September 23, 2022

Thanks for all your support the last couple years. As you know, this is the last issue of Cranky Daily, but come to crankyflier.com every Friday to see the Cranky Weekly Review presented by Oakland International Airport to get your levity fix!

Delta Adds to Europe for Next Summer

Delta Air Lines announced a route expansion to Europe from three of its hubs: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York/JFK.

From New York, the carrier is adding one new destination and new airport, beginning service to both Geneva and London/Gatwick. Delta last served Geneva in 1993 from Atlanta and last flew to Gatwick in 2012, also from Atlanta. Both will begin April 10. Additionally, JFK will see a third daily flight to Rome/FCO beginning on May 25. Delta will also resume service to Berlin, beginning nonstop flights from JFK also on May 25. Passengers on the first flight will hope that the crew remembers to fly to the new Brandenburg Airport since the last airport where Delta flew, Tegel, is turning into an office complex and that’s not a great place to land an airplane.

Los Angeles will be reconnected to Europe on Delta metal – flights to Europe had recently been operated by Delta’s JV partners Air France and KLM along with ITA. Service to Paris will resume on May 8 – it had been suspended since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, while LAX to London/Heathrow is back on DL metal for the first time since October 2015.

Atlanta will see three European destinations resume service – two of which were suspended due to the pandemic. Both German destinations paused from Atlanta in March 2020, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart, are back with 3x weekly flights each. STR will resume on March 26 and continue until Delta realizes nobody has bought a ticket, with DUS to follow on May 9. Delta will also resume Atlanta to Edinburgh, a route it hadn’t operated since 2007 with 5x weekly service beginning May 25.

Boeing to Pay $200 Million

Boeing will pay $200 million to end litigation and settle with the SEC after the government accused the manufacturer of deceiving investors about the safety of its 737 MAX aircraft. The SEC alleges Boeing knew the flight control system on the MAX posed a safety issue but declared publicly that the fleet was “as safe as anything that has ever flown the skies.”

In addition to the $200 million charged to the company, former Boeing CEO Denis Muilenburg also was ordered to pay $1 million personally to the SEC to settle the case. Despite ponying up the cash, neither Boeing nor its CEO admitted or denied it committed the purposeful fraud alleged by the SEC.

The money will be put into a fund to benefit investors who were misled and harmed by Boeing’s false statements with the rest of the cash funneled to Qatar to pay for its fight with Airbus over the paint on A350s.

Newark’s New Terminal Expected to Open in November

We couldn’t end Cranky Daily without one more story about Newark.  The new Terminal A at the world’s 7th circle of hell Newark Airport is expecting to open on or around November 1, with United moving into 12 fancy new gates. It’ll add three more for a total of 15 in the ensuing weeks.

The terminal, which is expected to have a price tag of nearly $3 billion when it’s complete, will have 33 gates when finished. United will have nearly half those, with Air Canada, American, Delta, and JetBlue sharing the other 18 with the rats that have already moved over from the previous Terminal A. United says the new gates and space will allow it to expand its operation at the airport beyond 400 daily flights which seems like the last thing the NYC ATC situation needs.

United will split its operation between Terminal A and C at Newark, with 23 destinations expected to be focused on the new terminal including flights to other airline hubs and routes on which the carrier faces competition for in and out of EWR. Those destinations include: Atlanta, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa.

  • Canada Jetlines is a real airlines with flights now.
  • Delta President Glen Hauenstein wants the Justice Department to know that he’s very busy and really doesn’t want to be deposed in its lawsuit against American and JetBlue.
  • Etihad‘s search for a new CEO may or may not include several people named Bjorn.
  • JetBlue‘s ground operation staff is looking to unionize.
  • Qantas is bringing back vegetarian meals four days after scrapping them following a violent protest from the Chick-fil-A cows.
  • SAS was fined by the Swedish government for its handling of its pilot strike on July 4.
  • TAP lost a bunch of passenger data.
  • Wizz Air wants its future Saudi-based subsidiary to have about 50 airplanes.

My wife left a note on the fridge that just said “No matter how hard I try, this just isn’t working. Goodbye.”

I opened it and it seemed to be working fine. Weird.

September 22, 2022

Spirit Employees to be Spirited in Prison

Three Former Spirit contract employees were arrested and charged with seven counts of wire fraud in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after the trio was discovered to have worked a scheme where they stole $283,000 from Spirit. The carrier didn’t want to press charges, realizing they’d make up the $283k in a couple flights worth of fees, but the government insisted.

