the move. And of course, one always wonders after one of these announcements if Southwest’s commitment to no first or second bag fees makes sense.
But this move could make the fight for overhead bin space even worse. On a couple of my recent flights bin space ran out very quickly with gate checks becoming necessary.
P.S. – Southwest, maybe it’s time to tell Atlanta that “bags fly free”? 
Air New Zealand unveiled some new uniforms last week that are to be introduced next year, and they’re already gotten some bad press. I noticed the following in Air New Zealand’s press release about them:
The collection has varying levels of formality, especially for cabin crew, one that provides a more formal look when travelling through airports and welcoming customers onboard, changing to a more casual and friendly style once in the air.
That line immediately made me think of this old Braniff ad – enjoy!
- Boeing now has no orders for the -3 variant of the 787, as ANA has converted its orders to 787-8s.
- Aer Lingus is cutting back its Gatwick base, which is only about a year old.
- EasyJet has announced a slew of new routes.
- Is a second stretch of the CSeries going to happen? One Wall Street analyst appears to think so.
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