Plane dumps thousands of pounds of fuel over Lake Michigan

by Libby Zay on

Citing mechanical problems, an American Airlines flight en route to China dumped 151,000 pounds of fuel over Lake Michigan on Sunday night.

According to an American Airlines spokesman, the fuel was dumped over the freshwater lake after an emergency forced the plane to return to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport about 90 minutes after departing for Beijing. The fuel had to be dumped because landing overweight would have created problems, and even after the gas was unloaded the plane blew a tire when it touched down.

The spokesman claims dumping the fuel did not harm the lake because the fuel evaporates before it reaches the surface. However, one of the 249 passengers on board told NBC Chicago he watched from the plane’s window as the fuel was evacuated into the body of water.

[Photo by ReneS/Flickr]

American Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Las Vegas

by Kraig Becker on

An American Airlines Boeing 757 was forced to make an emergency landing at Las Vegas‘ McCarran International Airport earlier today after pilots detected smoke in the cockpit.

AA Flight 431 was traveling from Miami to San Francisco, and was over Utah, when the crew diverted from their course to make the landing. They touched down at 11:10 AM Pacific time and were met by emergency crews who assisted with the evacuation of the plane. All 159 passengers and six crew, exited without incident or injury.

A spokesperson for American Airlines said that the emergency landing is standard procedure for pilots after smoke is detected on a plane, and that the crew was just acting properly to ensure the safety of all those on board.

At this time, it is unclear as to the cause of the smoke, but investigations by AA flight mechanics and the FAA are ongoing. In the meantime the company is working to re-book all the stranded passengers and get them back on their way to San Francisco.

American Airlines to test streaming video

by Chris Owen on

American Airlines will begin testing inflight streaming video that enables customers to wirelessly stream content such as movies and TV shows from an inflight library to their personal Wi-Fi-enabled devices during flight.

“We know our customers want to be connected on the ground and in the sky, so we are working hard to stay on the leading edge of connectivity through technology enhancements like this.” said Rob Friedman, American’s Vice President of Marketing

American will also expand inflight Wi-Fi to its narrow body fleet, completing its Wi-Fi rollout fleet-wide. The Wi-Fi expansion will include 93 of American’s domestic 757s used for routes within the continental United States, and up to 50 additional MD80 aircraft the company said in a statement.”By expanding Wi-Fi to the remainder of American’s domestic fleet and adding movies and TV to the already powerful Internet, American and Aircell continue to transform the inflight experience,” said Ash ElDifrawi, Executive Vice President and CMO of Aircell. “In this new era of inflight entertainment and inflight connectivity convergence, we are proud to be American’s partner in innovation and applaud their leadership.”

The streaming video offering is American’s latest enhancement in a series of investments in mobile technology.

“Mobility is where we are all headed and our focus on new technologies in this space is unmatched by our competitors,” added Friedman.

Do you agree? Is American the best for inflight connectivity? Share your experience with us here.

Flickr photo by boeingdreamscape

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Sabre hates competition, alleges US Airways

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Can’t they all just get along?

Not long after American Airlines sued Orbitz, alleging anticompetitive behavior, another airline is suing link in the travel supply chain. US Airways is going after Sabre on antitrust grounds, Reuters reports. The airline believes that Sabre “shuts out competition and drives up prices.”

For US Airways, this is a pretty big deal, as it books 35 percent of its revenue through Sabre. That’s an awful lot of dependence.

Airlines, online travel agencies and global distribution systems have been battling each other since November, when American Airlines announced that it was pulling out of Orbitz. Since then, the number of skirmishes has accumulated to all-out war.

American Airlines and Orbitz tangled in antitrust battle

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The online travel agency battle continues … and it’s getting ugly. The latest move comes from American Airlines, which is suing Orbitz and Travelport for alleged anticompetitive behavior. So, what started in November as a battle over fare distribution has escalated into an antitrust war.

Through the end of the year, Orbitz and American Airlines fought it out, ultimately winding up in court, where American emerged victorious. Along the way, the two sides in this commercial combat – travel suppliers, such as airlines, and online travel agencies – found other fields of battle, with Expedia, Delta, CheapOair and BookIt among those entering the fray.

American is claiming that Orbitz is trying to “control the distribution of airline tickets,” according to a report by legal magazine Corporate Secretary. The article gives some insight into the legal aspects of what’s happening:

‘The lawsuit raises innovative but real questions about market power and behaviors in the current airline structure,’ says Spencer Waller, professor and director of Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Chicago-based Loyola University. ‘But I don’t think this lawsuit will get to a resolution on the merits of antitrust claims. I view this case primarily as a continuation of the dispute and negotiations over fees in the online travel agency.’

For American, the disintermediation of online travel agencies would lead to direct ownership of the consumer, as well as wider margins on each transaction. Corporate Secretary continues:

‘The dispute raises real antitrust concerns because firms have substantial market power, and higher fees are being generated that are being passed on to consumers,’ Waller adds. ‘The antitrust law is looking at it from a consumer perspective and in the end, this law would want the airlines to produce lower fees.’

We hit a period of calm earlier this year, but the war in the travel industry is heating up once again. The parties are back in court, only a few months after American’s last victory, and it looks like we’ll all have to wait for the judge.

You can read American’s filing here.