The trio – which consisted of two airport ticket agents and one supervisor – would have a passenger book a super-cheap “penny fare” at the airport for a date the customer didn’t want to fly.. The three would then use their flight modification privileges (typically to only be used in rare situations) to change the ticket of the passengers to a sooner, more expensive flight, and override the $150 change fee.

The agents would tell the customer to pay them directly – via CashApp – for an amount less than what was owed to Spirit. The customer received what they wanted at a cheaper price and the agents fraudulently brought hundreds of thousands home in cash.

They only got caught when an audit of the airline’s books and revealed there was no way that many people were voluntarily flying Spirit and changing their flight – who would be that dumb? The Justice Department plans to seek the maximum sentence for the three, which in this case would be a sentence of flying Spirit transcon red eyes every night for the next four years.

United Petitions to Return to Cuba

United Airlines is trying to resume service to Cuba that it halted in the early days of the pandemic, two and a half years ago. The carrier recently asked the DOT for a 30-day waiver to buy itself more time in the process, since, as we all know, two and a half years is just not much time.

Prior to March 2020, United flew seven weekly flights to Havana from its hubs in Houston and Newark. It’s currently negotiating contracts with ground service providers and rebuilding infrastructure to support its operation at Havana’s Terminal 3. The carrier told the DOT these hurdles would prevent it from resuming flights by the October 31 deadline set by the government.

SpiceJet Unable to Curry Favor with Indian Government

SpiceJet will continue to be restricted to just 50% of its current operation through at least October 29, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced.

 The government initially put the restriction in place July 27 due to safety concerns, but the carrier has been unable to salt away its issue to the government’s satisfaction. The safety issues understandably have customers gingerly approaching the carrier, often choosing to dill with other airlines when possible.

SpiceJet will be under “enhanced surveillance” by the government watchdog for at least the next five weeks. Of the carrier’s 79 aircraft, it only has 49 in service at present. The announcement comes 24 hours after the carrier sent 80 pilots on unpaid leave to cut costs… something that got the attention of every US regional…, a decision that could be extended for an unspecified amount of thyme.

  • Air Albania added two more A320-200s.
  • Air Algérie is in the market for 15 aircraft.
  • Air Busan is in the market for about $100 million.
  • Air France unveiled its new amenity kits for biz and premium economy. Finally.
  • China Southern bought 40 airplanes.
  • Etihad is looking for a CEO.
  • Jazeera Airways is adding service to Namangan (NMA), its second city served in Uzbekistan.
  • Nok Air is noking on the door of completing its restructuring.
  • Peach CEO Takeaki Mori expects an “explosion” of visitors to Japan which seems like a very poor choice of words.
  • Transavia France will have a fleet of 71 aircraft by this time next year, according to Transavia France.

The man who invented throat lozenges died last week.

There was no coffin at his funeral.

September 21, 2022

United Cancels Flights Due to Missed B777 Inspections

United Airlines took 25 of the 96 B777 aircraft in its fleet out of service after discovering it did not perform required inspections on the wing’s leading-edge panels.

The carrier disclosed the oversight to the FAA after an internal audit and also proposed a plan to complete the inspections to the FAA’s satisfaction. The carrier canceled 18 flights Monday night and Tuesday morning due to taking the aircraft out of service but is hopeful that’s the extent of the cancellations. “Besides,” a United spokesperson said, “leading edge panels aren’t important anyway.”

Ten of the 25 have already been returned to service with the inspections having been completed, and UA believes it can get the remaining 15 inspected and back in service within two weeks. The carrier confirmed the wing leading-edge panel inspections are unrelated to the 52 B777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney engines that recently returned to service after being grounded a year ago.

Flying Out of Russia?  Good Luck

Flights out of Russia were filling up very quickly following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order that basically any able-bodied man be called into service to fight Russia’s losing war in Ukraine.

Many inside the country are concerned that all men of fighting age will be barred from leaving the country later this winter, causing people to scramble for flights anywhere outside Russia’s borders. Flights out of Moscow to Istanbul and Yerevan, Armenia – two of the few major metropolitan areas accessible from Russia – quickly sold out on Wednesday. Service to Dubai on both Emirates and flydubai sold out as well, along with Etihad’s Friday flight to Abu Dhabi.

