The carrier also reported that premium traffic was down 14.9% compared to last year, though I guess that isn’t as horrible as it looks when it is compared to May’s 17.2% decline.

But I found the fleet news the most interesting:

The remaining three mainline Boeing 757 aircraft will be grounded in summer 2010 and a further three Boeing 747-400s in winter 2010. The delivery schedule for the first six Airbus A380 aircraft has been extended by an average of five months with the first delivery still due in 2012. The schedule for the remaining six A380s has been extended by an average of two years with the final aircraft arriving in 2016.

Meanwhile, Alaska and Southwest have been testing Row 44’s satellite-based system for a few months now, and Southwest is now trying to figure out what to charge for the service. Unfortunately, these two airlines can’t roll out Wi-Fi fleetwide until the FCC approves Row 44, and this process has been conveniently been slowed down by a competitor, ViaSat.

Mary Kirby, also known as “Runway Girl,” reports in an article from yesterday:

In a joint letter filed on 1 July with the FCC, lawyers for Alaska and Southwest say the expeditious grant of Row 44’s application for a permanent license “will generate enormous benefits, including substantial work for almost a dozen technology companies all over the United States at a critical time in our economy”.

The article also notes that the airlines what to move ahead on this because their competitors are making progress, which makes total sense, and I especially see that from Southwest’s perspective. The airline has been busy focusing on attracting more business passengers, and I think Wi-Fi is an important part of that plan (especially if they offer it for free or a discount to frequent passengers, as suggested here).

But I think the FCC should approve this, not just because I agree with the airlines, but because I’m flying Southwest to California next month, and I don’t think I can go a few hours without tweeting.

Anyway, out of personal curiosity I sent e-mails to three airports, and three of them were actually ones that Fish had talked to as well: Richmond (RIC), Harrisburg (MDT), and Akron-Canton (CAK). These three, I think, are some of the best on Twitter.

Basically, I asked these airports - why use Twitter? I think that it makes more sense from a marketing perspective for the airlines than it does for the airports, simply because there’s more competition going on between the airlines. Sure, some airports compete with others in terms of traffic, but I don’t think it’s as competitive as two national carriers competing.

But, after thinking about it and talking with the airports, I’ve found a few reasons why airports should consider using Twitter:

#1 - Enhance the Airline-Airport Partnership

On numerous occasions, I’ve seen airports tweet news about carriers that serve the airport. Kristie VanAuken of Akron-Canton told me that one of the main goals of the airport’s Twitter usage was to “promote our partner airlines.” I think that this small, but very low-cost gesture shows that the airport is making an effort to help ensure that its airlines find success.

#2 - Attract Passengers from Other Airports

I didn’t really expect this to be a big reason, but apparently it is. Twitter “puts a face and personalization on us, a medium-hub, regional airport, that helps to set us apart from the impersonalized approach of our neighboring and competitive airports,” according to Stephanie Gehman of Harrisburg. Troy Bell of Richmond says that “we have noticed some customers tweeting from or about RIC who have bypassed airports more closer to their homes or businesses,” but also noted that “Twitter is part of the mix, but not likely a top influencer at present.”

#3 - Reach New Groups of Passengers

This is another one I didn’t expect. Kristie from CAK also told me that the airport uses Twitter “to connect with tech savvy, younger travelers,” as members of this group “tend to be college educated, have a higher household income and love to travel.”

#4 - Spread Information Quickly

I think this is one of the best uses of Twitter, personally. Stephanie from Harrisburg wrote that Twitter “enables me to get condition reports (weather, airport delays, roadway/traffic updates, etc) out to [a] mass audience quickly. That’s not to say that it’s the only vehicle by which I do that, but it’s a great complement to the tools in my online and offline toolboxes.”

#5 - Communicate with Passengers

Kristie from CAK wrote that one of the airport’s goals for Twitter is to “interact in real-time with our customers.” I found Stephanie’s response to be the most interesting, as she told me that Twitter allows her to “respond in a quicker, more personal means as opposed to a letter or email.” I get the quicker part, but who knew that being limited to 140 characters can bring a more personal response? But, I can see how it works - a quick response shows that someone at the other end is really listening and ready to have a discussion.

