In an attempt to get passengers flying out of one of the smaller regional airports in North Carolina and not driving to Raleigh Durham International Airport, US Airways has cut the airfare by 25 to 40 percent on all flights going out of Piedmont Triad International Airport. This will be interesting to see if it is a trend by US Airways and other airlines to boost regional airport traffic by lowering fares at the smaller airports and bring people back, as opposed to having them drive to the larger airports that offer direct flights.

US Airways announced Monday that it was cutting fares on flights to 33 cities from Piedmont Triad International Airport. The airline has 23 daily flights from PTI, making it the airport’s largest carrier.

Prices on advanced purchases have been cut an average of 25 percent while walk-up fares, the most common for business travelers, have been cut an average of 40 percent.
The new fare structure took effect immediately, Feb. 13. Among the cities with discounted fares are Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Phoenix. Most of the flights will go through the US Airways hubs in Charlotte or Philadelphia.

US Airways to offer discounted fares from PTI - 2006-02-13.

Three separate incidents caused trouble in the air or at the airports over the weekend.

• A Thomsonfly flight from Cancun, Mexico to Britain was diverted here after a passenger became unruly and allegedly struck flight attendants, authorities said on Sunday. Link.
• Part of a San Francisco International Airport terminal was evacuated for several hours Sunday after a suspicious item was found in a piece of luggage, officials said. Link
• And two planes needed to make emergency landings, a US Airways flight lost and engine and had to land in Philadelphia, and a Delta Song flight had smoke in the cabin and landed in Savannah, Georgia. Link

US Airways has introduced a new 69 dollar fare for the Boston – New York – Washington Shuttle. This fare is valid for the leisure rate that requires a 21 day advance purchase and an overnight stay.

While not stated, it looks like this is heavily discounted fare is in response to the JetBlue service that was started in November using the new 100 seat Embraer jets. Will Delta match this fare?

We’re not saying things are hunky-dory,” said John Heimlich, chief economist for the Air Transport Association, the trade group representing U.S. airlines. “All we’re saying is that some of the indicators we look at and some of the recent trends are promising, and that’s the first time I’ve used that word in a long time.”

With these words, we may see the airlines pull out of their free fall. The industry has been pummeled since September 11th, 2001 with fear of terrorism, high fuel prices, and unprecedented competition.

Responding by cutting back on flights, lowering labor costs, and raising prices, the major airlines are starting to get out from under the billions of losses that they have been facing. Adjusting to the new playing field that the low cost airlines such as Southwest, JetBlue, and Airtran have created has been hard for the majors, as seen by almost all of them entering into bankruptcy.

But hopefully, blue skys will be ahead for the airlines.  

It looks like USAir cut some corners and need to pay the piper.

US Airways faces fines of nearly $180,000 for failing to put employees through background checks before letting them work in secure areas.

The Transportation Security Administration is investigating the case, and the airline said it has received formal notification that it will face the penalties.

The violations date from 2002 and 2003 at the former America West Airlines, now US Airways. The companies combined in September.

Airline spokesman Philip Gee said the airline is working with the TSA and declined to detail the number of violations or other aspects of the case, but said the airline is now in full compliance with security rules. via SouthtownThis does not make me feel very good. Security at the airlines typically is sacrificed in the name of expediency. A major airline started to screen employees entering secure areas, but quickly dropped it due to costs and time lost.

And people are not happy about it. This loophole is starting to capture the attention of the flying public and more importantly. I use skype on a regular basis for talking to people throughout the world, and it is a wonderful tool. The clarity is better, and the cost is free if you are talking to another skype user, or very cheap if you are calling a telephone number.

However with this being said, I would go crazy if I was on an international flight and the person sitting next to me was talking on the phone the whole time.

But these days, there is a new wrinkle. Say you’re on El Al or maybe SAS or Lufthansa — one of the airlines that offers broadband Internet during flights for about $30 a trip. There are a lot of positives. You can do e-mail. You can get some Christmas shopping done. You can watch videos of curling.

But then the guy next to you boots up Skype. This is software that lets people make free or cheap phone calls over the Internet. Other software does this, too, including Yahoo Messenger.

