Author: Andrew Bashuk

April 16, 2021

Alaska Defends Backyard Against Avelo

Alaska Airlines announced a new California route today, daily nonstop service from Burbank to Santa Rosa/Sonoma County (STS) on June 1. The announcement comes after startup Avelo Airlines announced earlier this week that it will launch its operation from Burbank to 11 destinations on April 28. Want to guess what one of them is?

You’re right. Avelo’s very first destination is Santa Rosa, which it will operate daily from Burbank, making today’s announcement from Alaska a wild coincidence. Alaska will then add a second daily service to STS from both Orange County and San Diego on September 8, giving Alaska 13x daily flights to/from STS this fall.

We spoke with Brett Catlin, Alaska’s Vice President Network & Alliances, and he explained that Alaska analyzed the data and found many of the customers using the airline’s 3x daily flights from LAX were driving from the Burbank area, so they decided to add the flight. But would Alaska have launched this had Avelo not started up? We can’t prove it either way, but I think we all know the answer.

Farewell Old Friend: DCA Gate 35X’s Final Flight is Monday

It’s the end of an era at Washington/National (DCA) as the dreaded gate 35X will see its final flight depart Monday night, capping a generation-long run for the worst gate in America. When American flight 5482 departs at 10:45 p.m. Monday night bound for Albany, it will mark the final flight for a place that all travelers at DCA avoided like the plague.

DCA’s new concourse will open Tuesday morning, three months ahead of schedule – a true rarity for Washington. The terminal construction was expedited in part because of the pandemic and the reduction in flights, passengers, and operations at the airport over the last year.

The 14-gate concourse extends from the northern end of Terminal B/C and boasts spacious waiting areas for passengers waiting hours on end for their delayed AA flights. There are numerous dining and shopping options, all of which will offer passengers a pleasant experience while gouging with ridiculous prices.

We’re Back: ExpressJet Plans Return

With reports of its demise being greatly exaggerated, ExpressJet intends to launch independent air service this spring based on a recent DOT filing. ExpressJet was left for dead after it suspended operations on September 30 when United ended its regional agreement with the airline. After the contract ended, the airline divested itself of most if its aircraft, but it held on to one ERJ-145, along with a hope and a dream.

The carrier now plans to use that one plane, in addition to leasing back nine more, to begin point-to-point flying to small and medium sized cities that have lost service in recent years.

Interestingly enough, United still owns 49.9% of the airline, which will put it in the position of potentially competing with itself. ExpressJet plans to have three aircraft operating 420 monthly flights carrying 15,847 passengers by this June. It plans to fly daily service in all or most of its markets, a different approach from those other 2021 startups, Breeze and Avelo.

Ultimate Air Shuttle Ultimately Opens New Focus City

Akron/Canton-based Ultimate Air Shuttle resumed flying scheduled passenger charters this week after not operating since October 1. Now that it’s back flying, the airline announced that it will operate from Gulf Shores, AL (JKA) to three new cities, beginning June 3.

It’s calling its operation from Gulf Shores the Southeast Beach Express, which it settled on when Redneck Riviera Express didn’t test well with focus groups. It will fly 4x weekly service, operating Thursday-Sunday from JKA to:

  • Atlanta/Cobb County (RYY)
  • Nashville/Tune (JWN)
  • Baton Rouge (BTR)

The airline operates its 30-seat Dornier 328 aircraft from FBOs at all three airports, giving its passengers a private jet experience, similar to JSX on the west coast. At RYY and JWN it will be the only airline operating scheduled passenger service.

Iberia’s Network Team Gives its Keys Away

Iberia is adding one more destination to its 2021 summer schedule, and its network planning team-members have wiped their hands clean of the decision. The airline has turned to social media, asking its followers on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to vote for its newest destination.

Voters will have a choice of seven destinations from five countries to choose from. The choices are:

  • Ljubljana, Slovenia (LJU)
  • Bastia, France (BIA)
  • Rhodes, Greece (RHO)
  • Thessaloniki, Greece (SKG)
  • Zante, Greece (ZTH)
  • Fez, Morocco (FEZ)
  • Ponta Delgada, Azores (PDL)

Unfortunately there’s no option for a write-in candidate, which will limit some great options for the airline. A strong write-in campaign could have gotten us the Madrid-Spokane nonstop we know the world is waiting on.

Airline Potpourri

  • American reached an agreement with Boeing to defer delivery on both 737 MAX 8 and 787 aircraft it had scheduled for delivery in 2021 and 2022. It also swapped five pending 787-8 orders to 787-9s.
  • Avianca named Rohit Phillip as CFO. Cranky Daily was not involved in his hiring. As we stated last week, Cranky Daily is not a job placement service.
  • China Airlines expects to receive A321neo deliveries this fall.
  • Freebird Airlines is launching summer seasonal service from London/Gatwick and Manchester to Antalya, Turkey (AYT).
  • Frontier did not announce any new routes or destinations today.
  • Gulf Air will resume flying to Istanbul with twice-weekly service on May 11.
  • Loganair, which surprisingly does not fly to Boston, will begin 4x weekly service between Exeter (EXT) and Norwich (NWI) on July 12.
  • Montenegro Airlines is on the verge of being forced to declare bankruptcy by the Montenegrin government. It is currently pouting in the corner, refusing to listen.
  • Smartwings is adding new twice-weekly service between its Prague hub and Nice beginning May 6.
  • Turkish has resumed flying the B737 MAX. The airline also revised its current MAX order with Boeing from 75 down to 65.
  • United plans to retrofit some of its older planes with seatback TVs in an effort to distract passengers from the cramped seats and lousy service.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

You don’t need a parachute to go skydiving. You need one to go skydiving twice.

April 15, 2021

Delta is First Up With Q1 Financials

Delta Air Lines is the first major U.S. airline to release its financials for Q1 2021 with the airline feeling optimistic despite posting a big loss for the fourth quarter in a row.

Delta’s cash burn for Q1 ended up at $11 million per day, but for March it managed to turn things back into in the black with a $4 million daily cash generation, a great sign for the upcoming summer travel season.

In the report, Delta said that leisure bookings have recovered to 85% of 2019 levels. Despite that, Delta posted a net loss of $1.18 billion on $4.15 billion of revenue. Non-ticket revenues grew faster than passenger revenues, and cargo revenue crept up 12% from Q1 2019 to $215 million.

Looking ahead to Q2, Delta expects to operate approximately 68% of the capacity it flew in Q2 2019, leading to a break even quarter after pre-tax losses are accounted for. The airline ended March with $16.6 billion in liquidity including cash and cash equivalents, tons and tons of Biscoff, and one big political mess.

Frontier Keeps Pushing to New Frontiers

Frontier Airlines can’t stop itself from adding cities and routes as it makes it fifth new route announcement since last week. Today it’s taking its talents to the Caribbean, adding three new cities and eight new routes.

The three new Caribbean cities debuting on the airline’s route map this summer are Nassau (NAS) beginning in June along with St Maarten (SXM) and San Jose (this one, not this one) (SJO) in July. The first two cities are new additions to Frontier, with San Jose returning for the first time since 2015.

San Jose will see twice-weekly service to both Miami and Orlando. Nassau will have 4x weekly flights from Miami with St. Maarten receiving Saturday-only flights from both Miami and Orlando.

Other new routes for Frontier include Saturday-only flights beginning June 12 from St. Thomas (STT) to San Juan (SJU). Dallas/Ft. Worth adds 3x weekly flights to Cancun on June 10 with Myrtle Beach somehow getting another city, as Frontier will operate Miami-Myrtle Beach 5x weekly beginning June 10.

Air France Goes a Mile High

Air France is doing its best Frontier Airlines impression, announcing a new dot on its route map, with Frontier’s Denver hometown joining the network this July. Its unclear why Air France is doing this since the chances are slim that Americans will be able to visit France or vice versa this summer.

