IAGblog Podcasts

GDS mergers?

iagblog — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:16:42 GMT

There are hot rumors that the travel industry's global distribution systems might be thinking of a grand "get together". This sort of move would cause something of a ripple to spread around the industry as airlines and other vendors already don't like the the costs the systems add to their sales channels. Airlines have especially been aggressive in developing alternatives like website sales. But Michele McDonald, editor of Travel Technology Update explains that the industry has been through this before. Moreover she suggests that if Travelport and Amadeus get together the combined firm might split into two pieces.

oneworld's JAL and other challenges

iagblog — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:59:07 GMT

Its tough being in the oneworld alliance - beset with challenges in EU and US and now in Japan. JAL is in trouble and nobody can quite make out what is happening - its all covered in true, timeless Japanese opacity. Meanwhile there are the issues with American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. Discussing these issues are Ron Kuhlman, a columnist for The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation and Managing Partner for oneworld, John McCullogh. These are vexing days in the airline industry in general. Being involved with oneworld is even more complex.

Lufthansa's view on the return of FlyNet

iagblog — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:40:09 GMT

There is much excitement over the news that Lufthansa is bringing back FlyNet. It was a service that was appreciated by some 30,000 people per month at its peak - or ~20% of the long haul seats the airline flew. Although Lufthansa plans to add the service to its 95 long haul planes, Jennifer Janzen, Lufthansa's Communications Manager in New York tells us the A380s are going to take a while to be included. Lufthansa is focusing on its own fleet before adding Swiss and Austrian. This is clearly a deliberate strategic move that puts the airline ahead of its network EU competition.

Panasonic gets their launch customer

iagblog — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:15:17 GMT

A very excited Panasonic made official what many have known for some time - Lufthansa is back in the in-flight Internet space. The original pioneer with Connexion, Lufthansa was more than a bit irritated when Boeing shut down the service. As evidence, listen to our second podcast with Lufthansa's Bernhard Seiter back in 2005 here. David Bruner, VP Global Communication Services at Panasonic took our call in Frankfurt today and tells us about the news and shares some thoughts on how they will partner with the airline.

WAEA 2009 - Row44 announces "walled garden"

iagblog — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:42:18 GMT

At this year's WAEA, we had a chance to catch up with Row44, which announced a novel concept for in-flight WiFi. Passengers now have access to a walled garden of content without having to buy internet access. The "Skytown Service" has content that is browsed via a WiFi device - like online shopping, destination information and even messaging. This content is supported by advertising and e-commerce. Think SkyMall magazine without the paper. It is likely to be an effective way for passengers to get comfortable with in-flight WiFi without paying. It seems like a great idea and we suspect it will be very successful.

WAEA 2009 - An Update from AirCell

iagblog — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:35:50 GMT

A this year's WAEA conference in Palm Springs, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to catch up with AirCell's EVP John Happ. John explains that AirCell is still growing rapidly - their fleet size is approaching 600 aircraft and will be at 700 by year end. This number is expected to double in 2010. Interestingly he tells us the firm will be talking about an option for beyond the shoreline option next year. He also notes the business model remains in flux - "optimization is a challenge". Approximately 85% of users access the system from a laptop - and of the remainder, some two thirds access is from an iPhone.

Green Shoots? Maybe not.

iagblog — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:30:25 GMT

Perry Flint is Editorial Director at Air Transport World and joins us each month to discuss a topic facing commercial aviation. This month it is the much mentioned green shoots some airline managers have been talking about. Perry doesn't see green shoots. In fact he sees some fundamental issues airlines need to be thinking about, not least of which is the rise in digital communications.

The Evolution of the EU's Aerospace Industry - Part 2 of 3

iagblog — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:16:52 GMT

Having spent part one speaking about the amazing heritage of Europe's aerospace industry, in part two we discuss the movement of the skills. Where did the engineers go? While some went off to join firms like Bombardier, Airbus and even Embraer, many stayed in the EU. Indeed, Europe has seen a resurgent design sector with top class design shops like GCT and Ferchau supplying their designs to the top tier aerospace manufacturers. These firms represent a new type of aerospace output from Europe. Top class design and manufacturing which is just in time for the global outsourcing in this industry.

Barcelona LCC Conference Notes

iagblog — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:52:10 GMT

Antione Viollet is assistant editor of Air-Scoop, a leading source of insight into the LCC business. Just back from this year's conference, he shares his thoughts on what he saw and heard. There was, as you can imagine, a lot of talk about survival. Not so long ago the talk was about eco-friendly operations and high fuel prices. But the world has moved on and the new crisis is economic, so eco-friendly ops goes on the back burner.

The Evolution of the EU 's Aerospace Industry - Part 1 of 3

iagblog — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:12:55 GMT

The EU was famous for its splendid aerospace - Fokker, BAe, SAAB, Aerospatiale, CASA, Dornier. Any enthusiast knows these names. So what happened over the last decade? These fabulous names and great products disappeared. What happened to the technologies, people and creativity? Fokker invented the regional jet concept decades ago. SAAB made an awesome turboprop - best in class. Dornier had a winner in its 728 - its the design now seen in SuperJet and CSeries. BAe's RJ was also ahead of its time. Erkan Pinar and Jonathan Norris work in the industry and share their thoughts on this fantastic heritage and we lament on what was and might have been. Myopia killed a lot of great talent - talent now scattered around the world. And, without question, its the EU's loss.

Pentagon Tanker Briefing - A Review

iagblog — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:29:57 GMT

To give a quick review of today's tanker briefing we assembled Richard Aboulafia, Scott Hamilton and Ernie Arvai. The consensus view is that the approach is more transparent than before, suiting both vendors. But the political interference is already on the table. The process is likely to be as messy as before.

The C-5M has loads of life yet

iagblog — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:31:26 GMT

This is the plane that started it all - the original Jumbo Jet. For those who have seen it up close, its something you don't forget. Telling us how the program is going (very, very well, thank you), is Jeff Armentrout, Lockheed Martin's C-5 Business Development Manager. Jeff explains how the M is exceeding expectations - they set out to break over 30 records on a recent flight and managed over 40! The airframe has 70% of its life left and therefore can go to 2040. Truly a testament to remarkable engineering. About 75% of the better performance comes from the GE CF-6 engines. Jeff then goes on to share thoughts about what might come next; composites, more avionics improvements, and improved fuel burn from better drag and, maybe, winglets! Yes, think about how big those would have to be on that wing. This is a great briefing for any fan of older planes that still do their job very well.

In-Flight Internet - unstable business models

iagblog — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:37:49 GMT

The concept is great - minimize dead time in flight by going online. Straightforward, right? For a passenger maybe. But for firms in this space - both vendors and airlines, the business models are unsettled. David Friedman and Arman Afsar are both industry veterans. They share their thoughts on the industry and its challenges with pricing, access, content and that bugbear - in seat power. In the end, we agree the industry remains uncertain - exploring for a revenue recipe that works for vendors, airlines and of course passengers.

