Does The New Airline Travelers “Bill of Rights” Go Too Far?

On August 23 the majority of the new rules proposed in what is being called the “Travelers Bill of Rights” took effect. This is yet another set of rules and regulations aimed at the already heavily regulated airline industry, which leaves one to wonder how many more regulations can possibly be imposed on the airlines. When it comes to safety it is an obvious necessity to have certain rules in place to protect passengers but if the government continues to impose such hefty regulations they may price the airlines out of business. There is no doubt that these additional rules and regulations will have an impact on the price of airline tickets. The question that is yet to be answered is how much of an impact will this have. This new set of regulations does provide a comprehensive set of consumer protections but at what cost? It has been proven throughout history that whenever an industry is overly regulated that it can result in devastating consequences for those businesses involved.

With the newly imposed rules, the maximum amount of compensation offered to travelers who are involuntarily bumped from a flight and experience a 1-2 hour delay is $650. The amount of actual compensation is equal to two times the one way ticket value and capped at $650, which is up from the previous cap of $400. For those who experience longer delays in the same situation, greater than 2 hours, the maximum amount of compensation is $1,300. This amount is calculated as four times the one way ticket value, with a maximum of $1,300, which was previously capped at $800. So what does all of this mean for the average traveler? As any business would do, the airlines attempt to recoup any fees or expenses that they feel will be forthcoming. This means that the fees that they anticipate paying out to customers will be priced back into future ticket sales. While this is just one small part of the ticket price equation, it does play a role. So consumers will likely end up paying more for their tickets, but getting more if they get bumped from a flight. That doesn’t seem to be a great step forward for passengers, as is being claimed by the Department of Transportation.

While there are some bright spots in this “Bill of Rights” such as making it mandatory for airlines to refund any fees for checking baggage that was lost, in addition to compensating passengers for the actual value of baggage. It only makes sense that if you are charged for a service that is not performed, you should get your money back. Since this is an additional fee on top of ticket prices this should not have any type of impact on ticket prices.

Another piece of these new regulations is to limit the amount of time an aircraft can spend on the tarmac to 3 hours for domestic flights and 4 hours for international flights. While the domestic rule had already been in place in larger airports, it is now in effect at all airports. The international rule of 4 hours just took effect with the other regulations. This has already had a substantial impact in reducing the amount of delayed flights but this comes at a cost to passengers. Now the airlines are so afraid of the potential penalties that they are simply canceling any flights that are going to have passengers waiting on the plane. This is one of those double edged sword rules that has had some positive impact but also some negatives. It comes down to whether you would prefer to wait it out on the plane and make it to your destination a few hours late or have your flight canceled and leave the next day.

No matter how you feel about these new rules it is indisputable that there will be economic consequences attached. There comes a point where businesses need to be allowed some control over how they operate and the airlines are losing more control every year. If consumers are unhappy with the way an airline operates they will choose a different one, adding more government regulations simply adds more government jobs and isn’t government already big enough?

Accident At Logan Airport Puts Airline Safety Back In The Spotlight

Just when the buzz has died down about the Southwest Airlines aircraft that had to make an emergency landing because of a hole in the fuselage, there has been another incident to bring airline safety back in the spotlight. The attention given to these types of incidents may make some people weary about air travel but in the long run it helps to bring more attention to the issue. Because of this increased attention airlines are taking all possible measures to prevent future incidents. In this particular case at Logan Airport a Boeing 767 being operated by Delta Airlines made contact with a much smaller Atlantic Southeast Airlines Canadair Regional Jet 900.

The smaller aircraft was heading down a taxiway when it turned left onto another taxiway and then abruptly stopped. The larger Boeing 767 was following behind the smaller jet and when the smaller jet turned onto another taxiway the 767 continued down the taxiway, unaware that the smaller jet had stopped. When the smaller jet turned onto the other taxiway and stopped there was not adequate room for the 767 to safely pass by and this is when the collision occurred. The left wing of the 767 collided with the tail of the smaller jet, which resulted in substantial damage to both aircraft. Luckily there was only one minor injury between the two aircraft. The potential for serious injury and damage was definitely present, but luckily did not occur. Considering that both aircraft had full fuel loads and both were carrying passengers, a much worse situation was thankfully averted. This incident does however highlight the need for a serious review of current airline safety and how ground approaches are handled.