Air France will operate 3x weekly service between Denver and its Paris/CDG base from July 2 through October 29 on a Boeing 787-9. Air France will be the third SkyTeam airline to operate at the airport, joining Delta and Aeromexico, with Air France being the first airline from the alliance to operate a transatlantic flight from Denver.

When the flight begins, Air France will be the 24th airline to operate at DEN. It would be more, but many airlines are not willing to operate at an airport that’s haunted.

The airport claims the flight will generate between $12-$20 million in annual economic impact to Colorado’s economy and create up to 150 new jobs. Those figures seem ambitious for a seasonal, 3x weekly flight to an airport that already has service from Denver, but then again, someone is going to have to get paid a ton to translate John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High into French.

Virgin Australia Pivots to Leisure Travel

Virgin Australia outlined a plan to pivot its future growth with a greater focus on leisure travel.

The airline has completed lease agreements for ten B737 aircraft that it had previously returned when it entered administration last spring. It’s also launching a recruitment drive to fill more than 150 additional cabin crew roles while also bringing back 220 flight attendants who are currently on unpaid leave.

Despite the opening of the trans-Tasman travel bubble next week, Virgin Australia declined to follow its competition into the Australia-New Zealand fray, choosing not to resume flights to New Zealand until October 31. In the meantime, it is launching new, tourism-focused, seasonal routes: Melbourne-Hamilton Island (HTI), Melbourne-Darwin (DRW), Brisbane-Launceston (LST), Melbourne-Ballina Byron (BNK). Airline officials swore on the record that with the possible exception of Ballina Byron, those are all real places with airports and everything.

Virgin Australia is also increasing frequencies on several routes, adding more than 220 new roundtrip flights by mid-June. It’s expected that Virgin Australia will announce what routes are getting the new frequencies once it figures out where people actually want to go.

Air New Zealand Tells Passengers to Watch Their Weight

Passengers flying Air New Zealand this week are being asked to step on a scale with their carry-on baggage during the boarding process as the airline seeks to update the average weight of its customers.

The process is not mandatory – but it is very strongly suggested. Air New Zealand is required to complete the “customer and crew weight survey” once every five years to satisfy New Zealand regulatory requirements.

The information is used to help the airline more accurately calculate weight, balance, and fuel requirements for every flight. The data is collected anonymously with no current Air New Zealand employees or other customers seeing the weight of a specific passenger. The only individual with access to that data is former Air New Zealand executive Rico, who despite no longer being with the airline had a clause in his contract that give him full access forever.

Airline Potpourri

  • Air Leap is taking a leap of faith as it launches another regional brand.
  • ANA is removing plastic from its economy class meal trays. It will now just drop a glob of food on your tray table and if you’re sleeping, in your lap.
  • Angkor Air of Cambodia is planning to begin flights in China via 7th Freedom permissions.
  • China Express, which is not the takeout place up the road from your house, opened a new base at Zhuzhou (CSX).
  • Croatia Airlines is taking a page out of Ryanair’s book as it is demanding fee reductions and incentives at its Zagreb (ZAG) hub that are equal to or better than what the airport offers to…Ryanair.
  • Eastern Airlines is debuting its first transatlantic route, operating on the popular and unquestionably underserved route of Chicago/O’Hare to Sarajevo. The flight will operate once-weekly between May 28 to September 5. As far as which of the several Eastern Airlines that exist is operating this route, your guess is as good as ours.
  • flybe has been purchased just in the nick of thyme by Thyme Opco, a Cyrus-based capital shell company. Parsley, sage, and rosemary were not involved, but it is believed flybe will shift its headquarters to Scarborough.
  • JetBlue’s new Mint product will debut on June 1 on a cross-country flight between New York/JFK and Los Angeles.
  • S7 Airlines is selling its 36.875% stake in Cyprus Airways. Not 36%. Not 37%.
  • Sky Alps secured a lease for its first Q400 aircraft, completing a mountainous journey to acquire the plane.
  • Southwest, in a feeble attempt to keep up with Frontier, announced it will begin serving Eugene, OR (EUG) on August 29 with once daily service from Las Vegas and twice daily from Oakland.
  • Suriname Airways had a B737-700 seized in Miami shortly before it was to operate a flight back to its Paramaribo hub (PBM) for lack of payments. This is good information for anyone in South Florida in the market for a used B737-700.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I was going to tell a time-traveling joke today, but none of you liked it.

April 14, 2021

American’s Aggressive Summer Schedule

American Airlines will operate more than 150 new routes this summer, with the airline flying more than 90% of its domestic capacity and 80% of its international capacity compared to summer 2019. It expects some of the flights to operate on-time, and it is rumored that some of the international flights may actually have passengers.

Highlights of the new schedule additions include a daily nonstop between Raleigh-Durham and Nashville along with two new flights from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Bangor, ME (BGR) and Burlington, VT (BTV).  Because nothing shouts “highlight” like Bangor, Maine.

Another example of “highlight” needing to be in quotes is Orlando, which leads the way with eight new Saturday-only non-hub routes beginning June 5. If you live in a medium-sized city in the midwest, or near the midwest, you can safely assume you’ll be getting a flight.

Miami will also see an upgrade to the west coast, JFK, and to six destinations in South America, with widebodies for all. American will put its 787 Dreamliner aircraft on daily flights to Cali (CLO), Guayaquil (GYE), Lima (LIM), Medellin (MDE), Port-au-Prince (PAP) and Quito (UIO), all of which seem slightly better than just parking the airplanes in the desert.

JetBlue and AA Northeast Alliance Undergoes Further Scrutiny

The proposed Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways will undergo a more detailed examination from the Department of Justice’s antitrust division in the coming weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) signed off on the deal earlier this year, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not weighed in. With a new Biden Administration likely to be tougher than the previous regime, the DOJ is now taking a closer look. It has not helped that several airlines – led by Spirit – have objected to the partnership based on anticompetitive actions taken by the two airlines primarily at three northeast airports: New York/JFK, New York/LaGuardia, and Washington/National.

The DOJ is expected to investigate Spirit’s formally-filed objections that coordination in the northeast could lead to higher prices for consumers. Spirit wants nothing to do with higher ticket prices; it wants American and JetBlue to stuff their high prices into nonsensical fees like a real airline does it.

Really what Spirit wants — along with United — is for American and JetBlue to divest themselves of slots at all three airports so they can get their hands on them instead.

Southwest Devalues Rapid Rewards

A rapid change in the value of Rapid Rewards points came overnight, with Southwest making all point redemptions 6% more expensive while simultaneously annoying countless loyal travelers and credit card mileage schemers.

The airline took a page out of the Delta SkyMiles playbook, enhancing the price of rewards with no warning to its customers. Existing bookings are still valid at the previous price, but any changes to those itineraries will be repriced at the new redemption levels.

Previously, Wanna Get Away fares cost between 76-78 points per dollar, with Anytime and Business Select consistently at 78 points per dollar. With the update the airline made overnight, redemptions will now cost 83 points per dollar – a valuation of ~1.2 cents per point.

The change did not appear to affect cash fares. This is the first enhancement of Rapid Reward redemption rates (RRRR) since 2018 when the airline made a similar 6% devaluation. The change likely is correlated to the glut of Rapid Rewards points in the market. With earning rates staying steady, especially with those who earn points via credit card purchases, but travel being way down in 2020, this change help Southwest clear more points off its balance sheet.

Oh Canada: True North Strong and Free: Except for the Caribbean

Air Canada is extending its suspension of flights to most “sun destinations” through the end of May, matching announcements from its fellow Canadian airlines.

