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Friday, June 26, 2009
Gone fishing ...

Winging It is on vacation -- really, no posts planned -- until July 13. Happy travels and talk to you then.

 

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 5:58 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
Friday, June 26, 2009
What Southwest's entry at LaGuardia may mean

The AP has a good story today about Southwest's start of flights from New York's LaGuardia Airport and what it means about the biggest discounters future. Read on here.

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 11:39 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Friday, June 26, 2009
Are air fares headed up again? Maybe

The media has been full of reports the last two days about the major network airlines successfully raising their basic fares by $10 roundtrip. A good roundup on what's been going on was on another Web site this morning. The writer asks the same question we all wonder at a time like this: Should you buy tickets now for flights later this year, since the deep discounts we've seen for months may be over.

A more important question is whether the economy is getting better, getting worse or staying the same. If it doesn't get better, demand for air travel is going to stay down, and that usually means fares do, too.

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 11:36 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Good day at ABE airport: AirTran landing
ABE, or Lehigh Valley International Airport, serving Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, gets a new airline today. AirTran Airways, one of the healthiest low-cost carriers in the business, starts flights to Orlando, four days a week, and to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., three days a week. Smart moves by AirTran at one of the numerous U.S. airports that have been hurt by capacity cutbacks at the major network carriers. No news stories yet on this but here's AirTran's news release on the launch.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:22 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Thursday, June 25, 2009
FAA moving to toughen pilot-fatigue rules
The FAA is taking unusually quick action under new administrator Randy Babbitt to standardize rules for airline-pilot fatigue. The NTSB has cited fatigue as a contributing factor in recent plane crashes, including the Colgan Air disaster near Buffalo in February that killed 50 people. Here's more on what Babbitt, a former airline pilot himself, yesterday called on the airlines to do.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:15 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Airlines doing all they can to lose weight, save fuel
Inquirer airline reporter Linda Loyd has one of those good stories today that makes you pause and say, well, sure, that makes sense. It's all about what airlines are doing to save fuel in tough economic times by shedding weight from aircraft. Read it all here
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:07 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
UPDATE: What happens to Clear program data?
The shutdown of Clear, the program that operated special security lines at airports for travelers who had been registered and vetted by the TSA, has alarmed some of its members. Travelers gave up privacy of personal information to register for the program and want to know what became of the data. The Wall Street Journal reached Clear founder Stephen Brill to answer some questions. Here's the report.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 4:27 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Boeing delays 787 Dreamliner test flight again

Boeing Co. made an important annoucement yesterday that, surprisingly, isn't featured prominently anywhere on this news site: It is again delaying the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner long-haul jet. The 787 doesn't seem likely to fly until next year after the company said it needs to strengthen small areas where the wings are joined to the fuselage.

Boeing's long struggle to get the new-technology plane in the air serves as a lesson in how challenging it is to build sophisticated machines using materials and techniques not used before. The 787 is the first commercial aircraft to replace aluminum with composite material, and the fuel efficiency of the resulting product has made it wildly popular with airlines. Boeing has 866 orders for the plane so far.

A full story by the AP on the 787 delay, the technology and implications for Boeing and rival Airbus can be found here.  

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:34 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Trade mag report: TripAdvisor under fire
The trade magazine Travel Weekly has a solid story today about the challenges TripAdvisor faces in trying to keep its hotel reviews honest. You may recall I said in my June 8 column that I depended on www.TripAdvisor.com to help plan an upcoming European trip. Read more about what the service has been doing to let users know that it monitors who's submitting reviews. 
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 4:02 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Airline stocks fall to 3-month low on "putrid" demand
Airline stocks took another tumble today on reports of continuing weak demand and higher oil prices. We don't normally post stories about daily share-price changes but this one features a partial quote from UBS Securities analyst Kevin Crissey, who said in a note to investors that demand is "putrid." In Monday's Winging It column, I quoted Crissey saying demand at one carrier was "hideous." In his note to investors today, he remarked that he was running out of synonyms for "very bad." Read more if you dare here.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 2:17 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Tom Belden
Tom Belden has been reporting and writing about Philadelphia International Airport and other air travel subjects for nearly 25 years. He has written business travel columns for The Inquirer's Travel and Business sections. His ground-breaking reporting (with colleague Craig McCoy) on baggage handling problems in Philadelphia have been credited with helping improve the system. His previous blog was called Road Warrior. He can reached at tbelden@phillynews.com.
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