The chain of events leading up to the crash include the action of the pilots, the instructions from ground and air traffic controllers, as well as an emergency landing which was occurring at the same time. All of these events combined together led to the crash and it is going to be difficult to determine where the error(s) were made. It is unclear whether or not the smaller jet stopped due to instructions from ground control or for some other reason. The third aircraft which had requested to make an emergency landing was the likely cause for the smaller jet to stop on the taxiway, thus allowing the aircraft in distress to land.

The responsibility will likely fall in the hands of the 767 pilots, as this was the aircraft which struck the smaller jet. Regardless of why the smaller jet had stopped, the 767 pilot has the responsibility to ensure that there is enough room to safely pass by. The difficult part of this whole situation is that it is nearly impossible for a pilot of a 767 to see the wings, especially the wingtips. Therefore, in this situation as a pilot of such a large aircraft they are at the mercy of the other pilots and ground control crews. This is an incident that will likely be used in the future for airline safety training purposes and hopefully help to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.

Frequent Flier Miles For Free Via US Mint

Since the inception of frequent flier miles programs people have always looked for ways to rack up the miles as quickly as possible to earn free travel. While the programs were initially limited to earning miles by flying on that specific airline, the credit card companies eventually got into the mix. The number of credit cards with some form of frequent flier program has sky rocketed over the last 10 years or so, with each having a slightly different method for calculating how miles are earned and redeemed. Most offer a simple formula of 1 mile for every $1 purchased on the credit card and no miles for cash advances or balance transfers. Also, when you sign up most cards give you a bonus of anywhere from 500 to 10,000 miles. Many individuals will use these cards for everyday purchases, paying it off and earning the miles while not paying any interest. While this is a great way to earn miles quickly there is a better method that is currently legal, as of 7-15-2011, but slightly unethical.

This method involves an unlikely partner, which is the US Mint, and takes advantage of the fact that the $1 coins that have been produced over the last few years have not been popular among the public. How it works is that the US Mint has an offer on their website where you can purchase these $1 coins for face value and free shipping. So what you do is buy a quantity of these coins using your frequent flier mile credit card, thus earning you the miles, and when received you simply cash them in at your bank and pay off your credit card bill. Since there is no shipping cost this costs you nothing, all while earning those precious frequent flier miles. This is not a new scheme by any means, as it has been going on for over a year now but it is still allowed by credit card companies.

The US Mint is aware of the problem and they have now put a limit in place which caps the amount you can buy at $1,000 every ten days. While this does somewhat limit the amount of miles you can earn, 3,000 free miles every month adds up to a free ticket fairly quickly. It will probably only be a matter of time before the credit card companies prohibit this practice but until then this is completely legal. While it is slightly unethical many individuals feel such anger towards the big banks in the US that they have no problem in participating in this scheme. Since the $1 coins have been a complete flop at least someone is benefiting from the poor decision to put these into production. So when you earn enough miles to take that trip to Florida be sure to write a quick thank you to the US Mint, they would probably love to hear from you!

Terrafugia’s Flying Car Approved For Highway Use In USA

The Terrafugia Transition, flying car, is one step closer to becoming a reality in the US, as its design was approved for road use by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA). This was by no means an easy process for the design engineers at Terrafugia, as they had to make many revisions in order to meet the stringent guidelines set forth by the NHSA. In fact, the project was in jeopardy not too long ago because of the changes mandated by the NHSA. These changes were projected to cost Terrafugia around $18 million, at a time when the project was already over budget, behind schedule, and running short on capital. However, due to the impressive design and engineering work the company had done so far, they were awarded a contract from the US Department of Defense which was worth approximately $60 million. This contract was awarded to Terrafugia in order to design a flying version of the military Humvee. This project is already well underway and the creation has been dubbed the Transformer.