Your seatmate connects to someone and starts talking. Maybe he has a headset — or maybe he doesn’t, and you have to hear both sides of the conversation as the other person crackles out of the laptop’s speakers.

There are no rules against this. It’s not a cellphone conversation. He is not using a BlackBerry or any unapproved electronic device. He’s on a laptop, on the plane’s Internet service, using software to make a phone call.

There’s not much you can do. You’re trying to read, but the guy is inches away from you in your coach seat. You feel the bile rising in your gullet. You read the same sentence six times, but all your brain takes in is the conversation next to you. And then the guy breaks out a webcam.

(more…)

It looks like Southwest is going after US AIRWAYS by taking on more gates at Philadelphia International Airport.

Southwest operates from six gates at the Philadelphia airport now. By early January, the airline plans to take over leases on two gates used by UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, said Steve Sisneros, Southwest’s manager of properties. By spring, Southwest will get four gates now used by Delta Air Lines Inc.

Southwest’s expansion could further pressure US Airways to cut prices. In 2004, when Southwest invaded US Airways’ Philadelphia turf, average one-way fares here dropped 26%.

Southwest serves 61 cities nationwide, and it recently announced plans to start flying from Denver.

US Airways spokesman Philip Gee told The Philadelphia Inquirer for a story in Thursday editions that the airline wasn’t fazed by Southwest’s expansion plans. He said America West Airlines, which acquired US Airways out of bankruptcy court, has competed for years with Southwest in Las Vegas and Phoenix, where both airlines have hubs. US Airways and America West are merging their operations under the deal, which was completed in September. via USA Today

Are you nearing the end of the year and about to lose your Frequent Flyer status, or go from Platinum to generic? The experts are recommending a mileage run, flying on the cheapest long distance flight on your preferred airline just to accrue miles to maintain your Frequent Flyer.

Most travelers take a mileage run to assure or retain elite status for the following year in a specific airline mileage program. Elite status is a valuable commodity. Elite members usually board the aircraft first, bypass check-in lines and go through a special security line at many airports. They are given special phone numbers for reservations or itinerary changes that offer minimal wait times. They are showered with thousands of additional bonus miles on every trip. And perhaps, most importantly, they usually receive unlimited free or inexpensive first class upgrades.

Many “purists” only take single day mileage runs and often turn right around and come home again without even leaving the airport. Mileage runners search for trips that are low in price and high in miles. “Dream Maps,” which is available through Yahoo Travel and Travelocity are the search tools of choice for many mileage runners. You type in your departure city and budget and a Dream Map will display bargain fares to numerous destinations. From my home in San Francisco I found a $163 round trip fare to Denver, $289 to Hawaii, $410 to Paris, and $627 to Japan (including all taxes and fees) using Dream Maps. At those prices, I might even consider a mileage run before year end. Of course you must be flexible on travel dates and destinations to take advantage of these bargains.

Mileage runs have become a major discussion topic in the forums on FlyerTalk.com, a website where frequent fliers converse. Word spreads quickly on FlyerTalk bulletin boards when an airline posts a bargain fare. When Delta Airlines mistakenly posted a $0 air fare to Portland, Maine, Bhatnagar booked three trips to Maine from his home in the Washington area. Bhatnagar saw the fall colors, ate lobster, and visited the L.L. Bean factory on his three quick mileage runs to Maine. The total cost was less than $40 per trip in taxes and Bhatnagar earned around 6,000 miles on each trip. via USA Today

If you are really hard up to maintain your status, there are even classes to attend.

To handle the rising volume of travelers who want assistance planning a mileage run, Joseph recently established a website called Elite Helper.com. Joseph plans to charge a $19 to $49 fee for putting together a mileage run depending on the volume of work involved. Based on the interest in his seminars, I think Joseph is going to have a busy holiday season helping his fellow fliers assure their elite status for next year.

Independence Air’s parent company FLYi inc, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. The regional carrier has been experiencing financial difficulty for months. The company is planning on operating as normal for the time being, but the low cost carrier is looking at auctioning off its assets in the next 60 days. if the bankruptcy judge is in agreement.

They plan on flying their regular schedule for the time being and that customers should not be affected.

This announcement places another airline in the realm of bankruptcy. The changing of the economic model for modern air travel is a painful process.
via Reuters