Russian carriers including Aeroflot and S7 have been ordered to stop selling tickets to men aged 18-65 for flights out of the country unless they can show proof from their travel is government-approved.

United Ground Staff in London to Vote on Strike

Another day, another potential labor action in Europe – this time its 300 United Airlines employees at London/Heathrow who are voting to determine if they will strike in a dispute over (what else?) pay and the use of outsourced staff to prepare their tea and crumpets every day.

UA operates 19 daily flights to eight destinations from the airport and offered ground staff a 5% raise in 2022 with an additional 4% jump in salary next year. The staff and their union called the offer a pay cut when compared to the 12.3% inflation rate in the UK. The vote is live through October 11, and if the union elects to strike, it must provide at least two weeks’ notice to the carrier.

  • Air India has a plan.
  • Air New Zealand expects to report a profit, according to Air New Zealand.
  • British Airways is in the market for a Chief Technology Officer.
  • Cathay Pacific is purchasing 38 million gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
  • Icelandair and Air Greenland are new besties.
  • Jet Airways continues to struggle to resume operations.
  • JSX is adding new service from both Las Vegas and Phoenix to Denver/Boulder (BJC) which really isn’t that much farther from downtown Denver than the actual Denver airport.
  • Turkish wants its Dreamliners.

I’m terrified of elevators.

So I’m currently taking steps to avoid them.

September 20, 2022

AA ReveAAls Suite New Seats

American Airlines unveiled its new business class suites today, with the expectation that the new Flagship Suites will be sat on by premium passengers’ butts as soon as 2024.

The new suites will come on newly-delivered B787-9s and A321XLRs. The carrier’s fleet of B777-300ERs will eventually be reconfigured to have the new suites, but the timeline is as hazy as an AA rolling mechanical delay in the winter at DFW. The upfront seats aren’t the only fancy new addition, as AA will also install new premium economy seats with a renovated cabin.

The new suites do come at the cost of AA’s Flagship First product which will eventually be phased out, news that will disappoint almost no one.

AA’s new Dreamliners will come in a premium-heavy configuration with 51 Flagship Suites, 32 seats in premium economy, 18 Main Cabin Extra, and 143 for the normies in the back. They will also come with AA’s traditional sandpaper seat covers for basic economy passengers.

Horizon Pilots See Lots of Cash on the Horizon

Horizon Air, Alaska’s wholly owned regional subsidiary came to an agreement with its pilots which will see significant growth in salaries for the carrier’s more than 700 pilots.

First officers will see pay raises of a whopping 85% while captains will have to settle for a measly 76% jump in pay. First-year captains will earn $149 per hour – up from just $81 – the highest figure amongst all regional carriers. First officers will now start at $90 per hour, a hefty jump from the $48 they currently make as an hourly rate.

Harry Simkins, a pilot for Horizon and the chair of the union’s executive council, could not be reached for comment. He was last seen at home swimming in dolla dolla bills, and offering to pay for everyone in his Renton, WA Chipotle to add the guac to their meal. The deal passed with 99% approval from the union’s membership, with the 1% of holdouts removed from their job and sent to the hospital for psychiatric testing.

FAA Extends Ban on Flying over Iran

Anyone hoping to grab sneak a birds-eye view of downtown Teheran in the near future will be disappointed by the latest news from the FAA, as the government extended its ban on U.S. aircraft flying over Iran for fears the planes could be accidentally shot from the skies.

The government probably is doing the right thing in being overly cautious here, as having a plane accidentally shot out of the sky doesn’t sound too pleasant for anyone involved.  The FAA is not the only government to ban flights over Iran as Canada currently bars its aircraft from overflying the country, and the UK permits it only at 25,000 feet and above.

The ban will remain in place through October 21, 2024, at the earliest. In practicality, it has little effect on U.S.-based carriers as few routes flown come close to Iran, but that will change next year when United begins its new service from Newark to Dubai.

  • Air Europa wants a €400 million loan. Hey, who doesn’t?
  • Azul is feeling blue after announcing it will divest itself of 12 E-195 E1s. But it’s also feeling less blue about taking control of its first A350-900.
  • Delta is updating the food offerings in its international Premium Select product.
  • GlobalX signed a LOI for 50 Eviaton Alice aircraft.
  • Iconair had its operating license canceled by the Pakistani government, which — trust us — is a hard thing to have happen.
  • Jazeera Airways is beginning two new routes to Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) and Bengaluru (BLR).
  • JetBlue named Kevin Mathison its new VP for Enterprise Planning. In the role, he’ll be responsible for ensuring the airline runs an efficient and reliable operation, so….good luck.
  • JetSMART Argentina began flying its fancy new A320.
  • Qantas upset vegetarians.
  • Rex will finalize its takeover of National Jet Express before the end of the month.