Japan Airlines in play

iagblog — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:17:10 GMT

Now that Japan Airlines is in play, a tectonic plate shift is occurring in the airline industry. Ted Reed, airline correspondent at TheStreet.com, broke a story this week that describes these events. Ted explains what the stakes are for OneWorld and Sky Team alliances. OneWorld and its members cannot afford to lose JAL. Sky Team on the other hand can play a disruptive hand here, forcing OneWorld to pay more than it wants to keep JAL. Fascinating times.

Boeing shares some new thinking on tankers

iagblog — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:41:14 GMT

Yesterday Boeing shared some new thinking and images of its tankers. Now there's a family and as the image above shows, the 767 has seemingly undergone a new look with winglets. Bill Barksdale, Boeing's Director of Communication for Global Mobility Systems shares the company's thinking on costs, new flight decks and Boeing's ability to try out maneuver its competitor. Boeing's tankers even have their own website now - www.unitedstatestanker.com. Say what you will about the competition, one thing is sure, Boeing has worked to develop a much better offering. Competition has already performed its task. The other side has no doubt also been revising and refining its plans.

Brazil's big French decision

iagblog — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:54:35 GMT

This week the Brazilian president sort of let the cat out of the bag - he preempted the formal decision about a big fighter decision. So the French look like they have won an export order (at last) for the Rafale. But the deal includes France teaching the Brazilians how to build nuclear submarines and also helping the Brazilians market their increasingly interesting KC-390 freighter/tanker. In the conversation we have Michel Merluzeau from G2 Solutions and Graham Warwick from Aviation Week to discuss the various aspects of the deal. The conversation winds though a lot of Rafale and Gripen insight as well.

Airlines and social media

iagblog — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:19:52 GMT

Today we published a report in conjunction with CAPA and TheTravelStrategist.com all about airlines and their use of social media. In this discussion we have Peter Harbison, chairman of CAPA and Steven Frischling, founder of the TheTravelStrategist.com, discussing the report's main findings.

Passenger rights?

iagblog — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:11:29 GMT

Today we spoke with ATW's Editorial Director Perry Flint about passenger rights - in light on the flights that seem to imprison people for hours on end. Perry explains that it looks like the industry will end up facing regulation on this because it appears airlines cannot seem to fix this. We then briefly spoke about the WTO findings - while few people have seen the 1,000 page document, it seems time has moved on and it is probably a Pyrrhic victory.

Where's the LUV?

iagblog — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:13:32 GMT

Southwest Airlines has just created a new ancillary revenue fee. Timothy O'Neil-Dunne thinks its a silly fee and says so in plain language. Then we took a look at the new Travel Guide on the airline's site and he skewered this too! Whereas we see this feature as very useful for many people, the discussion got a bit heated. We didn't agree on most of the call, but we agree that Southwest should be cheered for trying.

Southwest and those parts

iagblog — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:57:43 GMT

Judging by the news you wouldn't know what to think. The airline has a great reputation for safety, so first thing, relax. Brett Snyder AKA Crankyflier and Michael Ciasullo discuss what we know about this "issue". Yes there questions that are going to leave some people uncomfortable at the airline, but Southwest is just fine to fly on.

A revised 787 schedule and a big writeoff

iagblog — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:56:59 GMT

Boeing did another conference call today about their 787 delays. This call included news that the first three 787s are not going to be sold and the program costs would take a $2.5bn write down. The Boeing Company has taken a hammering on the 787. Even the always reserved and painstaking polite Japanese are running out of patience. Have we hit the bottom on bad news about the program? Who knows what's next?

Delta Air Lines TechOps visit

iagblog — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:01:22 GMT

We had a chance to visit Delta Air Lines' Tech Ops facility in Atlanta yesterday. What an impressive place! The sheer size of the place is amazing. The range of what they can, and do, there is impressive. Delta's technical operations not only maintains their own fleet, they do a lot of work for other airlines. Possibly the single most impressive things we saw? The cleanliness of the facility is simply eye popping. Nothing - but nothing - lies around. Everything is stored, packed and tidy. The floor has NO DIRT WHATSOEVER. No FOD at this facility. Next best thing? The people. We saw hundreds on our walk through. No raised voices. No shouting - and everyone was smiling and unfailingly pleasant and courteous. No question went unanswered completely and fully. If we had a plane, we would want these people to work on it. We'd be in good company - we saw a Boeing owned BBJ being worked on. That is sufficient testimony for us.

A discussion with BA's EVP The Americas

iagblog — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:56:34 GMT

We had a most pleasant visit with Simon Talling-Smith at the NBTA conference in San Diego. Our discussion ranged across the latest announcement from BA to spur on small business in the US to look overseas for business as well as a host of other questions about the world BA finds itself in.

In-Flight WiFi survey update

iagblog — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:14:39 GMT

In an interesting call with Richard Owen, former Executive Director of WAEA, we discuss IAG's latest IFEC user survey results. Richard now heads Global Point Group, an aviation & IFEC consultancy. Richard points out that the lower price point people are prepared to pay for the service follows the experience at hotels and even coffee shops. This calls into question the revenue models put out by vendors. Airlines will do well to limit their exposure to the business models, but absolutely should focus on acquiring the service. The choice between Ku-band and cell networks is not over given the need for long hauls flight coverage. You can download the results here.

So Republic won Frontier.....now what?

iagblog — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:08:20 GMT

Republic beat out Southwest for Frontier. This is big news and has an impact on the entire US airline industry. What comes next? This discussion takes a look at what might happen next. Ernie Arvai, Scott Hamilton and Addison Schonland share their thoughts on the news.

Imprisoned by an airline - yes it happened again!

iagblog — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:50:25 GMT

Last Friday night a Continental Express flight could make it into the Twin Cities because of weather. The flight re-routed to Rochester and stayed there for the night. But the 47 passengers were not allowed off the plane for some six hours! The airline blamed the airport - which sounded outrageous, so we called the airport and spoke to the manager. He differs with this big time and tells us all about it. Then we spoke with Christopher Elliott, travel ombudsman and just the person to provide perspective on this matter. He is not sympathetic to the airline. He then suggests some items people travel with to empower them to even the score.

A review Lufthansa's acquisition strategy

iagblog — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:13:47 GMT

Lufthansa has been a European aviation powerhouse all through the current downturn. Its strong financial position enabled the airline to consider or actually move on opportunities across the EU. The BMI acquisition was forced on it by a decade old contract. But its resources are sufficient to also move on Brussels and Austrian. Explaining the background to the process Lufthansa is going through are Jens Flottau, aviation journalist with Sueddeutsche Zeitung and airline strategist Erkan Pinar - both are based in Germany.

It is clear that circumstances have changed significantly over the past year. But if the market has indeed bottomed, then potentially Lufthansa is moving on acquisitions at an opportune time - as it did with Swiss. The German airline might even be able to pick up SAS within the next year. Clearly Lufthansa is in an increasingly powerful position.

Cash for Clunkers and other thoughts

iagblog — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:46:48 GMT

The latest fad that seems to be working is the "Cash for Clunkers" program to get people to replace older gas inefficient cars for newer more efficient ones. Perry Flint, Editorial Director at ATW, talks about how this program would be helpful to the travel industry. We then go on to discuss the Frontier deal - how will this impact Republic and Southwest. Finally we talk about the fluctuations of oil prices.

