US Airways the latest to increase extra bag fee

by Tom Johansmeyer on

US Airways has joined the ranks of airlines increasing their fees for extra baggage. The low cost carrier is raising its extra baggage fees by $5 each way, which is comparable to the increases levied by Delta, Continental and United. With the new charge, US Airways will be charging $25 for the first bag checked, with a second bag costing you $35 each way. The new fee takes effect on February 1, 2010. If you pay in advance, you can pick up a $2 discount on the first bag and a $3 on the second bag. American Airlines is still charging $20 each way for the first checked bag and $30 for the second one. On JetBlue, the first checked bag is free, and Southwest will let you check two bags sans charge.

The increased fees aren’t terribly surprising. The travel market slump is likely to continue through much of 2010, especially with the job market unlikely to improve until the middle of the year. And, airlines have become accustomed to all the extra cash they pick up from these fees. Since you’re a captive audience, they know you’re likely to pay … what other choice do you have?

So, get ready to cram everything you have into the overhead compartment. You’ll draw the ire of everyone else on the plane, but you’ll have the satisfaction of a few Andy Jacksons sitting in your pocket.

United Airlines pilot pleads guilty to intoxication

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in November, Tom wrote about a United Airlines pilot who was pulled from his flight minutes before take-off when his fellow crew members suspected he was drunk.

The pilot, Erwin Washington was scheduled to fly from London Heathrow to Chicago when the authorities asked him to take a breathalyzer test. He recorded 31mg/100, which is more than three times over the legal limit.

Because no replacement pilot was available, all 124 passengers had to be rebooked on other flights.

In a London court, Mr. Washington pleaded guilty to the incident, and will be sentenced next month. In similar cases, pilots are usually handed a fine or suspended sentence.

United Airlines has removed the pilot from service pending the investigation, but the guilty plea may spell the end of his career.

Security at its best: plane returns to destination (for nothing) after “do not fly list” confusion

by Scott Carmichael on

Plane takes off, then ground crew notices plane passenger is on “do not fly list”, plane turns back to airport, passenger not really on “do not fly list”.

That dear readers, is the short version of a breakdown in security.

The moronic incident took place on board a GoJet flight, operating as United Express. The plane departed St. Louis airport, destined for O’Hare. Before take-off, the ground computers used to check for bad guys were not working.

Once the plane was on its way, someone managed to kick some sense into the computers, and noticed that the plane was carrying someone who on the government list of people suspected of something bad. The airline ordered their plane to return back to St. Louis.

Once on the ground, the ground staff came to the conclusion that the bad guy wasn’t really a bad guy, and that he was not the same person as the one on the list. Still with us?

Seriously – you can’t make this stuff up. First we let people fly who are on a watch list, then we let planes take off with someone who may or may not be on the list. The stupidest part? The time the plane took to turn around and land at St. Louis airport is probably only 20 minutes less than it would have taken to fly on to Chicago. Didn’t someone think that if the bad guy really was a terrorist, that turning around minutes into the flight may have been more suspicious than just going on to its destination, and checking him out there?

We don’t need terrorist to screw up air travel – we are doing a mighty fine job on our own.

A gloomy travel market for 2010 will follow an ugly 2009

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Everybody seems to want the travel market to recover next year, but it looks like more time will be spent in yards, instead. According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, only 16 percent of us are going to hit the skies or crash in hotels more than we did in what will go down in history as a dismal 2009. Close to a third said they are going to spend less time in guestrooms and cramped plane seats. The main reason, of course, continues to be the state of the economy.

Slow improvements to the economy, according to some industry analysts, should push demand for tickets and hotel rooms higher – not to mention services related to the convention and meetings business. But, the baseline is set pretty low, with 2009 having been so weak. American Express, the largest travel agency in the world, doesn’t see a recovery coming anytime soon.

The bar has been reset, and it’s low. It will stay low for a while.

The big beast to be tamed in the travel market, doubtless, is business travel. Until the corporations start to send people on the road more liberally, the airlines, hotels and other businesses involved in travel will continue to feel the squeeze.

What’s going to happen by sector? See below.

Airlines: Industry analysts see hints that the market is turning, with demand for seats up year-over-year (by month) since May. United Airlines sees “a very encouraging trend line,” and US Airways notes a steady improvement. But, the latter continues that a decline of 30 percent to 35 percent in corporate spending has been a drag, and November was the first month in which it was up year-over-year. And, November 2008 wasn’t a tough month to beat.

Analysts believe that “even a modest rise in the USA’s gross domestic product,” says USA Today, will kick the airlines back into profitability. Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, isn’t that optimistic, telling the newspaper, “Business travel still lags, and I don’t know that I’m comfortable in reporting that we’ve seen any improvement in that market.” He doesn’t expect business travel to bounce back next year.

Hotels: What can I say that Melanie Nayer hasn’t? Not much, really. The past year has been miserable, with PricewaterhouseCoopers reporting occupancy plunging to 55.2 percent this year, from a 2006 peak of 63.3 percent. Next year, it’s expected to tick up only to 55.8 percent.

Room rates fell precipitously in 2009 relative to 2008, causing an average decline of 16.4 percent in the industry’s average revenue per available room-night. PwC expects 2010 to be worse than 2009, conflicting with the Business Travel Monitor report from American Express. But, there’s room for both views. Leisure travelers will have to spend a bit more, but hotels in business-heavy markets will still win some favorable pricing.

Conventions: Look for a slight increase next year – again, relative to a brutal 2009. For the good news about the conventions, you’ll have to wait until 2011 and 2012, says Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association. Through the end of 2010, approximately 40 percent of corporate and association meeting planners, reports USA Today, are likely to postpone or sink off-site meetings for the next year.

American Airlines is the one to watch in 2010

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Could 2010 be the year for American Airlines?

Well, it’s hard not to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a decade of unusual airline severity. The market was shaken several times by terror attempts – including the attacks of 9/11 – economic pressures from the dotcom meltdown and the recent financial sector only made matters worse. Energy prices hit some peaks along the way, which, according to Joseph Lazzaro of our sister site, BloggingStocks, determines the fate of the U.S. airline sector.

But, AA in particular? The guys with the flight attendant who through a nutter over orange juice?

The stock is up 90% since June. To most travelers, this is not just irrelevant, but boring … until you think about how these matters can impact your experience on an airline. When a company is profitable, it has an easier time serving its customers. And, employees tend to relax a little bit, as profits and stock prices tend to be good signs that jobs won’t be disappearing (at least not in large amounts).Also, I use stock price as a proxy for intangibles, like brand strength, customer loyalty and other factors that are hard to quantify. At the end of the day, the price determined by investors takes all this stuff into account, giving customers and passengers a feel for how the airline is likely to treat it.

So, cast aside the recent high-profile debacles of this airline, including its recent runway faux pas in in Kingston, and think to the future. After all, everyone’s screwed up. United has its guitar-playing victim, and Northwest (and, as a result, Delta) watched a plane overshoot a destination. In a business where every player is scraping the bottom of the barrel, American may rise above, even if only slightly.