When Flying 720 Miles Takes 12 Hours

It took Josh Hunter three separate planes, two connections and a two-hour drive to get from Mobile, Ala., to Cincinnati at Easter. When he added it all up, his 720-mile trip had lasted 12 hours — about the same it would have taken him to drive.

The whole point of flying should be to save a lot of time, and I didn’t,” Mr. Hunter said.

For anyone trying to fly between the smaller cities in the United States, it’s not easy to get from here to there anymore.

The major airlines have been paring service for much of the last decade. But their cutbacks accelerated three years ago as carriers merged, fuel prices spiked and the recession reduced demand for seats. Even after the economy started to recover and passengers came back, the big airlines did not restore many of their flights, particularly on routes to small airports, as they sought to bolster their profits.

The strategy has squeezed the regional airlines, whose purpose is to ferry passengers on behalf of the major airlines and provide the backbone of air service to the nation’s small airports. Three regional carriers have filed for bankruptcy protection since 2010, including Pinnacle Airlines in April.

So while airports in large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Atlanta have emerged relatively unscathed from these changes, the smaller cities have borne the brunt.

From 2006 to 2011, the nation’s top 25 airports lost 4 percent of their nonstop domestic capacity, according to Jeffrey Breen, the president and co-founder of the Atmosphere Research Group. In that same period, the next 25 airports, including those in Oakland, Calif., and Kansas City, Mo., lost 13 percent. At the next 50 airports — in places like Tulsa, Okla.; Providence, R.I.; and Reno, Nev. — the drop in direct service was even steeper, 15 percent. Smaller airports, like the one in Flint, Mich., have fared even worse, down 19 percent.

“We are all in the same boat here: most airports have lost nonstop capacity in the last five years,” Mr. Breen said. “But the smaller airports are really the ones that have taken it on the chin the most. It’s been a perfect storm for them.”

The result is that travelers now face more complicated itineraries, often involving a connection at a big hub airport, and trips that used to take two or three hours can now stretch all day.

Fares in the smaller cities have also risen the most. Ticket prices out of Bellingham, Wash.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Fort Myers, Fla., for instance, jumped 16 to 18 percent from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011, while the average nationwide increase was 6 percent, according to the latest data compiled by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The three most expensive airports to fly from? Cincinnati (where the average ticket price was $488 in the third quarter); Huntsville, Ala. (average price $473); and Memphis ($472). The nationwide average ticket price was $362. (And none of this includes extra fees for checked bags or seats with extra legroom, which have also been rising in recent years.)

“Smaller airports have taken the brunt of the fare increases over a long period of time because they lack the kind of competition that tends to drive down prices,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, which tracks ticket prices.

The regional airline industry once enjoyed explosive growth, starting in the 1990s. The number of passengers flying on regional jets doubled from 1990 to 2000 and doubled again from 2000 to 2010. Regional jets still account for half of all domestic flights, though because those jets are smaller (on average, just 56 seats), they carry only about a fifth of all domestic passengers.

The regional business was profitable because airlines used them extensively in exchange for a fixed fee per flight. But as the big carriers looked to cut costs, they renegotiated their deals with their regional partners. With little control over their own schedules and routes, and with fuel prices rising, these smaller carriers have struggled. Many routes, particularly those on 50-seat planes, are no longer economical.

“The regional model,” said Helane Becker, an airline analyst at Dahlman & Rose, “is broken.”

Sean Menke, the president of Pinnacle Airlines, made the same point when his carrier filed for bankruptcy: “Quite simply, our current business model is not sustainable.” The economics of the airline industry have also changed in recent years. High fuel prices have made it nearly impossible for new airlines to muscle their way into the business by slashing prices and offering service to airports that were overlooked by major carriers — as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways once did.

Don Bornhorst, the senior vice president of Delta Connection, the regional service owned by Delta Air Lines, said many markets did not have enough passengers to justify the flights. Delta recently canceled its two daily flights from Sioux City, Iowa, to its hub in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

He noted that the big airlines had also cut back service to their midsize hubs, like Memphis and Cincinnati, to concentrate on the bigger ones, like Atlanta.

“With the industry consolidation, the need for the smaller regional jets flying to the number of smaller regional hubs has gone down,” Mr. Bornhorst said. The cuts by the big airlines are not the only problem. Adding to the regional industry’s difficulties is the fact that passengers are often willing to drive for an hour or two to get a cheaper fare. With ample service to large regional hubs like Raleigh, N.C., there is less need for additional service to places like Greensboro or Winston-Salem, which are within two hours of Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The regional airlines have also been hamstrung by labor contracts at the main airlines that restrict the size of planes that can be flown by the smaller carriers. United, for instance, cannot lease regional jets with more than 70 seats.