I told my nephew I saw a deer on the way to work this morning. He then asked me “How did you know it was on its way to work?”

September 19, 2022

FAA Rejects Republic’s Proposal To Halve Pilot Training Hours

The FAA formally rejected Republic Airways’s proposal to allow pilots who go through its unique training academy to begin flying after just 750 hours of training – half of the normal 1,500 hours.

The airline contended that this would allow regional carriers to solve the shortage of pilots plaguing the industry more quickly, with the added bonus that since the FAA was understaffing ATC, the pilots would get the required hours while on-duty due to all the long waits for takeoff all over the country. The FAA rejected the two birds, one stone proposal saying it didn’t believe the proposal served the public interest or would help the “perceived pilot shortage.”

The government contended that making this exception for Republic would open it to similar requests from other airlines and the prospect of all that paperwork was just too much to handle. So for now, Republic pilots will have to go through their training the old-fashioned way just like everyone else – get hours in the military or be gouged by shady flight schools in the Arizona desert.

Spirit’s Flight Attendants’ Spirits are Low

Spirit and its FA union the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) are in the midst of bargaining for a new contract, and negotiations are not off to a rousing start.

The offer on the table would give FAs “pennies more” than FAs at Frontier, and far less than JetBlue, according to the union. The last contract between the two was agreed upon in 2016 – which might as well be 1916 with how much the industry has changed since then. The carrier offered a 7% pay raise, with the union laughing the offer out of the room. The two are expected to return to the negotiating table next week – dependent on when Spirit officials can scrounge up enough change to pay the standby fee to fly their own airline.

The union contends the airline is taking its status as a low-cost carrier too far, extending its penchant for low fares to its pay offer to its cabin staff, with the AFA-CWA describing the offer as an “insult” and claiming its members currently earn “poverty wages.”  Amazingly, Spirit officials didn’t dispute the claim from its union, actually printing out the quote and pasting it at headquarters as a source of pride.

Aer Lingus Suffers Technology Fail Again

For the second time in a week, Aer Lingus suffered a technical failure causing headaches for customers and the airline’s own staff.

This IT gaffe saw the carrier’s online check-in break down, forcing customers to check-in manually for all flights in person at the airport which led to long lines and frustrated customers for having to actually interact with a human being to be permitted on the aircraft.

Aer Lingus announced the issue had been fixed around 6 a.m. today, only to announce three hours later that it was, in fact, not fixed. Flights continue to operate as-scheduled, with passengers advised to get to the airport now – regardless of when they are departing – just to be safe.

  • Air New Zealand operated its inaugural flight from Auckland to New York on Friday, and some of the luggage went with it.
  • Azman Air is back.
  • Arajet operated its inaugural flights over the weekend.
  • El Al will begin flying to Tokyo in March.
  • Fiji Airways prospects are looking up — according to Fiji Airways.
  • Jet Airways will begin flying — eventually — says Jet Airways.
  • JetBlue‘s merger with Spirit won’t go through if Elizabeth Warren has anything to say about it.
  • Nepal Airlines is leasing out some aircraft.
  • Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary doesn’t care for the management of Brussels Airport.
  • UPS reached a contract extension with its aircraft mechanics.

Fun fact: Australia’s biggest export is boomerangs.

It’s also their biggest import

September 16, 2022

JetBlue, Southwest Update Q3 Guidance

Both JetBlue and Southwest filed 8-K reports with the SEC this week, amending their Q3 guidance as the fiscal quarter passed the halfway point.

JetBlue expects a slightly better outlook than previously thought, adjusting its revenue per ASM compared to 2019 expectation to fall between down 0.5% to up 0.5%, better than its previous plan that it would fall between a 3% loss and a high-water mark of breaking even. It also expects to spend a little more on fuel, raising its estimated fuel per gallon expense from $3.68 to $3.86 – a nightmarish change for anyone who suffers from dyslexia.

Southwest still expects to turn a profit in Q3, with strong advanced bookings cushioning the blow of less business travel than expected. Operating revenue is expected to be up between 9% to 11%, compared to a previous expectation of 8% to 12%.

