“Come Fly With Me” crash lands tomorrow on BBC America

by Kent Wien on

Back when the only thing on television was either about lawyers or crime scenes, I lamented about the lack of a show featuring the airline industry.

How things have changed.

There are now documentary, drama, comedy and reality shows that cover every aspect of the airline world.

BBC and ITV have each done ‘fly on the wall’ documentaries; Airport and Airline, there are dramas such as the upcoming Pan Am, the defunct, but wildly raunchy British show Mile High, reality shows like Discovery’s Flying Wild Alaska and Ice Pilots, not to mention the painfully mind-numbing Fly Girls.

Now the BBC is back with six episodes of a documentary comedy called Come Fly with Me that premiers in the U.S. on BBC America at 11:30 p.m. eastern tomorrow.

We had a chance to watch the first three episodes from the show, which was enough to realize that the program will be just as controversial here in the U.S. as it was in the U.K.

If you haven’t figured it out from the late night time slot, Come Fly with Me is a politically incorrect edgy comedy that isn’t afraid to use racial stereotypes to get some laughs.

But the racial jokes don’t even qualify as being funny. There were other amusing parts, since airlines are the low hanging fruit in the comedy world, but most of the jokes seemed overworked and not at all subtle.

Granted, I’ll admit that I laughed out loud when a passenger service agent lied about a maintenance delay (caused by wing failure) explaining that it was because “The pilot is still at home ’cause he’s watching Avatar on DVD and he didn’t realize how long it was.”

And I rather enjoyed the Captain and Copilot husband and wife team formed when the captain’s wife decided to become a pilot to keep an eye on her husband after she discovered he had cheated on her.

Most of the scenes are played by David Walliams and Matt Lucas, each taking turns dressing up as the pilots, flight attendants, ticket agents, the CEO and many of the airport staff. In this scene, Walliams and Lucas parody the check-in staff:

The airport and airline scenes are highly realistic, having been filmed in London’s Stansted and the cockpits of actual aircraft which was refreshing for a change.

In all, I’d say it’s a show that airline nuts probably should watch as they’ll likely appreciate a few of the jokes. But I’d leave the seat belt sign on for the onslaught of criticism Come Fly With Me will generate after the first airing.

Virgin Atlantic celebrates 25 years flying to Miami

by Chris Owen on

4.5 Million passengers later, Virgin Atlantic is celebrating 25 years of flying to Miami. Sir Richard Branson walked the wing of a Virgin Atlantic Airways 747-400 at Miami International Airport this week to celebrate 25 years of flying from London to Miami.

“This is a fantastic milestone in Virgin Atlantic’s history,” Branson said reports the DailyMail. “Miami was the second route Virgin Atlantic launched two years after the airline began and to think that we are now a world-class airline with 32 long-haul destinations is a dream come true.”

In celebration, the airline is offering fares from London to Miami for as low as $281 per person each way during it’s 25 year anniversary sale . Originally good through June 15th, the sale has been extended through June 21.
Since starting to fly the London to Miami route in 1986, the airline’s fleet has flown a total of 67 million miles to and from Miami and served guests over 5 million of their signature meals and ice cream. Passengers have enjoyed 165,000 bottles of champagne with the millionth glass supposedly served aboard the June 15 flight.

“Miami is a key route for Virgin Atlantic” Branson said “with many business travelers commuting on the route each year and holiday makers jetting out to enjoy Miami and its many beautiful beaches. Our promise to our passengers when we launched the route was to offer a fantastic quality of service and innovation onboard at great value and I believe that we continue to fulfill that promise 25 years later.”

Virgin Atlantic also celebrated this week the 10th anniversary of flights between London and Las Vegas with Branson and the world’s most famous burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, at an airside photocall as they walked the wing of the plane on arrival.

Since June 2000 Virgin Atlantic has flown 2 million passengers to the destination, with its twice-weekly service increasing to a daily flight in may 2006 due to the route’s popularity. Today, the airline is also announcing the launch of twice-weekly flights from Manchester to Las Vegas in April 2011.

Here’s to 10 and 25 more Sir Richard!