Canada’s four largest airlines — Air Canada, Air Transat, Sunwing, and WestJet — agreed earlier this year to stop flying to most sun destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico through April 30 at the request of the Canadian government. All four are extending their suspensions beyond that deadline. In addition to Air Canada’s holding off through May, WestJet will not resume flying to the Caribbean until June 4, Air Transat is holding off until June 14, and Sunwing will pick things back up on June 23.

The Canadian government’s border is still closed to Americans and other foreign, non-essential visitors. While Canadian residents can return following international travel to any destinations including Mexico and the Caribbean, the federal government is strongly discouraging leisure and non-essential travel.

Air Canada will continue to operate cargo-only flights to three destinations – Mexico City, Barbados, and Kingston, Jamaica. In rare instances, it will fly some passengers on the return portion of those cargo flights – back to Canada – to repatriate those Canadians who either need to hitch a ride back home or those Latin/Caribbean residents who exhibit superior ice hockey and/or bobsledding skills.

Norwegian CEO Says Norwegian Needs More Money

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the Babe Ruth of bankruptcy filings, needs more money if its to continue filing for bankruptcy flying, according to its CEO.

The airline has recently received approval for its restructuring plan from bankruptcy courts in both Oslo and Dublin — or as it’s known in airline circles, the Deep in Debt Double — allowing it to cut its debt obligations by converting them to stock. But both courts agreed to debt-cutting provision on the condition that the airline raise 4.5 billion crowns (~$207 million) on its own.

The airline duped the Norwegian government received a cash infusion from the Norwegian government to cover the first 1.5 billion crowns, but it needs to raise the remaining three billion crowns (approximately $133 million). That process will require Norwegian to find rich investors who love the airline industry and have no good use for material possessions or money.

  • Air France’s cargo flights to and from Brazil will continue, but all other flights between the two nations have been suspended indefinitely by the French government.
  • Air Tunilik, a Canadian seaplane operator has received C$5 million in aid from Québec. It had to promise to only speak French, and not to speak English, to any potential customers in exchange for the cash.
  • Alaska was so impressed by United’s plan to convert trash to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) yesterday, that it announced its own plan today. You might want to click the link, print the release and leave it by the toilet for quality reading material later on.
  • Avianca says it will fly again, but it will need to right-size its airline, planning to emerge from bankruptcy with fewer aircraft and fewer employees.
  • China Southern is reviewing the future of the A380 in its fleet. The airline is also reportedly reviewing the number of sticky pads and ballpoint pens in its supply closet.
  • FlyArystan is beginning its first international service into Georgia (this one, not this one), flying to three cities beginning May 2.
  • Jazeera Airways’s board of directors has recommended the airline increase its cash on-hand via a capital increase. My online banking app tells me the same thing every time I log on.
  • Norse Atlantic Airways, the airline being started by three guys named Bjørn, has fooled investors into raising $165 million for the airline’s IPO.
  • PLAY, a fun-focused Icelandic startup airline has raise $35 million in play money real money through a private share offerings.
  • Qantas intends to return its entire A380 fleet to active operations but not until 2024. Stay tuned to Cranky Daily for updates on this story as it unfolds over the next four years.
  • Red Wings Airlines is launching a new base at Chelyabinsk (CEK).
  • Royal Air Maroc has suspended flights to 17 countries through May 21 because of Morocco closing its borders due to a new wave of COVID infections.
  • Ryanair realized it hadn’t sued anyone lately, so its taking the EU to court over Finnish, Danish, and Swedish aid favoring Finnair and SAS.
  • Smartwings has resumed flying between its Prague hub and St. Petersburg/Pulkovo (LED).
  • Southwest operated its inaugural flight to Santa Barbara yesterday, a nonstop flight from Las Vegas. The inaugural wasn’t supposed to operate until this weekend, but Santa Barbara Airport Administration purchased Early Bird.

I saw a porcupine try and race a squirrel today, and it lost the race badly. It really was a slowpoke.

April 13, 2021

Update for fair-skinned readers of Cranky Daily: Yesterday we reported that the TSA would now allow full-sized bottles of sunscreen through TSA checkpoints. The TSA has since retracted that, stating that this was listed by mistake and has since been removed from the TSA’s website. So remember to check your sunscreen or buy it at the gift shop at the hotel for 3x retail price.

Frontier’s Newest Frontier is the Last Frontier

Frontier Airlines seemingly can’t add new destinations and routes fast enough, as the airline today announced eight new routes and four new cities would join its summer route map. Service begins in June, assuming Frontier doesn’t change its mind again before then.

Leading the way will be flights to Anchorage (ANC), an airport last served by Frontier in 2014. Anchorage (2x weekly) will be one of four new routes from Frontier’s Denver hub, joining Durango, CO (DRO) with 4x weekly service and 3x weekly flights to both Grand Junction, CO (GJT) and Kalispell MT (FCA). All four of those cities are new dots on Frontier’s destination map, with Durango last having been served by Frontier in 2015, Grand Junction in 2009, and Kalispell having never been served by the airline.

Other new routes for Frontier include two new ones from Dallas/Ft Worth: Ontario, CA (4x weekly) beginning June 11 and Salt Lake City (3x weekly) beginning June 10. Chicago/O’Hare to Salt Lake City will also begin June 10 and be operated 3x weekly with Las Vegas seeing new twice-weekly service to Durango beginning June 11.

COVID Refunds Finally Coming from Air Canada

After some passengers have waited more than a year for their COVID refunds, Air Canada is finally planning to pay out the money owed to its customers thanks to a C$5.8 billion bailout package from the Canadian government. This was the second attempt at a bailout for the airline after negotiations broke down last fall over a similar aid package.

Of the money headed Air Canada’s way, C$1.4 billion of it is dedicated to customer refunds from flights cancelled due to the pandemic. The airline had held onto customers’ money, instead offering future flight credits, NHL.tv subscriptions, and Tim Horton’s gift cards instead of refunds. This was particularly shocking for US-based travelers since the US said that holding back on refunds was against US rules, but Air Canada did not budge.

This funding comes via Canada’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) program which provides liquidity to businesses that would be to the benefit of Canadian taxpayers to keep the Canadian economy afloat.

Similar to the CARES Act funding for airlines in the United States, AC had to agree to resume service to “nearly all regional communities where service was suspended because of COVID-19’s impact on travel” as part of the deal. Employment also must be maintained at or above the level from April 1 of this year.

Southwest Recalls All Flight Attendants

Southwest is recalling all 2,700 flight attendants who took voluntary leave last summer to help the airline stay afloat financially at the height of the pandemic.

The 2,700 flight attendants, along with 209 pilots, will return to work on June 1 and are being urged to spend the next six weeks working on their comic material for PA announcements. With the announcement, improv troupes, comedy clubs, and piano bars have seen an immediate downtick in their numbers.

Despite recalling all of its flight attendants, the airline still has about 850 pilots on voluntarily leave who haven’t been recalled. The airline is still losing money on a daily basis, but its cash burn is dramatically lower than it was a year ago. As it continues to see a major rise in bookings for the summer, it is positioning itself to cater to demand that is rising along with the summer temps across the country.

JetBlue and Qatar Expand Partnership

No airline seems to date around more than JetBlue lately, and today is no exception as the airline added to its partnership with Qatar Airways, expanding codesharing and improving reciprocal point earning opportunities for loyalty program members. Qatar is a member of oneworld and partner of JetBlue’s best buddy American.

With the expanded codesharing, several Qatar itineraries are bookable wholly on JetBlue.com for travel beginning next week. These flights from all nine of Qatar’s U.S. destinations to Doha will include the B6 flight code for those who want to book directly with JetBlue because they find the blue hues of the website calming. JetBlue’s code will also be placed on flights from Doha to seven worldwide destinations providing further connectivity for JetBlue passengers.

Later this year, the two will combine to offer reciprocal points earning, something that has not previously been part of the partnership. Sometime in the future, they will also allow points redemptions on the other airline, but are not committing to a timeline on when that will be intregrated.

