So long, Oasis Hong Kong

by Grant Martin on

The Low Cost Carrier massacre continues, with the newest victim being one of the first budget long-haul, international airlines. Oasis Hong Kong was founded in February of 2005 with the idea that competitive fares on the Hong Kong – Vancouver and Hong Kong – London routes would make a killing for the company. I remember the glee of shopping around for super cheap 150£ budget tickets between London and Hong Kong a few years back, only to take the shorter route on Cathay over the Pacific. I was never able to find a good time to make it out to London or Vancouver to hop on an Oasis flight — I guess I never will.

The departure of Oasis Hong Kong is our first strong sign that domestic airlines’ oil woes are being felt felt around the globe. While it is true that world markets are all generally in decline, many people don’t consider how many airlines are really out there and how many are struggling in the modern economy.

Those who are now stranded by Oasis are encouraged to call a hotline set up by Cathay Pacific to gobble up any stray passengers, while others who have already booked and paid are possibly eligible for a refund. Several stipulations do apply to earning that cash, however, so you’ll have to read the website carefully to make plans.

Farewell Oasis Hong Kong. I wish that we had met.

What strange things have been found on planes?


Click the image to read the bizarre story…

Northwest Airline’s extra baggage fee and the advantage of children

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was looking at my Frequent Flier miles summary from Northwest Airlines, the extra baggage fee notice caught my eye. The surcharge of $25 for the second bag starts on May 5. Grant wrote a post about why airlines have taken to such money making strategies. As a person who is not the lightest of packers, I have some incentive now to really think about what I’m loading into a suitcase. This means I’ll have to do better than the last minute pack job I’m so geared towards.

The excess baggage rules do remind me of the advantage of traveling with a small child. Small children’s clothes don’t weigh much or take up much space. If a child is over two, you’ve already paid for the seat and with that seat comes a checked bag. Take advantage of the packing space. As long as your kids are in child sizes, you’ll do fine. Since kids get a carry-on too, put toys and essentials in that. Perhaps, you can even tuck in some of your items. Your toddler might not be able to carry the carry-on onto the plane, but that’s not part of the regulations. Kids are also good for carrying things like video cameras. Just sling the strap over one shoulder so the strap crosses the chest. With some careful planning, you might be able to take advantage of the extra space a child affords for at least seven years.

The 787 is delayed for the third time — Airbus says HA!

by Grant Martin on

Chicago based airframe manufacturer Boeing announced the third delay to their 787 Dreamliner this week, in a move that many industry analysts have been predicting for several weeks now. I guess things haven’t been coming together as fast as they had expected.

This time around, corporate has put sloppier dates on their milestones so that they can be more flexible on their timing and hopefully won’t miss any further checkpoints — multiple customers are relying on these timetables and it has been well publicized that Boeing often has to pay stiff penalties for being behind.

First flight has thus now been pushed back to the the fourth quarter of this year, with the first delivery scheduled in the third quarter of 2009. CEO Scott Carson boasted about the company’s achievements earlier in the week, conceding, however that “… the traveled work situation and some unanticipated rework have prevented us from hitting the milestones we laid out in January. Our revised schedule is built upon an achievable, high-confidence plan for getting us to our power-on and first-flight milestones”

Let’s hope that this schedule is actually achievable.

Frontier Airlines goes BANKRUPT

by Grant Martin on

Low Cost Carrier Frontier Airlines (F9) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, citing an issue with their credit card processing company, the current financial market and jet fuel as their detriments. Apparently, the company that processes all of their credit card transactions announced that they were taking a bigger cut out of all of their sales which would drastically affect the bottom line for Frontier.

I don’t know enough about the credit card market to tell you why they couldn’t switch processing companies or how close to the red the airline was before this change, but apparently it’s significant enough to warrant Chapter 11 protection.

Before you panic and call to dispute your credit card charges, remember that the airline is only reorganizing as they continue normal operations. No flights have been canceled (which is better than many legacy carriers today), employees will still be on hand to check you in and the airline will continue to take reservations. Chapter 11 is only a means to reorganize finances while operations continue and is an unfortunate, although common, occurrence in the aviation industry. Northwest and Delta Airlines both went into and came out of bankruptcy in the last few years, and both are now operating in the black.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t be cautious about booking. Make sure you keep your receipts and document your transactions if you book a ticket in case you eventually need to dispute a charge. The nice thing about Frontier is that they have a fairly customer-centric attitude — hopefully they would never straight out abandon passengers like Skybus did last week.

In the meantime, continue booking with Frontier as you normally would (albeit carefully). If the airline has any chance of making it out of bankruptcy, it’s if passengers like you and I have faith in the airline and continue paying for tickets.

Check out Frontier’s restructuring website if you want more details on operations.

Virgin America’s Los Angeles – Seattle launch party

by Grant Martin on

Virgin America‘s service between LA and Seattle kicked off this week with a bang, and Gadling was invited along for the ride.

The event, celebrating the link between two musically rich cities, started with a rock-concert send off by The Donnas at the VA gate in Los Angeles. After a brief ceremony where CEO David Cush and several Donnas members cut the symbolic ribbon, everyone jumped on the short flight up the coast.

Once things got organized, Cush said a few corporate words then Cisco Adler (Mischa Barton’s ex boyfriend and lead singer of Whitestarr) and his pal Shwayze got up, grabbed a guitar and started serenading the plane as AP and Virgin photographers stalked them through the plane. Three songs deep, the duo handed the baton off to Michael Tolcher, who, after three songs handed the baton off to the Bamboo Shoots. The four of them rocked up and down the plane for a few songs handing out goodies, standing in seats and banging on things.

The aircraft was met with by a howling crowd of Virgin America employees who, lined up on either side of a red carpet, would wildly cheer every time someone deplaned. A brief arrival party with (more) Champagne took place at the gate, then everyone dispersed to meet up for the after party at the venue, The Showbox at the Market later that evening.

The Showbox was tricked up special for the Virgin America party. Photographers were on hand to take media photos of the celebrities on hand, including Rebecca Cardon from Bravo’s Work Out and Lukas Haas. They took places in a special VIP judging section, and after a few more corporate words, Virgin hosted a quick battle of the bands where the winner was given a free music video shooting.

After the battle, The Bamboo Shoots came up for another set, followed by Thurston Moore (formally of Sonic Youth) and his new band.

You have to admit, Virgin does know how to throw a party. I met several interesting people along the road that I’ll be telling you about over the next few days once I can put my thoughts and pictures together and my hangover wears off. Stay tuned for an interview with CEO David Cush, details about the in flight experiences (business and coach), video and an unofficial report about some of the chicanery that went on, including shots with Shwayze and Cisco, the Banana Republic marketing team and a trip to the hospital.