Southwest bids for Frontier

iagblog — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:36:36 GMT

The news broke this morning and caused quite a flutter. Nobody was expecting this move. But Southwest has the cash and the ability to make the deal work. Frontier is only about 10% the size of Southwest. The data points about Airbus, Q-400s and routes were obvious. But our discussion highlights an aspect nobody else brought up.

The Six C's of Modern Airline Competition

iagblog — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:32:58 GMT

In the latest Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, retired American Airline's VP Revenue Management Scott Nason describes these six "C's" - Competition, Coopetition, Codesharing, Coordination, Cooperation and Collusion. From this discussion it becomes clear that the way airlines work with each other is much more complex that it appears. Each of these "C's" is designed to reduce risk, lower costs and therefore build revenue.

Southern Africa - A walk on the wild side

iagblog — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:40:38 GMT

Priscilla Macy has numerous times and gives us many word pictures extolling the adventure and excitement that only a visit to the African bush can give you.

Inside the Insiders City - a talk about Washington DC

iagblog — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:37:07 GMT

Sebastien Tobler lives in Washington DC and talks about the city's majestic museums and fabulous history.

Orlando has a LOT to offer

iagblog — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:46:27 GMT

Uptake's Orlando expert suggests you wait a bit. October is the best month to visit Orlando and there's lots to see, visit and do.

The BIG debate in DC

iagblog — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:53:32 GMT

Some want more F-22s and some don't, they want the F-35. And there is absolutely no middle ground here. This competition is unlike the tanker war, as Colin Clark, editor of DODBuzz.com explains, which can be fudged. This is a nasty fight with very high stakes and everybody has an ox that will be gored no matter the outcome. This is the highest stakes military fight since the MX missile.

Premium seats - going, going, gone?

iagblog — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:11:15 GMT

British Airways announced this week their intention to shrink the number of premium seats on their fleet. Just as those fancy new suites are arriving, customers have all but disappeared. The financial implications of the fall in revenue from the front part of the plane is huge. This is a serious threat to every airline focused on premium customers. Timothy O'Neil-Dune from T2Impact explains what this means for the airline industry.

AMTRAK's brighter future

iagblog — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:10:47 GMT

Passenger rail service in the United States has always been a joke. But as airline service has disappeared and airports become a torture, riding the rails has become a realistic option. David Field, rail maven and 25 year veteran observer of transport in the US explains why AMTRAK's future looks brighter than it has for years. David says any trip under 250 miles is better by train and up to 500 miles the train remains a great option.

Visiting the Florida Keys

iagblog — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:50:18 GMT

Barbara Weibel is a regular visitor and shares insights of a local.

Boeing buys Vought's 787 plant

iagblog — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:29:55 GMT

The news announced this morning was something we were expecting after Jon Ostrower reported it was coming. But the reaction to this news from people in the Puget Sound area will be rather vociferous as the day goes on. Joining Jon Ostrower on the call is Scott Hamilton, who is located in the greater Seattle region and he explains the possible reaction we can expect to the news.

How about Austin?

iagblog — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:28:01 GMT

Uptake.com's Alison Osborne is an Austin native and paints a picture of warm and friendly outdoors in Texas' capital.

The downturn and its potential meaning for airlines

iagblog — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:11:39 GMT

ATW's Perry Flint talks about the current downturn and provides some intriguing insight. Has air travel changed forever? Has the premium travel sector shrunk forever? Has it gone the way of the three martini lunch and the personal assistant? We might be in the midst of a fundamental shift in air travel and the implications for the industry are far reaching.

Action & Adventure in Oregon

iagblog — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:41:44 GMT

Nancy Brown takes us on a 6 day road trip through Oregon.

Air India on the skids

iagblog — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:05:12 GMT

Air India is in trouble - it has little cash and cash flow is draining what's left. Massive excess employment, sticky fingers from the government down the management and a typical state owned culture have all played their part. Devesh Argawal explains what's going on.

The demise of service

iagblog — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:17:45 GMT

Steven Frischling knows his travel. A frequent traveler and the founder of TheTravelStrategist.com, Steven explains what's wrong with airlines. He praises PanAm and singles out Southwest for praise. He then walks us through his experiences with Alitalia in detail. The human touch is what makes service work. There are some firms that get it - but many (most?) don't.

Paris, a look back

iagblog — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:24:54 GMT

Richard Aboulafia and Scott Hamilton were in Paris at the show last week and share their views of how the show went. In between the laughs, there are some serious questions about Airbus' orders, Qatar's threats and the general industry malaise. It was not a happy show - but Airbus did get to score a lot of PR news.

The Insider's San Francisco

iagblog — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:22:02 GMT

Cat Lincoln is a Writer and Online Media Marketing Consultant who specializes in travel, beauty, style, and green topics - based in San Francisco.

UAVs and fuel cells

iagblog — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:10:21 GMT

UAVs must have high persistence to be of optimal value. Especially smaller UAVs used by soldiers on an "over the next hill" basis. A 30 minute UAV does not help much - but 2 hours would be very useful. Powering these devices is complicated. Ron Stearns, research director at G2 Solutions, explains all about what why persistence is important in ISR. And why fuel cells are going to play a critical role in the UAV business.

Mark's month on AirTran

iagblog — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:54:38 GMT

The man must be crazy. To overcome his fear of flying, Mark Malkoff is living on an AirTran jet for a month - yes, a month. He might walk on the tarmac for a bit. But no airport access, or hotels. Just that airplane seat. Late at night he gets to choose any seat he likes - or whichever row he wants. Mark points out that he could not manage to do this project with in-flight Wi-Fi. Its the GoGo service that helps him endure. Its something he does - lived in an Ikea for a week. Visited every Starbucks in Manhattan in a day. He's a comedian when he's doing these character building tests. At the end of the month he will probably have spent 286 hours flying. That should be enough to most people off flying forever.

Summer Travel Plans - Traveling with children

iagblog — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:28:56 GMT

As you think about planning summer travel, there's always this one item...kids. Of course they have to go along - its education on the run after all. Get some advice on this from Whit Honea, vacation travel editor at Uptake.com.

Hello JetAmerica

iagblog — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:08:30 GMT

We have another airline startup - with a link to Skybus via its founder. But this time its different explains Bryan Glazer President of World Satellite Television News & Media Relations, Inc. He explains that from July 13 with one plane the airline plans to serve 6 cities. By August 14 a second plane will arrive and they will add a new plane every 4 months. The airline plans on getting 14 hours per day per plane. Michael J. Stolarczyk, CEO of Toledo Lucas County Port Authority explains why they are excited to have the airline start out of Toledo. Its a new beginning at a tough time, but entrepreneurs never give up.

India's aviation sector - after the election

iagblog — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:48:32 GMT

The recent election was important as the new government is less compromised by a coalition. But change comes slow in India. Devesh Agarwal explains how the infrastructure issues are being dealt with - but then the idea of taking away customer facing roles from airlines at airports also rankles. And then there is the India fighter competition which is coming to a head. As always interesting times in India.