Airline fuel costs up almost a third since last year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

So, how expensive is fuel for the airline industry? Brace yourself: the situation is pretty ugly. In April 2011, airlines in the United States dropped an average of $2.99 a gallon on fuel. That number sounds a lot better than what you’re seeing at the pump, right? How can it be that bad?

Well, this is yet another month-over-month increase. In March, the airlines spent an average of only $2.80 a gallon on get fuel, according to the latest data from the U.S Department of Transportation‘s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. In 30 days, we’re looking at a 6.8 percent spike. Look back even further, and the numbers don’t get any prettier. In April 2010, the U.S. airline industry spent an average of $2.29 on fuel. In one year, the average cost has surged an incredible 31 percent!

If you thought driving was too expensive because of gas prices, you’ll find the skies decidedly unfriendly.

[photo by octal via Flickr]

Airline fees are worth more than Facebook

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Outside the travel world, everyone’s marveling at the prospect of a Facebook IPO, which could be valued at as much as $100 billion. So, what are we missing while we fawn over Mark Zuckerberg’s creation? How about the slow, stodgy, ugly airline industry. Known for a painful user experience and a steady decline of free features, the likes of Delta and American Airlines are outdoing the hottest online property in the world simply by annoying their customers.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation‘s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, baggage and reservation change fees brought the U.S. airline industry a whopping $5.7 billion last year. Delta picked up close to a billion dollars on baggage fees alone, which doesn’t include what they yanked from the wallets of soldiers returning home from combat. The largest airline in the country also brought in approximately $700 million from reservation change fees.

American Airlines, the fourth largest airline in the United States, came in second in both categories, with $580.7 million in baggage fees and $471.4 million in reservation change fees.The particular beauty of these fees is that they are basically found money. Some passengers need to check bags, and the airlines have to invest in the overhead required to meet this demand. It’s an expense that can’t be avoided. With this fee, they monetized what they’d have to pay anyway. The same is the case for reservation change fees.

The top five earners of baggage fees in 2010 are:

1. Delta: $952.3 million

2. American: $580.7 million

3. US Airways: $513.6 million

4. Continental: $341.6 million

5. United: $313.2 million

Unsurprisingly, the top five earners of reservation change fees don’t look much different:

1. Delta: $698.6 million

2. American: $471.4 million

3. United: $321.5 million

4. US Airways: $253.1 million

5. Continental: $237.4 million

No doubt, activist groups will be up in arms shortly. And airline employees will lament the fact that their executives are so richly compensated while they have endured round after round of pay cuts and layoffs for years upon years.

Frankly, I offer my congratulations to the airline industry. Yes, they are soaking us. Passengers are a captive audience, particularly on routes with limited coverage, and we sometimes have no choice but to pay. The airlines are using this to generate profitable growth for their shareholders, which is their primary responsibility.

So, what about Facebook? The company is estimated to pull in revenues of somewhere above $4 billion this year, most of it from advertising. It is pretty interesting that the popular social network is annoying its customers as a way to generate revenue, just like the airlines!

Who knew that pissing off your target market was an awesome business model?

[photo by Tobin Black via Flickr]

Mexico safe says American Airlines, for flying anyway

by Chris Owen on

American Eagle’s sold-out inaugural flight arrived in Mazatlan, Mexico (MZT) from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) this week. The move supports tourism authorities that say Mexico is safe for travel. As Mexico struggles to repair it’s image and shift international focus from drug-lord induced crime headlines to business-as-usual, American’s new daily flight was welcomed with open arms.

“We come to Mazatlán to make our contribution and be good partners in tourism” said

Marvin Diaz, Director General of American Airlines in Mexico.

The new 2-hour flight from Dallas affords new travel options for the more than 2 million travelers who visit Mazatlan each year opening up connections from more than 250 international markets


“Mazatlán is a vibrant destination alive with rich culture and unrivalled hospitality on the Pacific Coast,” said Carlos Berdegue, vice president, Mazatlán Hotel Association and Tourism Board in a press release. “We are delighted to begin our new partnership with American Airlines, which will allow visitors from all over the world to discover our beautiful weather, golden-sand beaches, historic center and premier resorts.”

The new American Eagle non-stop flight to Mazatlán offers daily service from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), departing from Dallas at 11:45am and arriving in Mazatlan at 1:05pm.

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