With this latest approval for the Transition company officials are edging ever closer to seeing their dream become a reality. While the plan was to have models ready for customer delivery in late 2011, it now looks like this is going to be pushed back to sometime in early 2012. This delay was due to the design changes mentioned earlier and problems with suppliers of critical components. Receiving approval for all aspects of the Transition in the US will allow Terrafugia to be able to receive approval in much less time in other parts of the world. Since many of the design and safety standards for automobiles and aircraft are global, the process will be fairly quick when Terrafugia begins delivering the Transition to other countries throughout the world.

The price tag of the Transition has recently increased from $170,000 to $230,000 but this is unlikely to deter many prospective buyers. Let’s face it, if you can afford $170,000 for a flying car, another $60,000 probably won’t be too hard to come by. The Transition will require operators to have a light aircraft license, which should actually help to promote aviation to the masses. When in the air the Transition can achieve a top cruising speed of 115 mph, which is very impressive. It will also have a top speed of around 62 mph and while on the ground it should get around 35 miles per gallon, which puts it right in line with some of the more fuel efficient cars currently on the road. The Transition will only take 15 seconds for the wings to fold up and change from flying mode to driving mode. It will also be similar in size to large sedans or SUVs, so it can be easily operated on the road. It will be interesting to see these in action in 2012, the year of the flying car.

GPS Based Aircraft Collision Avoidance System Being Developed At MIT

The FAA has tasked researchers at MIT with developing a GPS based system to prevent in air collisions between aircraft. While this is not as big of an issue with commercial airliners, it is more prominent among smaller aircraft and the system is being designed to work for both types of aircraft. The current systems being used rely upon ground radar systems which in some cases do not detect smaller aircraft flying at low altitudes. Because of this the FAA has put into place a ruling that will require all aircraft to use a GPS based system by the year 2020. This means that all aircraft, regardless of size, will need to have a system which transmits GPS positions between aircraft in order to prevent collisions. Researchers at MIT have been researching past collisions and near collisions in order to create algorithms which can be used by future systems to predict and avoid in air collisions.

They have found that over the last ten years there have been 112 incidents in which small planes have had collisions and there were thousands of close calls were a collision was narrowly avoided. These statistics are the driving force behind the need to develop a system that will reduce the number of collisions and close calls. While combing through years of data researchers also found that the majority of these collisions and close calls occurred in close proximity to an airport. They have used all of this data to help determine how the new system will work. They have also utilized much of the data in developing the algorithms that will control how the system operates and how it detects the probability of an in air collision.

One thing that they focused on when developing the new system is to reduce false alarms and increase the accuracy of the system. The thought process was that if a system were to produce numerous false alarms that over time users would simply ignore the system, thus making it fairly ineffective. The system they have come up with consists of a two tiered warning system which warns pilots of possible threats for in air collisions. This system has a moderate alert warning and a high alert warning which each have specific characteristics that are used to differentiate between them.

The moderate alert is used to warn pilots when their aircraft’s projected path is possibly intersecting with another aircraft. The high alert will sound if there is an extremely high risk of colliding with another aircraft, this would be in situations where two aircraft are approaching one another head on. With all of the technology that is used in modern aircraft it is quite surprising that it has taken this long for this project to be spearheaded. Nonetheless the researchers at MIT are certainly capable of producing a high quality system which will hopefully prevent any future mid air collisions between aircraft.

American Airlines Announces Massive Order For 460 New Aircraft

In an announcement to the press American Airlines confirmed that they have just placed a record order for 460 new aircraft. The aircraft air to be made by both Boeing and Airbus, with Airbus getting a slightly larger portion of the order. This will mark the first time in many years that American has bought an aircraft from Airbus, the last Airbus to be operated by American was pulled from service in 1998. The order will be for 260 planes from airbus and the remaining 200 to be manufactured by Boeing, with options in place for a few hundred more between both manufacturers. This marks a major shift in the model being followed by US airlines. On average the United States has some of the oldest aircraft throughout the world, which is likely to soon change because of this announcement.

As we have seen in the past, when it comes to the major airlines in the US when one makes a big move the rest are sure to follow. This is good news economically speaking as this order will likely speed up plans that American’s competitors have for replacing their aircraft. The other major airlines are likely to start scrambling to put together major orders for new aircraft. If they do not they will be at a major disadvantage in the future as American will then have a fleet of aircraft which will be far superior as compared to its competitors. The new aircraft will not feature increased fuel efficiency but also much improved interiors with superior in flight entertainment options and other improvements.

