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Archive: December, 2008

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
USA 3000 sticks to its game plan
Airlines and Christmas cheer don't always go together but The Inquirer had a story last Sunday that did. I was remiss last weekend in not posting for my blog readers this informative piece by staff writer Linda Loyd on USA 3000, the hometown airline serving mostly leisure travelers, that is facing a tough time in a recession but is sticking to its game plan. Read more here.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 9:41 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Airlines keeping fees despite lower fuel costs

As we have mentioned several times before, airlines are hanging on to their fees for checked-baggage and other services that once were included in air fare, despite the steep drop in fuel costs. Happy New Year! The latest version of the story, including words from US Airways CEO Doug Parker, can be found in this AP story.  

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 9:31 AM  Permalink | 3 comments
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
DOT finds flaw in its tarmac-delay data
The Department of Tranporation just started collecting data on long tarmac delays from the airlines but has already found a flaw in what was reported for October. A complete story can be found in the trade magazine Travel Weekly., which notes that a consumer group that was formed to push the government into requiring reporting of the data pointed out the problem. A note about the flaw has been added to the stats, available at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Web site.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:52 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Southwest applies for rights to fly to Canada
Southwest has made no secret of its desire to start international service and has an agreement to provide code-share flights with WestJet, a low-cost Canadian carrier. Now Southwest has filed an application with the Department of Transportation to operate flights itself to Canada if that's what it decides to do. Read more here. 
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 10:37 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Monday, December 22, 2008
The column: Looking back at PHL's improving performance

Today's Winging It column takes a look back at how PHL's customer-service reputation imrpoved in 2008, and at other important events that affected airline service during the year. Find the column here.

In response to the column, one reader has e-mailed me this morning, citing a US Airways problem at PHL that others have complained about as well. As I said in the column, the number of complaints has gone down, but two or three others have mentioned this in recent months: A flight arrives at Terminal A but inbound checked bags are sent to Terminal B. OK, so far, but US Airways personnel don't always know what's going on or where the find the bags. The overhead information screens that should detail which carousel bags from each flight will arrive don't always display the flight that has docked at Terminal A. We await word from the airline on why this happens and what's they're doing about it.

 

Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 8:56 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Monday, December 22, 2008
Continental crash at Denver probed for cause
We know we're late catching up with Saturday night's Continental Airlines accident at Denver International Airport. For those who come here to catch up on airline news, here's the latest AP story on the mishap, when a 737 jet slid off a runway and caught fire, injuring at least 40 but killing no one.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 8:45 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Friday, December 19, 2008
More airlines cut international fuel surcharges
Fuel surcharges are coming down on more international airlines as carriers try to stimulate traffic in a recession. Read a little more here.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 9:31 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Friday, December 19, 2008
How Southwest figured out its boarding process
Another air-travel, aviation blog I recently discovered, Jetwhine, has an informative post today about how Southwest Airlines studied human engineering -- how we do things -- to come up with its unique boarding process. Like many blogs, including this one occasionally, it takes author Robert Mark a few paragraphs to get to the point, but keep reading. It's a great example of how Southwest has processes in place to think through everythig it does and continuously innovate.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 9:25 AM  Permalink | 1 comment
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Good reviews for Obama's transportation secretary choice
Ray LaHood, a Republican congressman who should know how things will play in Peoria (his hometown) is Barack Obama's choice for secretary of transportation and the selection is already getting largely good reviews in Washington. The seven-term congressman from Illinois, who is retiring from the House, has a reputatiion for bipartisanship that should help get stalled legislation to reauthorize the FAA moving and increase the air traffic controller workforce. Count on him knowing something about road building, too, as the new administration is proposing spending more on transportation infrastructure to help boost the economy. Here's one full story from Bloomberg. Some insiders were disappointed that Obama didn't choose a transportation professional, according to Congressional Quarterly. A little personal background, and some details on his ability to get federal funds for his district in central Illinois are in this AP story.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 11:06 AM  Permalink | Post a comment
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Spirit to fly Atlantic City-Boston
Spirit, the biggest carrier at Atlantic City International Airport, announced plans to fly between AC and Boston later this year. Read more details here.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 4:15 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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