tagged w/ Airline Industry
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New air traffic control system at crossroads
By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press – 2 hours ago
PART ONE...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is creating a new air traffic system that officials say will be as revolutionary for civil aviation as was the advent of radar six decades ago. But the program is at a crossroads.
It's getting harder to pry money out of Congress. The airline industry is hesitating over the cost of equipping its planes with new technology necessary to use the system. And some experts say the U.S. could lose its lead in the manufacture of high tech aviation equipment to European competitors because the FAA is moving too slowly.
Seventy-five years ago this week the federal government, spurred by the nascent airline industry, began tracking planes at the nation's first air traffic control centers in Newark, N.J., Chicago and Cleveland.
The original group of 15 controllers, relying on radioed position reports from pilots, plotted the progress of flights using blackboards, maps and boat-shaped weights. Air traffic control took a technological leap forward in the 1950s with the introduction of radar. That's still the basis of the technology used today by more than 15,000 controllers to guide 50,000 flights a day.
Under FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System program, known as NextGen, ground radar stations will be replaced by satellite-based technology. Instead of flying indirect routes to stay within the range of ground stations, as planes do today, pilots will use GPS technology to fly directly to their destinations.
Planes will continually broadcast their exact positions, not only to air traffic controllers, but to other similarly equipped aircraft within hundreds of miles. For the first time, pilots will be able to see on cockpit displays where they are in relation to other planes and what the flight plans are for those other aircraft. That will enable planes to safely fly closer together.
When planes approach airports, precise GPS navigation will allow them to use more efficient landing and takeoff procedures. Instead of time-consuming, fuel-burning stair- step descents, planes will be able to glide in more steeply with their engines idling. Aircraft will be able to land and take off closer together and more frequently, even in poor weather, because pilots will know the precise location of other aircraft and obstacles on the ground. Fewer planes will be diverted.
Pilots and airline dispatchers will be able get real-time weather information. Computers will spot potential weather conflicts well in advance so that planes can be rerouted. And, controllers will do a lot less talking to pilots. Many instructions now transmitted by radio will instead be sent digitally to cockpits, reducing the chance of errors.
Together, the suite of new technologies and procedures being phased in will significantly increase the system's traffic capacity, FAA officials predict. That's critical if the number of passengers traveling annually on U.S. airlines grows from an estimated 737 million this year to over 1 billion a year in the next decade, as the FAA forecasts.
And, the FAA predicts, NextGen will save significant time, fuel and money. It also will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noise.
"It really is a revolution in air transportation," Deputy FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in an interview. "The decisions we're making in the next several years will set the foundation for the next 75 years of air traffic control."
Paying the tab for NextGen — estimated at as much as $22 billion for the government and another $20 billion for the airline industry through 2025 — may be FAA's biggest hurdle. The program has widespread support in the Obama administration and Congress, but it isn't immune to budget cuts in the current climate of austerity. The House wants to reduce FAA's budget authority by $1 billion a year over the next four years, while the Senate has favored higher funding.
Even longtime NextGen supporters like Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee's transportation subcommittee, warn that full funding is no longer automatic.
"We need to see a realistic strategy for funding NextGen," she told FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt at a May hearing. "To date, the FAA has filled its budget request with a laundry list of programs and development activities, and a vague promise that somehow the agency will achieve its goals by 2018. But that approach is not enough this year."
If funding is reduced, some elements of NextGen could be delayed. There is no date for completion of the entire program, which officials say is constantly evolving.
CONTINUED...
.New air traffic control system at crossroads
By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press –... more
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(CNN) -- Passenger satisfaction with domestic airlines continues to improve, according to one survey released Tuesday.
But air travelers are nostalgic for the days of free creature comforts, finds another.
Fliers also had a chance to vent about airlines with the worst food and the least-friendly flight attendants.
Overall, air travelers' level of contentment with carriers is on the rise, according to the University of Michigan's latest American Customer Satisfaction Index for the airline industry. The findings are similar to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Study released last week.
Fewer people flying and passengers becoming savvier about avoiding fees boosted contentment, but probably only for the short-term.
"Airlines are creating more satisfied passengers, but the... data suggest this won't last for long," said Claes Fornell, founder of the satisfaction index, in a statement.
"Airlines are already beginning to charge higher fares. Flights are becoming more crowded, and the increasing number of carry-ons could lead to cabin congestion and delays."