The new aircraft will allow American Airlines to better cater to the business class of travelers, which are generally viewed as the most profitable segment of travelers. There had been rumors that American was going to be placing a substantial order for aircraft but no one predicted it would be this big of an order. This will allow the airline to replace its aging fleet of fuel hungry MD-80s with more fuel efficient modern designs. With the current high cost of fuel and no relief in sight, American decided that now was the time to take action. For the first time in the history of the company fuel costs are now greater than labor costs, which helped them to make this decision.

There are some who question this move by American and think it is illogical to undertake such an expensive capital investment project in a time of such dismal results. Those who question the decision think that the business model for American needs to be updated, not the aircraft. It will be some time until we see how this all plays out, but in the short term this has definitely gotten the attention of the other major airlines in the US. It is also good news for Boeing and Airbus as both manufacturers are likely to see more business as a result of this move. This move is also likely to bring much needed business to American, as the public will be more likely to book a flight with an airline that has better aircraft. The first of the aircraft in this order are slated to be delivered as early as 2013 from both manufacturers. This short turn around time means that American will only have to wait just over a year until they start to see how well this benefits the company.

Corporate Aviation Tax Breaks Tangled Up In Political Mess

The political bickering over the yet to be solved budget crisis in the US has led to President Obama putting corporate aviation on the chopping block by proposing to eliminate tax breaks for corporate aircraft. This is quite ironic since Obama is the one responsible for putting these tax breaks into place in 2009 as part of the stimulus package he was responsible for. For some reason he has decided to now target corporate aircraft by proposing to change the way they are taxed. Part of the stimulus package allowed companies to take 100% depreciation in the first year of buying a corporate aircraft, with the thought process being this would increase the demand and sales for the aviation industry. While this was starting to have some impact, as evidenced by the slowly increasing sales of aircraft, now many corporations have scrapped any potential plans for purchasing a new aircraft. Even though nothing has been changed yet, the president mentioning this has had a troubling impact.

While these tax breaks provide a substantial savings for corporations purchasing aircraft, eliminating these would amount to a drop in the bucket as far as the US budget is concerned. However, it also helped the aviation industry by providing a substantial amount of new orders. The reason this was put on the table is likely because of the negative view that some people have of corporate jet owners, as the public think of jet owners as being executives with endless amounts of wealth.

The reality is that the majority of those who use corporate jets are not highly paid executives but rather professionals in technical related positions. For example, if a corporation has offices throughout the US and one location has a serious issue with their computer network they would fly a team of employees on their jet to the office experiencing problems. While there are definitely plenty of executives who fly in corporate aircraft from one meeting to the next, there are far more mid level employees who use corporate jets to quickly get to a job site.

The President is obviously well aware of the fact that corporate aircraft are primarily used by mid level employees of corporations, which begs the question of why are the corporate aircraft tax breaks being put on the table in the first place. Especially since the industry was just starting to show signs of growth. It is unfortunate that political wheeling and dealing can have such a profound impact on an industry. The White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage was recently quoted as saying “This won’t cost one American job…” which is rather ironic since just talking about the issue has resulted in many corporations to table thoughts of purchasing new aircraft. If talking about the issue has had this much of an impact, eliminating these tax breaks will undoubtedly result in a major loss of business for the corporate aviation industry.

Alaska Airlines Pilots To Start Using iPads

When many pilots and airline professionals first saw the iPad they instantly thought of all the useful and helpful tasks it could help with. Alaska Airlines had been testing the iPads among a small group of pilots over the last year or so. They recently concluded testing the units and decided to have all pilots within the company use them. As is the case with many other industries, technology such as the iPad can greatly benefit pilots in a number of ways. Alaska Airlines is utilizing the iPad to greatly reduce paper and they estimate that it will reduce the need for millions of pieces of paper each year. Pilots can greatly benefit from these by having all of the pertinent information in one place and it also reduces the weight of the pilot’s flight bag by around 25 pounds.