American Airlines, which is currently in bankruptcy, is seeking to amend its labor contracts so its regional subsidiary, American Eagle, can fly jets with more than 50 seats.

The case could prove a litmus test for the industry, said Robert W. Mann, an airline consultant.“The outcome will influence the makeup and growth trajectory of the regional industry for the next several decades,” Mr. Mann said.

In the meantime, more people will have travel experiences like Mr. Hunter, a 30-year-old flight instructor, whose Easter weekend travel turned into an odyssey. He first flew from Mobile to Houston, then to Cleveland, and finally to Columbus, where he drove two hours to his destination.

While he could have connected only once, in Atlanta, that one-stop ticket would have been more than double the price. “That’s the ridiculous state of regional airlines today,” Mr. Hunter said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/business/regional-airlines-squeezed-by-flight-cutbacks-and-higher-fares.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Smaller cities may find place in air map

The civil aviation ministry plans to auction air routes which connect smaller cities to boost regional connectivity. Routes and airlines will be matched through competitive bidding.
“We plan to call an auction to select an operator for a particular route and the company that bids for lowest subsidy gets the route,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. “Talks are on with the planning commission, which is in favour of the proposal.”

A fund, Essential Air Services Fund or EASF, will be created for paying the subsidy. “The routes to be selected will be loss-making routes connecting smaller cities with lower passenger loads and airlines are averse to operating such routes because of low traffic. Basically, the plan is to provide connectivity to these cities through smaller planes,” the official said.

The airports at Delhi and Mumbai account for 70 per cent of the total aviation market of the country. Both these airports are privately-owned.

The government categorises routes into three categories in a bid to ensure airlines fly all routes. The first category consists of 12 that include the key routes which connect larger cities. The second includes flights to the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. The other destinations are covered under category three. In terms of passenger carriage, over 50 per cent of domestic passenger traffic is in category I routes, around 10 per cent in category II and around 40 per cent in category III routes.

According to the rules, an airline has to operate 10 per cent of total flights operating in category I routes in category II routes and 50 per cent of its total flights in Category I routes on on category III routes.

Good for Airports Authority
The move to encourage airlines to fly regional routes will also give a boost to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates airports in the smaller cities of the country. Of the 128 airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), 87 are operational. Only 14 are profit making.

Airlines welcome the move saying that it will be of great help. “There are various regions in the that require air connectivity and an impetus like this from the government will help us develop these routes because connectivity creates demand. As it is the airlines are not in good financial health and cannot afford to venture new routes,” said a low-cost airline executive.

As of now, only SpiceJet has started flights to provide regional connectivity in the southern part of the country with small aircraft which do not have to pay any parking and landing charges and gets fuel at a discounted sales tax of 4 per cent, compared to an average sales tax of 24 per cent for bigger planes.

Routes in the north-east, though termed Category II, a slightly less-difficult category, continue to be poorly serviced. The government is looking at increasing air connectivity in these parts by building airstrips. During the 11th Plan period (2007-12), the government had announced to build three greenfield airports — one each at Pakyong in Sikkim, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, and Chiethu in Nagaland, which are in their construction phase.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/smaller-cities-may-find-place-in-air-map/473478/

AI to debut Dreamliner on domestic routes

Air India says it would be operating its new Boeing-787 Dreamliner aircraft on key domestic routes, not abroad, to begin with. The first of these is to be inducted later this month, on routes such as Mumbai-Delhi. The objective is to enable pilots to get familiar with the aircraft and complete the required training to fly it. Last month, the Union government gave its go-ahead to AI to take delivery of 27 of these. The first two are expected to be delivered in three weeks and the third in June.
Later, the plan is to ply to Sydney/Melbourne (September onwards) and also the Frankfurt, Paris and London routes. The Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes in current use have seating capacity for 140-200. The Dreamliner will have 256 seats. Eight sets of pilots from AI are undergoing simulator training for the 787 in Singapore. They will be joined by another 10 from the erstwhile Indian Airlines, who will resume training from next week, following a bitter legal battle on pilot selection for the aircraft, which went to the Supreme Court.

