Archive for the 'Rants' Category

Dear Al Roker – Shut Up!

Published
by
Dan Webb
on December 29, 2009
in Rants
. 3 Comments

I admit it. Spotting isn’t exactly the most popular hobby out there. So, I wasn’t completely shocked when it was featured in a series entitled “Today Gets Odd” on the Today Show. In fact, I was a bit excited at first because I figured it might turn out to be an informative segment that would be able to explain the hobby to non-plane geeks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that happy with it.

Basically, Ann Curry and Al Roker hung out near JFK with some of the great folks at NYCAviation, an enthusiastic group of aviation junkies. As the name implies, the group is focused on the New York airports, but there are members from across the globe and the website has some great spotting guides for airports around the country.

nyca-logo-hp

Neither Ann nor Al seemed enthralled with the hobby, though Ann did point out the camaraderie of the group. I think that’s a great point, as for me half the fun of being a plane geek is making great new friends. Al, however, seemed to think that spotting was the most boring and weirdest hobby he’s ever seen. He even got downright disrespectful, comparing it to watching Benjamin Moore paint dry. Some spotters were not that pleased. Comments included “I wish he’d take that Benjamin Moore and paint himself into a corner” and “What are his hobbies? Other than eating?”

So, Al, please stop dumping on spotting. Some find it very enjoyable. And, in some cases, spotters actually play a role in airport security – spotters are often around airports so they can often tell if there are any suspicious people lingering. For example, YYZ Airport Watch members “observe, record, and report any suspicious activity to authorities.” NYCAviation has been developing a similar program and hopes to make further progress in 2010 as airports across the country have shown interest.

(Tip of the hat to reader Doug for first pointing this out to me.)

EU Criticizes Oberstar’s Alliance Stance

Published
by
Dan Webb
on March 24, 2009
in Random and Rants
. 0 Comments

I’ve written plenty about Rep. Oberstar’s attempts to block airline alliances, and it seems that the EU is finally getting involved, as reported here:

The European Union has intensified its warning to the U.S. that efforts to deregulate the transatlantic aviation market could be “dangerously” impaired by proposed legislation before Congress, threatening talks slated for later this year.

Apparently, Oberstar doesn’t seem to be backing down, as he is quoted in this Reuters article:

“Is that what I voted for when I voted for (U.S. airline) deregulation in 1978?” Oberstar asked. “Hell no.”

And he’s still calling alliances “defacto mergers.” Well, that’s what they are, considering the U.S.’s restrictive ownership rules.

But I’m still waiting to hear what’s so bad about alliances. Yes, more carriers work together so the “less competition” argument certainly has some merit. But, there are still three alliances competing for business. Plus, having a truly open and deregulated transatlantic market would prevent any problems when it comes to fares. If the alliances started “gouging” passengers in a way that brought huge profits, those profits would encourage other carriers to enter the market.

Meanwhile, I know I’ve mentioned it before, but why do we still have that 25% limit on ownership? Why should we discourage capital from flowing into the United States? Why is it bad if Virgin Group wants to spend some of its resources in the United States as opposed to other markets and build an airline that Americans can use?

</rant>

Does Delta’s On-Time Performance Follow Morale?

Published
by
Dan Webb
on January 16, 2009
in Delta and Rants
. 0 Comments

Generally, I really enjoy “The Middle Seat” column in The Wall Street Journal, as well as its accompanying blog The Middle Seat Terminal, but I was a bit disappointed with a post made on the blog yesterday about Delta’s on-time performance:

“…at Delta Air Lines, an operational slide seems to have started about the time that Delta’s acquisition of Northwest Airlines Corp. was announced.

According to a new Department of Transportation report out Wednesday, Delta was the worst major carrier in on-time performance in November. (The only two airlines of any size worse than Delta were its two regional partners, Comair and Atlantic Southeast.”

And it goes on to say:

On-time performance often reflects how employees feel about their airline and their managers, and how much attention executives are paying to both rallying workers and working towards a smooth operation. The latest DOT numbers suggest Northwest workers rallied with the merger news, but Delta workers perhaps weren’t as happy with the prospects of the combination. That, or Delta management was simply distracted by the task of creating the world’s largest airline company.

The blog entry is certainly correct in reporting that Delta’s on-time ranking has gone down in recent months. It ranked 17th in November, 16th in October, and 9th in September. For those same months, AirTran ranked 6th, 12th, 16th. By the same logic, the AirTran employees were angry about something, too – or perhaps both airlines have a hub in Atlanta.

Let’s take a look at the performance for Delta as a whole and at its main hubs: ATL, CVG, JFK, and SLC:

For its entire system, Delta’s performance dipped 7.0. But the on-time performance arriving Delta flights at Atlanta decreased 9.9 points, but increased at JFK by 4.4 points. Does this mean that Delta employees in Atlanta are the least happy with the merger, and employees at JFK are ecstatic about it? Probably not.

Fortunately, the report also has information about the causes of delays. 4.23% of Delta’s delays were attributed as “air carrier delays,” but 11.68% (the highest percentage of all airlines) were classified as “national aviation system delays.” The report provides “non-extreme weather conditions, airport operations, heavy traffic volume, [and]and air traffic control” as examples of these.

Obviously, airline employees play a huge role in the company’s on-time performance, but I think it is premature to measure the happiness of Delta employees about the merger through this metric.

A Nitpick for Reuters

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 30, 2008
in Rants
. 0 Comments

So this morning during my news hunt I found this story from Reuters. To quote it:

International air cargo shipments fell 2.7 percent in August while international air passenger traffic rose a disappointing 1.3 percent, airline industry body IATA said in a statement issued in Hanoi and published on its website.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Fell 2.7% compared to what? July 2008? August 2007? When one goes to the official news release, it turns out to be a 2.7% decrease compared to the same month last year. I think that it would be nice if news stories clarified data to make it easier for readers.

And that’s my nitpick for the day…

A Quick Regulation Rant

Published
by
Dan Webb
on July 24, 2008
in Industrywide and Rants
. 1 Comment

I found two stories that related to government involvement in the industry today. Northwest released its earnings report today, and mentioned how its merger with Delta requires Department of Justice approval.

Meanwhile, Continental announced that it has applied with the Department of Transportation to join the Star Alliance. Also, Continental, United, Lufthansa, and Air Canada* are also applying for antitrust immunity for transatlantic service. Some SkyTeam members already have immunity, and some of the Oneworld carriers are rying to get it as well.

All of these airlines are attempting to adequately respond to market conditions, but government approval seems to be impeding their actions, in my opinion. If I’m correct, it probably hurts the airlines financially. And some want more regulation?

*Random speculation – Isn’t it interesting US Airways isn’t on that short list?