Airline News Archives

With bad weather in the forecast across much of the Midwest and Northwest, Northwest Airlines is allowing passengers flying through some states to rebook without penalty. via KARE-TV Minneapolis

Senator Byron Dorgan says the changes would start next May, if the federal Transportation Department approves. via KFYR-AM Bismarck

An Ohio man faces firearms charges after two loaded guns were found in his check-in luggage at Honolulu International Airport, police said. via The Honolulu Advertiser

“It's not common practice here”

"I think most people would agree that the quality of service that passengers get has been declining by almost every measurement, and I think it's getting to the point where we're seeing incidents that go above ... via Tucson Region

“If you run your operation on time, you're not going to have misconnected bags, misconnected passengers. Everything kind of falls in line if you run an on-time airline.”

US Airways Group Inc. is eager to ring in the new year after getting beat up on Wall Street in 2007.

Though the company consistently surpassed analysts' earnings expectations, shares for the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier have taken a 12-month nose dive. By December, investors saw their stock drop three-quarters in value.

US Airways shares reached a 52-week low of $14.41 from a high of $62.50, while the AMEX Airline Index of major carriers fell to $34.29 from a high of $66.92.

Surging oil prices are certainly to blame for sinking US Airways stock along with every other airline. But the carrier also endured a regular stream of bad news as management struggled to combine operations two years after America West Airlines bought the former US Airways. Read more

“If you would have asked me before Open Skies, I would have been rather pessimistic.”

The skies over the Atlantic Ocean are about to get more crowded. In the next few months, a number of airlines will beef up their overseas service, adding flights straight to Europe from cities that you might ... via St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“The trend in the industry is pointing towards low-fare carriers, and we're excited to be at SFO to compete”

The explosion of low-fare carriers at San Francisco International Airport in 2007 is just what the doctor ordered for bargain-hunting domestic travelers. via Alameda Times-Star

“Maintenance is investigating what may have caused the smell”

A jetliner flying from Atlanta to Mexico made an emergency landing in Florida on Saturday after crew members smelled smoke in the cockpit. via Las Vegas Sun

Aircraft maker Cirrus Design Corp. is already loading moving trucks to take over a maintenance hangar abandoned by Northwest Airlines during its bankruptcy. via The Associated Press

“We are taking every opportunity to make it easier to do business and more convenient to stay connected with one of our largest trading partners”

The anticipated award of US Airways service between Philadelphia and China is official, and flights will begin in early 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday. via Bizjournals

“That doesn't make money for an airline”

Delta Air Lines is dropping nonstop flights between Salt Lake City and cities in South Dakota and Arkansas, including the hometown of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. via The Daily Herald

“Air France-KLM has shown that it can bring to Alitalia the means to be profitable again.”

Italy's economics minister on Friday said he supported Air France-KLM's bid for the troubled national carrier Alitalia and announced the companies would open exclusive talks immediately.

Economics Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, speaking after a Cabinet meeting, said the talks would last eight weeks and be conducted by the company's management. The Economics Ministry holds a 49.9 percent stake in the airline.

'I expressed a favorable opinion that Alitalia hold exclusive talks with Air France-KLM,' Padoa-Schioppa told journalists. Read more

A Continental Express flight made an unexpected stopover in Columbus after a cockpit light indicated smoke in the baggage area on the way from Cleveland to New Orleans. via WCPO-TV9 Cincinnati

Mesa Air Group Inc. said Friday its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings statement have been delayed until Jan. via International Business Times

Northwest Airlines is offering passengers scheduled to fly Friday or Saturday the chance to rebook flights without penalty, due to a forecast of severe winter weather in the Midwest.

The policy, announced late Thursday, allowed passengers with tickets on those days to shift the date of the ticket to anytime up until Jan. 13, 2008.

The Eagan-based airline is urging customers who want to rebook to do so online at their Web site, www.nwa.com. Customers can also contact Northwest Reservations at 1-800-225-2525. Read more

“Basically, we just need everything in contractual form”

Voting is under way by fleet-service workers at Continental Airlines to determine whether they want to be represented by a union. via Houston Chronicle

“The goals will be empty talk if we are not well funded.”

