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Airline Industry

Business in the friendly skies hasn't been high-flying of late

It's been a long, hard, half-decade for much of the airline industry. Since 9/11, it has been trying to recover from the decrease in passenger travel, only to be clobbered by high fuel prices in recent years—landing several of the American ‘majors’ in bankruptcy. Some of the upstarts continued to do well, including Southwest and JetBlue in the US and Ryanair and easyJet in Europe. Yet even the new lean airlines stumble from time to time, as JetBlue learned the hard way in February 2007, when an ice storm in New York snarled operations for almost a week.

Stories

Stories 21 - 40 of 339

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October 2008
- Planes Sent Toward Storms to Test Air Traffic Controller
  
  Daily Mail (UK) | Oct 15, 08 3:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident in which four Orlando-bound passenger jets were rerouted on Saturday in an effort to train a new air traffic controller. The Daily Mail reports the jets were directed into an area where thunderstorms were raging and that one, a Virgin Atlantic plane, was forced 70 miles off course. The FAA denies storms were in the area. More »
- Boeing Strike Drags on After Talks With Union Collapse
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Oct 14, 08 3:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Talks broke down between Boeing and its machinists’ union yesterday, with no agreement in sight to end the 38-day-old strike, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Negotiations snagged over job security: Boeing has cut labor costs by outsourcing the production of certain parts formerly made by the machinists, and the return of those jobs is a requisite for the union to back any agreement. More »
- American Readies Piecemeal Pricing
  
  Associated Press | Oct 6, 08 12:18 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - American Airlines is about to accelerate the trend of breaking the cost of a trip into an airfare plus many smaller fees. Starting next year, American plans to imitate the a la carte pricing structure pioneered by Air Canada, airline officials say. There are likely to be a few basic fare plans, and travelers can pick additional services—for a fee. More »
- TSA Set to Flush Liquid Restrictions
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 2, 08 2:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The oft-frustrating 3-ounces-in-a-baggie restriction on carrying liquids through airport security could be gone within a year, the Wall Street Journal reports. After testing out X-ray technology that detects bomb-making fluids, the Transportation Security Administration’s only remaining step is making sure the software works. “It’s not ready yet, but we are highly confident it will be effective,” the TSA head says. More »
September 2008
- Sides Dig In Despite Boeing Strike Costs
  
  Seattle Times | Sep 29, 08 1:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Machinists employed by Boeing have been on strike for more than 3 weeks, with no end in sight; analysts say if the stoppage reaches a month, it could cost the aircraft maker $1.3 billion, the Seattle Times reports. The union sees its position as good, given Boeing’s huge backlog of orders, but a downturn in the airline industry could put workers on shaky ground. More »
- Alitalia Gets Reprieve as Pilots Back Takeover Deal
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 27, 08 10:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Alitalia, the bankrupt Italian air carrier on the brink of collapse, got a reprieve today when its pilots agreed to a government-backed takeover bid by a team of business executives, Bloomberg reports. Pilots’ unions joined ground staff in approving the plan, which calls for 3,000 job cuts and longer hours for the same pay. Flight attendants’ unions are still in talks with the CAI business group. More »
- Shareholders OK Delta-Northwest Merger
  
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Sep 25, 08 2:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Shareholders of Delta and Northwest voted nearly unanimously today to approve the airlines' merger, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. With shareholders in agreement, federal antitrust regulators must now approve the deal. A Justice Department decision is expected late this year, but labor issues remain. Dozens of workers protested today outside the Northwest shareholders’ meeting in New York, shouting, “What do we want? No merger!” More »
- Italy's National Airline Could Shut Down Within Week
  
  ANSA (Italy) | Sep 22, 08 2:19 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Italy’s aviation authority is poised to ground Alitalia permanently if the bankrupt national carrier doesn’t present a credible reorganization plan by Thursday, ANSA reports. The airline is laden with debt and flying under a provisional license, one the aviation authority will revoke if it doesn’t get an acceptable proposal. More »
- Stranded Brits Expected Home on Schedule
  
  Times (UK) | Sep 13, 08 11:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The sudden collapse of XL Airways left as many as 85,000 passengers marooned in foreign lands, but they're now expected to get home on schedule, or at least only a little late, the Times of London reports. Aviation authorities plan a vast airlift to take home the stranded, but industry-watchers warn that the industry's woes are far from over. More »
- Sleepy Pilots Want Trimmed Schedules
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 12, 08 10:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Airline pilots are seeing their flying hours approach the federally mandated limit, and many of them have had enough, the Wall Street Journal reports. Safety experts agree that the current regulations, in place since the 1960s, don't reflect current knowledge about the dangers of fatigue. But penny-pinching airlines keep pushing their pilots' limits. More »
- Pentagon Delays $35B Tanker Deal for Next President
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 10, 08 11:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Pentagon has put a $35 billion contract for new Air Force refueling tankers on hold, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today, reasoning that the White House didn’t have enough time left to “complete a competition that would be viewed as fair.” The contract was awarded to a European-American partnership, but US-based Boeing successfully contested that decision, in part thanks to public outcry. More »
- Airline Stamps Ads on Those Sans Hairline
  
  Brisbane Times (Australia) | Sep 10, 08 8:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Air New Zealand is launching a new ad campaign on people's heads, reports the Brisbane Times. The airline will pay people $660 to wear temporary tattoos on the back of their shaved heads for two weeks. The ads display changes to the airline's check-in system and direct passengers to the airline's website. More »
- United Shares Dive 99.92% on False Bankruptcy Report
  
  New York Times | Sep 8, 08 12:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Trading in United Airlines shares was halted today on the New York Stock Exchange after a false bankruptcy report made them nearly worthless, the New York Times reports. At one point, the airlines’ shares fell 99.92%, to a single cent, after a reporter incorrectly republished a 6-year-old story about United’s original bankruptcy filing on Bloomberg. More »
- Passenger Fight Over Smoking Diverts Flight
  
  CNN | Sep 7, 08 8:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A fight provoked by smoking in an airplane bathroom forced a JetBlue flight from Boston en route to Florida to land in Raleigh, NC, yesterday, CNN reports. A man reportedly argued with his brother about smoking on the plane, and one punched the other in the face, according to witnesses. One of the men was arrested by authorities in Raleigh. More »
- Boeing Machinists on Strike
  
  Reuters | Sep 6, 08 7:13 AM CDT