Posts Tagged ‘southwest’

Travel industry makes strides in going greener

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

As it becomes more and more necessary for the individual to play their part in looking after the environment, so to is the travel industry taking greater steps to play its part. Car hire firms along with hotel chains and airlines are now making going greener a major part of their company policies. Car rental outlets throughout the world are now offering customers the opportunity to do their bit by providing fleets of hybrid cars as a way of saving fuel along with reducing emissions that damage the environment. Enterprise, Budget, Avis and Hertz already hire out a large range of vehicles especially designed to reduce a driver’s impact on the planet. Although at present they may cost a little more to run it is expected that over time as these vehicles become standard prices will drop.

Major aircraft manufacturers are also realizing that by producing planes that are more efficient they are helping to reduce the impact on both the environment and the wallets of the airline companies. Boeing has already shown that its new 787 is more efficient than most other large aircraft by around twenty percent. This added to initiatives by companies such as British Airways, Southwest, Continental and Singapore Air to recycle more materials and use more efficient bio-fuels is already having a more positive impact on the environment.

Greener designs, recycling programs, water and energy saving initiatives along with the use of electricity saving light bulbs are now measures that have become standard across many major hotel chains. Customers who wish to do their part in reducing their impact on the planet’s environment now have few excuses not to do so.

US airlines race to introduce inflight Wi-Fi

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

The race is on among the largest US airlines to implement the circuitry that gives passengers’ access to Wi-Fi while flying at 30,000 feet above the ground.

US carrier Southwest announced last month that it was in the process of installing satellite-enabled broadband to its entire fleet, which plans to be ready by early next year.  The airline has yet to announce a pricing plan for the service.

Last month, Delta, the world’s largest airline had announced it has installed Wi-Fi on more than 70 per cent of its domestic fleet, and American Airlines announced that the service has been on 100 MD-80 aircraft with a further 50 by the end of this year.

The move by the airlines to get Wi-Fi up and running comes following a survey by the Wi-Fi industry that suggests that most business travellers will opt for an airline with Wi-Fi services over an airline that offers meals, movies or a convenient arrival time.

The survey, commissioned by the Wi-Fi Alliance, found that 76 per cent of business travellers who participated in the survey said that they would choose an airline based on internet connectivity.

Over 70 per cent of those surveyed would rather an airline with Wi-Fi over one that provided a meal service, and 55 per cent said they would shift their flight by a day if it meant being connected to the internet.

However airline statistics show that passengers are not using the onboard Wi-Fi in high proportions.

Virgin America, the first U.S airline to offer Wi-Fi throughout its entire fleet, 10 to 15 per cent of passengers pay for the service, with 25 per cent using the service on transcontinental flights.

Most airlines with the internet service offer a pricing structure that increases according to the length of the flight.  One provider charges US$5.95 for flights over 90 minutes or $12.95 for flights over three hours.

On the other hand, JetBlue plans to offer passengers the convenience of free e-mail and instant messaging services on 20 of its Airbus A320 aircraft beginning next year.

Airlines ramp up swine flu prevention

Monday, September 7th, 2009

The airline industry ramping up measures to reduce the risk of transmission of swine flu by stowing pillows and blankets and issuing disinfectant wipes.

William Schaffner, head of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University medical school said that aircraft cabins have been renowned for spreading infection from one part of the world to another, as proven by the SARS epidemic

He also doesn’t believe that much can be done, as the airline industry has had to fight the pandemic, as well as global downturn in the travel industry.

Over 10 percent of flights between the US and Mexico have been cancelled since September last year, according to the Official Airline Guide.

Although the airline industry has no desire to play doctor, they are ready to stop a flight if need be, as the US Centre for Disease Control has set up a stringent policy on dealing with passengers who show symptoms of swine flu.  One such measure is to deny boarding to any passenger showing signs of a serious communicable disease, and that reporting of patients whose diagnosis has been confirmed.

Southwest Airlines spokesman, Paul Flaningan said that crew were trained to respond to sick passengers at the gate and in flight, and to work closely with medical personal to identify the appropriate course of action.

As a precaution, some airlines including Virgin American and Southwest have scrapped issuing blankets and pillows on some flights.

A Virgin America spokeswoman said that the airline has began issuing antibacterial hand-wipes and gels for use for guests and crew, as well as offering masks for those who request them.

In Asia, authorities have attempted to use specially designed cameras to detect passengers who have the illness, but experts believe that machines are not perfect.

Most other airlines have been painting a different picture on the swine flu pandemic, claiming that there is no greater risk of travelling by air than by using public transport, as the air inside the cabin is completely exchanged with air outside between 10 to 15 times per hour.

