DOT Ends the Emotional Support Animal Game
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced it has issued a final rule on service animals. The new change to the Air Carrier Access Act will close the loophole that allowed thousands of travelers to bring pets onboard for free by calling them “emotional support animals.”
The new rule permits airlines to treat emotional support animals as pets, which means they can charge for them, limit the number onboard, and regulate them in various ways. This change was in response to rampant abuse of the previous system. Travelers classified their pets as emotional support animals in order to circumvent payment of airline fees. Sadly, this means I can no longer stop shaving for a month and fly for free with my family.
Certified service animals will continue to be treated the same as always. That includes psychiatric service animals, but the threshold for qualifying as a service animal is far higher than as an emotional support animal, so abuse will likely disappear.
The 737 MAX Flies the Public, Lands Safely
American Airlines continues to March toward the 737 MAX’s return to scheduled service on December 29. The airline flew officials and media on flights between its Dallas/Fort Worth home and its Tulsa maintenance base on Wednesday. To cut to the chase, it was a completely normal flight on a 737.
We don’t need to rehash that the 737 MAX has been grounded since early 2019 due to software issues that pushed two airplanes into the ground. The long, public history of the airplane’s problems has forced airlines to ease people back into flying the airplane. This is the next step for American.
CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom showed their confidence in the airplane by flying it Tuesday night. Wednesday’s flights were meant to educate the media on everything that has been done to make the airplane safe over the last year and a half.
Note: Here at Cranky Daily, we decided that traveling halfway across the country just to fly in a 737 during a pandemic only to land in Tulsa was not worthy of being considered essential travel, so we didn’t participate.
JetBlue Looks to Raise Money with Stock Offering
JetBlue has announced it will sell 36.5 million shares of common stock at a $14.40 per share price. After expenses, JetBlue expects to generate more than $500 million as it looks to raise money to offset pandemic-related losses that are expected to be worse than originally hoped.
JetBlue originally planned to sell 35 million shares of common stock with an option to sell an additional 5.25 million if demand warranted. Apparently, demand did warrant and it was increased to 36.5 million. The underwriters still have an option for an additional 5.475 million if needed.
JetBlue says it will use the funds for “general corporate purposes” which we believe means “not going out of business.”
Air France Loses Interest in the A320, Wants a Bigger A220
Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith told attendees at a conference that a larger A220 “would makes sense” as a replacement for Air France’s aging A320 fleet. This statement from the perennial Airbus supporter — as French custom requires — should cause Airbus concern for the long-term future of the A320.
The A220-300 — with 542 orders — has already surpassed the A319neo — with only 84 orders — in that size category. The A320neo has nearly 4,000 orders and has been very popular, but the prospect of an even more efficient A220-500 has airlines like Air France thinking beyond the A320.
The larger A321neo has almost 3,500 orders along with a distinct advantage over the 737 MAX 9, especially for longer hauls. When asked whether an A220-700 could replace that airplane as well, an Airbus spokesperson said, “well, it worked so well for Boeing, so yeah, sure.” He laughed and hung up.
Hong Kong – Singapore Bubble Delayed Again
Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to delay their proposed travel bubble to some time in 2021. The exact date is expected to be set by the end of December.
Apparently local COVID cases in Hong Kong are just too much for the Singaporeans to tolerate, so they are waiting until a lower case rate is achieved before opening the bubble to allow quarantine-free travel between the cities with negative tests.
When a US traveler boarding a flight to Florida wearing a WWE tanktop was asked his opinion about the Hong Kong case numbers, he laughed and said, “That’s a joke. The Dakotas have way more than that!” He then stomped off and put on his American Flag #1 hat.
Airline Potpourri
- AirSial, a Pakistani startup, has taken delivery of its first airplane.
- Alaska Airlines has enough of a scammer problem that it felt the need to remind travelers it doesn’t have change fees.
- Asiana and Korean Air have cleared a legal hurdle as they march toward a merger.
- FlyDubai likes what it sees in Israel, saying demand between Dubai and Tel Aviv could require 100 flights per week.
- Lufthansa Group has sold off the European operations of its LSG catering unit.
- Pakistan International is looking to lease eight new narrowbody aircraft. Whether it’s for growth or replacement probably depends on if they can find real pilots to fly them.
Brett’s Moment of Levity
What’s the difference between COVID-19 and Romeo and Juliet? One’s the coronavirus and the other is a Verona crisis.