When it comes to individual airline satisfaction rankings, Southwest Airlines leads the pack for the 17th straight year, followed by Continental and American, according to the index, which uses customer interviews to come up with a score on scale of 0 to 100. United Airlines was at the bottom of the list.
Airline Satisfaction Scores
1. Southwest Airlines
2. Continental Airlines
3. American Airlines
4. Delta Air Lines
5. US Airways
6. Northwest Airlines
7. United Airlines
Source: 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index
RELATED TOPICS
* Air Travel
Southwest also got the thumbs up in a poll of air travelers conducted by Airfarewatchdog.com. More than 2,100 people took the informal online survey on the company's website between May 17 and June 3.
More than a third said Southwest is the airline that provides the most bang for your buck, giving it the top spot in that category, followed by JetBlue and Continental
Southwest's flight attendants were also voted as the friendliest in the industry, followed by Delta/Northwest, JetBlue and American.
But the staff at Delta/Northwest seems to have as many foes as fans, because the airline was also ranked as the carrier with the least-friendly flight attendants in the survey. United and American were ranked second and third in that category.
Not surprisingly, the survey also showed that air travelers are frustrated with paying extra for amenities that used to be free, like checked bags. Fees were the No. 1 complaint when passengers were asked what they disliked most about flying.
What are air travelers willing to pay for? Alcoholic drinks, access to the Internet and extra legroom, according to the survey. Less than 1 percent said they'd pay for a pillow or blanket.
And what would air travelers say to the CEO of their favorite airline if they had a chance?
Here's one response: "Feed us food you'd eat yourself."
As for which airline has served the worst food over the past 12 months, Delta/Northwest led the pack, followed by United and American.(CNN) -- Passenger satisfaction with domestic airlines continues to improve, according... more
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The U.S. airline industry is shrinking to a size not seen since the months after the 2001 terror attacks.
The airlines have been trimming flights for the past two years, matching the falling demand for air travel. Additional capacity cuts are under way at American, the nation's second-largest carrier, and at No. 3 United. It could get worse.
Most big airlines depend heavily on a relatively small chunk of passengers who pay the highest fares, "and that's generally business travelers," says Robert Mann, an aviation consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. "If business travel doesn't rebound, we're going to see further (capacity) cuts."
Less capacity means consumers will be left with fewer flights to choose from and planes will be crowded. Fewer seats normally means higher fares but that might not happen this time unless the economy begins a true recovery and passenger traffic picks up.The U.S. airline industry is shrinking to a size not seen since the months after the... more
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photi
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2 years ago
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yup
"Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson told a forum on climate change Tuesday that aviation is a dirty business and that airlines should be willing to pay for the damage they cause to the environment."yup
"Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson told a forum on climate change... more
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3 years ago
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No one would accuse Bob Crandall of being shy. The legendary former CEO of American Airlines, who is widely credited with developing the hub-and-spoke system and inventing the frequent flier program, always speaks his mind. And the aviation world is abuzz with what he's been saying lately.
Crandall considers the deregulation of commercial aviation a huge failure and says it's time to bring back government oversight of fares and pricing. "It's time to acknowledge that airlines are more like utilities than ordinary businesses," he said during a speech at the Wings Club, a cushy meeting spot for the industry's heaviest hitters. "We have failed to confront the reality that unfettered competition just doesn't work very well in certain industries, as aptly demonstrated by our airline experience."
Jeez. Don't sugar coat it, Bob.
Crandall's got no shortage of ideas for saving the industry from itself. Some of them might actually work.
Most of the major airlines - United being the main exception - actively opposed deregulation when Congress approved it in 1978. The Airline Deregulation Act ended 40 years of oversight by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which dictated everything from who could enter to the market to which routes carriers could fly. It also set the fare structure.
But Congress thought regulation had made a mess of the air travel industry and felt, in the words of the Airline Deregulation Act, that "maximum reliance on competitive market forces" would spur "efficiency, innovation, and low prices" while expanding consumer choice in air travel.
To be fair, deregulation did bring lower fares and low-fare airlines like Southwest and JetBlue. But can anyone look at the state of the industry these days - it expects to lose as much as $6.1 billion this year - and say air travel's grown more efficient or innovative? Crandall, who was president of American from 1980 to 1995 and chairman / CEO from 1985 to 1998, concedes free markets work for most businesses, but says airlines aren't like most businesses. He proposes an industry re-regulation scheme that would include:
* Giving the government a role in pricing and prohibit new airlines from offering below cost fares that makes flying unprofitable for everyone.