The iPads that are being used by Alaska Airlines will be loaded with the GoodReader App as well as other information commonly used by pilots. They will have manuals, reference materials, and other flight data that can by quickly and easily accessed by pilots. With all of the necessary information in one convenient location the iPad is a much better alternative when compared to paper manuals and documents. The best thing about using these is that whenever new components are added to an aircraft, a simple update on the iPad will add all of the necessary information in just a few seconds. This will not only save paper but will allow the airline to spread time sensitive information much quicker than previously available methods. While an iPad is a relatively expensive item, it will pay for itself in a short amount of time through reducing paper use and increased efficiency.

While the FAA has deemed that the iPad does not “impair the functioning of on board electronics” on an aircraft, Alaska Airlines has developed a policy which requires pilots to stow the tablet during takeoff and landing. This may be more intended to prevent pilots from being distracted or other issues that could lead to a potential problem. Since the FAA has cleared the iPad for use in cockpits during takeoff and landing, pilots on other airlines will be able to keep it on all the time if they want. The iPad being used by pilots from Alaska Airlines is just another example of how technological devices can greatly reduce the need for bulky manuals and make traveling for pilots even more convenient. Instead of having a bulky flight bag stuffed with 20-30 pounds of paperwork and manuals, pilots will now be able to simply carry the iPad.

Airlines Increasingly Rely On Fees As Source Of Revenue

In the past major airlines charged fees to cover costs of certain services that were offered as a premium or non-standard service to customers. This was not a major source of revenue but rather a way to make sure they did not lose money from providing extra services. Now most airlines are starting to rely upon these fees for a large portion of their revenues and in fact last year US airlines collected almost $6 billion in fees from their customers. This is primarily comprised of the baggage fees that the majority of airlines are now charging customers for any checked baggage. In most cases the airlines charge $25 each way for one bag and then additional charges for extra bags.

If you are traveling with your family of four on a vacation that is an extra $200 in fees just to be able to bring one bag each. As you can see these fees add up quickly and most people who fly on a regular basis are getting pretty fed up with it. The general consensus is that the airlines are starting to nickel and dime passengers, which is not sitting well with many of them. However, there are some situations where fees are more accepted by customers. For example, fees that are charged for add on services that are optional, such as having a reserved seat, are more acceptable to customers.

The reason that the baggage fees are so widely disliked is because that almost everyone who flies needs to check baggage and they feel like the airlines have them cornered with no way out. When they are charged fees for services such as reserved seating or early boarding it is not viewed in such a negative light. Since airlines did not charge fees in the past for checked baggage the flying public feels like this is a service that should be included with the ticket price. In a recently released report Delta Airlines generated the most revenue of all airlines from checked baggage, charging a total of $952 million. Continental and United, under their recent merger, collected the second highest amount of baggage fees, coming in at $655 million.

The most interesting thing to note in regard to these amounts is the fact that the airline that collected the highest amount of baggage fees, Delta, is also the airline which has consistently ranked lowest in terms of customer satisfaction. On the other hand Southwest, which doesn’t charge baggage fees, consistently ranks in first place among major airlines in terms of customer service. There seems to be a fairly direct correlation between the amount of baggage fees collected and customer satisfaction, the more fees collected the less customers are satisfied. Whether or not the baggage fees are the cause for this dissatisfaction has not been determined, but it is an easy leap to make. Some airlines have seen the revenue potential from adding more fees but hopefully they do not get carried away or before you know it there will be a credit card reader on the bathroom doors of every aircraft.

Oil Fire Possible Cause Of Qantas A380 Engine Failure

The European air safety regulator announced on Thursday that an oil fire may be the cause of an engine turbine failure that forced the Airbus A380 to make an emergency labnding at Singapore’s Changi International Airport on Nov. 4.

They also issued an emergency order requieing all airlines to examine those types of engines, focusing on possible oil leaks.

Investigators still believe that a turbine disc was the cause of the engine failure but this is the first time they’ve mentioned a possible fire.

Qantas announced that it had found oil leaks on three of its other A380s and that they had grounded all A380s until further investigation.

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