Budget summer suggestion - Sedona Arizona

iagblog — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:56:45 GMT

Jennifer Miner writes about travel for Travelingmamas, and contributes to Uptake. Jennifer offers a suggestion for traveling this summer if you're on a budget - and who isn't on a budget? Her recommendation - Sedona, Arizona. Listen to her describe the place and see if you can get a deal. It sounds wonderful and not prohibitive.

Eco-Aviation

iagblog — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:17:08 GMT

ATW's Perry Flint reports on their recent Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington DC (held in conjunction with Leeham & CO). Perry talks about the news from Air New Zealand - a biofuel experiment that went very well plus its use of ASPIRE to save fuel on its trans-Pac flights. There was also news from Rolls Royce and their open rotor engine. The EU carbon issue is also mentioned - the impact of the policy on non-EU airlines is an issue that is about the start airlines already hard pressed between low fares and rising fuel prices.

Flying the A380

iagblog — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:19:43 GMT

Rob Mark, editor of Jetwhine.com, just returned from a visit to France where he got to fly the A380 for an hour. Rob had not flown a "heavy" before, so this was a bigger deal than it seems. Rob describes the experience from taxi to takeoff to landing. He also describes his ride back to the US in a Falcon. To say he had a great trip is an understatement.

Travel in 2009 - How's it looking?

iagblog — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:38:15 GMT

This is not an easy year to talk about travel. But we get some excellent insights on airline capacity, great deals to Europe, thoughts on JetAmerica and even Twitter (with references to Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue). Our guests are Terry Maxon from the Dallas Morning News and Ben Mutzabaugh from USAToday. These gentlemen offer broad and deep coverage of the travel industry.

A380 entry into service

iagblog — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:14:32 GMT

This aircraft has been running very well despite its gestation taking longer than hoped. Dispatch times at Singapore and Qantas are well over 99%. Bumps at the start for Emirates has also now improved. Consequently the A380 is now delivering on its promise - notwithstanding the current travel slump. Passengers are uniformly pleased with the plane's comfort and quiet operation. Jon Ostrower at Flight Global and Erkan Pinar from Airlinestrategy.com share their thoughts and also discuss the gestation of the 787.

Thoughts from the 2009 RAA Convention

iagblog — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:57:45 GMT

Lori Ranson, US Editor of Air Transport Intelligence, is just back from the RAA convention and shares some thoughts about a range of issues that circulated at the event and also shares some thoughts on the state of the industry she picked up while there.

OTA vs DMO - Russian Roulette with taxes

iagblog — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:54:04 GMT

Online travel agencies have been selling hotel rooms across the USA for years. But the taxes they collect on these sales may not be what they should be paying. The cities where travelers have been staying argue they have not been getting the real taxes they deserve. The stakes are huge as Dennis Schaal explains. You can read more about this issue at his blog. This fight is now getting serious - if a destination wins a tax fight, the OTAs simply stop selling that destination. This is a game of Russian Roulette - so who will blink first?

The Dassault Rafale

iagblog — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:41:00 GMT

The French were among the world's early fighter jet makers and they created the famous Mirages that did well wherever they flew - from the Middle East in 1967 to Southern Africa in the 1970s and 19080s. Interestingly the Mirages did best in the hands of non-French forces. Dassault created its newest fighter, the Rafale, which has only been bought by the French to date. Exports are crucial to make the program a financial/economic success. Rafale has struggled to get export orders. Michel Merluzeau, Managing Partner at G2 Solutions explains that the plane itself is at least as good as anything it competes with. The problem seems to be French politics. But things are looking up for the Rafale.

Virgin America - Worse Q4 Numbers

iagblog — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:26:54 GMT

Brett Snyder, travel industry analyst at BNET.com, AKA Crankyflier, put out a short piece on Virgin America's results. They are not pretty. We discuss the numbers, review industry activities and competitors. Our conclusion is that the little airline that could is having a patch of rough air. Hopefully they can get through this because these are hard times to be in the airline business.

In-Flight Internet - its time has come

iagblog — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:18:57 GMT

After a promising start that went through a big hiccup with Connexion, in-flight Internet/connectivity is back. A recent study by In-Stat sees a global market in 2009 of some 800 "enabled" planes rising to 6,250 by 2013. In-Stat's Daryl Schoolar, the analyst who wrote this report, estimates between 20 to 33% of passengers will use this service - a remarkable number. This means he sees revenue of $49m in 2009 growing to $2.2bn by 2013. This revenue growth is sure to make airline manager very happy.

AirTran selects GoGo

iagblog — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:57:14 GMT

Today AirTran makes an important statement. Not only does it announce fleet wide Internet access by the end of the summer - that is all 136 planes - but is endorses the fact that the LCCs are no longer following the network carriers in terms of connectivity. By adding two planes per night to their WiFi enabled fleet, AirTran will be the first major carrier to accomplish system wide connectivity. When the announcement comes out over a dozen of their planes will "switched on" - the airline takes 8 hours to WiFi enable a plane. This is big news and in making this announcement it is clear that this service will defacto become the new normal. Airlines without it will look rather backward. AirTran has thrown down a gauntlet.

A perspective on Swine Flu

iagblog — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:59:50 GMT

Its a bit of a panic out there. Sure this is awful and yes people have gotten sick, and some people have died. Yes it is a serious issue. In midst of the panic, a cool head is important. Not everything in Mexico is dangerous, not every part of the country is a health risk. Mary Jo Manzanares is a frequent traveler just back from Mexico this week (she was in Cancun) and guess what? Shes going back next week. She shares her perspective of what its like and what to think about when traveling in terms of health. Also see her blog here.

AirTran elicits customer feedback

iagblog — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:21:03 GMT

AirTran is an LCC that is doing things a bit differently. The company allowed its website to be a place where customers could propose new cities it should serve. Now its trying something slightly different - it wants customers to tell the airline what they want to see on board. May 12th is the announcement date set tell us all which idea won. Christopher White is AirTran's VP of PR and spoke with us about the campaign but he would not give us any clues as to what looks like the winner. We have our money in in-flight connectivity - and that is what we voted for.

Friends in high places? Not for the US airline industry.

iagblog — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:48:53 GMT

Its not just VP Joe Biden's unfortunate comments about travel that upsets the US airline industry. The US airlines are facing increased regulations in items long thought settled - like their alliances. These alliances were established at huge costs in terms of paperwork and labor time - all of which was approved by the government. Now there is the possibility of it all being turned upside down. Then there is the EPA's new plans for emissions. How does the industry cope? Air Transport World's Editorial Director Perry Flint talks about these issues and explains the challenges these issues represent to an industry facing tough times already.

Social media and the travel industry

iagblog — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:34:34 GMT

The travel industry is being impacted by social media in ways nobody could have imagined. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are ablaze with travel news and with the current swine flu, these sites are full of information. Susan Black is a longtime travel industry consultant who has embraced the social media technology. She explains what the impact is like, giving anecdotes and examples from specific companies and how they are experimenting - both from a customer support standpoint and more recently from an e-commerce standpoint. These are fascinating times in travel, even though business is off.