A section of pilots is still agitating against the management’s decision to select erstwhile IA pilots for the 787. According to sources, a few pilots reported sick today, but an AI spokesperson said all operations were normal.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ai-to-debut-dreamlinerdomestic-routes/473479/

Air India to deploy Boeing 787 Dreamliner on domestic, short-haul routes

Air India’s domestic passengers will also get to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. In an effort to build up enough crew resources, the airline plans to deploy the new aircraft on domestic metro routes and short-haul international routes starting from the second week of June. The proposed deployment on these routes will be an interim measure and it would be wrong to say the aircraft will only operate on domestic routes, a person familiar with the development said.

The decision could see the airline use the new aircraft to operate one of the scheduled return flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Hyderabad for about six to twelve weeks. The new aircraft is also likely to operate on short-haul international routes such as flights to Singapore and Dubai, sources added. The Dreamliner can typically carry between 210 and 250 passengers on routes of 14,200 km to 15,200 km, although the distance between the metros is a fraction of what the aircraft can fly, as per a report by Ashwini Phadnis in The Hindu Business Line.

Sources explained that training for crew is related to the number of landings they undertake on the aircraft. If the airline deploys the aircraft on international long-haul routes, such as operating to Europe, Australia and the US, the training process will become a long-drawn-out process.

The first of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft is expected to join the fleet at the end of the month. The aircraft should enter into commercial service in the domestic skies about a week after arriving in India. Air India is the third global airline after All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to receive the aircraft. Air India was to receive the first Boeing 787 aircraft in May 2008 but the delivery was delayed for a variety of reasons, including manufacturing delays.

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/air-india-to-deploy-boeing-787-dreamliner-on-domestic-shorthaul-routes-16320

US transportation department slaps $80,000 fine on Air India

The US Transportation Department has slapped a $80,000 fine on Air India for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website and adequately inform passengers about its optional fees.

This is the first penalty assessed for a violation of the "Our new airline consumer rules help ensure that passengers are fully informed about airline services and fees and what to expect if their flight is delayed on the tarmac," US Transportation secretary Ray LaHood said on Thursday.

From August 2011, foreign carriers operating to the US with at least one aircraft of 30 or more seats have been required to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays as well as customer service plans, and to post these plans on their websites.

US carriers have been covered by this requirement since April 2010, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

Also both US carriers and foreign carriers with a website that sells tickets to US consumers have been required to include on their homepages a prominent hyperlink that takes viewers directly to a page that shows all fees for optional services the carrier charges, including baggage fees.

Air India failed to post its customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans and to provide a link to its optional fees by the required date, the statement added

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/SectorsAviation/US-transportation-department-slaps-80-000-fine-on-Air-India/Article1-850396.aspx

Air France-KLM says won't back down on costs

Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) on Friday told both unions and the next French government it would not back down on the need for deep cuts in labor costs as its battles low-cost rivals and record fuel.

Finance Director Philippe Calavia said he was confident whoever won Sunday's French presidential elections would grasp the need to "dramatically transform" the airline's labor costs and staked the management's future on seeing the cuts through.
"We need higher productivity and flexibility... That is an absolute necessity and we won't back down -- personally I won't," he told financial analysts in a conference call.
So far Air France-KLM has said it would try to avoid forced redundancies among its 103,000 staff but is calling for 20 percent efficiency gains at the Air France network by 2014.
"The stakes for the group are too important and we will convince the potential new team in France, I am confident of that," he said, asked to comment on the potential impact on union negotiations of Sunday's presidential run-off.
The Franco-Dutch airline is negotiating the second and most difficult stage of a restructuring plan that aims to shed 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) of both debt and operating costs over three years.
It says its long-running labor contracts stand in the way of heading off growing competition from low-cost carriers led by Britain's easyJet (EZJ.L) and a historic fuel bill which is set to rise by 1 billion euros in 2012.
French unions have warned of job cuts, while several financial analysts speculate opposition to cuts could harden if Socialist front-runner Francois Hollande wins Sunday's ballot.
Air France-KLM, formed in 2004 from French and Dutch flag carriers, is 15.8 percent owned by the French government.
In April, Hollande told Le Parisien a Socialist victory would not provoke lay-offs. "We must tell these companies that we will not accept them without reacting."
Final polls published on Friday gave Hollande a five-point lead, although this has narrowed since a tv debate on Wednesday.
With unemployment claims already at a 12-year high, lay-offs have been a sensitive topic ahead of Sunday's decisive presidential vote, prompting speculation that many companies are holding out until after the election to carry out big cuts.
"I think a deep re-foundation of our labor agreements especially at Air France is a huge necessity for the future development of the group," Calavia said.
Air France-KLM and Europe's other leading legacy carriers are confronting losses in their short-haul operations, leading to a wave of painful contract negotiations and strikes.
Willie Walsh, the head of British Airways and Iberia owner IAG (ICAG.L) told striking Spanish pilots last week he would not back down over cheaper labor contracts.
Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), which has overtaken Air France-KLM as Europe's largest airline group by revenue, said on Thursday it planned to slash 3,500 jobs from its workforce of 117,000.
CHALLENGING QUARTER
Air France-KLM's problems were highlighted as first-quarter figures published on Friday showed that higher passenger traffic failed to compensate for weak cargo trade and record fuel costs.
Operating losses grew to 597 million euros ($785 million)from 403 million a year ago on revenue which grew 6 percent to 5.645 billion. Net losses were flat at 368 million.
"The first quarter was challenging and up to a point may appear disappointing, but we had expected this performance which is in line with our roadmap for the full year," Calavia said.
Air France-KLM's shares eased 0.6 percent to 3.49 euros, performing fractionally better than the French market.
The group maintained its objectives for the full year.
Investors had largely written off the prospect of narrower losses in the first quarter as the uncertain outcome of union talks overshadow short-term financial performance. The airline has said any improvement should come in the second half.
Analysts on average expected a first-quarter operating loss of 560 million euros on sales of 5.53 billion and a net loss of 409 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.
Group net debt stood at 6.432 billion euros at end-March. The group is targeting a maximum 6.5 billion euros of net debt and lower unit costs at constant fuel prices by year-end and 4.5 billion euros by the end of 2014 under the cost-cutting drive.
France's political context will only be fully established after parliamentary elections in June, a month during which Air France-KLM also hopes to finalize new collective labor pacts.
Air France-KLM has set an end-June deadline to reach a union deal so that plans can be adjusted from the end of the year, but that leaves little margin for negotiations to take place free of campaigning for two-round legislative elections on June 10-17.
($1=0.7603 euros)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-airfrance-klm-idUSBRE8430P220120504