United Turns to Trash to Form Eco-Skies Alliance

United Airlines unveiled a plan today to partner with dozens of major corporations around the world to finance low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that comes from recycling trash. It expects its efforts to create about 3.4 million gallons of fuel this year, a literal drop in the bucket compared to the 4.3 billion gallons of fuel the airline used in 2019.

The new program is a part of United’s focused efforts to become 100% green by 2050 by eliminating its greenhouse gas emissions. The airline has made the decision that while it will never operate 100% of its flights on-time, this goal might distract people from noticing.

While these worldwide corporations and have agreed to partner with United in its efforts, the airline itself plans to lead the way for contribution of cost and trash needed for the project. United expects to send all uneaten meals in Polaris to be converted into fuel which, with its level of catering, is expected to be all of them.

The airline has also found a new way to charge customers, offering passengers the ability to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with it perhaps only being a matter of time until United adds a SAF surcharge on all tickets.

Airline Potpourri

  • Air France-KLM and China Eastern have extended their partnership and added two new flights — Paris/CDG-Beijing and Amsterdam-Beijing — to their joint venture.
  • Binter Canarias is adding five new destinations in France and Italy from its Gran Canaria hub (LPA) this July.
  • Cathay Pacific is moving towards the year 2015 as it eliminates physical membership cards, instead offering digital versions in its app.
  • Eastar Jet’s founder has a warrant out for his arrest in Korea for embezzlement. Rival airline WestJet had no comment.
  • Norwegian Air’s restructuring was approved in an Oslo bankruptcy court. The approval was fully expected as Norwegian’s lawyers and the bankruptcy judge have worked together dozens of times in the past, and both parties know that Norwegian will be back in bankruptcy sooner rather than later.
  • Qantas will reopen its flagship international first class lounges on April 19 when the Tasman travel bubble officially opens.
  • Sky Cana has begun passenger charter flights in the Dominican Republic.
  • Southern Airways Express secured a two-year EAS contract at Chadron, Nebraska (CDR).

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I was walking on the beach this morning when I heard a guy surrounded by a bunch of sharks yell “Help!”

All I could do was shake my head at him and laugh — those sharks weren’t going to help him.

April 12, 2021

TSA Now Allows Full-Size Sunscreen In Carry-On

In a move that fair-skinned members of the traveling public are sure to applaud, the TSA now allows full-sized sunscreen to be brought through checkpoints in carry-on baggage. Travelers must declare the full-sized sunscreen to the TSA agents at the checkpoint, who will theoretically then subject the sunscreen to a more thorough examination, before allowing the traveler and his or her sunscreen to pass through.

The change came about because the TSA reclassified sunscreen on to its medically approved list of liquids and gels that can be brought through checkpoints. Dermatologists everywhere rejoiced.

It was down to either sunscreen or bourbon to be the next addition to the list, and sunscreen ultimately won out when TSA determined that 4 oz of sunscreen could never be used to bring an airplane down, but bourbon or water? That’s obviously a major risk.

Hawaiian Drops Mileage Expiration

Hawaiian Airlines announced on Monday that the airline will end its practice of having miles expire after 24 months of inactivity in its HawaiianMiles loyalty program. Passenger balances will now never expire, bringing the airline in line with its mainland competitors including Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United.

In addition to giving points a lifetime reprieve, Hawaiian also cut its elite qualification requirements for 2021 in half. Gold status will now requite 15 segments or 10,000 miles on the airline, down from 30 segments or 20,000 miles in a regular year. Platinum can be earned with just 30 segments in 20,000 miles for the year.

With the reduced qualification requirements, the airline is also including new added value for its most loyal fliers. Those that qualify on segments through interisland flying will also receive a free Hawaiian-branded COVID home testing kit for every 15 segments flown. At 30 segments, the airline will send someone to the traveler’s home to install a Pog juice tap so Hawaiian’s signature drink can be enjoyed on the ground as well.

French Government Sends Travelers to the Rails

Lawmakers in France voted late Saturday night to end all domestic flights that can be covered by train in two and a half hours or less. The vote came as part of a broader climate bill that looks to cut carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. The bill must pass a vote twice more – once in France’s Senate and then back to the National Assembly — to become law. For more on how a bill becomes a law in France, we recommend Le Schoolhouse Rock.

French airlines, including flag carrier Air France, lobbied against the bill, stating that this is not the time to ban any flights or limit airlines’ abilities to operate. Analysts from McKinsey believe this could stunt the recovery of the airline industry in France, keeping it from returning to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. It will mostly hurt connecting passengers who will require a lot more than 2.5 hours to go from their arrival airport to the final destination. They’ll likely just fly another airline through another hub instead.

Many national governments partner with airlines to entice travelers to ride the rails on short domestic trips including KLM in the Netherlands and Lufthansa with Deutsche Bahn in Germany. The French approach of forcing passengers to the trains would ban flights to Bordeaux (BOD), Lyon (LYS), Nantes (NTE), Rennes (RNS), and Strasbourg (SXB) from both Paris airports in addition to flights between Lyon and Marseille (MRS).

Air France Subsidiary Hops Backwards

Hop, Air France’s regional subsidiary is shrinking considerably as the airline moves one step closer to potentially being eliminated. The airline is said to be reducing the size of its fleet by more than half, going from 69 to 32. It will also be cutting 1,007 staff members, equal to 40% of its current workforce, with both the aircraft and personnel reductions remaining in place through at least the end of 2022.

With Air France divesting itself of slots in Paris, it does not need as many flights from Hop, especially when coupled with its upcoming delivery of 58 A220 aircraft that will fly short and medium haul flights within Europe for mainline Air France.

Several unions are saying that this is the beginning of the end for the Hop brand, that it’s destined to join Joon in Air France’s big airplane hangar in the sky. Hop management contends that the restructuring is merely designed to ensure the longevity of the airline and brand – which is exactly what you would expect management to say if the airline was on the chopping block.

Air Baltic to offer NFT

Air Baltic will become the first airline to issue non-fungible tokens (NFT). This comes after the airline became the first to accept Bitcoin as ticket payment as far back as 2014. In addition to Bitcoin, airBaltic accepts several other cryptocurrencies for payment and is also willing to barter just about anything if its worth it. Last month a guy paid for a ticket with his collection of used celebrity eyeglasses.

The Latvian government-owned airline is issuing a limited number of collectors’ special NFTs depicting one of the airline’s A220-300 aircraft with its registration and a piece of art showing off a Latvian city.

airBaltic invited everyone to vote on their favorite towns and cities in Latvia in honor of the nation’s 100th anniversary in 2018. The cities that finished atop the voting will be featured on the NFT as well as a bonus NFT honoring the Latvian Orthodox conversion ceremony of New York resident George Costanza.

If you aren’t sure what an NFT is, you should brush up. It’s the new cool thing. Here’s a primer for you.

Airline Potpourri

  • AirAsia Group is setting up a consultancy for anyone interested in starting up an LCC in southeast Asia with several national subsidiaries.
  • Air Austral will receive a $35 million loan from the French government.
  • Air France-KLM is launching a capital increase campaign.
  • BRA, the most supportive airline in Sweden, is resuming operating at Stockholm/Bramma (BMA).
  • British Airways is delaying its resumption of service at London/Gatwick. The airline had previously planned to resume flying from Gatwick by the end of June, but the airline will not make that target with the exception of flights to Glasgow and a small number of long-haul flights.
  • LATAM and Atlas Air entered a partnership with China’s Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to improve cargo connections between Asia and South America.
  • Malawi Airlines did not receive the cash injection it was hoping for and the airline now is facing a potential liquidation. It is expected to launch a GoFundMe any day now.
  • Porter has delayed its restart day once again, this time to June 21. Don’t hold your breath.
  • Sky Mali, longtime competitor of Sky Mall magazine, has postponed its launch of international ops until later this summer.
  • Taban Air acquired its first B737-500.