Southwest to offer Wi-Fi

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Southwest Airlines has announced that it will be providing Wi-Fi access onboard all flights.

The airline has teamed up with Wi-Fi service provider Row 44 to roll out the program by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

Southwest have been testing the Wi-Fi service on four aircraft since the beginning of this year, with customers using the service for many applications including email and streaming video

The airline has been testing a variety of price points and will continue testing prices until the end of 2009.

The move will bring the number of airlines offering onboard Wi-Fi to three, along with American Airlines and Delta Airlines.

Thanks to Associated Press for the above quotes.  For more information on this article visit their website.

Republic beats Southwest in bid for Frontier

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

US Regional carrier, Republic Airways, has won a takeover bid for the bankrupt Frontier Airlines on Thursday, for $108 million after Southwest Airline’s bid was rejected.

Southwest made a bid of $170 million but was deemed unacceptable as the carrier refused to back down from a requirement that its pilots and Frontier’s work out their integration before the deal.

Frontier said that Republic had made several alterations to its original bid and already received a go-ahead from the government for the deal to take place.

The airline said the plan allows for it and it’s regional airline, Lynx, to ‘maintain normal operations’ as a subsidiary of Republic, which will mean travellers will see little change.

So far, Republic has been a regional carrier, and the move will bring Republic to the likes of the major players in the US air travel market like United, American, Delta and Southwest.

“Frontier has made impressive strides in returning to sustained profitability in a challenging and uncertain economic environment,” Republic Chairman, President and CEO Bryan Bedford said in a written statement.

The surprise bid by Southwest, which eventually reached $170 million included some repayments of Republic’s loan appeared likely to win, and purchasing Frontier would have eliminated a serious competitor in the Denver market, a major hub for both airlines.

Southwest Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly called the potential Frontier deal “a great opportunity that required us to act fast. A lot of people worked very hard with every intention of making this work.”

Frontier Airline Pilots Association President John Stemmler said that the pilot’s are pleased that the process worked, and that the deal allowed for the entire pilot group to remain employed.

Thanks to Associated Press for the above quotes.  For more information please visit their website.

Southwest follows with bid on Frontier Airlines

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Southwest Airlines has put forward a bit to take over the struggling Frontier Airlines, following a bid by regional carrier Republic Airlines.

Denver based carrier Frontier Airlines has routes to 50 cities in the US, Mexico and Costa Rica, placing them in direct competition of major airlines such as United and Southwest airlines.

Taking over Frontier would add to Southwest’s destinations and remove one of its major competitors in the airlines hub city of Denver, Colorado.   Southwest presently have 36 percent of the Denver market whilst United around 37 percent.

“This provides us a great way to grow substantially in a city that is very important to us,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest spokesman.

If the initial Republic Airways takeover bit is successful, it would bring the regional airline up to the same level as some of America’s largest airlines and could potentially win passengers over who are fed up with the big-name carriers.

Southwest vows to keep all of Frontier’s routes, including flights Atlanta which Southwest does not currently service,  Southwest would also phase out Frontier’s Airbus fleet and replace in favour of Boeing 737s.  The takeover would also include Frontier’s regional carrier Lynx.

A Republic Airways spokesman has defended the airlines bid for Frontier, saying that the two bids aren’t as far apart as it appears, based on expenses like aircraft lease rejections.

However financial analysts with Jesup & Lamont Securities say that it is quite unlikely that Republic Airways could match the bid made by Southwest.

“I seriously doubt they have the capital to do that,” she said. “This is an all-cash bid. Southwest is going to write a check.”

Steve Snyder, Frontier spokesman, said the carrier wouldn’t have any comment until it finishes reviewing Southwest’s bid.

Denver based Frontier airlines have been operating under bankruptcy since April last year.

Thanks to Wall Street Journal for the above quotes.

JetBlue reports rise in traffic

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

JetBlue Airways Corporation reported a slight rise of traffic in July, in the first month-over-month improvement for the budget carrier in almost a year.

Competitor Southwest Airlines also reported a rise in traffic, a sign that passengers are moving from full service carriers to low-cost alternatives during the recession, this summer.

JetBlue said passengers flew a total of 2.54 billion miles compared with 2.53 billion in the same period last year, in what has been their first improvement of traffic since August 2008.

JetBlue says more seats were available last month and that planes were not full.  Capacity in July had gone up by 0.9 percent as occupancy fell 0.5 to 86.1 percent.

The airline says traffic is down total of 4.6 percent this year, but this has been evened out as the carrier cut capacity by 2.9 in the first seven months of 2009.  Occupancy rates fell 1.4% to 79.1% in the same period.

Thanks to Forbes for the above quotes.  For more information, please visit their website.