Me, in the engine of a Boeing 777 at the Future of Flight
This year has been amazing. 2009 brought some interesting blogs, a name change, syndication with the Seattle PI, coverage from multiple media outlets, some wonderful friends in aviation, travel around the country and much more.
I started this blog about a year and a half ago just to share my passion of commercial aviation with others. I started with only a few readers and now have thousands everyday. I have enjoyed the wonderful comments on my blog, syndication, and of course Twitter.
Looking back, in January 2009 I only wrote three blogs for the whole month and now, I work very hard trying to get one up daily. The task is not easy; I work a full-time job, own a house, have a wonderful girlfriend, and try to keep a decent social life. But I love following the airline industry and it seems some of you enjoy my perspective, so it motivates me to keep it up!
Next year is already looking great. I am currently working with a few airlines on some pretty cool projects I plan to take on early next year. I will also have a close relationship with the Future of Flight which has already inspired some of my blogs and allowed me to have VIP viewing of the Boeing 787 first flight. I also ask you, my readers, to think of interesting blogs you would like to see!
Now, to my top Airline Reporter blogs of this year. It was hard to choose just five of my favorite blogs, so I changed it to my top six (hey, this is my blog, I can do what I want 🙂 ). They might not have been the most read, but they are special to me for different reasons. Here they are in no particular order and why they are my favorite:
Back in May 2009 I was invited by AirTran to fly from Seattle to Baltimore to go on their special Wi-Fi media flight. This was still at a time where being an aviation blogger was new, I didn’t have a solid direction my blog was going and I had never had an experience like this previously. This event really opened my eyes to the potential of my blog. I was lucky enough to meet Benet Wilson with Aviation Weekly, Ben Mutzabaugh with USA Today, Joe Sharky aviation legend, and many others who are very inspiring writers. The trip really started me thinking big and motivated me to aspire for bigger and original blogs.
What can I say about this? Being there in person on the Strato Deck at the Future of Flight, seeing the Boeing 787 take flight for the first time was absolutely amazing. 10 years from now, I am certain this post will make my “Top 5 blogs in the last 10 years.” Seeing this gorgeous plane lift off, while Boeing employees cheered them on, I felt so lucky to be there. I also got to meet the famous Flight Blogger Jon Ostrower to boot!
I have wondered about row 13 for over 15 years. When I started to think about writing a blog on it in May, it took me five months to complete the write up (and posted it on Friday the 13th). When I started the research, I had no idea where it would lead me. Some airlines had no row 13 because of luck, another because of a canceled Boeing order. It was neat to make connections with many airlines and the fine folks at SeatGuru.com during my research.
It is awesome that my mom has written a few blogs for me. This one was my favorite where she took a look back at what flying used to be like. She didn’t just blame the airlines for treating people like cattle, but realizes that airlines have just been meeting passenger demand for cheaper flying. Her story got put on the front page of the Seattle PI and got quite a bit of attention (something I was a little jealous about). People have really enjoyed reading her blogs and she is working on a few more for 2010!
This one was just fun. I had just bought a car that was in Phoenix and a friend and I were flying down on Alaska Airlines to drive it back to Seattle (it was a great trip). I had just read that Alaska started charging for checked bags, but was giving passengers a guarantee — your checked bag will be at baggage claim 25min or less after the plane reaches the gate or you get a $25 discount on a future flight or 2500 bonus miles. This was a genius idea and I knew I wanted to cover it! It was perfect timing, since I already had booked my ticket on Alaska and I could put them to the test. I started my timer right as the plane stopped at the gate. It took us 15min 18sec to get from row 26 on the plane to baggage claim and the bag was already on the carousel. Good job Alaska Airlines! When I wrote the blog, they were planning to end the promotion at the end of the year, but since it has gone so well, they are extending it until at least July 31, 2010.
Ok, this is kind of cheating because it is not just one blog, but I just love blogging about Ryanair. I know that Ryanair says crazy stuff to get free media attention, but heck, I see it as win-win situation. In July I also gave out my “More Crazy Than Ryanair” medal (which I have more recently changed to “Crazier Than Ryanair”). Oddly I haven’t been able to give it out much since few airlines are crazier than Ryanair. I truly hope they can keep up the good (and crazy) times in 2010.
I wish everyone a wonderful and safe New Year!
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Photo of the AirTran ads taken for me just a few days ago.
On my recent flight on Virgin America I noticed they had a short ad for their Virgin America Credit Card on their in-flight entertainment system after the safety video. I thought, this was a good idea. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of watching commercials or flipping through a million ads to read a magazine. However, this concept just seemed to make business sense and I wondered why airlines do not make better use of ads to make additional revenue.
We all know the creative ways airlines are looking to make additional revenue. From charging for bags, to having to pay a little more to actually pick a seat. I doubt these fees will go away and I imagine airlines will only come up with new ways to make additional revenue to stay competitive and profitable.
