Get your super jumbo jet today! Airbus to raise price of A380 by $4m

by Grant Martin on

Good thing I’ve already got my order in. EADS and Airbus just announced that they’re increasing the price of the A380 because the dollar keeps tanking. While the European conglomerate still does most of their business in Euros, the problem is that their aircraft are priced in dollars. This means that when the dollar falls against the euro it cuts into their bottom line.

It also makes competition difficult because Chicago based Boeing, their primary rival, does most of their business in dollars and their costs have fallen with the dollar. Now, potential aircraft customers are going to find Boeing aircraft a better deal than Airbus.

In that respect, EADS is sort of between a rock and a hard place. EADS CEO Louis Gallois referred to the Euro as a “Sword of Damocles” for the struggling company(obviously). Why can’t American CEOs use obscure Ancient Greek references as metaphors for modern economics?

United Airlines secretly raises ticket change fees

by Grant Martin on

We are officially in the era of airline fees. Over the past few weeks, major carriers across the country have been implementing extra fees to check second bags on their aircraft. Now, beginning with United Airlines, they’re starting to charge higher fees to change your ticket.

The way the regular system works is as follows: when you buy a ticket you purchase your seat in a certain fare class, ranging from a full fare in first class to a deeply discounted ticket in coach. Among the tickets in your class of service, most are non-refundable tickets that you basically can’t return after you swipe your card. Most airlines allow you to change that ticket however, with various stipulations. Often times the ticket needs to be in the same fare class and in all circumstances the airlines are going to hit you with a hefty fee. This varies from 50$ upwards based on the airline, class of ticket and elite status that the passenger may have with the airline.

In this instance, United raised their fee from 100$ up to 150$ to make any changes to your ticket. And they didn’t even tell anybody when they did it last Friday night. News is just slowly seeping out now.

Often times, airlines will make these changes to affect the bottom tier of passengers, exempting many of the first class and elite customers. But not in this case. This is a unilateral 50$ increase in fees across the board, so even if you’re super a super special elite passenger you still get screwed. Cool huh?

I wouldn’t doubt if other airlines started increasing their fees to change tickets as well. Perhaps soon they will start charging for padding on our seats and the right to sit down?

CEO David Cush on the future of Virgin America

by Grant Martin on

On a recent Virgin America flight, Gadling had the opportunity to sit with CEO David Cush and chat about budget carriers, bankruptcy and the the future of one of the fastest growing airlines in the United States. Blogger Grant had the pleasure of speaking briefly with Mr. Cush, the excerpts from which we’ve posted below:

Grant: You’re actually not the only person with a tie on the flight. I kept mine in my pocket though.

David Cush: I’m taking this off as soon as we get to the launch party.

G: So Virgin brought you in from American Airlines. How has the transition been between operating at a legacy carrier to at a low cost carrier startup?

DC: For me personally it’s been a lot of fun. You can be a lot more creative here and the decisions we make can be implemented a lot faster. It’s been really great.

G: And with the higher volatility in the Low Cost Carrier market, have you been affected at all by the recent market?

DC: Well we have the benefit of having funding from a strong investment group, so that significantly helps from the investment standpoint. So we’ve been alright.

G: I bet. So with the departure of many airlines from the middle of the country, has Virgin America got any plans to expand?

DC: We do have one or two more routes opening up before the end of the year

G: Any clues as to what those might be?

DC: We do want to continue expanding our north-south routes similar to the Los Angeles – Seattle route that you’re on right now. But I can tell you that it will be east of the Mississippi.

G: You should totally move in on Skybus’s old territory.

DC: …..

G: Anyway, thanks for having me up to first class.

DC: Thank you.

Paris Hilton says airplanes give her acne

by Grant Martin on

Like, these 777’s totally make me break out.

So claims our favorite hotel heiress, who was recently seen ducking into a Virgin beauty salon at London‘s Heathrow Airport. Her explanation of her trip to the salon was that she was racking up too many miles in the sky and that the canned air was bad for her skin.

Sorry honey. I’ve logged about a zillion miles this year and my skin is in pretty good shape. Perhaps you’re eating too much fast food?

Maybe things will be better when you start chartering 787s for your jetsetting party lifestyle. Boeing claims that their new atmosphere system is supposed to be superior to today’s aircraft with tighter humidity and temperature control so that your beautiful tanned skin can breathe properly.

Until then you can always take the Greyhound.

American Airlines passengers — get double elite miles through June 15!

by Grant Martin on

Perhaps in the wake of Delta Airlines offering double Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) to their passengers a couple of weeks back, American Airlines just launched their own double miles promotion.

Passengers who register for the promotion have between April 16th and June 15th to qualify for their extra miles, which don’t count for award travel, but do count for elite status. That means you only have to fly 12.5k, 25k and 50k miles to earn AAdvantage Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum status — a fantastic deal.

What’s the big deal with miles if you can’t use them for awards? There are myriad benefits to achieving elite status on any airline, from first class upgrades to priority check in and boarding to special customer service lines. If you invest any time in the skies, elite status is definitely worth the investment.

Check out American Airline’s guides to elite benefits here for further details on their programs.

To register for the promotion, go to American Airline’s promo page and use code AADER.

And my condolences to those of you elite AA members out there who already have status and who’s ranks are soon to be diluted with thousands of causal travelers. Now you know what life is like in the Delta/Northwest world.