Alliances Make Strange Bedfellows

American Airlines and its lawyers asked a federal judge in Boston to compel Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein and Senior VP for Network Planning Joe Esposito to testify in the DOJ’s case against AA and JetBlue over the antitrust legality of their Northeast Alliance.

American claims that the alliance has already created a more competitive environment in the northeast, while the DOJ claims the opposite. American wants to require the testimony of the Delta executives because it says Delta has “responded accordingly” to the more competitive environment created by the alliance.

AA and JetBlue attempted to depose Hauenstein earlier this year but were denied by a Magistrate Judge who ruled Hauenstein had no unique knowledge that couldn’t be obtained elsewhere, except on the subject of how delicious Biscoff cookies were — but unfortunately that topic wasn’t part of the deposition.

Schiphol Struggles Continue to Mount

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is reducing the number of passengers it will allow through at least October 31. The news comes the day after airport CEO Dick Benschop resigned his position as the airport’s poor operational performance continues to get worse.

AMS-based KLM ripped the airport upon learning capacity would be cut another 18% through the end of next month, complaining about the decision and the short-notice afforded KLM and other carriers. The airport admitted its decision was “bad news for passengers and for airlines,” but is still moving forward with the cutbacks.

The airport previously planned to begin rolling back some of the daily capacity limits this month and into October, but this reversal will see limits on daily passengers continue for the foreseeable future. The airport is especially short on security and baggage handling staff.

54,000 locally departing passengers will be permitted – down from the 67,500 it previously expected to allow, with the figure growing to just 57,000 in October. By comparison, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson averages about 300,000 per day, and in 2019, Schiphol averaged almost 200,000 per day.

  • Air New Zealand is not merging with Virgin Australia, according to Air New Zealand.
  • Canada Jetlines wants Chevrolet, apple pie, and baseball.
  • Cathay Pacific expects more customers now that people can fly to Singapore again.
  • EVA will sell you a business class meal when you’re sitting in coach for $25.
  • Garuda Indonesia is getting rid of first class.
  • Gol misbehaved.
  • Nigeria Air might be closer to launching. Also, it might not.
  • South African has a new plan.

I accidentally drank an entire bottle of invisible ink last night.

Now I’m at the emergency room, waiting to be seen.

September 15, 2022

Avelo Reaches Fourth Base

Avelo Airlines announced it will open a new base in Fort Myers, the carrier’s fourth base and second to be located in Florida.

The airline will base one of its 11 B737s at RSW and increase its flight schedule from the airport. It currently operates sub-daily service to New Haven, but will ramp up to five destinations by the fall. Service will begin from Fort Myers to Binghamton, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Raleigh-Durham, all of which seem to be places with actual airports.

The carrier currently has its aircraft based at three airports: Burbank, New Haven, and Orlando.

American to Close San Francisco FA Base

American Airlines is shuttering its flight attendant base in San Francisco, a result of a ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year that airlines must adhere to California’s labor code for California-based flight attendants.

The state requires an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break for employees who work more than five hours, a second break for those who work more than ten hours, and an additional ten-minute break for every four hours at work – the latter of which is applicable just for transportation workers. This would mean that at 5 hours, the airplane would have to land and let flight attendants off.

Even on flights of less than 5 hours, American often has mechanical delays that last well beyond the five-hour mark, which would wreak havoc amongst its FA scheduling. Following a victory in court by a group of Virgin America flight attendants to receive the benefits afforded them under California law, all airlines are reevaluating the status of bases in California.

RwandAir Knocking on oneworld’s Door

RwandAir announced its plan to join oneworld, potentially filling a hole in oneworld’s network which currently has little service to sub-Saharan Africa. This addition would only slightly change that situation.

The Kigali-based carrier currently operates to 28 countries, including 22 in Africa and is closely aligned with oneworld carrier Qatar Airways. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker is currently the CEO of the alliance, and he has made it clear his intention is to add new members to grow.

With Oman Air’s entry into the alliance announced earlier this year, if RwandAir is welcomed as a full member (rather than a connect member) it would make for 15 carriers in oneworld.

  • Air Canada is buying 30 electric hybrid aircraft.
  • Lufthansa is bringing back its fancy Oktoberfest flights.
  • Porter secured financing for six of its new E195-E2.
  • Qatar‘s new lounge at London/Heathrow is ready to open now that the paint has dried.
  • Rex confirmed the massive devaluation of its frequent flier miles.
  • SAS hearts Heart Aerospace.
  • South African Express went into liquidation.
  • Starlux secured a $123 million loan.
  • United will begin service between Sydney and Houston/IAH in October.
  • Wizz Air is using an option it held to purchase 75 A321neos.

