Delta Air Lines is in process of a $1.2billion expansion at John F Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) Terminal 4 . The 1.5-million square foot Terminal 4 will replace the 50-year old Terminal 3 and is schedule to be opened in 2013.
The new terminal will house one of Delta’s largest Sky Clubs, a new automated baggage handling system, faster security and more shopping and dining options.
’œThis is a game-changing project for our customers and the entire regional aviation system,’ said Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. ’œIt increases JFK’s capacity, vastly improves the customer experience for hundreds of thousands of Delta travelers and strengthens the economic competitiveness of the most important gateway in the country.’
Delta is the largest airline in the state of New York serving 11 communities with 439 daily departures and employs more than 7,000 people in the State of New York.
As of midnight last night, part of the FAA shut down due to fun politics. Part of the shutdown was not having the ability to renew FAA taxes on airline ticket sales. Some airlines are taking advantage of this and offering lower fares, others are using this as a chance to earn a little extra dough.
It makes sense for airlines to go both directions. One is really just your classic sale promotion and using the timing of the taxes. For the others, I would assume that most consumers do not understand that there are no taxes and are not aware that even though the taxes are removed, most airlines have just raised fares to compensate.
UPDATE 1: I have confirmed that Spirit Airlines is passing the savings on to customers. I have heard rumors that Frontier is as well, but waiting to confirm.
UPDATE 2: Hawaiian Airlines is also sharing the love with customers.
UPDATE 3 (7/24 2pm PDT): Frontier Airlines is also sharing the love. American and JetBlue have raised their fares.
UPDATE 4 (7/25 7:45am PDT): It looks like some airlines might have had a change of heart. Working to confirm, but appears that Virgin America and Frontier might have stopped passing on their savings and have raised fares. For now I am changing Virgin America and Frontier to “unknown.” Also checking in with Alaska, Spirit and Hawaiian to see their thoughts.
UPDATE 5 (7/25 8:55am PDT): Spirit Airlines has confirmed they are still offering lower fares. Virgin America has raised some of their fares, but not all of them.
Currently, only a few airlines are passing the FAA tax savings to customers.
I am trying to talk directly to US airlines through out the day and will be updating. I am hearing somethings from reliable sources, others are more like rumors and I am being sure to indicate each:
ALASKA AIRLINES- Sharing the Love
Alaska Airlines is advertising on their main page that they are having cheaper prices due to no FAA taxes. A spokesperson with Alaska explained via email, “We’re not raising fares. We’ll continue to pass the savings on to customers.”
SPIRIT AIRLINES- Sharing the Love
I have confirmed directly with Spirit that they are passing down the savings and have no plans to stop.
As of 6:30pm PST on 7/24 there is no information about their “Spirit Airlines is Giving Customers Their Share of $200 Million Per Week in Tax Savings!” deal on their webpage, but an email was sent out to their VIP customers (thanks John B for sharing). In the email they state, “Spirit has become a model for transparency, ensuring customers are not impacted by hidden fees as practiced by other airlines and the government.”
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES- Sharing the Love
Hawaiian Airlines is promoting saving money via the FAA Taxes on Twitter: “Some major federal taxes on airline tickets have taken the weekend off. BOOK NOW.”
VIRGIN AMERICA- Sharing Some of the Love
Over the weekend, Virgin America ran a special “Evade Taxes. Take Flight,” campaign, but now the website is changed. As of 10:40pm last night they were advertising fares with lower federal taxes. As of Monday morning, they have raised some of their fares. “Yes, we were automatically passing on the equivalent discount (down to the decimal) across the board through the weekend ’“ and encouraging guests to grab the discount early,” Abby Lunardini with Virgin America Communications explained over email. But, given the dynamic nature of fares, with the Monday morning fare load ’“ some fares have changed and/or moved up, but some of the discounts have held.”
FRONTIER AIRLINES- Unknown As of Monday morning I am hearing rumors that Frontier has raised their prices. Emails, calls and messages sent via Twitter have not yet been returned to confirm.
DELTA AIR LINES- Keeping the Money
It seemed earlier in the day that Delta was going to share the love, but it has been decided to raise fares.
SOUTHWEST AND AIRTRAN- Keeping the Money
“Southwest and AirTran implemented a system wide fare increase of $4 each-way to help offset industry cost pressures ’“ such as the rising expense of fuel,” Brad Hawkins with Southwest Communications explained over email. “Our current ticket prices will remain the same (Customers will not see an increase in fares), as the 7.5% excise tax will not be collected. These decisions were made in light of the recent industry change in aviation tax collections, and we made a business decisions to remain competitive in these economically challenging times.”
