Merger mania: Bloomberg takes a look at the numbers

by Grant Martin on

Wondering how and why these mergers all make sense? Bloomberg put together a pretty nifty set of charts showing where each of the United, Northwest, Continental and United hubs are, their traffic and CEO, financial, US Ranking, Aviary, Employee, Alliance and Frequent Flier data.

It’s an interesting look at the facts behind each of the four carriers — a place to look at how each airline influences the United States and a place to formulate your own opinion on the pending mergers. They even go so far as to supply the sources (gasp) of their data.

If these mergers start to come through, it’s going to be a very busy summer here at Gadling. Keep an eye out for our expert and/or wildly speculative articles about the next big thing and who’s going to be losing their frequent flyer miles next.

Most survive (yet another) Congo plane crash

by Iva Skoch on

How is that for a positive plane crash headline for you? You always hear about “no survivors,” but all plane crashes clearly don’t have to be fatal. Not for everyone, at least.

BBC reports that at least nine people were killed today when an airliner ploughed into a commercial area during take-off in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It appears the plane skidded in wet weather, smashing through a wall and catching fire. Most of the 85 people aboard survived.

According to Reuters, Congo has one of the world’s poorest air safety records with eight crashes in 2007. In October 2007, for example, a plane crashed into a residential area in Goma, killing all 27 people on board. Third of the runway at Goma’s airport was apparently affected by a lava flow from a volcanic eruption that occurred there six years ago. This makes Goma a particularly difficult spot for take-off.

What Northwest Airlines wrote to me

by Jamie Rhein on

As a person with oodles of frequent-flier miles, you can bet when I read about Northwest’s merger with Delta our miles flashed before my eyes and headed down a drain until I mentally fished them out. Should we book that flight to Copenhagen, Denmark even though we’re holding out for Asia next summer?

When I headed to my in-box, there was an e-mail from Northwest Airlines telling me not to worry about my World Perks miles and Elite status. They are safe and will not be affected by the merger. The message also pointed out that this merger will give me more options to use those miles because of the increase of the routes and the global reach. What I want is for them to fly to Vietnam.

I’m glad that Northwest sent me a warning along with the time frame of when changes could occur. It does make me feel part of Northwest’s radar–like possibly they care. Letting customers know what is going on is key in today’s uncertain world. It instills confidence and keeps customers coming back.

A few year’s ago, when we were flying Northwest to Taiwan and had to be rerouted to Honolulu due to engine failure, we were told what was going on during each step. It was clear that Northwest was prepared to make sure that we were comfortable and happy. The engine trouble resulted in a two-night stay at the Sheraton Waikiki with vouchers for breakfast and dinner–not too shabby. United Airlines lost my business because when the same thing happened on a flight from L.A. to Singapore, we were treated terribly. I have yet to forgive them.

Despite the e-mail, I’m not quite comfortable because our mile accumulation is a hefty amount that I’d hate to lose. I’m the type that hoards for a better day. That day might be now. I’ve started looking into that Denmark trip just in case. As Grant also wrote, better play it safe to not be sorry later.

What does the NWA & Delta merger mean for passengers?

by Grant Martin on

The news, so to speak, is inevitable, as last night’s news and this morning’s press conference are confirming: Delta and Northwest Airlines are to merge. Together they will form the world’s largest airline capable of moving more passengers to more corners of the globe in fewer steps — so they say.

What does this mean for the current passenger of each respective airline? As far as routes and operations, not much will immediately change. It will take 6-8 months to iron out the details of the operation, during which the airlines will continue to operate independently. Afterwards, corporate says they’ll be keeping all of the hubs between the two cities, keeping all of the small local routes and maintaining all of the operations that you now hold dear.

Whether or not that is true is another question — the two airlines would have seven hubs in North America with six east of the Mississippi and five in a pretty straight line between Atlanta and Minneapolis. That doesn’t seem like a great way to geographically approach a hub and spoke system.

Regardless, all routes and schedules are guaranteed, so if you have or want to book a ticket now, go ahead — you’re in no danger of losing it. Indeed there are only a few overlapping routes between the two airlines, so it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll mess with any of your flights; if they do, they’ll rebook you on Delta and you’ll be fine.

For now, both carriers claim that their mileage programs and miles will remain in tact. Multiple press releases, corporate words and their new special website repeat this and I believe this true to the point that your miles won’t be erased. What they could do, however, is screw with the quality of the miles — after all, each mileage program is set up with different milestones and redemption levels — one is going to have to adopt the other’s policy.

Naturally, the airlines want you to believe that Your Favorite Hub and Your Special Miles are going to be safe in the merger. If you cash in your miles that’s money out of the bank and if you lose faith in your hub your business is going to go elsewhere. So don’t plan on them telling you anything that’s really going to happen any time soon.

If you want to play it safe, I would use some of those miles right now and start shopping around for tickets. It’s not too difficult to redeposit your miles if you decide you want to keep them and in the mean time they’re in a safe place (invested in your vacation). And if you really really don’t know what to do with your miles, leave a comment below and I’ll tell you how to get rid of them. Trust me, you don’t want to waste your 100k miles on 70 years of Newsweek subscriptions yet.

The Rocket Racing League: Like a not-entirely-unwatchable Nascar for planes

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Yesterday the leadership group behind Rocket Racing, an aviation-entertainment hybrid that pits pilots against each other on mid-air “courses,” announced that its first exhibition races will take place on August 1 and 2 at an air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

How do the races work? Pilots wear 3D helmets that allow them to see the course they are supposed to navigate, while fans watch the action from cameras that are mounted on the planes, which can travel up to 350 mph. Up to ten pilots at a time can compete in the roughly 90-minute races.

If you have safety concerns about planes zipping above spectators at 350 mph, you can rest assured. “We will never be flying directly at (spectators).” says Rocket Racing CEO Granger Whitelaw.

Good, because when planes are being flown directly at people, that’s where I draw the line.

More here.