AirTran Boeing 717 taking off while Midwest sits in the background
Dan Webb over at Things in the Sky take a look at AirTran and Frontier deciding to end their mutual relationship. Yesterday Webb looked at AirTran announcing they would give you 32 A+ credits (that will get you two round trip tickets) if you donated 50,000 Midwest miles (also good for two round trip tickets) to charity.
This creates a problem. Last year Republic Airlines bought Midwest and Frontier. Recently they announced they would change the name to “Frontier Airlines.” AirTran and Frontier had an agreement to share customers (not a codeshare however) since 2006. AirTran is playing hardball (I think it is pretty genius) to get Midwest customers, yet were still trying to play nice with Frontier.
Webb guessed this probably couldn’t last for long and he was right. Today he posted that AirTran and Frontier have announced the ending to their partnership. Both airlines are competing in Milwaukee and AirTran is trying to steal customers from Midwest during Frontier’s brand transition just didn’t sit well with Frontier (surprise, surprise right?).
It seems AirTran is making a pretty smart move here. Loyal Midwest customers are now looking where they want to place their loyalties. If you remove your miles from the equation, now you have a new Frontier which will be taking a while to create brand consistency (ie: will your flight have DirecTV? Internet? On an Airbus or Regional Jet?), where AirTran has the consistency of having Wi-Fi and XFM radio on all flights.
Either way, the people of Milwaukee should reap the benefit of two airlines competing for their business. Game on!
Image: md11forver
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Surprisingly Southwest Airlines made bank off fees in 2009
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), US airlines made $7.8 billion in fees in 2009. This is a 42% increase over 2008. BTS says in a release “the airlines collected $2.7 billion in baggage fees, $2.4 billion from reservation change fees, and $2.7 billion from other ancillary fees, such as pet transportation fees and frequent flyer award program mileage sales.”
Delta brought in the most money with $1.65 billion in fees and surprisingly Southwest was fourth. Southwest might not charge for bags, but they do charge for other services like pets, unaccompanied minors and an early check-in option. Even before Spirit Airlines started charging for carry-ons, 21% of their total operating revenue came from fees — the highest of any other airline.
$7.8 billion is a lot of money. Passengers keep complaining about fees, but it is obvious that they keep paying them. I am not going to be surprised if more creative fees start showing up in the next few years.
Source: USA Today Image: TVL1970
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Just a reminder that today is General Aviation Day up in Everett. If you are in the Seattle area, come on over and check it out!
I am getting ready to head on over myself.
MORE DETAILS
A United/Continental possible livery on a Boeing 747-400
A lot of talk about United Airlines and the Continental merger. There are quite a few people that aren’t too happy with the new combined livery of the new United Airlines. A while back I found a site that allows people share their photoshopped liveries and a few interesting ones have popped up for a combined Continental and United Airlines livery.
Be sure to check out their site for other possible combinations.
Image: Jetabout via Aviation-Designs.net
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Air Canada Boeing 767-300
Who needs all these body scanners and security. One Canadian man found all he needed was a credit card and Costco membership card for an international flight. Doug Tiedeman, 21, who has cerebral palsy and the mental capacity of a 12-year-old took an Air Canada flight from Calgary to London on April 27th on his own. Understandably his parents are quite upset that the airline would allow him to fly. According to Transport Canada rules, adults need government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport to board a passenger plane.
Doug took a taxi from his home to the airport and bought a ticket using only a credit card and Costco card. When his mother noticed he was missing she hit redial on the phone, which called Air Canada’s reservation center. When she tried to confirm if her son had purchased a ticket or was on a flight, the airline was not able to tell them due to privacy concerns. Doug was trying to meet a woman in London who he was chatting on Facebook with. When he arrived in London he was quite overwhelmed and after he phoned the girl he was to meet (who had no idea he was coming), she told him to call his parents.
Working with an airport employee, Doug purchased a ticket home, but had to spend the night at a local hotel. He was able to return safely home and doesn’t feel the need to fly anytime soon.
Air Canada states they are currently investigating how Doug could flight without proper identification.
Source: IFPress.com Image: Caribb
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