Brett’s Moment of Levity

What do you put on a lonely grilled cheese sandwich?

Provalone

Happy National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

April 9, 2021

It’s Electric: Boeing Announces New Issue with 737 MAX

Boeing recommended to 16 of its airline customers that they ground a subset of their 737 MAX aircraft to address a potential electrical issue. The manufacturer says the airlines need to verify one of the components in the plane’s electrical system is sufficiently grounded, seemingly missing the irony that the electrical system needs to be grounded in order for the plane to fly.

Boeing did not identify which 16 airlines are affected by the announcement, but some airlines have been aggressive today in removing the aircraft from service. Southwest removed 30 of its 58 MAX aircraft from service this morning while American removed 17 and United 16. Alaska is grounding four aircraft and WestJet one. Air Canada said that none of its MAX aircraft are affected by the electrical issue.

It shouldn’t need to be said but you know everyone else will try to make a link, so… this electrical issue is unrelated to the flight control software troubles that led to two crashes and kept the aircraft grounded for two years.

LATAM To Retire A350 Fleet

LATAM Brasil will retire its entire fleet of A350 aircraft – 11 in total – in the next week. The airline wanted to make the retirements effective immediately, but opted to wait until all active flights had landed safely and deplaned their passengers, as otherwise it would have had quite the PR mess on its hands.

LATAM is currently undergoing bankruptcy procedures and needs to cut costs and streamline its fleet. LATAM originally had more than two dozen A350s on order but had planned on offloading four of them on to sugar daddy JV partner Delta. That A350 deal ended last year when Delta agreed to pay $62 million. This feels like an impressive shell game where Delta just keeps choosing poorly. Now, LATAM is walking away from the A350s but it still gets to keep the $62 million.

With the retirement of the A350s, LATAM will be left with an exclusively Boeing fleet of long-haul aircraft. The group is left with 10 B777-300ER, 39 B767s, and 22 B787 Dreamliners. It probably also has a long-forgotten subsidiary somewhere in the Andes that operates B707s.

Flyr Prepares for First Flight

Flyr, the latest startup airline to fall into the abyss that is Norway’s aviation market, announced it will commence oprations on July 1.

When it begins srvice, the airline will srve domestic destinations in Norway primarily plus at least three intrnational destinations – Malaga, Alicante, and Nice. Its first flight will oprate from its Oslo base to Tromsø. The inaugural flight was pushed back from early June to July 1 in ordr to comply with the Norwegian govrnment’s reopening plan.

When it comes to Norwegian airlines and sending them money, there’s a sense of fool me once shame on you, fool me three hundred times, shame on me. Even still, the airline plans for tickets to go on sale in June and expects people to fork over actual cash in exchange for reservations on flights.

The airline will receive its first aircraft – a B737-800 next month. Additional planes are scheduled to be delivred in June to bulk up the fleet before beginning oprations.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas, Including Aeromexico’s Schedule

Aeromexico is beefing its Texas operation up this summer with a Texas-sized increase of service to the state.

Aeromexico will resume flying to both Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth on July 1, offering daily service to both airports from its Mexico City (MEX) hub. The Austin flight is being added as Delta looks to keep Austin as one of only two remaining focus cities, potentially providing more connecting opportunities for AM passengers.

The resumptions in both cities add more meat to the bone on the airline’s service to the Lone Star SState, which also includes its service to both Houston/Intercontinental and San Antonio. Aeromexico and Delta, its joint venture partner — will operate 47 unique routes between the United States and Mexico this summer. Beginning this April, the two airlines will team up to fly more than 3,600 flights between the two countries.

Wizz Air Exec Steps Down After Opening Mouth on Zoom

Wizz Air’s Head of Flight Operations Darwin Triggs stepped down from his role this week, as announced in a letter sent to airline staff. Triggs was the subject of an investigation after he was recorded telling his staff to draw up a list of layoffs based on pilots who were often sick or “caused grief,” while ensuring to keep cheaper pilots employed.

The Darwinian process might have been best for Wizz’s bottom line, but it didn’t jive with the airline’s HR policies and ended up costing him his job. The airline’s investigation revealed no indication that Triggs had acted unlawfully, but that his actions were “inconsistent with Wizz Air’s culture of open and honest communication and its focus on employee opportunity.” And if you knew that was Wizz’s culture, good on you.

The investigation was launched because of an audio recording that was revealed in the aftermath of a virtual pilots meeting last April. In reality, making Triggs mostly guilty of stupidity to think remarks in the meeting could not, or would not, be recorded.

Airline Potpourri

  • Aircalin is requesting state financial aid from New Caledonia in order for it to continue flying.
  • Air France’s summer schedule includes 80 summer-only seasonal routes including 22 routes new to the airline’s destination map.
  • Air Leap is launching two new Swedish regional brands.
  • Air New Zealand has deferred its planned capital raise to later in 2021. The airline is delaying the campaign to see if a former employee might be interested in leading the fundraising push.
  • Air Transat has had several suitors since its deal with Air Canada fell apart.
  • Bamboo Airlines have been warned by Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority to stop overselling tickets. Mileage runners across the world panned the announcement.
  • El Al plans to raise at least $105m in an offering of shares and warrants later this year. In addition to cash, it will also accept payment in the form of crispy potato latkes or noodle kugel.
  • Eurowings will operate its first flights into Russia and Georgia (this one, not this one), this summer. It will serve Ekaterinburg (SVX) and Krasnodar (KRR) in Southern Russia and the Georgian capital Tbilisi (TBS) from Düsseldorf.
  • Jet2.com has extended its suspension of service through at least June 23.
  • Qatar will become the launch customer of the 777X aircraft series from Boeing.
  • SpiceJet has been ordered to ground three B737 aircraft because it’s missed payments on the planes thyme after thyme. The airline said the missed payments weren’t a big dill, and gingerly requested permission to continue flying on the basil that the payments were cumin soon.
  • Tigerair Taiwan took delivery of its first A320neo with Pratt & Whitney engines. Hardware stores across the country announced a run on materials to reinforce roofs.
  • Virgin Australia and Alliance Airlines have received regulatory approval to expand their partnership to cover 41 regional domestic routes and two short-haul international routes.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

If you see a crime at an Apple Store, does that make you an iWitness?

April 8, 2021

Avelo to Launch Scheduled Ops April 28

Avelo Airlines announced today that it intends to begin flying from its Burbank (BUR) base on April 28. When the startup begins service, it will fly to 11 destinations from Southern California and as with most airlines, some of them are places people will actually want to go.

The airline is led by former Allegiant president Andrew Levy and there is a very Allegiant-y feel to Avelo’s route map as it plans to serve small and medium-sized cities which typically don’t see service from anywhere except legacy hubs. Avelo calls these cities “underserved,” we call them “random.” You say potato…

Avelo’s inaugural flight on April 28 is scheduled to depart at 10 a.m. PT from Burbank to Santa Rosa (STS). The flight will be operated by a B737-800 which is convenient as that’s the only aircraft type Avelo will operate.

The airline’s 11 destinations from Burbank are:

  • Arcata/Eureka, CA (ACV) — 4x weekly beginning May 19,
  • Bend/Redmond, OR (RDM) — 3x weekly beginning May 13
  • Bozeman, MT (BZN) — 4x weekly beginning April 30
  • Eugene, OR (EUG) — 4x weekly beginning May 11
  • Grand Junction, CO (GJT) — 4x weekly beginning May 9
  • Medford, OR (MFR) — 4x weekly beginning May 9
  • Pasco, WA (PSC) — 3x weekly beginning April 29
  • Phoenix / Mesa, AZ (AZA) — daily beginning May 3
  • Odgen, UT (OGD) — 6x weekly beginning May 4
  • Redding, CA (RDD) — 3x weekly beginning May 20
  • Santa Rosa, CA (STS) — daily beginning April 28

For more on the launch of Avelo, visit today’s Cranky Flier post for a one-on-one discussion with Avelo CEO Andrew Levy.

