Spirit Salty About American & JetBlue Partnership
Executives at Spirit Airlines must have read in yesterday’s Cranky Daily about Ryanair blaming the Irish government for the downturn in air travel during the pandemic. In order to keep up with its ULCC brethren, Spirit has submitted a complaint with the DOT about the partnership between American and JetBlue.
The gist of Spirit’s complaint is that the partnership between the two airlines will reduce competition in the Northeast, especially in New York. Spirit also believes the government did not stick its own policy of allowing public comment and challenging aspects of the partnership.
Spirit makes direct reference to other partnerships and mergers where the DOT forced airlines to divest themselves of slots in NYC. Those examples include 2010’s United/Continental merger, 2011’s Delta/US Airways slot swap, the 2013 AA/US Airways merger, and yesterday’s acquision of Lindor and Carrasco by the Mets which required giving up a whopping 4 players plus gates at the Marine Air Terminal. The airline also points out that American and JetBlue overlap on 26 routes out of Boston, LaGuardia and JFK, removing a competitor on those routes.
Spirit concludes by saying that at the very least, the government must permit third parties, such as Spirit, to formally review the agreements and submit comments. It’s unclear how many at the DOT and FAA will read the document, however, as Spirit sent it in a password protected PDF and will only provide the password for a one-time $9.99 fee.
Australia to Reduce International Arrivals Due to COVID Fears
Australia is reducing by half the number of international arrivals it will accept until at least February 15 in three of its states due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each of the three will see its current weekly arrival totals reduced with New South Wales dropping to 1,505, Queensland from 1,000 to 500, and Western Australia from 1,024 to 512. Two additional states, Victoria and South Australia (aka North Antarctica), will continue to receive international arrivals at the same rate as both were already below the maximum threshold permitted by the federal government.
According to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, 80% of Australians overseas are in countries where the new, more contagious strain of the virus has been detected. The current reductions are temporary until the government can receive a better grip on what effect the new strain of the virus will have in the coming weeks.
The nation will also require all international passengers to produce a negative COVID test before being allowed to board their flight to Australia. The test must be a PCR test, and a positive result will not only bar the passenger from flying to Australia but any other members from his or her household as well.
United to Refund Virus Test Fees for Delayed or Canceled Flights
With a virus test being a requirement for most international travel right now, United Airlines announced it will refund the cost of your test if there is a delay or cancellation within the airlines control (meaning not weather-related). This will protect customers who experience a delay or cancellation that pushes their arrival outside of the approved window for the test, which is usually 72 hours.
Customers who qualify can submit their test receipt with United and it will refund up to $200 per passenger. The value can also be converted into miles or an electronic travel certificate if you’re the kind of person who prefers restrictive credit from a corporation instead of actual money.
Top tier elites on United will see the offer extended further, with the airline even willing to refund the test if the delay is outside of the airline’s control, such as with weather. Customers are pushing to extend the refund to all United flights out of Newark — since they’re all likely to be delayed anyway — but United is holding off for now.
AirAsia India and Vistara Brace for Potential Merger
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons is considering merging two of its airline holdings, AirAsia India and Vistara, into one, larger Indian LCC.
Tata Sons took a crucial step toward a merger last month when it bought a significant amount of Christmas gifts portion of AirAsia India from AirAsia Group, increasing its ownership stake from 51% to 84%. Tata Sons has the right in its partnership agreement to increase its share all the way up to 100%, but will not make any decision until its current purchase transaction closes.
Tata Sons owns 51% of Vistara with Singapore Airlines holding the remaining 49%. Any merger between Tata’s two current airlines will require the OK from Singapore. In order to sweeten the pot, Tata Sons is prepared to license the recipe for the Singapore Sling and sell it onboard the new airline, with Singapore receiving a royalty for every drink sold.
Lastly, Tata Sons is also in the mix for a bid on India’s largest carrier, Air India. If it wins the bid for the Star Alliance carrier, it is also considering merging all three airlines into one mega money-losing carrier.
Air Canada’s Aeroplan & Virgin Australia Team Up
In a partnership that is surely to be approved by #1 Commonwealth fan, Her Majesty the Queen, Air Canada and its new-and-improved Aeroplan will partner with the new-and-improved (maybe) Virgin Australia, with the tie-up effective on June 19. Virgin Australia will be the fourth partner of Aeroplan from outside the Star Alliance to sign on.
The two airlines have codeshared on AC’s three destinations in Australia — Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney — that it operated prior to the pandemic. But with the new agreement, Aeroplan members will be able to redeem their mileage on all Virgin Australia flights via aeroplan.com
Aeroplan members can also earn miles on Virgin Australia flights, with the percentage of miles flown earned dependent on a pre-boarding test on Australian history and check on how authentically Canadian the passenger’s accent appears to be.
Airline Potpourri
- airBaltic announced that it flew 1.34 million passengers in 2020, a 70% drop from 2019.
- British Airways is generously bringing back free water and snacks for short-haul economy. As always on BA, passengers are free to use the restroom without asking for permission.
- Delta and JetBlue are the latest airlines to ban emotional support animals aboard their aircraft.
- EGO Airlines, an Italian start-up that thinks very highly of itself, plans to begin service March 28. The airline has announced its inaugural route network which it believes to be truly outstanding, and began selling tickets yesterday.
- Israir and Etihad signed an agreement to permit Israir pilots to train at Etihad’s facility in Abu Dhabi.
- Royal Air Maroc plans to start new service to Dubai with 3x-weekly flights beginning March 28.
- WestJet plans to further reduce its schedule which will lead to cuts for as many as 1,000 employees. The airline will keep as many employees as it can via pleas for reduced hours and unpaid leave, but also expects some employees to be laid off or furloughed.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
I had a dream last night the government announced we would be changing from pounds to kilograms. There was mass confusion.