Jet Airways collaborates with Disney Channel's summer campaign

Mumbai, May 4:

Jet Airways is collaborating as the airline partner with Disney Channel's ‘Jet Set Go' summer campaign.

As part of the campaign, a Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 aircraft will carry a wrap of popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse. The aircraft with the wrap will be unveiled in July. It will fly 30 winners of this contest, selected by Disney Channel, along with their families, to Hong Kong for a two-day trip to Disneyland in July.

Billboard-in-sky

The airplane wrap concept, termed as a virtual ‘billboard in the sky', will be branded in the Disney Channel's ‘Jet Set Go' insignia and colours on its fuselage, the airline said.

During the campaign period, an animated aircraft of Jet Airways with an artist's rendition of the branding will also be seen on Disney Channel throughout the month of May. In order to participate in Disney Channel's Jet Set Go campaign, children will have to spot an animated Jet Airways aircraft which will appear on the Disney Channel throughout the campaign period. Children can then accumulate points each time they spot the aircraft by giving a missed call to a toll-free number flashing on the screen.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/article3385150.ece

Jet Airways back on MakeMyTrip

New Delhi, May 4:

Travel portal MakeMyTrip on Friday said that Jet Airways' full inventory will be available on its portal on Friday. Last month while IndiGo had withdrawn all its content from the portal for arbitrary display of fares and opaque pricing, Jet Airways had said that it will have limited inventory available on the travel site. Mr Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “We are pleased to announce the resumption of our full inventory on MakeMyTrip once again and we look forward to a mutually beneficial association between the two companies.” Mr Keyur Joshi, COO and Co-Founder of MakemyTrip, said, “Our customers can now book all Jet Airways flights on MakeMyTrip with immediate effect. We value our relationship with Jet Airways and look forward to strengthening it as we continue to partner with them.” – Our Bureau

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/article3385122.ece

US fines Air India $80,000 for not posting customer service data on Web site

New Delhi, May 4:

Air India has been fined $80,000 by the US Department of Transportation for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its Web site, and for not adequately informing passengers about its optional fees.

This is the first penalty for a violation since the new airline consumer rules came into effect from August 23 last, the Department said in a statement.

“Our new airline consumer rules help ensure that passengers are fully informed about airline services and fees and what to expect if their flight is delayed on the tarmac,” the US Transportation Secretary, Mr Ray LaHood, said. “We will continue to monitor carriers to make sure they comply with our rules and take enforcement action when they do not.”

An airline spokesperson however said that Air India will have to only pay $40,000 and the rest of the fine could be waived if all the conditions stated by the Department are fulfilled.

US carriers have been covered by this requirement since April 29, 2010, the statement adds.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article3385134.ece