What's up in Dubai?

iagblog — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:10:55 GMT

Things in Dubai are not what they were even a year ago. Julie Johnsson is aviation reporter for the Chicago Tribune and a frequent visitor to the region. This gives her a fabulous viewpoint on the regional economy. She explains how things have changed and also discusses the impact a slower economy is likely to have on the region's airlines. With huge orders for new planes, everyone is holding their breath on this matter. Meanwhile, the region's LCCs look like being strong players in regional travel which is likely to see growth even as the economies slow.

IFEC - a view of the current status

iagblog — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:52:50 GMT

IFEC (in-flight entertainment & connectivity) has been the "coming thing" in the airline industry for years. Always big on promise, it has often failed to deliver. The latest technology making everyone excited is connectivity. So what is the industry status? We spoke with Michael Planey, an IFEC consultant about this. He explains that the financial crisis is impacting the industry, with airlines shrinking and removing potential IFEC platforms. That said he goes on to explain how the connectivity situation is likely to evolve as prices are expected to fall - he sees a world where in-flight connectivity will approach zero.

Maritime surveillance in times of piracy

iagblog — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:00:53 GMT

The news from Somalia is getting lots of attention, but there are other hot spots like the Malacca Straights. Pirates are as dangerous and unpredictable as ever. The best way to keep track of maritime piracy threats is from the air explains managing partner at G2 Solutions Michel Merluzeau. Michel describes the problems and various aircraft in operation or under development and the kind of problems they need to solve. The piracy threat is not going away and the assets needed to mitigate against the threat cost much more than the pirates' equipment. This is not a happy situation.

How Twitter helps empower travelers

iagblog — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:05:11 GMT

Wendy Perrin is Consumer News Editor at Conde Nast Traveler Magazine and wrote a great blog post on Twitter and its growing impact on the travel business. You can read Wendy's blog post here. Wendy explains how important Twitter is becoming to the travel industry and suggests that travel companies who have not yet embraced the technology should do so ASAP.

An assessment of the Gulf's aviation business

iagblog — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:42:28 GMT

The Gulf region has been one of the hottest aviation markets for years. Huge airplane orders, the world's biggest, drew attention to a region that arrived on the global aviation scene with breathtaking speed. However, as the global demand for travel has cooled, we were surprised to learn that this region does not seem to be hurting quite like the rest of the market. Oussama Salah has been in the region's aviation business for over 30 years and explains how come the industry has slowed but has parts that are coming into their own. The region's small LCCs are having a growing impact.

India commercial aviation update

iagblog — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:55:47 GMT

This is a market everyone watches, much like China's, as a source of new growth. But India's market has seen a sharp drop off in business among airlines and yet faces infrastructure challenges at its airports. Now, as India heads into elections, Devesh Agarwal shares news about strange happenings with India's finances at two key airports. (www.bangaloreaviation.com) India remains a fascinating work in progress. This is a market worthy of monitoring because it remains rich in promise and potential.

Airline alliances under threat?

iagblog — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:43:10 GMT

These may be dark days for airline travelers from a quarter nobody was expecting. There are rumblings that Congress might be trying to sunset alliances or make them renewable every three years. This is not a small item that touches few. The impact can be large - larger than many realize. You got to watch those wily people in Congress. Evan Sparks helps us monitor the policy matters in DC that impact the commercial aviation sector of the economy. In this podcast Robert Crandall comes in for some air time and so does Mr. Jim Oberstar. Pay attention, this can be serious.

Making ancillary revenue work with brand strategy

iagblog — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:11:28 GMT

This subject is attracting ever more interest as airlines try to find news ways to separate customers from their money. In truth customers understand that airlines need to make money to stay afloat - but do they have to nickel and dime to such an extent? Is there no way to make the pocket pilfering feel less like an consumer funded industry bailout? Shashank Nigam, CEO of Simpliflying.com takes a crack at explaining how this conflict might be resolved in a nicer and more cogent way. You can join Shashank's webinar at www.simpliflying.com.

Airlines and ancillary revenue

iagblog — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:43:05 GMT

Its the new "thing" for the airline industry - though it has been around in the form of duty free sales for decades. As airlines demonstrate once again that they cannot make money selling tickets, they now take little bits of your wallet for the most mundane and irritating things. Like baggage fees, or how about a user fee to use your ticket? Michele McDonald, Travel Technology Update editor and contributing writer to Air Transport World walks us through the maze that is now known as ancillary revenue. Bottom line; you will pay more and often won't know about it until you try to get on the plane. Worst of all, the bad habit of new fees is not going away. Rather its like a rash, spreading and spreading.

Wither the online travel agents?

iagblog — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:56:16 GMT

Having decided to level the playing field by dropping their booking fees, OTAs now are equal to the airline booking sites. But since many OTAs depend on the booking fees, what do they do now? To explain the background and describe the impact, we spoke with Dennis Schaal, contributing editor-technology at Travel Weekly. Dennis also has ablog you might to check out at www.DennisSchaal.blogspot.com

2009 Pentagon Budget

iagblog — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:50:09 GMT

Scott Hamilton from Leehman.net and George Talbot, Political Editor with the Mobile Press-Register discuss the budget announced today and review in some depth the one item everyone is watching - the USAF tanker order. As George explains, the DOD tried to keep their decisions politics free, but this is nearly impossible given the economy. There is going to be a fight on the Hill no matter what - and a split buy is not a closed issue regardless of what Secretary Gates wants.

Breaking news you won't find anywhere else

iagblog — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:59:37 GMT

Scott Hamilton, Richard Aboulafia and Addison Schonland share some news not found anywhere else. We trawled through the deepest our of sources to make these startling discoveries. Happy April Fools' day.

Airline Twits or how airlines are using Twitter to make life easier

iagblog — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:09:13 GMT

Probably the only business that comes close to the legal profession in terms of negative jokes has to be the airline industry. Yet there are a few airlines that get it - really get it. Using the latest social media tools, these airlines are quietly interacting with their customers, answering questions, solving problems and building their brands. For anyone using Twitter and traveling, this podcast offers you an useful insight. The sharp people at Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines share their insights into how they are using Twitter to take care of customers and take of their business at the same time. Yes you really can twit to an airline, they will listen and likely answer you with good advice.

Social Media and Brands - watch the impact

iagblog — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:10:01 GMT

Ron Kuhlmann is a well traveled expert on branding. (Check his website - http://web.me.com/ronkuhlmann/Site/Welcome.html) Ron explains how social media is impacting brands in general and travel brands specifically. We talk about American Airlines, Southwest, United, US Airways, Star Alliance, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa - and even Skytrax. This interview is a veritable trip around the industry - and the way consumers can play havoc with these brands has just begun really. There are some early movers on protecting brands in social media (Alaska, JetBlue, Virgin America, Southwest for example) - and they are smarter for it.

