Fuel Costs Aren’t Making Airlines Eco-Friendly

by Elizabeth Seward on

As discussed in an article in The Economist today, airlines should theoretically be becoming more and more “green.” Fuel costs are normally the largest single cost for airlines and rising fuel costs aren’t good for the airline or the customer. One might assume that airlines would pursue fuel efficiency with their bottom line in mind, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, at least not with the most profitable domestic Airline (2009-2011), Allegiant Air. Allegiant was found to actually be the least fuel efficient airline for the year of 2010 in a report recently released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).
While it is certainly counter-intuitive that the most profitable airline can also be the least fuel efficient, there are other factors that play into the sometimes ambiguous cost/profit setup of airlines.

Still, The Economist asks the question that I have to echo: “If the bottom line cannot force airlines to be more fuel efficient, what can?” One of the many possible answers to that question is fleet, since almost one-third of the efficiency gap between airlines can be attributed to differences in fleet. Here’s to hoping for the employment of greener planes down the road.

[Thanks, The Economist]

Southwest Airlines Now Has A ‘No-Show’ Policy

by Elizabeth Seward on

Southwest Airlines’ leniency with “no-shows” has been a popular attractor for many customers. The airline has long boasted that their customers get to keep the total value of their flight purchase, even when they simply don’t show up.

While the idea of not losing money in the case of an emergency might seem appealing to the masses, only a small minority of Southwest customers have been taking advantage of this deal and they’ve been doing it habitually. For that reason, Southwest will now be enforcing its own version of a “no-show” policy. Passengers will still receive the full value of their flight purchase if they cancel, but they have to cancel no later than 10 minutes before the flight takes off. This updated policy is still sensible and comparatively customer-oriented.[Thanks, USA Today]

World’s Largest Lunch Box Museum

by Elizabeth Seward on

Cool Hunting Video: The World’s Largest Lunchbox Museum from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.

Allen Woodall is the owner of the world’s largest lunch box museum. The museum, which is situated in Columbus, Georgia, is now home to thousands of lunch boxes and related items. The title of “world’s largest lunch box museum” appears to be self-appointed, but convincing enough. In the video above by Cool Hunting, Woodall gives a tour of his prized lunch box museum, offering nuggets of lunch box history along the way.

Spirit’s Eyebrow-Raising Ads Seem To Be Working

by Elizabeth Seward on

If nothing else, Spirit Airlines is original. The company has created MILF ads, a campaign timed with the Anthony Weiner scandal called “The Weiner Sale,” ads that referenced the BP oil spill of 2010 (one of the slogans was, “Check out the oil on our beaches”), and more. Spirit Airlines has famously created ads just three hours after related news events and they don’t seem to mind that the ads usually look campy and hastily made.

And yet, no matter how offended some seem by these ads, no matter how unprofessional they might come off as being, the company’s approach must be working. Spirit Airlines was called the most profitable airline in the country last year by The Wall Street Journal.

Photo Of The Day: Leaving Denver

by Jake Thiewes on

“Please stow your electronic devices for takeoff.”

Flickr user (and Gadling Flickr Pool member) Peter Rood might have bent that rule just a little bit on his recent departure from Denver, Colorado. The view from Rood’s flight, as it ascended through the stormy skies, is gorgeous.

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