Everybody wants to work for Delta

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Anyone who wants to work in the airline business, take note: Delta is hiring. The largest airline in the world is getting ready to add 1,000 positions around the world. In particular, look for openings at its 25 largest airports in the United States. Sounds good, right? Brace yourself, though. The airline expects more than 65,000 applications to come in for these positions. To give you a bit perspective on this, 81,000 people work for Delta already. So, the company will probably receive applications from a group equivalent to 75 percent of its employee population.

Delta’s looking to add bodies because of “near-record percentages of seats filled,” according to Bloomberg, but this does reflect a decline in routes in order to manage vacant seats and pump up revenue per available seat-mile.

While Delta’s 1,000 positions are helping a beleaguered airline industry, it’s still a drop in the bucket – as evidenced by the expected 65,000 applications. The total airline workforce shed 18,756 jobs from May 2009 to May 2010.

Photo of the Day (7.14.10)

by Melanie Nayer on

When I was a kid, my sister and I used to sit on our back porch and watch the planes fly over our house in St. Louis, Missouri. We would make up stories about where the plane was going, who was on the flight and what the passengers might be doing when they arrive at their destination.

This photo, taken by Angie622 at Newark airport, captures the innocence of air travel and begs the question: If you could be on this plane, where would you want it go?

Have a photo that inspires air travel? Upload it to our Gadling Flickr pool and we might use your photo to feature as our Photo of the Day.

Spirit Airlines to Congress: paying for overhead bins helps the poor

by Tom Johansmeyer on


You just don’t need to take your bags on vacation, said Spirit Airlines CEO, Ben Baldanza. He’s told Congress that his airline, which brands itself as a “super-low-cost” carrier, actually makes it easier for the proletariat poor to take to the skies, even if it does require that they plop down $45 to stuff a carry-on into the overhead bin.

In a sense, it does. If you choose not to check a bag, that’s $5 bucks shy of half a C-note you’re tucking back in your wallet, but the cheap tickets can run a tad costly if you go with all the up-charges, according to a report by ABC News. So, the poor are all set as long as they exercise some restraint, it seems.

According to Baldanza, “We are certain that Spirit’s decision to unbundle services not essential to the transportation of passengers, has enabled more passengers to fly at lower cost.” He added, “Indeed given our low fares, it has allowed many to travel who otherwise simply could not afford to do so.”

So, what’s next for Spirit? I’m guessing that cake will be served on every flight, for a fee of course, which the airline will gladly let the poor eat.

ANA brings keg beer to 30,000 ft

by Grant Martin on

Spend enough time in the friendly skies and you being to notice that things taste a bit different. Perhaps it’s the air pressure and humidity when 6 miles above sea level, or maybe the small child that’s crying and pooping all over your armrest, but something about airline food, drink and air just tastes weird.

As a result, when tidbits from terra firma are successfully emulated upstairs, people get excited. A recent thread on Flyertalk announcing that American Airlines was bringing Illy Issimo coffee to some flights had dozens of airline nerds reaching for hand lotion, and every time a new snack or beverage gets loaded into Gate Gourmet the servers at Airliners.net heave under the heavy load.

These improvements, however, aren’t without careful targeting. Many passengers, especially those flying in business and first class cabins are willing to make their choice in airline based on the catering, and one small change can mean a slew of ticket sales or losses. Perhaps that’s why All Nippon Airways (ANA) is bringing keg beer to some of its flights.

It’s genius, in a way, as many a beer-lover can tell you that draft beer tastes many times better than anything straight out of the can (perhaps because of the air pressure or small children.)

Unfortunately, most westerners won’t be able to try out the draft beer any time soon. Draft beer will only be available on select flights out of Japan, and even then, only on certain routes. Let’s hope that the trend will catch on soon and that draft beer will soon be on Delta Connection flights from Peoria to Chicago.

[Photo via Hyougushi on Flickr]

Cougar attacks 14-year-old boy in flight

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Southwest Airlines is being sued. A passenger claims that the airline’s flight attendants weren’t able to protect his 14-year-old son from the prowling of an in-flight cougar. The older female passenger, he claims, offered his son illegal drug and made sexual advances during the flight to Orlando on July 13, 2008. The teenager was traveling alone, according to the Associated Press, and “was so frightened by the experience that he refused to return home by himself, so his father flew down to accompany him home.”

According to the family’s attorney, Jeffrey Deutschman, the kid asked to be moved to another seat “repeatedly,” but the flight attendants wouldn’t let him do so. Southwest isn’t commenting on the lawsuit. The family is looking for more than $50,000.

[photo by Harlequeen via Flickr]