Distribution and Revenue Management

iagblog — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:53:43 GMT

We recently had a chance to speak with Sabre's Chief Scientist about the latest Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management. Ben guest edited the latest publication and discusses the various articles and their relevance to the situation the industry finds itself in now. You can find more on the Journal at www.palgrave-journals.com/rpm/journal/v8/n2/index.html

Yes, its very bad out there

iagblog — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:51:52 GMT

Air Transport World's Editorial Director, Perry Flint, shares some thoughts on the recent Speednews conference - where a number of the names you have heard on previous podcasts presented. They were uniformly negative in terms of the outlook for the rest of the year. Perry shares his own views on the industry in terms of traffic decline, fleet cuts and the general demand malaise sweeping across the US travel industry.

Are virtual teams the future of consulting?

iagblog — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:43:17 GMT

With layoffs everywhere, the way corporations are run needs more scrutiny, not less. Just read the news if you doubt that proposition. The evisceration of talent should be creating the new golden age of consulting. Martin Hedley, COO of Sharpresouces.com is creating a novel offering for the travel industry with virtual consulting teams made up of established experts. Planning on offering top tier consulting work at 50% off regular costs, he expects to have a busy year. Headhunters, talent and especially firms needing help pay attention to this idea.

More A380 Challenges?

iagblog — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:29:35 GMT

Reports are swirling about that 46 slide presentation Emirates gave Airbus about the A380. Almost certainly few slides only were just nice pictures. Erkan Pinar knows MRO and suggests that there may be more to the story than an A380 issue. How about the airline's own maintenance program? Jon Ostrower points out that expectations may need some adjustment (Emirates after all is known for its public complaints). The first batch of A380s are not the best versions as numerous irritants testify, but the plane will get better quickly as operator experience builds.

About airline brand fantasies

iagblog — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:48:23 GMT

Airline advertising tends to promise a lot - probably too much. When you actually interface with the airline, things mostly are nowhere near what you thought of looking at the airline's advertising. But things may be changing. Shashank Nigam is an airline brand expert, based in Singapore and Boston. Take a look at a recent keynote presentation he gave in Abu Dhabi on the subject - http://simpliflying.com/2009/keynote-on-airline-branding-at-aviation-outlook-middle-east/ Here is what you as a listener should know - airline marketing and brand people are VERY sensitive to Twitter. If you're not happy with something, just Twit it and not only are you empowered, you're in charge of the relationship. Who says you can't learn anything on a podcast?

Dilbert's Revenge

iagblog — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:22:36 GMT

Your relationship with that BlackBerry is mixed, isn't it? Yes you love its power, but you know it ties you to "The Man". Did you know there is a piece of software that can turn this wicked powerful device into an even more cool item? How about being able to not just store music on the device? How about downloading podcasts - the one's you really want to listen to. The folks in IT will palpitate until they also download this software. Get your revenge - visit www.versatilemonkey.com/iag and take up Marcus Watkins' offer for 20% off on his Podtrapper. You will giggle all the way on your commute now - with absolutely no Apple envy.

787 update

iagblog — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:46:24 GMT

This program continues to attract a strong following from analysts to aviation enthusiasts - the 787 program is the first truly "new" airplane in our generation. Just about everything about the plane is new. Boeing has a huge bet riding on the plane and its gestation has not been without hiccups and scares. Speaking with Scott Hamilton and Jon Ostrower, two of the program's most watchful observers, it seems that the program is more stable than it has been to date. They provide a lot of interesting feedback on the program's status.

Voyant Aviation Broadband

iagblog — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:38:11 GMT

The IFE&C community has a new member. Voyant has emerged s another player in this field. Connectivity is clearly where the IFE business is hottest. Steffen Koehler is Chief Marketing Officer at Voyant Aviation Broadband and spent some time telling us about the company and its plans. The big item here is the planned speed - 35Mbps per plane. That's a big number. Since their system is terrestrial it will not work large bodies of water, but as Steffen points out, 80% of the world's flights could exploit their service. This is great stuff - nobody needs to diet when it comes to bandwidth.

TSA's Large Aircraft Security Proposal

iagblog — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:00:43 GMT

The TSA is irritating people again - on its usual massive scale. It has been trying to bring in business jet under its secure flight program. Biz jet owners and operators are not exactly pleased with this. To help understand the background to this story we asked two experts on the matter to explain it - Benet Wilson is online managing editor for business aviation for

It may be time to brush up on skills

iagblog — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:39:22 GMT

In you work in the aviation arena, you are facing tough times. Layoffs beckon (yet again) and you need to think about your skills. Are they up to date? Can you do with new skills or update those you already have? For many mid-career people available time is short. An online solution offers time efficiency and reduces away from the office risks. Alan Guinn is Dean of Rushmore University and they recently launched an online aviation management MBA and associated certificate courses. Take a listen to this, it may be helpful.

Southwest's WiFi

iagblog — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:52:04 GMT

Southwest Airlines is adding WiFi to its fleet. This is a very welcome addition the flying experience. Although the flight I was on is short, I managed to speak with four people (the recording of the fourth person vanished). You can hear from three of the four but I can assure you his feedback matched the others closely. Overall passengers really like the idea of being connected. As one might expect people want lots of pricing options. From a technical standpoint, the Row44 WiFi worked great on laptops. I had less success with my BlackBerry. That said, connectivity is definitely the thing you want on a flight - the sooner the better.

Branding in tough times

iagblog — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:49:16 GMT

These are very tough times for the travel business. What does a company in the travel industry do to protect its customer base? Its all about branding and fulfilling the customer's expectations according to Bruce Mainzer,principal at Mainzer Consulting Group. Bruce has been in almost every facet of the travel industry - airlines, limos, cruise lines, resorts and restaurants. His experience is broad and deep - the insights he shares reflect the classic values of maintaining brands.

The Q-400 - what's it like to fly?

iagblog — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:49:52 GMT

IAG had a chance to speak with a Q-400 pilot today. This is in light of the awful news from Buffalo. The airplane is well known and liked by both crews and passengers. Our pilot tells us about the plane some, and in his experience, how it handles ice and weather. Clearly nobody has any insight about the Buffalo crash yet, and this podcast is merely to give listeners limited perspective of the airplane from a pilot's point of view. We want to reiterate our sympathy with the families of the passengers, crew and companies involved.

Boeing's 787 and lightning strikes

iagblog — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:54:59 GMT

Dominic Gates is the Aerospace reporter for The Seattle Times and he put a great story this week you want to read here. In it he refers to changing FAA rules about lightning strikes on a commercial jet. Read the FAA policy here. (Scroll down to the item titled: Policy on Issuance of Special Conditions and Exemptions Related to Lightning Protection of Fuel Tank Structure (it's currently the third item on the list) and click on "draft document.") The story is that the FAA is relaxing the rules on lightning strikes - but it seems that numerous engineers within the FAA don't think this a great idea with a composite plane. These engineers might like to see the rules relaxed a bit - but not too much because there are so many questions about lightning strikes on composites. Dominic's call is something quite amazing to listen to.