#6 - Get Customer Feedback

I think that this is one of the best reasons for an airport to start using Twitter. Stephanie from MDT says the services allows her to ”see at times unfiltered feedback to how MDT and the airlines serving us are perceived and operating.” Troy from RIC put it very well when he wrote: “Customers will tweet about everything…Collectively, dozens/hundreds of 140-character broadcasts from airport customers provide good insight into what is working and where there is room for improvement.” (Emphasis mine)

I think it’s a great idea for airports to utilize Twitter, just for the sake of monitoring feedback if nothing else. The service can provide very useful information to airports - for free! And, if the airports use it well, they can take advantage of Twitter to help improve communication with passengers.

The airline was able to swing a one point increase in load factor compared to June 2008, to 85.2%. But that increase came along with a significant decrease in RASM - Continental estimates a 19.5-20.5% decrease in both mainline and consolidated RASM for June.

Continental also said that mainline RASM was down 19.1% and consolidated RASM was down 19.9% in May.

Of course, that implies that the article says that Goldman is busy manipulating the oil market. Read what it says!

Oil’s spectacular recovery has got the bulls lowing all over again. Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, the üeberbull of oil price forecasting through last year’s bubble, recently upped its end-2009 oil price forecast from $65 per barrel to $85 and instituted an end-2010 target price of $95.

They updated a forecast! Wow! Shocking! If that’s “inflating a new oil bubble,” then the members of the ATA are in big trouble. If the airlines aren’t constantly monitoring oil prices and updating their own forecasts for fuel prices then I would be concerned!

The article continues:

We disagree. Demand growth is anaemic, supply is more than adequate, and $70 oil is more a function of speculation than economics. We’ve identified five rules to help investors gauge what’s happening in the oil market and avoid making decisions that could end up being costly…”

Ironically, the article is now advocating for speculation, just the other way around as they think that oil is overpriced. (And traders could short oil it if they think that’s the case.) The authors, just like the speculators they criticize, are also making decisions on what they think the future will hold.

Anyway, I’ll have more on oil later this week/early next week.

Take a listen here.

Republic’s foray into owning major carriers reminds Sorensen [an ex-Midwest executive, now consultant quoted often in the original article] of the unsuccessful attempt by regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines to enter the mainline business.

For those of you who don’t remember, ACA flew CRJs for United. ACA didn’t like the deal that United offered them, so they decided to go out on their own and re-brand themselves as Independence Air, with a hub out of Dulles. The airline ended up shutting down in 2006. Is Republic’s situation all that similar? I’m going to say “no.”

Most importantly, ACA was only flying for United, while Republic flies for many carriers, so they will continue to earn revenue from their regional flights. Right now, it appears that Frontier and Midwest will continue operating as separate brands, at least in the short term. (Who knows what Republic’s long-term plan is?) But, assuming Republic uses these purchases to go its own way, it’s still different than Indepdence, and two major differences come to mind.

First, the article seems to suggest that one factor in Independence’s failure is that it was new to the mainline business, but this isn’t the case with Republic’s acquisitions with Frontier and Midwest (assuming that everything goes swimmingly with those purchases, specifically in bankruptcy court in Frontier’s case), Republic is acquiring mainline carriers with experience, not going out on their own with no prior knowledge to work with.

Second, another issue with ACA/Independence was its fleet mix. Initially, the airline was stuck with CRJ-200s, which aren’t exactly the most economical aircraft. Pair that with a fare war with United out of Dulles and you get a pretty bad mix. Meanwhile, Republic just acquired a bunch of Airbus aircraft from Frontier. Independence started using A319s, and from what I remember, those routes were doing pretty well, but it was too late to save the airline once they got going.

So, that’s why I think Republic’s situation is very different.

Last week, Alaska held an Aviation Geek Night for fifteen lucky tweeps, which I think is just great since I always enjoy things that show what’s “under the hood,” so to speak. Attendees were able to have fun in the 737 trainer, have fire extinguisher training, and even spend some time in the simulator!

I think this is just awesome. First, kudos to Alaska for putting this on for free. Second, while I love social media, I still think word-of-mouth is one of the most effective forms of marketing. Gee, do you think the attendees might tell their friends and family about this experience?

The group, along with Elliott Pesut (far right), Campaign Management Specialist at Alaska and the man behind the airline’s Twitter account (@AlaskaAir).

More pictures (all of them from Alaska’s Facebook page) after the jump.

I want one!