By Wang Zhenghua Updated: 2007-12-28 09:32 The partnership between China Eastern Airlines and Singapore Airlines will provide necessary financial resources and management expertise to help the Chinese firm ... via China Daily

“We are pleased to expand our codeshare with Northwest by offering passengers more options”

Midwest Airlines is extending its codeshare agreement with Northwest Airlines to include nonstop Northwest routes from Indianapolis to Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma and ... via The South Mississippi Sun Herald

Air New Zealand Ltd. said Thursday it is one of 25 airlines that have received a Statement of Objection from the European Union over a probe into an alleged cargo cartel. via PR-inside.com

“No other airplane in its category offers British Airways the superior efficiency, economics and passenger comfort while also fitting so easily into its medium- and long-haul twin-aisle fleet.”

NEW YORK : Boeing finalized an order for 24 of its 787 airliners with British airways Thursday and the carrier placed options for another 18, and purchase rights for an additional 10 787s. via International Herald Tribune

“No one is held accountable for their actions.”

Grandma got run over by a regulation. That's how it seems to Kellie Breeden, anyway. via ReporterHerald.com

Washington Business Journal - by Barton Eckert Contributing Writer Maxjet Airways Inc. via Washington Business Journal

The members of the Texas National Guard temporarily stationed at Fort Bragg were expected to be deployed to Afghanistan before the holidays. via Power Line

Denise Reed calls Delta Airlines to get a price quote on a flight between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Memphis, Tennessee. via CNN

“I think people are continuing to decide that flying out of Sioux Falls airport is the way to go”

The Sioux Falls Regional Airport set a record for boardings last month. The mark of 36,795 passenger boardings in November beats the previous record of 33,933 set during the same month a couple of years ago, ... via Rapid City Journal

“It's a continuing investigation and other charges are possible”

The former director of the McDonough Hospitality and Tourism Board is accused of taking $6,000 in city funds to purchase airline tickets to Hawaii, Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said. via CBS 46

HOUSTON , Dec. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines has announced that it will accept tickets for standby travel from passengers who were originally scheduled to fly on MAXjet Airways following ... via Airport Business

“Any day with her is a special occasion, too.”

Some Texas troops out of Fort Bragg in North Carolina got an unexpected trip home for the holidays after an airline stepped in to pay for their plane tickets. via KXAN-TV Austin

“We are extremely saddened to discontinue a service that we so passionately believe in, and we thank our loyal flyers.”

MAXjet Airways ceased operations on Monday _ leaving jets on tarmacs and stranding passengers on Christmas Eve _ as the all-business class airline said it would file for bankruptcy protection. via Perry County Weekly

Frontier Airlines is up for an Emmy Award. Its "Favorite Animal Campaign" has been nominated for a Technology & Engineering Emmy in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the ... via The Denver Business Journal

“If fuel prices stay at the level that they are at now, airfares will have to go up. If airfares go up to reflect this price of fuel, I think there will be fewer passengers”

Airlines have enough pricing power to partly offset any spike in oil prices, but travelers will probably pay higher airfares next year if fuel prices don't fall, Northwest Airlines Corp. via Detroit Free Press

“Yung Joc maintains his innocence. He would appreciate privacy as he addresses these allegations”

An Atlanta-based rap music performer who attempted to take a loaded gun onto a Delta Air Lines flight was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, police said. via CBS 46

“Cathay Pacific has always supported fair competition, and remains committed to compliance to all applicable competition laws in the 35 countries and territories in which it operates”

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said Monday it had received a formal letter of complaint from European Union regulators investigating allegations of price fixing in the air cargo business. via Forbes

JetBlue Airways says one of its flights from San Francisco to New York has been diverted to Denver because of a disruptive passenger.

An airline spokeswoman says she doesn't have details on what the passenger did but the captain landed in Denver as a precaution.

Police say the man was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and no charges are pending.

The plane continued to New York after the passenger got off. It arrived almost six hours late.

The 150 passengers on board have received one-way trip vouchers for their trouble. Read more

“We wanted to attack every one of the things that were inhibitors in that first-generation system”

Airlines and service providers seeking to deliver high-speed Internet services to passengers say they've learned from Boeing Co.'s 2006 decision to pull the plug on its ambitions to outfit its planes with a ... via Albany Times Union

Associated Press - December 23, 2007 10:03 PM ET MILWAUKEE - High winds from a fierce winter storm in the Midwest are playing havoc with airline travel. via WAAY-TV Huntsville

TENS of thousands of travellers saw their holiday plans disrupted on Sunday as fog led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights from London's Heathrow airport, the world's busiest. via The Straits Times

A Southwest Airlines flight headed to Connecticut made an emergency landing here after somebody phoned in a bomb threat. via Las Vegas Sun

“Further, should the interisland's third wheel (Mesa's go!) decide to pack up and go home, the shares could see significant upside, in our judgment.”