UNITED AIRLINES- Keeping the Money
United has decided to match the taxes and have increased fares.
AMERICAN AIRLINES- Keeping the Money According to the LA Times, American Airlines and JetBlue have raised their fares and are keeping the extra FAA tax money. “So in effect the taxes are not being collected, but the price paid by the customer remains the same,” American’s Tim Smith told the LA Times.
JETBLUE- Keeping the Money JetBlue has decided to raise fairs and a spokesperson told AirlineReporter.com, “We’re working with the Federal Government to determine how the recent expiration of the Federal Excise Tax, and other taxes, will impact our operation. We have participated in an industry-wide fare increase in order to remain competitive.”
There is no question that Delta Air Lines made a lot of money off bag fees last year — $952 million to be exact. While many other airlines made a load of money with bag fees as well, Delta gets the majority of the attention since they made the most. Some attention has been in late night routines (okay, Conan’s bit is hilarious, if not fully accurate) and others have been negative news articles. It seems odd that so many companies are getting pats on the back for making profit out of the bad economy, but airlines end up being punished, like they are somehow earning their money illegally.
Dan Webb, on his blog Things in the Sky, shows that although Delta made more in bag fees than other airlines, that doesn’t mean it is a large percentage of their revenue. His post has a very handy chart that shows that Delta’s bag fees are only 3% of their overall operating revenue. When looking at all major US airlines, Delta is actually 9th in the percentage of bag fees to total operational revenue with ultra low cost carriers Spirit and Allegiant at the top the list with 10.5% and 8.7% respectfully.
There are a lot stories out there hating on the bag fees, but one of my favorites is from Boston’s NCEN.com titled Fuming over Bag Fees. It is a classic story talking to passengers who are up in arms for the airlines not being “honest” with them and hiding these bag fees. Even for people that do not travel often, it is pretty difficult not to know about bag fees. For those that do not, every airline I have ever flown makes it quite clear when booking your ticket, if there will be additional fees for luggage so one can plan accordingly. Passengers in NCEN’s story act like airlines are literally opening their wallets and stealing their money. The author, Peter Howe, states that airlines are “addicted” to fees like they are some nasty habit that should be kicked. Since when does a business not like a new idea that makes them money and allows them to survive? Without bag fees, you can be certain that not as many airlines would be able to survive, there would be less competition and airfares would be higher overall.
Airlines are not charities — they are businesses looking to make profit. Airlines had this idea to charge passengers for bag fees, obviously many passengers pay this fee and airlines are able to make a profit. Why would an airline get rid of these fees? Customers have the ability to vote on these fees with their pocket book. Southwest Airlines and JetBlue both don’t charge you for checking a bag (on Southwest, you can check two for free), but of course, they are not always the cheapest option, even when checking a bag.
All that being said, yes I know that they are annoying when you are checking in and you have to drop another $50.00 for two bags. I do whatever I can to avoid paying bag fees myself and cringe when I end up having to pay them.I wish airlines would do a better job explaining why they are charging the fees. It seems like most airlines are like “we are charging them, take it or leave it approach.” I do not think most customers realize that weight costs money and instead of selling it as, “if you have a checked bag, you will owe more,” sell it as, “if you do not have a checked bag, we now let you save money.”
I believe that ala cart pricing will be the future of airlines. Many other businesses operate this way and why should I have to pay for something that I don’t want to use. When I book a hotel room, I might cringe when I have to pay $25 for parking and $20 for Wi-Fi and $5 for a bottle of water, but it is understandable. Why should parking be built into my hotel price if I do not have a car?
Delta Private Jets have a variety of aircraft one can choose from. No matter the model, expect the red carpet.
For many of us, flying first class is what we strive for. The use of lounges, big and comfy seats, decently good meals and of course top-notch service. Most first class experiences are great, but can be a little pricey, costing double to triple the amount on domestic flights to over $20,000.00 on some international flights. For many it is just a dream. Although I have heard many people ask, “how can so many people afford to fly first class?” There is something even pricier for those who almost never have to ask “how much is that going to cost?” — the private jet.
Once you have crossed over from scheduled airlines to the world of business jets, there is still a whole range awaiting you. From your very own private Airbus A380 to renting a few hours on a small Cessna Citation Mustang; the prices vary greatly.
For those people who live in the business jet realm, but still need to be on some sort of a budget, Delta Air Lines offers their Delta Private Jet service, which allows individuals and businesses to fly from first class (well I guess economy if you really wanted to) on a Delta scheduled service to a private jet waiting to whisk you to your destination. This is where we all take a deep sigh and wish life was like that… well, for some it is a way of life.
