An American Boeing 787-8 (N812AN) at LAX; the 787-9 is a stretched version of the -8
This story has been updated to include new information about the availability of premium economy and anticipated dates for domestic operations.
American Airlines today announced new details and routes for its newest addition to the fleet, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (789), which is set to arrive in the last quarter of this year. While American already operates 17 Boeing 787-8s (788s), four of the stretched -9s, with new business class seats and a cabin configuration to include a new Premium Economy section, will be delivered by the end of December 2016, with a total of 22 on order.
The 789s will initially be based out of American’s home base, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW), and on November 4 will commence service to Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) and Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).
AirlineReporter has received exclusive details on the inaugural route the 789 will actually fly…
United will hopefully be going a new direction – Photo: United Airlines
United Airlines’ CEO Jeff Smisek is no longer the CEO. Nor is he even on the board, which he used to chair. It’s a rarity for an airline CEO to make such a grand exit without telegraphing the move to not only the board of directors and shareholders, but even senior management.
There is usually one reason for this. The biggest fear any businessman can face: a federal investigation.
A United 787-9 touching down at Paine Field – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
We’ve all seen the statistic; Airlines For America (a U.S. airline trade organization) is predicting 2.4 million passengers per day this summer in the 91-day period between June 1st of this year and August 31st. 332,000 of those enplanements are going to be international. Obscene!
Great for the industry. Yes. But be careful what you wish for.
At least, if you happen to be United Airlines. Things do not seem to be matching up with their peers over there? What’s going wrong?
Let’s start with the most recent on-time statistics for United for the month of June. 42% of flights in the United system departed without any delay. Amazing! Especially when their internal goal was 52%. Again, all this is fine in a vacuum- there are things like bad weather, known unknowns, and the like; except it trails its two largest competitors by a large margin.
Delta’s on-time performance for June was 66%, American’s was ~60%, and even Southwest was 53%. This is, of course, last month’s data. This month’s will have the blip of United’s router failure that knocked every flight into at least a two-hour delay on July 8.
Afternoon offerings include hot soup, artisinal bread along with Hummus, crackers and other more refined snack options – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter
Domestic airline lounges in the USA do not have the best reputation. A place to get a drink and sit out your flight delay in a dark, cigar lounge atmosphere? United does not like that thought, and they have decided to do something about it.
At first they started renovating their clubs, bringing them up to a new standard. Now they have come into the second phase, and are going to be updating the food and snacks on offer. For many frequent fliers, this should be a welcomed change.
The entry way to United Club in Terminal 2 at O’Hare – Photo: United
I have been through my fair share of United Clubs. I have been a Star Alliance Gold member for years, and like many of you, I am inherently familiar with Goldfish crackers, Tillamook cheese, and yogurt (or chocolate) covered pretzels/raisins. I have had my binge sessions while waiting out a delayed flight snacking on those things while powering my devices.
Considering that an annual club membership could run you as much as $500 a year, the meager snack offerings don’t seem all that great. Those days are now going to be history. United has decided to follow the feedback of their guests, and also a similar trend among their competitors, to offer something a little bit more substantial, even palatable.
Two stories that I have come across this week that I really wanted to share:
Will Southwest Airlines be able to start flying international flights out of Houston? Image: John Murphy / Flickr
Southwest and United Airlines Battle in Houston
The short of the story is that Southwest Airlines is looking to start flying internationally from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). United, which has a main hub out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) does not like this idea and is fighting to stop Southwest.
Southwest is pushing back hard with their website FreeHobbyAirport.com. They are asking locals to join in on the fight to start allowing international flights from HOU. The site is a bit salesy stating that Southwest just wants to help the people of Houston, but I am sure profit is a factor in there as well.
I am a firm believer in competition. If there is the space and demand, let’s allow Southwest to fly internationally. It will only cause United and other airlines to step up their game.
Although, if I was United Airlines, I would probably also be trying to slow down Southwest’s progress.
Read more about this story on Brett Snyder’s CrankyFlier.com.
A group from Aviation Geek Fest pose in front of a 777 GE90 engine on the Boeing factory floor. Photo by Boeing.
Be Proud to Be an AvGeek
Paul Thompson, who is an airline veteran and self-proclaimed AvGeek, recently wrote a story on APEX on his perspective on being an aviation lover and his experience with Aviation Geek Fest 2012.
One should not be embarrassed loving aviation and airlines. There are many of us out there and having events like Aviation Geek Fest allows us the opportunity to get together and share our passion. I had no idea how many AvGeeks were out there until I started this blog almost three years ago, but so happy to see so many that share my passion for airlines.