A physicist and a biologist were in a long-term relationship after meeting at work, but broke up after two years. When asked why it didn’t work out, both of them said “we didn’t have any chemistry.”

September 14, 2022

United, Emirates Announce Partnership

United and Emirates announced their new codeshare partnership today, a secret kept about as well as United’s decades long claim that its on-board meals are “award winning.”

As part of the announcement, United confirmed it will launch daily service in March between Newark and Emirates’s hub in Dubai. The flight will be likely be timed as inconveniently as possible to allow passengers to connect to more than 100 Emirates destinations in the Middle East and beyond. Emirates operates nonstop from Dubai to four of United’s U.S. hubs: Chicago/O’Hare, Houston/IAH, San Francisco, and Washington/Dulles… 5 if you still count Los Angeles.

The agreement will allow UA customers to earn and burn miles on Emirates, while Skywards members will be able to earn only — not redeem — on United.

France Braces for ATC Strike

Air Traffic Controllers in Fance are expected to strike this Friday, causing headaches for airlines and passengers throughout Europe well into next week.

France’s civil aviation authority advised airlines to cut their schedules in half on Friday to stave off some of the chaos, but not all carriers have complied with the directive. The French government is working with Eurocontrol to allow some normal operations to take place.  Air France plans to cut just over half of its short-haul European network for the day, but will operate almost all of its long-haul schedule, or at least, as much of it as usually operates on any given day.

The union says its striking due to an unjustified pay freeze and a lack of recruitment efforts by the government. In addition to Friday’s strike, the group is also planning a second walkout for the end of this month.

German Government Divests Itself of Lufthansa

The German government sold off its remaining equity in Lufthansa that it acquired during the pandemic in the summer of 2020.

The government took 20% of its flag carrier as a condition for offering bailout funds to keep LH flying in the darkest days of travel demand. The 20% piece of equity cost the German government €306 million, with the expectation the carrier would repay the loan no later than October 2023.

Lufthansa repaid its loan in full last November, two years ahead of schedule, and with the government selling off the final 6.2% of the airline it held onto, its involvement in the airline is complete. The government ended up with €1.07 billion for its 20% stake, a €760 million profit on its initial investment – not a bad day’s work for government spending.

  • Alaska is trialing digital bag tags so they when your stuff is lost, it’ll be the fault of technology not the carrier.
  • Austrian added its first A320neo, and it expects it to enter service later this year.
  • Canada Jetlines announced its latest round of financing.
  • Eurowings Discover discovered new people for its executive team.
  • flydubai is adding 2x weekly service to Namangan, Uzbekistan (NMA).
  • Maersk Air Cargo applied for a permit to operate to the United States.
  • SalamAir is launching service from Prague to both Muscat and Salalah (SLL).
  • VietJetAir expects to receive B737 Max deliveries beginning in 2024.
  • Virgin Australia staff is getting sick.
  • Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will add wet-leased capacity late this year.

To the person who cut in front of me in the line…

I’m after you now.

September 13, 2022

All My Mergers: Spirit Votes on JetBlue Next Month

After weeks of delayed voting on Frontier’s offer to acquire the carrier, Spirit shareholders will now be able to vote on JetBlue’s proposal to take over the ULCC on October 19. That will, of course, be delayed 72 times before a vote occurs in 2027.

The vote is expected to pass easily after Spirit’s board of director’s approved the $3.8 billion bid from JetBlue. It is expected to take until at least 2024 to complete. Once Spirit’s shareholders approve the sale, the transaction will be in the hands of the DOJ and will await the lengthy antitrust approval process.

If the deal – or some stripped down version of it – passes antitrust muster, the combined airline will be the fifth largest in the country. Spirit’s pilots’ union is insisting on a pay raise before the merger is complete, while JetBlue executives are insisting on a year’s supply of Buzzballs before moving forward with the transaction.

Schiphol Begs Airlines to Cancel More Flights

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport again asked airlines to cancel flights to artificially reduce capacity as the airport grapples with continued staffing struggles at its security checkpoints.