Alaska Lounges Giveth and Taketh

Alaska Airlines made two announcements about the its lounges today, which makes sense because had it made an announcement about Delta SkyClubs, that would have been confusing.

First the good news – Alaska announced updated plans for its much-awaited lounge in San Francisco. The airline has been without one for years, a really strange thing considering it has a hub there. The new lounge will open in the former AAdmirals Club location in Terminal 2 later this summer. When it reopens, it’ll be the seventh lounge in Alaska’s system.

Now the bad news – Alaska is “enhancing” its lounge memberships by raising the price. Alaska had been the cheapest of the major U.S. airlines with its lounge membership pricing, which makes sense as it has the fewest lounges to offer. New lounge memberships for non-elite members will now cost $450, with Lounge Plus memberships available for $600. The regular membership offers access to just Alaska clubs while the more expensive offering includes AAdmirals Club access – convenient for Alaska customers connecting to delayed American flights.

Canadian Startup to Connect with U.S.

Connect Airlines, a startup airline in Canada, plans to launch service this fall, flying from its proposed base at Toronto/City Airport (YTZ) to airports in the northeast and midwest United States. It hasn’t identified which airports it will serve, but is expected to name four U.S. destinations as focus cities – the group will be known as the Connect Four.

Connect will offer direct flights from Toronto, conveniently timed for day trips without the need of connecting flights. The airline will fly Canadian built Q400 turboprop aircraft which comes with a maple syrup dispenser at every seat.

Additionally, Connect intends to use several new technology platforms to run its operation. It’ll be the launch airline for IBS Software’s “Airline-in-a-box” set of solutions that theoretically will enable the airline to manage itself on a single integrated platform. The new technology will allow the airline to integrate messages to passengers about delayed and canceled flights far more quickly while also sending them to another airline to get them home at the end of the day.

If this plan sounds a lot like Porter, well, you aren’t wrong. But then again, Porter hasn’t flown a single flight in over a year….

China Prepares for Return of 737 MAX

Despite resuming flying in the United States and Europe, the B737 MAX has not been approved to re-start flying in China. Xiamen Airways, a subsidiary of China Southern is working to prepare its fleet of 10 MAX aircraft for a return to service, giving clues the aircraft could be on the verge of being recertified.

The CAAC – China’s version of the FAA – is waiting for a technological review of the MAX from Boeing. The governing body says that the safety concerns it previously raised have not been addressed to its satisfaction.

In the meantime, China will continue production of the COMAC C919 – a potential competitor to the B737, something that surely is totally unrelated to the slow nature of the MAX recertification.

We’re Back! PIA Renews Safety Certification

Pakistan International Airlines took a crucial step towards a resumption of flights to Europe, the UK, and the US as the airline passed its IATA Operational Safety Audit. The shocking news comes 11 months after the deadly crash of PK8303 that killed 93 people on approach in Karachi.

The investigation into the crash led to the discovery that a third of PIA’s pilots held fake licenses that were purchased under the table from regulators instead of earned via tens of thousands of dollars of debt from flight school followed by years of working for minimum wage at a regional carrier – or as we call it – the ole’ fashioned way.

Since then, the airline had been banned from operating to the United States, quickly followed by both Europe and the UK. Without the ability to fly anywhere people wanted to go, the airline suddenly stopped making money. But this certification is the first step in reassuring the worldwide aviation community that it is getting its act back together. Next will be the daunting approval process from the individual governing agencies – the FAA, EASA, CAA, CDC, BBC, and CBS.

Airline Potpourri

  • Air India Express is launching service to both Riyadh and Dubai.
  • BA CityFlyer is launching flights from its London/City hub to both Jersey (this one, not this one) and Gibraltar. Both cities will see flights operate twice weekly beginning June 25.
  • Cabo Verde Airlines will be privatized as the Cabo Verde government plans to sell its remaining 39% stake in the airline.
  • Cargojet CFO John Kim has retired. Those interested in applying for the position should probably figure out a way to contact Cargojet. Cranky Daily is not a job placement service.
  • Eastar Jet is opening up bidding for a sale of a majority stake in the airline no later than April 20. Reports from Canada say that rival airline WestJet will not bid.
  • Ethiopian announced it achieved a 91% on-time rate, according to Ethiopian. The metric only includes flights that landed at the correct airport.
  • Georgian Airways (this one, not this one) has added its first B737NG freighter to its fleet.
  • Norwegian is resuming service from Stockholm (ARN) with three new routes. Service will continue uninterrupted until the airline eventually files for bankruptcy in Sweden.
  • Novair of Sweden has been sold to Jet Nordic Group from Denmark.
  • Raya Airways has added a new B767-200 freighter to its fleet, its fourth. This follows on the heels of the news that Raya and the Last Dragon will be merging.
  • ToMontenegro might as well be called FromMontenegro as the airline is rebranding as Air Montenegro.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

When two vegans get in an argument, is it still called a beef?

April 7, 2021

Frontier Builds New Frontiers With 13 New Routes

Frontier Airlines has announced 13 new routes in the last two days as the airline continues an aggressive post-pandemic expansion.

The big winner from Frontier was Atlanta, as it will see six new destinations on the airline. This gives Atlanta a total of 22 nonstop cities served by Frontier. The announcement of the Atlanta expansion comes several weeks after the airline announced a new crew base there – which is good, because the original plan to just have one person operate all these flights via remote control was shot down by the FAA.

The new destinations from Atlanta are:

  • Cleveland (4x weekly, beginning June 11)
  • Dallas/Ft Worth (4x weekly beginning June 11)
  • Hartford (4x weekly, beginning June 11)
  • Phoenix (3x weekly, beginning June 10)
  • Portland, ME (4x weekly, beginning July 11)
  • Providence (3x weekly, beginning July 12)

The other new routes for Frontier include: Philadelphia to Portland, ME (4x weekly, beginning July 13) and Providence (3x weekly beginning July 12). Travelers from Buffalo (2x weekly, beginning June 11), Portland, ME (once weekly, beginning June 12), and Providence (2x weekly, beginning June 10) will be afforded the opportunity to make the mistake of visiting Myrtle Beach. Lastly, Frontier is adding 3x weekly flights from Rochester to Orlando and 3x weekly flights from Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

UK Aviation Leaders Push for US/UK Bubble

As Australia and New Zealand prepare to open a common travel bubble next week, leaders of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Heathrow Airport — alongside loyalists throughout the colonies — are pushing the UK officials to implement a similar corridor between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Recognizing the challenge of getting a good tan in the UK, the trio stressed that now is the time to bring a travel bubble to life. Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic CEO, stated that the strong vaccine program in both countries gives the UK an opening to develop the bubble.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to move towards opening the borders next month, when a green/yellow/red system for the safety level and quarantine requirements for travelers goes into effect. The British travel industry is pushing for the United States to be put on the “green list” immediately, allowing returning passengers to the UK to be exempt from quarantine requirements. Meanwhile, Germany will be banished to the red for the distant future as retalation for the English loss in the 1990 World Cup semifinals.

Alitalia Running Out of Money

Color us shocked. Alitalia is quickly running out of money, with things so bad it’s sending a collection plate down the aisle on flights asking for tithes from passengers to ensure enough fuel to land safely.

The airline was only able to pay its 10,500 employees half their March salary while awaiting negotiations between the Italian Government and the European Commission over the future of the airline. Alitalia told the two government bodies they have just three weeks to get their act together in time to launch the same airline with a new name new airline in time to take advantage of the summer travel season.