Stay the course - but can they?

iagblog — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:02:46 GMT

The US airline industry was reeling last year from high fuel costs, exacerbated by a weak dollar. How things have changed. The dollar is less weak (but not strong) and fuel prices dropped further than anyone could have fantasized. In fact 2009 might see US airlines make lots of money. To achieve this requires capacity discipline explains George Hamlin, president of Hamlin Transportation Consulting. (http://www.georgehamlin.com). George explains further that the changes we saw in 2008 need to be followed through and to succeed this year, the industry has to follow through on what it started in 2008. As he points out the "market share disease" is the item to watch for.

Bombardier's CSeries

iagblog — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:05:40 GMT

Last Friday Bombardier announced nothing about a firm CSeries order - something everyone was expecting given the fuss made over the LOI from the air show in summer. But Lufthansa did not move any further on the deal - so where does this leave Bombardier now? Moreover, the program is remains risky as Richard Aboulafia, SVP Analysis at The Teal Group, explains.

50 years later

iagblog — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:35:32 GMT

Argie Hoskins Shumway is the delightful lady behind this blog. (http://americanairlinesstewardess.blogspot.com/2009/01/life-as-stewardess.html) Argie shares a few minutes with us telling us about the historic first jet flight across America, on an American Airlines 707. Although she only worked for the airline for two and half years, her voice confirms what so many people know. Once you have worked in this industry, it always remains a special memory.

Airbus and Aviation Partner's winglets

iagblog — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:36:28 GMT

We had a chance to speak with Joe Clark, President of Aviation Partners and Dr. Louis Gratzer, chief aerodynamicist for the company. The discussion revealed that AVP believes they will achieve their standard 5-7% improvement as they have with numerous other planes. Indeed, they seem quite confident of this. The image shows earlier attempts at adding winglets to the A320 that seemed not be be successful. As the conversation goes on notice that AVP does not feel as confident in being able to significantly improve another of Airbus product's performance - namely the A340. Which is too bad as that airplane could benefit if this were possible. Then the conversation really takes an interesting turn as we talk about the A380 and vortexes. It seems this is something of an area of interest. Note also Dr. Gratzer's comment on the spiroid winglet. Fascinating stuff.

Airbus' A400M program

iagblog — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:09:30 GMT

Doug Barrie, AviationWeek's London Bureau Chief and Erkan Pinar of AirlineStrategy.com in Munich review and discuss their views on Airbus' A400M program. This is the latest production mess at Airbus, and coming immediately after the A380 snafu, is becoming highly irritating to defense customers. Particularly since these customers were all essentially "buying European" to secure jobs. Now Airbus/EADS wants to rework the contract; knowing that since the customers are primarily political they are unlikely to behave like business customers. The primary rationale for Airbus is that its customers are mostly interested in jobs and this allows (possibly) the EADS tail to wag the EU dog.

Keeping the DC-3 flying

iagblog — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:51:29 GMT

Back in the 1930's the DC-3 was the plane. Douglas was the industry leader. Peak production of the type was reached in 1944 with 4,853 being delivered. The Soviet Union built another 4,937! After WW2 this airplane got the commercial airline industry started. To say it is historically important to commercial aviation is an understatement. Just when you thought you'd seen the last of these at airshows, along comes Basler Turbo Conversions. They take these planes, rebuild them and add nifty PT6s. Then you get this lovely looking machine in the picture. Tom Weigt is the president of Basler and he tells us the company's story.

Air Force One Replacement

iagblog — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:48:27 GMT

A humorous look back at 2008 and a wary eye on 2009

iagblog — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:15:49 GMT

These days are dismal and miserable when they should be a lot more pleasant, given the time of year. In an effort to provide our listeners with some giggles (gallows humor?) we assembled a team of industry experts, who, it will quickly be apparent, know their stuff. This group pokes fun at the industry and its brands and players. This podcast is pure tongue in cheek and should be taken as such.

Aircraft Electrical Power Systems – Charged with Opportunities

iagblog — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:56:54 GMT

Balaji Srimoolanathan, Program Manager for Aerospace and Defence, Frost & Sullivan in India has produced a fascinating report on the "more electric airplane". You can see a summary at http://www.iag-inc.com/articles/aeps.pdf. As this chart shows, aircraft are increasingly becoming "electric". Balaji's research suggests that this is the future of aviation. His mention of fuel cells to be used by aircraft is fascinating - think of where this could go.

The New Food Tourist

iagblog — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:06:24 GMT

Professor Ian Yeoman, previously with Tourism Scotland, is now with Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand. He's still doing futurologist research in travel. His latest work has identified an emerging slice of the travel pie, the traveling male foodie. Ian explains how this traveler is impacting the travel scene and is being impacted by demographic issues like the singleton market.

787 Update - new delays and staff changes

iagblog — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:59:28 GMT

The AirInsight team of Scott Hamilton and Addison Schonland review today's news from Boeing with Flightblogger Jon Ostrower. The announced delays were no surprise. We have been expecting them. But what listeners might find interesting is Jon's assessment of how to tell real progress - when the first 787 moves outside the factory permanently. We also discuss the leadership changes. The 787 program is clearly eating up inordinate amounts of Boeing resources. One question at the end listeners might want to think about - the apparent paucity of senior management awareness at Boeing. How come it seems we keep having these six month delays? What do the leadership know and when do they know it? The frequent delay announcements must be hurting the company and program. But of course rather than cancel a 787 order, airlines can make money by demanding compensation.

2009 through the looking glass

iagblog — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:07:19 GMT

The discussion is about how we see the US airline industry in 2009. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are fuel, demand, capacity and pricing. But as we discus these issues, along comes another couple of horse - one called labor and the other called service. The summary of the podcast is that we see a murky 2009. We expect to see old mistakes come back. The lessons of high fuel costs may be forgotten. The industry's old saw about profitability being driven by market share could rear its silly head and drive the business down again. While consumers may love the lower fares and come back to travel, the industry will be no better off. Which means labor stays miserable and service; well forget service.

When does competitive intelligence cross the line?

iagblog — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:24:00 GMT

FlightGlobal's Jon Ostrower has just published an amazing report he came across. Take a look here. The report is an analysis of the 787 program by Airbus. You can only imagine the ruckus this is causing right now in Toulouse, Seattle and Chicago. Let's not forget the deep blushes in Wichita. It seems that Airbus' information is credible in terms of sources - and provides us with an insight into the secretive 787 program never seen before.

Pentagon checkmates Congress?

iagblog — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:53:17 GMT

Colin Clark is Editor of DoDBuzz (www.dodbuzz.com) and wrote two neat stories about the Pentagon's acquisition of more F-22s and then the problems the F-22 has run into. Turns out that there are various factions at work here - one crowd wanting more F-22s and another pushing for the F-35s. The interplay between Congress and the Pentagon procurement team is not going too well. This leads on to some talk about the F-35. Recently the Norwegians selected the F-35 over the Gripen - despite strong talk from Sweden about offsets. But at this stage nobody really knows what an F-35 will cost. Because the USA cannot offer offsets, the price is up in the air - so to speak. Colin then gives a brief comment on India's pending fighter procurement.