A Bear Stearns & Co. analyst who initiated coverage of Hawaiian Airlines' parent this week says that the company's stock price could double in the next year if it collects a $90 million legal award from Mesa ... via Honolulu Star-Bulletin

“It is vital that we show that we are a responsible airline that is committed to being part of the solution of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the aviation industry.”

HONG KONG : Environmentally conscious travelers on Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. can now buy their plane ticket and offset the amount of greenhouse gas spewed out by each flight, all with the click of a mouse. via International Herald Tribune

Cheyenne-based company to take over service from Big Sky Airlines BILLINGS, Mont. via KXMA-TV Dickinson

The National Transportation Safety Board says parts of the fan blade and the spinner separated from the right engine. via El Paso Times

Scheduled flights from Knoxville to Las Vegas, Nev. are being indefinitely suspended by discount carrier Allegiant Air, the airline announced Friday. via WATE-TV Knoxville

“The train body is the lightest of its kind in the world”

Jinan , Dec 22 The first bullet train designed and manufactured in China with a speed of 300 km per hour rolled off the production line Saturday. via Tajikistan News.Net

Shares of Red Hat Inc. jumped 10 percent Friday, one day after the open source software distributor announced a rise in third-quarter earnings and the appointment of a new chief executive. via Canadian Business Magazine

“I don't think I've ever seen an increase around Christmas”

United Airlines, the No. 2 U.S. carrier, has doubled a surcharge it added to tickets last month to offset high fuel costs, a spokesman said Friday. Delta Air Lines quickly followed suit.

The move effectively raises round-trip fares by $10 and one-way tickets by $5. The increase applies to all U.S. states except Hawaii, United spokesman Jeff Kovick said.

Delta matched the increase Friday morning with the same terms, according to spokeswoman Chris Kelly.

Airlines have struggled to keep pace with increasing fuel costs, which have risen along with the price of crude oil in recent months. Fuel represents one of the airlines' biggest expenses. Read more

Some Texas troops in North Carolina whose deployment to Afghanistan has been delayed -- will get free flights home for the holidays.

Southwest Airlines today announced it will fly more than 170 Texas Army National Guard soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The soldiers will be arriving in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio on Sunday. They're members of the 436th Chemical Company.

Relatives of the troops had been trying to raise money so their loved ones could fly home -- but they came up short to fund the whole group. Read more

A former Continental Airlines employee has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for allowing airplane tickets to be issued at unauthorized reduced fares, federal prosecutors said Friday. via El Paso Times

“Most regional carriers have little say in which flights are delayed or cancelled”

Flight delays caused by airline glitches are now creating longer passenger slowdowns than congestion in the skies, a USA TODAY analysis shows. via USA Today

CHINA Eastern Airlines Corp failed to win support from Air China Ltd's parent for a stake sale to Singapore Airlines Ltd during yesterday's meeting of company executives, the Shanghai Securities News reported, ... via Shanghai Daily

“The 737 will continue to provide excellent economics, reliability and passenger comfort to one of the world's great airlines.”

It's gonna be close. On Thursday, Boeing announced a final agreement with Australia's Qantas Airways for the order of 31 737-800 jetliners. via Aero-News Network

MAIR Holdings Inc. will liquidate itself and transfer the western routes of its Big Sky Airlines subsidiary to another carrier, the president and CEO of Mair said Thursday.

The decision means Billings, Mont.-based Big Sky will serve 15 communities in five Western states for a little while longer, but its president, Fred DeLeeuw, wasn't sure how much longer.

MAIR chief executive Paul Foley made the announcement in a conference call with analysts Thursday, a day after Big Sky said it would shut down its East Coast operations as of Jan. 7 due to poor revenues, bad weather and high fuel prices. It has operated as a Delta Connection partner. Read more

“During the past year, Red Hat has made organizational and operational improvements, introduced new products and expanded geographically”

Red Hat Inc. tapped former Delta Air Lines Inc. executive James Whitehurst to lead the company into a new phase of growth, as the open source provider said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose 12 percent. via The Age

"At some point, I think we'll probably acquire somebody," said Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. via TheAirlineHub

“I don't want to be like other airlines. We want to be Southwest.”