The EU contends the relaunch of this new airline is really just putting lipstick on a bloated, money-losing pig – and calling it a swan. It says the lack of separation between the assets of the current airline and the new airline are too similar, and that the new airline must pay the current airline market rate to keep Alitalia’s brand, operating certificates, and slots at its Milan/Linate hub.

The Italian government continues to make things up compeltely on the fly, now planning to bring back its old idea of leasing Alitalia’s assets to the new airline, an idea it passed on several months ago because it wasn’t feasible. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And on that note, we’ll be sure to pass along the GoFundMe link when it goes live.

Company That Sells Travel Says Travelers Want to Travel

According to a study from the travel technology conglomerate Amadeus, nine of ten (that’s 90% for those non-math majors) would-be travelers would be comfortable using a digital health passport if it led to getting back to traveling more quickly.

62% of the travelers surveyed also said that they would be more likely to use a passport app if it was done in conjunction with a trusted healthcare company. However, when asked to name a trusted healthcare company, none could do so.

The plan for vaccine passports is still very much to be determined. The Biden administration has previously said the federal government would not get into the vaccine passport business. Several EU countries plan to use some sort of passport this summer for European citizens to confirm their completed vaccinations to allow for easier travel in the bloc. Aruba, a constituent country of the Netherlands, became the first country to begin a passport program when it did so last month. Brazil said it couldn’t care less, just come visit.

Ethiopian Cargo Flight Lands at Wrong Airport

Ethiopian Flight 3891, a cargo flight from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Ndola, Zambia (NLA) in Namibia’s Copperbelt province accidentally landed 15 miles away at Copperbelt’s new airport that is not yet open.

Dozens of stunned workers saw the B737-800F aircraft approach and land without incident despite the airport still being under construction. Despite that, amazingly enough, Hudson News still had a stand at the unfinished airport with $14 tuna sandwiches and $7 water bottles for sale.

The landing was performed under visual flight rules, as there was no tower to guide them in. The crew in the cockpit was seemingly unalarmed when the Ndola ATC told the plane “we cannot see you,” because they were, ya know, at another airport. After landing, the crew eventually figured out their mistake, made their way to the next taxiway, and took off for the correct airport.

A spokesman for Ethiopian said that the heading of the runway at the new airport is the same as the runway at the current airport, leading to the error which seems like someone complaining there’s a Main Street in every city. Upon landing, the cockpit crew parked the aircraft while its cargo was unloaded and immediately went to find a computer to spend some quality time on Google Maps.

Airline Potpourri

  • Air New Zealand plans to reopen its lounge network on April 19, the same day the Tasman travel bubble is scheduled to open.
  • Alliance Air will launch its first E190 commercial ops this weekend.
  • Ibom Air in Nigeria will be adding an A220 to its fleet in the coming weeks.
  • Korean Air will raise between $180 and $270 million through a bond issue.
  • Ryanair updated its financial forecast for the year ending March 31, 2021 with an expected total loss between €800 and €850 million, a smaller loss than it was previously expecting. Despite the good news, the airline is surely still angry at someone.
  • Virgin Atlantic will be offering points in its Velocity rewards program when Australian’s gas up at 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country. No word on whether points will be offered for Vegemite pie purchases at the register.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

How do you find Will Smith in the snow?

You look for the fresh prints.

April 6, 2021

JetBlue Announces Transatlantic Economy Experience

When JetBlue begins flying across this pond this summer, it will do so on its brand-new A321LR aircraft which — it was announced today — will feature a reimagined economy class experience.

Economy class on JetBlue’s transatlantic service will feature a different kind of plan for in-flight dining along with complimentary wine, beer, and liquor. By partnering with NYC-based restaurant group Dig — a company that apparently focuses on “vegetable forward options” — the airline will offer dining based on its Mint experience, with the free booze designed to distract those who don’t enjoy the food.

Economy passengers will have the option of choosing one of three main courses and choosing two of three sides with two hot and one chilled option. What JetBlue doesn’t guarantee is that the hot option will be designed to be served hot and the chilled option designed to be served chilled – it’s a roll of the dice. Ordering will take place on seatback screens provided passengers can pull themselves away from yet another episode of Big Bang Theory on the IFE.

JetBlue will operate the aircraft with 114 seats in the back with a width of 18.4 inches. There will be four rows of Even More Space which come with an additional six inches of legroom. Economy passengers will receive free, unlimited WiFi throughout the flight and free entertainment on their new 10.1-inch, 1080p HD seatback screens including live TV. We assume that thre will also be plentiful blue chips for all who want them.

United Sets Diversity Goal at Flight School

United Airlines, the only major U.S. airline to own a flight school, is embarking on a vision to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030. All pilots who complete the program are guaranteed a job with the airline – whether they want it or not.

With its push to add pilots underway, the airline announced its plan to have at least half of the pilots that enter the program to be women or people of color. United is joined by JP Morgan Chase in creating a scholarship program to create opportunities for students who are interested in attending United’s flight school.

The program is not for everyone – those interested will need to be willing to commit to several years of training. United’s program prepares its pilots for real-world scenarios, not just getting time in the simulator. The airline spends several months working with its trainees to perfect their delay and cancellation announcements over the PA. Flight students are also taught how to haphazardly throw luggage from the cargo hold onto the taxiway if the ground staff needs assistance. Lastly, pilots are run through all the alternate airports, airfields, and airstrips in and around Newark should they choose to make an emergency landing elsewhere to avoid having to visit Newark.

Tasman Travel Bubble to Open April 19

The bubble between Australia and New Zealand providing quarantine-free travel is finally slated to begin April 19 after months of speculation. The idea of a travel bubble between the two nations has been discussed since last summer, but it is finally coming to fruition as both countries deem the risk of the virus being carried by travelers to be low enough.

Currently, Air New Zealand’s only service between the two nations is 4x-weekly flights from its Auckland hub and Sydney, a route that will jump to 23x-weekly frequencies beginning April 19. Nonstop service between Auckland and Perth plus Wellington and Christchurch to Sydney will also resume April 19 with Queenstown to Sydney relaunching one day later on April 20. Overall, NZ will resume service between eight Australian airports and four in New Zealand once the bubble is active.

Qantas plans a similar ramp up to New Zealand beginning April 19 with Virgin Australia taking a crap what do we do now wait and see approach. VA won’t begin flying to New Zealand until September, and even then with just a handful of weekly flights to Queenstown.

The travel bubble is expected to remain in effect as long as there isn’t a spike of COVID cases in either country or until New Zealanders remember how much they prefer their home country and get out of Australia as fast as they can.

Air France Receives Lots of Cash

Air France has secured a capitalization deal with the French government worth up to €4 billion in exchange for the airline giving up a handful of slots at Paris/Orly. The cash will be divvied out as a €1 billion cash infusion followed by a loan from the French government to the airline for up to €3 billion.

The European Commission requires that the airline give up slots at Orly as part of the deal in an effort to preserve competition in markets where aid is given. Air France has agreed to give up 18 slots which is a reasonable trade for €4 billion. But for someone to actually claim the slots from AF, there has to be a local airline which is willing to create a base at the airport – or further develop one that already exists. Assuming that doesn’t happen, Air France won’t actually have to give up the slots – the cherry on top of the €4 billion sundae it has already received.

In addition to the cash coming from the French government, the Dutch government is in discussions with the airline and the European Commission about making its own cash infusion.

Allegiant Announces New Base in Austin

In an ongoing effort to Keep Austin Weird Low-Cost, Allegiant announced plans to expand its presence in the city, spending $75 million to establish a new base at AUS.

The $75 million is an impressive outlay for the company which normally offers cheap fares from random, medium-sized cities to even more random, medium-sized cities. Allegiant’s Austin base will open November 18 – just in time for the Hanukkah rush – and will create at least 89 high-wage jobs and will be the home of three A320 aircraft.