* Amending the Railway Labor Act so that unions and management both "adopt more moderate positions"." Translation: Make strikes by unions illegal and force them into binding arbitration.
* Pressuring airlines to use the larger jets, which means you won't be flying those annoying 50-seat regional jets between Cleveland and Cincinnati anymore, but you'll only have two flights a day to choose from, instead of eight.
* Developing a replacement for America's antiquated air traffic control system. (Most of us won't live to see this one, so don't hold your breath).
For passengers, Crandall's plan means fewer flights and higher fares. And for employees, it means less flexibility to fight for fair wages and benefits (not great in an industry struggling with a pilot shortage). Not exactly a dream scenario.
But there are potential upsides to regulation, too. A little bit of government-imposed schedule discipline would go a long way toward reducing bottlenecks at the big airports. Fares would undoubtedly go up, but they'd be more consistent. And regulation would provide the industry with some much-needed financial stability. You want to fly on clean planes that aren't 35 years old? Enjoy some semblance of customer service? Maybe even (call us crazy) get served a snack and a drink on that cross country flight? Well, you can't have it both ways: you either pay more, or you get less. Seeing that the free market, survival-of-the- fittest model hasn't done much for the airlines or the flying public up to now, maybe re-regulation isn't the worst idea.No one would accuse Bob Crandall of being shy. The legendary former CEO of American... more
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kushan
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3 years ago
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UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the world's second-largest carrier, will shut its low-fare Ted airline, ground 70 planes and cut as many as 1,100 jobs to help counter record fuel costs.
United's second round of cutbacks in two months follows a 76 percent surge in jet fuel prices in the past year that will add $3 billion to its spending for fuel. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the world's biggest carrier, and Delta Air Lines Inc. also are paring their domestic seating capacity.
``These are very aggressive domestic capacity and cost cuts,'' Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl in New York said in an interview. ``If oil stays at $130 or $120 a barrel, I expect you'll see additional big cuts announced by airlines as we move through the year. Basically, you need over 20 percent of capacity taken out of the domestic market.''
United's reductions will take place this year and next, adding to the 30 planes taken out of service and 500 management job cuts announced in April. Chicago-based United said today in a statement that it's scaling back international flights, which have been profitable. United's main jet fleet has 460 planes.
Airlines' efforts to cover fuel costs with fare increases and new baggage-check fees have fallen short, leading JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Jamie Baker to estimate that the U.S. industry's losses will top $7.2 billion this year.
Worst 2008 Performer
UAL gained 42 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $8.95 at 10:26 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The company has tumbled 76 percent this year, making it the worst performer among 14 carriers in the Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index.
``United's move is a necessity in the face of high fuel costs and should significantly improve the company's pricing power and lower costs,'' said Douglas Runte, managing director at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut.
UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the world's second-largest carrier, will shut... more
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I am so looking forward to seeing Mr. Gore's interview this Sunday night. I hope he gets to talk about The Alliance for Climate Protection's ad campaign scheduled to be launched next week, because I am hoping it brings a turning point in this country regarding the need to take action on climate change through awareness. And also, his response to the climate skeptics is right on target. Those centuries ago who claimed that the sun not the Earth was the center of the universe were treated with the same scorn and contempt as those scientists who have proven that we as humans are contributing to the affects of climate change. How fortunate for humanity that it did not place trust in those who thought the opposite or thought the world was flat.
I don't believe it is all about money either, though that is certainly a large part of it as many of those who dismiss the evidence of anthropogenic climate change in the skeptics movement have received money from oil and utility companies. I also think it is religious in nature (the will of God) opposing science, it is political, and it is also about the inability to take responsibility for one's actions.
None of those reasons however, should stand in the way of truth and that is exactly what those who refuse to see the evidence are doing: standing in the way of truth. Should we actually listen to the skeptics and decades from now after the glaciers have melted, after the water has begun to dwindle, after wars are fought for land, water, food and other resources with great loss to humanity and other species, will those who claimed this was all a hoax still believe that?
Let's hope we never have to find out. Let's hope we take action now to save not only the planet that is our only home but ourselves, a rare and precious species in a rare and precious universe too precious to bow to the whims of the few who simply wish to perpetrate lies to assuage their own wants over the needs of the whole.
Therefore, thank you Mr. Gore for being our Galileo.
I am so looking forward to seeing Mr. Gore's interview this Sunday night. I hope... more
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