By TERRY MAXON and SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News Southwest Airlines Co. via Quick

“I had hoped to be able to avoid caps but the truth is for the short term, for the next few years this is the solution that will provide some relief for travelers”

AP Photos JetBlue planes wait at terminal gates at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in this Feb. via Tri-cityherald.com

Delta Air Lines is temporarily cutting back on its service between Atlanta and Peoria. via WAND-TV Decatur

The managing director of Delta Air Lines Inc.'s cargo unit is leaving the company and will be replaced by a former United Airlines official, the nation's No. via WALB-TV Albany

“A tighter seat supply could enable airlines to raise prices”

NEW YORK : Analysts view established carriers such as JetBlue Airways Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc. via International Herald Tribune

UAL Corp , parent of United Airlines, said on Wednesday it expects its unit revenue to increase in the fourth quarter helped by capacity reductions on North American routes. via BNET

“On our roadshow, investors started to realize why Air China wouldn't, and couldn't, oppose our deal. We start to gain more and more understanding and in fact, quite a few investors have already indicated they would vote "for”

After a week's investor roadshow to Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing, China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited exudes confidence that it will win shareholders' support at an extraordinary general meeting to ... via Earth Times

“The court thus cannot have jurisdiction over the question.”

The U.N.'s highest court ruled on Thursday that a 1928 treaty that awarded three isolated Caribbean islands to Colombia was still valid so it could not rule on a bid by Nicaragua for sovereignty over them. via XtraMSN Real Estate

“We still think we have some improvements, but not at the same pace”

Much like Atlanta's drivers, some airlines are a lot more sensitive to prices at the fuel pump than others. via Atlanta Journal-Constitution

China Eastern will resume its twice weekly Shanghai-Saipan flights starting Jan. via Saipan Tribune

“Carriers are queuing up to buy planes as demand grows”

CHINA Eastern Airlines Corp, the nation's third-largest carrier, said it is in talks to buy 40 Boeing Co 737 planes and has applied to the government for 40 Airbus SAS A320s to expand its fleet. via Shanghai Daily

“With the world's focus on JFK and slots at JFK, how that may stand in the way of international service from one of the most important points on the global map is very important”

Deutsche Lufthansa's surprise swoop for a 19 per cent stake in discount US carrier JetBlue Airways could be the start of a large-scale ownership grab in the global airline industry. via NZ Herald

“Oil prices are higher than we would have liked them to be but we are still enjoying a fast-growing segment. We are confident that our business forecast is strong.”

With the 12 planes that the budget carrier already operates and another 38 on the way, the recent US$1.3 billion addition will take the total fleet to 70 by 2016, group chief executive officer Tony Davis said. via The Straits Times

“This industry is so highly leveraged that you don't need a big change in one factor to have a significant impact on profitability”

Soaring fuel prices and slowing economic growth are likely to wipe out much of the airline industry's profits next year, despite steady increases in global demand for air travel, the International Air Transport ... via New York Times

Frontier Airlines is offering the first regularly scheduled international flights out of the Albuquerque airport in more than 15 years. via KOB-TV

“The magic of the season comes alive when you're a child, and we are excited to share Christmas joys with local children in need”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On Saturday, December 15, SkyWest Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. via CSRwire.com

“Chinese airlines' international routes have seen operating losses using their current planes. If we buy A380s, losses will deepen”

China Eastern Airlines intends to buy 40 Airbus A320 aircraft under an agreement signed between France and China and is in talks for 40 Boeing 737s to expand its domestic and regional routes, its chairman said ... via New York Times

“In view of public anxiety about possible disruption to their year-end travel plans and the need to inform the rest of Cathay Pacific's employees covered by the scheme, the company had no choice but to announce the new arrangements”

HONG KONG : Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. appeared to have backed down Monday on requiring staff to pay for doctors visits under a much criticized new medical insurance plan, saying each employee could make 10 ... via International Herald Tribune

Global Aircraft Solutions announced that it has reached a settlement on its ownership stake in the Delta Air Lines bankruptcy claim. via Monitor Daily

East El Paso City Representative Rachel Quintana pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor forgery charge. via KFOXTV

“Foreign participation would strengthen their capability to invest more.”

CHINA has for the first time allowed foreign investment in the power grid sector, currently controlled by the nation's two dominant state electricity distributors, according to a new industry policy. via Shanghai Daily