British Airways CEO Sees Little To Be Excited about in the US

by Josh Lew on

After the election of Barack Obama and a Democratic Party majority in the house and senate, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh sees little to be optimistic about as far as stateside operations go. Many European carriers would like to see additions to the Open Skies Agreement, which provided greater rights for foreign-owned airlines to operate within the US. Walsh is worried about Obama’s support of US labor groups. “I think it’s very clear Obama has taken a strong line in relation to any change in the ownership and control regulations. So at this point I would not be expecting any major progress to be made.”

Right now, foreign companies can have no more than a 25% share in US-based airlines. That is not likely to change, especially considering the weak state many airlines are currently in. With a rumored merger with American Airlines now seemingly out of the question, BA is focusing on partnering with AA to offer better trans-Atlantic service. Before going ahead with that, though, they must receive approval from US antitrust investigators.

[Via Airwise]

Nobody is safe from the flight delay monster – even billionaires!

by Scott Carmichael on

Formula One racing is not very popular in the United States, so I’ll forgive you if you don’t have a clue who the gentleman on the right is. Bernie Ecclestone is the current president and CEO of the companies behind Formula One racing.

Mr.Ecclestone has amassed a net worth of almost $4 Billion thanks to a combination of his slick management skills and some very lucrative TV deals. On average, over 55 million people watch each F1 race, making it the most popular sport in the world.

So, with that much cash and power, I was surprised to read that he flies regular airlines, just like the rest of us. And just like us, he too gets delayed when things go bad. After the final race of the season this Sunday (Go Lewis!), Bernie was stranded on the tarmac of Sao Paulo airport for 7 hours.

Once the plane finally made its way back to the UK, the flight crew went “illegal” (a term meaning they had reached their maximum shift duration) and the plane had to divert to Madrid to load a new crew.

The ground delay and diversion meant the BA flight didn’t land at Heathrow till 9:20PM, almost 9 hours later than scheduled. I’ve been in much worse delays, and my experiences never made the news – I guess it pays to be super rich!

Of course, the smart people took their private jet to Brazil, including the team boss of the world champion, Ron Dennis.

(Via: F1Complete)

Who else has been causing trouble in the skies?


British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Cut Fuel Surcharges

by Josh Lew on

With prices at the pump down so much over the past few weeks, people are starting to wonder why the savings have not been passed on to airline passengers. Well, British Airways finally responded to the halving of crude prices by dropping their fuel surcharge £10 to £68 on domestic flights and £109 to £96 on overseas routes. Virgin Atlantic will also institute similar price cuts. The cuts come on the heels of a price fixing controversy involving BA and VA execs. The two airlines were fined over £120 million after admitting to fixing prices on fuel surcharges.

Gadling’s favorite airline CEO (because he’s always saying something outrageous), Michael O’Leary, tried to irk BA last week by criticizing them for not dropping their fuel surcharge after they dropped a similar charge for freight. “BA is using these high and unjustified fuel surcharges as a scam to rip off its passengers.” Surely, O’Leary’s comments didn’t cause BA to drop the surcharges, but with the price fixing scandal still in the rear-view mirror, England’s big two had to do something to get back on the good side of their customers.

[Via Sky News]

British Airways In-Flight Mag Goes Online

by Josh Lew on

High Life, the 35-year-old in-flight magazine of British Airways, is headed from airspace to cyberspace. The famous rag launched its online incarnation on October 9th. BA hopes that the success of the print version will translate to the online world and raise the airline’s profile amongst travelers. The publisher of High Life’s print version, Ceder, teamed with web development company Reactive on the project. They are aiming to attract advertisers eager to have their name and product associated with High Life. Perhaps they are also hoping that well-heeled cannabis aficionados will happen across the site after Googling “high life” and decide, on the spur of the moment, to book a flight to one of the site’s featured destinations.

The first online issue has a food theme and is guest edited by celeb chef Heston Blumenthal. It seems mainly aimed at gourmets and those with an taste for the upscale aspects of travel. There is a bit of hipness, with contributions by the likes of Hot Fuzz’s Simon Pegg. Still, the site maintains the glossy feel of its printed kin.

Expansions in the business-class-only service

by Grant Martin on

The all-business-class model for airline carriers has been a touchy subject over the last few months. With all but two of the airlines now out of business (OpenSkies and Singapore Airlines‘ select flights), many wonder if the original approach was a good idea.

Yet OpenSkies (EC, owned by British Airways) and Singapore Airlines (SQ) continue to press on — and even expand. Earlier this month, OpenSkies announced that they would be adding service further into the European Union, while SQ just expanded their A340 service from Los Angeles into Singapore.

How can these carriers thrive in such tight times? How can they survive where so many others failed? Well, there’s no doubt that the deep pockets of each carrier are helping ride out the storm of high oil prices. While Americans sort out their financial woes, each airline plans to build a product and loyal customer base, get the word out on their product as much as possible and fight for a place in the future market.

Things could be a little rough for OpenSkies. With the American economy suffering and the EU economy headed in the same direction, demand for business class seats is going to be dropping off pretty quick. Unfortunately, the worst may yet be to come.

According to Singapore Airlines, their business-class-only service has conversely enjoyed packed flights and thriving business.

The true gauge for each airline, regardless of their current situation, is long term sustainability independent of their parent airline or routes. If the routes fail to generate profit after a few years they will surely disappear, but perhaps if we’re all lucky and the trend picks up, OpenSkies’ and SQ’s business-class-only flights will be here to stay.