In a Monday statement, the airport said “staffing levels at security today are lower than what Schiphol had request of the security companies.” It asked carriers to cancel flights between 4 and 11 p.m. to relieve stress, especially in Departures 3. KLM appeared to cancel several flights planned to operate Monday afternoon including those to Belfast, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris, and Normaloperationsville.

Both Transavia and Turkish canceled flights Monday with the assumption it was done at the behest of the airport. Schiphol says it will compensate airlines which voluntarily cancel flights, with the compensation expected to be fast-pass security access which will allow pass holders to get through AMS security in a guaranteed four hours or less.

Southern Airways Express Getting New Digs in Atlanta

Southern Airways Express is moving into a loftier neighborhood in Atlanta as the carrier shifts from the private Signature Flight Support terminal to the main passenger terminal at the world’s busiest airport.

The carrier flies to one destination from Atlanta – an EAS route to Jackson, TN (MKL). The tiny airport does not have a TSA checkpoint, which prevents passenger flying to Atlanta from entering airside – but that’s changing later this month. On September 22, MKL will begin to receive TSA screening for outbound passengers, at which point its flights into Atlanta will depart and arrive from Concourse E.

Southern’s Atlanta to Jackson service operates with 18x weekly frequencies – and is scheduled to continue through May 31, 2024.

  • Air Moldova announced new service to Moscow beginning October 1. Then the Moldavian government nixed it.
  • Air Seychelles signed a codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines.
  • Asiana completed a London/Heathrow slot swap with Kuwait Airways
  • Fiji Airways expects to reach 100% of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year.
  • Frontier is moving to the Marine Air Terminal at New York/LGA beginning today.
  • Korean is issuing about $145 million worth of corporate bonds.
  • mas B767-300 freighter ops are no mas.
  • Rex is opening a new lounge in Brisbane.
  • TAAG and Boeing are playing nicely together again.

I took a new job working in a leadership position at Old McDonald’s farm.

I’m the CIEIO.

September 12, 2022

Aer Lingus is Latest to Meltdown

Aer Lingus experienced a “major break in connectivity” on Saturday at its UK-based network provider, and that break in connectivity took the carrier’s IT system down with it. Customers were unable to check in online, print boarding passes, book flights online, or order an Irish coffee until the system came back online.

The carrier was forced to use manual methods for its operation, causing it to cancel 51 flights and strand customers both in Ireland and around the world. Aer Lingus apologized to customers and showed its contriteness by making the incredibly generous offer of letting people rebook – for the next three days only. If you complained about your flight being canceled or even so much as rolled your eyes at an airport employee, then your window to rebook would be reduced to two days.

Irish rival Ryanair tweeted photos of stranded passengers throughout Ireland, offering €100 rescue fares out of Cork, Dublin, and Shannon. It reassured customers who took advantage of the offer, reminding them that their systems are so antiquated, that they don’t have anything in the cloud to go down.

Most of Aer Lingus’s operation was back to normal by Sunday.

Lufthansa, Pilots Reach Agreement

Lufthansa finally agreed on a new contract with its pilots union, with first officers earning a 20% raise and captains receiving a bump of about 5.5%.

The total raise will be €980 per pilot, half of which is effective now, retroactively to August 1, with the other half kicking in on April 1. Perhaps most important to Lufthansa, the deal includes a clause preventing the pilots from going on strike – for all of nine months. The contract prohibits any walkout or labor action from the pilots through June 30.  Shoot for the moon, Lufthansa, and if you miss, you’ll be amongst the stars.

The union says the deal is a victory “on the first key points in the current wage dispute,” while acknowledging this is just a first step. It buys ten months for both parties to continue to negotiate – but can’t leave those with travel booked on LH for next July feeling too good.

Things at Norse Atlantic are Totally Fine

Oslo-based Norse Atlantic flew a load factor of just 69% in August despite record-breaking passenger demand for most airlines, and is warning it could scale back some of its operation just three months after launching.

This is a shocking development for the carrier which is attempting to fill the void of Norwegian and others who have tried the ULCC across the Atlantic game and failed. Norse Atlantic blamed inflation, high fuel prices, a market inefficiency on executives named Bjorn, and a supposed reduction in travel demand for its woes.

The airline began with service from Oslo to four U.S. destinations – Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York/JFK, and Oslo – and then randomly added service to both Berlin and London/Gatwick for no apparent reason.

I remember when cosmetic and plastic surgery was a taboo topic no one wanted to discuss.

Now you can talk abut Botox and nobody raises an eyebrow.