Delta Private Jets has been around since 1984, but has gone by quite a few different names: Comair Jet Express, Delta AirElite and most recently Delta Private Jets. The organization is based at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), but their aircraft are located around the country to better serve customers. Delta is the only US airline to offer such a service.
First Class has nothing on traveling in a private jet -- so at least I hear.
This concept really works well for people who might have to travel via one method (commercial vs private) for business and the other for leisure (or vice versa). One is able to earn miles and have status through Delta Private Jets and Delta Commercial.
“Delta Private Jets provides our customers with a seamless, quality air travel experience and with the resources of Delta Air Lines behind us, we are building a unique product and position in the private air travel market,” Jim Segrave, President of Delta Private Jets explained. “We offer what private jet customers are telling us they want: better value, more options and greater flexibility. Our relationship with Delta allows us to give customers the best of both the private and commercial air travel worlds.”
One indicator of the economy is how private jets are being utilized. If Delta Private Jets is any sign, things are looking good. They have been increasing the number of jet, currently operating 43. Delta does not own most of the jets (they own four). They are owned by outside people and corporations who allow Delta to operate and earn money for themselves and the jet’s owners. Think of it as owning a second home somewhere and allowing a third party vendor to rent it out when you are not using it to bring in additional income.
So, let’s pretend for a moment that we have access to flying jets like this (and if you are reading this and you do, can you take me for a ride sometime — I will bring the snacks). Probably for many people, they aren’t going to care as much what kind of jet they fly in, but for most of us aviation geeks, that is the most important part.
There are three main categories for aircraft: Light Jet, Midsize Jet and Large Jet. What size you want will be determined on how far you are flying, how much you want to spend and of course how envious you want to make your friends and people on the ground. If you are looking to burn some time today, then check out Delta’s website that shows the different aircraft options. Each aircraft shows detail of the layout and how far it can get you and of course a photo.
Once you are ready, you can either just tell Delta when and where you need the plane and they will give you a price estimate and you decide to move forward or not. You also have the option to buy a Fleet Membership Card that is based on the number of flight hours — starting at about $44,000.00 for ten hours of fly time. No matter how you do it, there are dedicated Delta staff to help you through the process — although if you have that kind of money, you might have someone making all these plans for you.
Speed, comfort and no TSA are just some of the reasons people choose private jet travel.
Just to get an idea of what it would be like not using a pre-paid hourly car, I tried to determine how much it would cost to take an extended weekend trip with five of my closest friends down to Las Vegas from Seattle in the middle of October on a medium sized jet — about $40,000.00 (I ask you not play with pricing yourself, just hours after testing it out, I had a Delta representative following up with me). Not cheap, but when you divide that by the six people and if you are a person of means, it starts to look reasonable (maybe?!).
Back to “how can people afford this?” For some individuals, it is just about having a lot of money where dropping this kind of cash just doesn’t matter. For others it is about time, where you can fly into smaller airports, not deal with security and travel to more destinations in one day than on commercial. If you have a business meeting with eight people involved that would all normally fly business or first, then the economics start to make even more sense — especially since they can work together in the privacy of their own jet versus on a commercial flight. If all eight people are travelling to work on a multi-million dollar deal, spending this sort of money is a wise investment in the overall scheme of things.
Delta aircraft lined up at Atlanta. You know where your bag is?
Delta Air Lines has been making the headlines this last week for kicked off passengers, bomb threats, and job cuts. That is part of the “fun” with being the world’s largest airline — something interesting is always happening. All those stories have been well-covered by other media outlets and I think one story that has fallen between the cracks: luggage tracking.
Having your luggage get lost while traveling is annoying — very annoying. Delta has started a new tracking system to help reduce lost luggage and allows passengers to follow along.
Once a passenger checks in their bag and they are scanned, they can start to follow its process to the bag carousel at their destination.
Delta is the first major airline to try such a new feature and so far they are hearing good things.” Customers have been asking for something like this and we’re pleased to get it up and running,” Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant explained to AirlineReporter.com. “The performance has been solid and initial customer feedback is positive.”
Currently this new feature is not integrated into Delta’s smart phone apps, but passengers are able to access it via Delta’s website on any internet-capable devices. So this means that when you board your flight, you might see that your bag did not make it. Although it will cause some disappointment during your flight, Delta flight attendants have gone through briefings on the new system and can better assist customers. This will save you time not having to wait at baggage claim for all the bags to come off before you realize yours didn’t make it. Then having to wait in line to let Delta staff know you do not have your bag.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “the rate of mishandled baggage was 3.59 reports filed per 1,000 passengers in February, an improvement of 8.7% from the prior year’s rate of 3.93 per 1,000 passengers.” Delta is ranked 5th out the airlines tracked by the Transportation Department.