Allegiant first began operating in Austin in October 2013 and had its first on-time flight several years later. It currently offers service on 14 nonstop routes from Austin including Bozeman, MT (begins May 27), and Bentonville, AR (begins July 2).  

Airline Potpourri

  • Biman Bangladesh Airlines along with its two competitors have grounded all domestic flights through April 12.
  • Boliviana de Aviación is planning to reduce its fleet by at least four aircraft.
  • Cayman Airways took delivery of a new B737 MAX 8 on Monday.
  • Delta is dropping two routes from San Jose, CA (SJC) – Detroit and New York/JFK. That leaves just five hubs that will see Delta service from SJC going forward – Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, and Seattle.
  • Ethiopian plans to covert two of its B767 aircraft into freighters.
  • IndiGo has launched seven new domestic routes.
  • JAL is retiring its B777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney engines. It will wait until those that are currently in the air have landed before beginning their retirement.
  • Kenya Airways is temporarily stopping all flights to the United Kingdom.
  • Onur Air furloughed its entire staff.
  • Plus Ultra, a long-haul airline based in Madrid that mostly operates to Latin America is having a rough day as the US federal government is investigating two of its shareholders for money laundering. Government officials became skeptical when flying on the airline and seeing that a small package of peanuts cost $100 and it was cash only with no bills below $20 accepted.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

My roommate and I had a huge argument over who would do the laundry. Eventually I folded.

April 5, 2021

Delta Operates Some Flights on Easter Without Issue, But…

Delta Air Lines canceled about 100 flights on Sunday due to pilot shortages and then opened middle seats both yesterday and today to accommodate displaced passengers.

The airline was able to accommodate most passengers by hopping them around to other Easter Sunday flights with some being pushed to today. The middle seat unblocking is a temporary measure due to the canceled flights, but it’s one that undoubtedly angered plenty of people forced to sit next to others despite being promised otherwise. Delta will go back to its policy of blocking middle seats through the end of the month when the block finally ends.

Delta’s hub in Atlanta led the way with only 19 cancellations on Sunday, but the entire airport descended into madness. In yet another in a streak of unforced errors, Delta decided to placate delayed passengers with boxes full of peeps. The resulting sugar rush combined with the angry reaction when the Braves were swept by the Phillies left 17 injured.

This was not the first time Delta has been caught flat-footed without enough pilots since the onset of the pandemic. The usually reliable airline saw mass cancellations late last year around both Thanksgiving and Christmas. This Easter’s troubles threaten to turn this into a holiday tradition hated nearly as much as giant bows in car commercials.

UK Eyes May 17 Return for International Travel

The United Kingdom might finally be seeing a light at the end of a long, wet, dark tunnel as Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated Monday he’s hopeful international travel can resume as soon as May 17.

The country plans to open shops, hairdressers, gyms, and pubs next Monday, April 12, another key step in its reopening process. After being in lockdown, there’s very little the British need more than a trip to the hairdresser and gym to fix all that’s happened over the last 14 months.

Once international travel is resumed, quarantine rules will still be in place – how stringent they are will depend on from which country the traveler is entering the UK. The UK will use a clever color-coded system to spell out the restrictions with those nations that end up on the green list – that’s the good one – not being required to quarantine, however they will be required to visit both the hairdresser and the gym.

Southwest Told Airbus “Thanks, But No Thanks”

Southwest Airlines announced an order last week for at least 100 new 737 MAX 7 aircraft from Boeing with options for dozens more. The order will supply airplanes to Southwest through 2029 and keep it as an all-Boeing airline for the foreseeable future, as we discussed when the news broke.

Now, reports suggest the purchase process was a one-sided competition from the start as the airline did not engage Airbus to submit a bid. It was the A220-300 that Southwest was supposedly batting its eyes toward, but it turns out it was only trying to make Boeing notice the flirting. Southwest did conclude that the A220 could offer better economics in a vacuum, but the economics of maintaining a fleet exclusively of B737s is what ultimately won out. In reality, we understand there was one guy who just really didn’t want to have to make a new safety card.

Additionally, Southwest execs felt pressure after JetBlue outfitted its new A220s with subway tiles as an nod to its NYC roots. Southwest’s team considered several ideas should they move forward with Airbus including a mural of either the never-ending Dallas suburbs or a close-up of a fifth of Wild Turkey, but in the end, sticking with Boeing seemed to be the safer play.

Major Airlines Experience Major Booking Outage

Several airlines experienced a booking outage on their websites today, including Alaska, Delta, and United. The outage began shortly after noon Eastern Time with everything being back up by about 4 p.m. Eastern.

The issue appeared to be caused by an outage on ITA, the back-end system owned by Google that many airlines use to manage flights, inventory, and searches for the hottest internet memes of the day.

Most phone agents at the affected airlines were unable to book travel during the outage as well, leaving many would-be travelers in a lurch. Massive revenue loss was expected as the glitch gave some travelers time for a second thought before booking that trip to see relatives who have now been vaccinated — removing the most convenient excuse to avoid them.

Despite the issues with booking, travelers were not affected with check-in and other web-based services working just fine, ensuring that the reason for delays and cancellations was due to airline-driven mistakes and errors, as usual.

Spirit Seeks More Gates in Atlanta

Spirit Airlines is seeking more gates to operate from in Atlanta as the airline looks to expand in a post-pandemic world. Spirit is currently located at the far end of the D concourse in Atlanta with two “preferential use gates” along with access to common-use gates at the International Concourse E when needed.

The cramped end of the D concourse is causing issues for Spirit as it looks to install more reverse ATMs at its gates where customers can pay their fees in an automated manner, provided they’ve paid the reverse ATM fee. Spirit also charges passengers who choose to sit at the gate waiting out their delayed flights. Without more seats from more gates, more passengers will be able to stand – for free – hurting the airline’s bottom line.

Spirit’s focus on leisure fliers gives it a leg up in recovery post-pandemic as it’s expected that leisure travel will come back far more quickly than business travel. Leisure travelers are also more likely to accept Spirit’s nickel-and-dime fee structure because it’s the only airline willing to fly nonstop between the two random cities that many leisure travelers are looking for.

Airline Potpourri

  • American is adding B787 Dreamliner flights to both Alaska and Hawai’i. From June 3 through August 16, American will put the aircraft on one daily flight to Anchorage from Chicago/O’Hare. The aircraft had already been scheduled from Dallas/Fort Woth. American will also operate the aircraft on one of its two daily flights from Phoenix to both Honolulu and Maui as a welcome gift to Hawaiian Airlines celebrating its new Kahului – Phoenix service.
  • Belavia will take delivery of its first B737 MAX aircraft later this spring.
  • Comair, the South African version, is borrowing $6.8 million from the South African government.
  • flyDubai is returning the 737 MAX to the air on April 8.
  • Gulf Air resumed flying from its Bahrain hub to Singapore on Sunday.
  • Iraqi Airlines plans to add its first A220 to its fleet by the end of this year.
  • JetBlue has announced the first flights on its new A220 aircraft. Beginning April 26, the plane will operate one roundtrip per day on the airline’s Tom Brady Express route between Boston and Tampa.
  • Lufthansa will resume flying from Frankfurt to Tehran on April 16. Cranky Concierge is always standing by for all your flying needs to or from Iran — or literally anywhere else.
  • Nordica, a startup in Estonia had a good news/bad news kind of day. An Estonian circuit court recognized it as the successor to Estonian Air (good news), and that because of that it is responsible for the previous airline’s unpaid wages, illegally obtained state aid, and other debts (bad news). As always, be careful what you wish for.
  • TAROM is beginning a new domestic route between Cluj (CLJ) and Iasi (IAS) on April 8.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

I met a microbiologist today. He was much bigger than I expected.