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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 121 - 140 of 339

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May 2008
- China Plunges Into Commercial Aviation
  
  BBC | May 12, 08 8:45 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hoping to meet the demand of its burgeoning airline industry, China has launched a commercial aircraft manufacturing company with $2.7 billion in seed money, reports the BBC. China Commercial Aircraft should help the country rely less on Airbus and Boeing as its passenger industry expands. Chinese airlines will need 2,650 additional aircraft in coming years, experts say. More »
- Boeing 787s Scheduled to Land 2 Years Late
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | May 9, 08 7:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is already 15 months late, but delivery delays will back up the fuel-efficient jets by about another year, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Lease Financial Corp., the main buyer of 787s, will take delivery of its 74 planes 27 months late, and observers expect Boeing to pay up to $4 billion in penalties to compensate irate buyers. More »
- Airplanes Emit More CO2 Than Thought
  
  Wired | May 8, 08 2:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bad news on the climate-change front: Airplanes are emitting 20% more carbon dioxide than anyone thought. According to a newly disclosed report, they could release 1.5 billion tons a year by 2025—compared to 3.1 billion tons a year now released by all the citizens of the EU, reports Wired. The study also predicted growing airplane noise pollution. More »
- Airport to Sort Travelers Into Fast, Slow Lanes
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 8, 08 1:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Travelers using Chicago’s Midway Airport are finding a curious new addition to security lines, the Tribune reports—ski-slope-like signs meant to funnel travelers into different lines based on how quickly they're likely to be able to speed through. They're color coded to the “difficulty level” of each option: Green circles for beginning travelers, blue circles for advanced travelers, black diamonds for experts. More »
- 'Magnet Molecule' May Guide Bird Migration
  
  Washington Post | May 5, 08 8:22 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Migrating birds may rely on a special molecule discovered in their eyes that allows them to perceive the Earth’s magnetic field lines as a kind of road map, new research shows. The molecule may help birds navigate much the same way humans follow lines to stay on a highway lane, said the study in the journal Nature . More »
- Planes Slowing Down to Save on Fuel Costs
  
  Associated Press | May 3, 08 12:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As airlines feel the pain of higher energy prices, planes are slowing down to save fuel, the AP reports. Southwest, for instance, will save $42 million by adding a few minutes to each flight this year, and passengers are unlikely to notice. But it’s no cure-all: Labor costs go up with flight time, and going too slowly actually increases fuel costs. More »
- American Airlines Report Roasts FAA
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 2, 08 10:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - American Airlines blames the FAA for its recent grounding of thousands of flights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The airline is set to deliver a report today that says 3,300 flights were canceled because FAA headquarters reversed a "handshake deal" the airline had with regional aviation officials that was supposed to allow the company to comply with changes in FCC wiring standards on its MD-80 aircraft without cancellations. More »
April 2008
- London-NYC Exec Airline Eos Files Chapter 11
  
  Times (UK) | Apr 28, 08 6:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Business-class only Eos, struggling with rising fuel prices and unable to land a $50 million cash infusion to keep it aloft, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last night, reports the Times of London. The airline, which offered business travelers cheap, high-quality flights between London and New York, follows fellow premium carrier Maxjet into bankruptcy. More »
- Continental Scuttles Merger With United
  
  New York Times | Apr 27, 08 5:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Continental Airlines scuttled merger talks with United Airlines today and likely triggered other deals in the plunging industry. United's $357 million first-quarter losses and a plan to lay off 1,000 workers scared away Continental execs, the New York Times reports. Now United parent UAL will likely scramble to cut another deal before fuel prices force it into bankruptcy. More »
- UK Airports to Scan Faces
  
  Guardian (UK) | Apr 25, 08 12:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New facial recognition technology in which computers scan faces and match them to information encoded in biometric passports will be used at UK airports for the first time this summer, the Guardian reports. Authorities say the machines will outperform humans and improve security, but critics fear the technology will cause flight disruptions by generating too many false negatives. More »
- Air Safety Experts Most Worried About Runways
  
  New York Times | Apr 25, 08 8:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - FAA-mandated wiring fixes have grounded thousands of flights lately, but the runway is no safe place for planes, New York Times reports. Serious runway incidents nearly doubled to 15 over the past six months, compared with the same period a year ago. “Where we are most vulnerable at this moment is on the ground,” said the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. More »
- Delta, Northwest Execs: Merger Would Ease Gas Burden
  
  Associated Press | Apr 24, 08 3:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The CEOs of Delta and Northwest took their case for a merger to Capitol Hill today, where they argued that they would be better equipped to deal with surging gas prices as a single company. Both businesses had big first-quarter losses, and the executives told lawmakers they’d be better competition for foreign airlines as a team, the AP reports. More »
- Delta Posts $6.39B 1Q Loss
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 23, 08 7:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Staggering fuel prices overwhelmed a 12% sales increase and pushed Delta Air Lines to a $274-million loss in the first quarter, which ballooned to $6.39 billion on a $6.1-billion non-cash charge reflecting a decline in its market value. Excluding special items—including the bankruptcy-related charge—the airline lost 69 cents a share; analysts had expected 49 cents a share, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Air France-KLM Pulls Offer for Alitalia
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 22, 08 6:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Air France-KLM has withdrawn its offer to buy Alitalia, leaving the cash-poor Italian carrier with few options. In a tersely worded statement, the world's largest airline said its Alitalia overture—which had been opposed by Alitalia's unions—was "no longer valid." With no suitors forthcoming and cash reserves dwindling—the airline loses $1.6 million a day—Alitalia may be forced to declare bankruptcy, writes the Wall Street Journal . More »
- Guardian System Has Saudi Women 'Perpetual Minors'