Having ads in planes can work. The biggest benefit is there is no additional cost to the customer. All the fees you pay for everything else is money coming out of your pocket and into the pocket of the airline. But ads cost passengers nothing (except for some annoyance) and make the airline additional money.
While I have been researching about this concept, AirTran announced that they will start placing ads on the back of their seats. They already had ads sticking out of the seat back pocket, ads on their napkins, and even ads on their pre-flight announcements. But they will be the first airline in the US to put ads on the backs of all their seats (even Business Class). Of course the initial reaction I have seen on the web is “OMG the world is coming to an end and AirTran is going to a new low,” (I am just paraphrasing) But really, is this all that bad?
Each seat will have 2.5″ x 9″ place to put different advertiser’s messages and “unlike other in-cabin advertisements, these messages will be fully visible to passengers throughout the boarding, taxi, takeoff, landing, and deplaning phases, offering companies a unique opportunity to reach consumers for periods ranging from a minimum of approximately 40 minutes to several hours depending on the length of the flight,” AirTran noted.
The press release said every seat should be outfitted by December 3rd, but I’ve heard from fliers there are still some empty seat backs. Luckily someone was able to send me a photo of the ad (which is the blog’s main picture).
I recently talked to Christopher White at AirTran to figure how much they plan to make off these ads. White told me they expect to “gain seven figures annually in ancillary revenue related to seat back advertisements.” Right now they just have a contract with one company, Mother Nature Network, but they have several other companies express interest.
With AirTran having Wi Fi on their entire fleet, I think this could make for some interesting ads. A company could advertise something and point people to check them out right on the web. “Looking for a hotel when you land? Go online now, book a room, and we will pay for your Wi Fi on AirTran,” or something along those lines.
I would rather have to look at an ad for a few hours and saving a few dollars on my flight. Heck, the ads might even be entertaining if someone got creative with them and had passengers interact with the advertiser on the web somehow. Would you change your travel plans based on there being ads on the plane?
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One of about 85 Boeing 717's that AirTran currently flies.
The Boeing 717 is a unique airliner. It started life as the McDonnell Douglas MD-87-105, then the MD-95, but when Boeing bought out MD, they continued building the aircraft under the name “Boeing 717.” The aircraft was produced from 1998 to 2006, with 156 built.
The Boeing 717 is very similar in size to the Boeing 737-600, but Boeing felt it could successfully market both aircraft. The 737-600 is more suited for long hauls, and the 717 for short ones. The name “717” had been used to promote the Boeing 720, but that was short-lived and the name was never fully resurrected.
The aircraft was marketed to airlines with aging DC-9’s that needed replacements. Customers such as Northwest Airlines and Qantas Airlines started to see how efficient and cost effective the planes were, but they did not produce enough sales, since most airlines were moving to aircraft commonality.
Also, the 100 seat market became competitive with Bombardier and Embraer making fierce competition. In January 2005, Boeing announced it would cease production of the jetliner and the last Boeing 717 rolled off the assembly line in April 2006. It was delivered to AirTran on May 23, 2006, which was fitting, since AirTran was also its launch customer.
Now the former Boeing 717 manufacturing site, located in Long Beach, CA is being converted into a $375million movie studio across its 77 acres.
Flying on a Boeing 717 almost feels like traveling in time. Being able to fly on an aircraft that looks very similar to the DC-9, but built almost 40 years later, can be an exciting experience.
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Maybe Delta Air Lines should have the special Falcon livery
On Saturday, I blogged about how AirTran is the official airline of the Atlanta Falcons. To celebrate, AirTran made a special livery for the airline. Today, I was interested about the arrangement and did a little research and found that even though they are the official airlines, when traveling, the Falcons fly on Delta Air Lines.
The deal between the Falcons and AirTran allows the airline to put signs up in the Georgia Dome, use of the Falcon players in advertising, and of course the special livery Boeing 717.
The Falcons are not the only ones. The Phoenix Cardinals and US Airways had an arrangement, although the team flew on Northwest Airlines (which is now Delta Air Lines).
Even though this can be mis-leading, it is business. In fact, with AirTran flying only Boeing 737’s and Boeing 717’s, they have no aircraft able to fly a whole NFL team and staff. It just shows that just because an airline is the official carrier of a team, doesn’t mean the team gives their seal of approval. Personally, I don’t consider what sports team is endorsing the airline I fly when booking my travel.
AirTran's Boeing 717 spreading its Falcon wings.
Some special liveries might change the look of the tail or put a little graphic on the side of the plane. However, AirTran went all out for its Atlanta Falcon’s livery, called “Falcon 1.” AirTran is the official airline of the Atlanta Falcons and the two will have joint advertising.
There is also a very interesting video here, showing the transformation.
Source: Things With Wings