Is Boeing fundamentally sound?

iagblog — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:46:15 GMT

This is a rather radical sounding title. But the question was a reaction to Scott Carson's own words. Scott Hamilton, Addison Schonland and Richard Aboulafia discuss the company's programs at some length. It is our view that Boeing is sound, but clearly has seen more than its fair share of wobbly moments. The company will be tested some more now as it has to finance sales. It may get a lot tougher before it gets better. Boeing will be tested some more yet.

PhocusWright - Meet Travelscream.com

iagblog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:17:48 GMT

Its an odd name, but Tom Griffin, CEO of Travelscream.com has an interesting story to tell. First off, he does not want you to visit his website if you buy travel. But if you want to sell travel online, he sure does want to hear from you. His firm's engine powers numerous sites and provides "screaming deals" in a way that makes you think these deals are from the site owner. Sites using their services include big names like Fodor's.

PhocusWright - Did you know how big vacation rental homes are?

iagblog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:17:01 GMT

At this week's conference in Hollywood, amazing news about the sheer size of this industry (if one can call it that yet) emerged. There are numerous players in the space. This podcast comes in two parts. The first part is really a briefing from PhocusWright's senior director of research, Douglas Quinby. He explains what their research discovered. It eye popping stuff. Almost certainly this is something you will start using on your travel plans. Part two is an interview with Scott Hauswirth, VP of business development at Zonder.com, one the emerging firms in this space. The impact of PhoscusWright's research is manifest as Scoot explains what they are finding out about this emerging and growing industry. Given the shrinking economy, our view is that this sector is likely to see the lowest negative impact precisely because it offers so much flexibility and customization. One can select from such a wide variety of locations and budgets - and then share the cost with more than one family.

Meet EKit

iagblog — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:22:23 GMT

At the Phocuswright Conference in Hollywood, we were introduced to ekit (www.ekit.com), an Australian-based firm that is launching a very clever tool. Sold as a GSM SIM card, the service really is much, much more. When you buy the SIM card you get access to something you don't expect - an online travel journal - an automated one at that. Using cell towers for triangulation, the system tracks your location automatically and you can leave a trial of where you're traveling for your friends and family to keep track of you. But this is not the killer feature. The big upside in our view is the ability for a DMO to be able to pass on special deals to your mobile phone while you're in a specific location. How about a 15% discount on a restaurant right there in front of you? Sure there are privacy issues - but if you opt-in, the system is able to make a travel budget stretch much further. Listen as Andrew McDonald (COO) and John Diamond (CEO) describe the service. This tool is a very powerful solution for a lot more than just lost cost phone calls while traveling.

Is the VLJ dead? And other airplane stories.

iagblog — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:28:36 GMT

Rob Mark, CEO of CommAvia and publisher of JetWhine.com, shares thoughts on apparent closing days at Eclipse. We discuss the background to this plane and Rob gives a decidedly counter intuitive argument about how good this whole idea has been. Rob sees a future for little jets. We go on to talk about a range of other aviation items because that what jetjunkies do when they talk about the business.

Perspectives on Internet Travel

iagblog — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:49:40 GMT

Our panel, Michele McDonald, Editor of Travel Technology Update and Timothy O'Neill-Dunne, managing partner of T2Impact LLC, have a lively discussion about the results of a recent survey for Travel Weekly. (http://besttripchoices.com/trakresearch.html) The proposition is how travel agents and online travel buyers are changing the nature of travel buying. Do travel agents know what value they offer the market? In 1996 there were 50,000 travel agents and now there are 19,000. There seems to be a disconnect between agents and consumers. The driver is confidence - leisure agents are out of touch because online travelers can buy that type of travel online. How far will the agent niche shrink?

Air-Scoop on Ryanair and Russia

iagblog — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:09:47 GMT

Have you noticed how Ryanair loves a fight? Natela Kotchekova, a journalist with Air-Scoop has. (www.air-scoop.com - sign up for their RSS feed) She has an interesting take that Ryanair is using all these lawsuits to reinforce its underdog role. She finds this a novel and successful marketing method. Natela goes on to talk about LCCs in Russia and how well known the Ryanair brand is there. She feels the airline actually has a chance of doing well in Moscow. Natela also explains how tough it is for an LCC get do business in Russia, given national aviation policy.

The 787 and those fasteners

iagblog — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:54:11 GMT

Earlier this week we got an upbeat assessment that focused on five years from now. Here's an assessment from today looking at right now. Jon Ostrower, Flight's Flightblogger, shares his thoughts on information he gleaned after three days of digging. It is not a nice story. The information begs all sorts of questions about project management at Boeing and its suppliers. We end up wondering who knew what and when did they know it? It is hard to believe this news about fasteners coming out now the way it has. Information on the 787 drips out slowly, not much of it good, and it must drain the 787 team. Everyone wants to see this plane fly already. It is so full of promise and yet so delayed by seemingly odd issues.

Obama and change - what can we expect?

iagblog — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:07:03 GMT

The campaign's keyword was change. So expect this to happen. But what exactly will this entail? We chat with Evan Sparks (www.evansparks.com) and discuss what these changes include. Seems like lots of labor friendly policies to come. The impact of these new policies are going to substantial. Better labor relations almost certainly mean higher labor costs and this will impact competitiveness. This is one change that will be a big switch from the current situation. The people voted for change, and its change they will get.

Red Flag and the SU-30MKI

iagblog — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:34:47 GMT

The recent Red Flag exercise was really interesting because the Indian Air Force brought its really fancy new fighter, the SU-30MKI. We heard very little of how they did. The Russians wanted to make sure the Indians did not turn on some of the plane's features to keep this away from American sensors. But in the end, thanks to YouTube, you listen to a really frank assessment of the Indian Air Force (and other tidbits) at Red Flag. Steve Trimble, America's Managing Editor for Flight shares his thoughts on the two videos which can be found linked from his website. (http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2008/11/usaf-pilot-describes-iaf-su30m.html)

Upbeat on the Dreamliner

iagblog — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:49:15 GMT

The news today from Boeing was not good. More fastener troubles. This comes just as one union goes back to work and another starts its contract negotiations. We tried hard to find somebody who could see the silver lining in the clouds over Everett. We found Mike Miller, President of Miller Air Group and a former Editor-in-Chief of Aviation Daily. Mr. Miller gives us a more upbeat assessment of the news by providing context and a view over time. In five years, he says, we will not look back on these times too much - rather, we will be enthralled with the 787. And the SPEEA? He thinks they can get a good deal but cannot push too hard for fear of job losses.

Lufthansa uber alles

iagblog — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:52:35 GMT

This airline is quietly becoming the EU colossus. It made an powerful statement by offer virtually nothing for Austrian - and could afford to do so. It might yet end up wagging the tail at Alitalia. It certainly pulls strings in Brussels and Zurich. But is does so quietly and cooperatively. The news that it now is the second biggest slot owner at Heathrow surely sent shivers down the spines of many. It recently announced financial report is no doubt the envy of airlines round the world. What is its secret? Erkan Pinar and Addison Schonland discuss the remarkable performance at Lufthansa and its seemingly unstoppable progress to becoming the EU's biggest and, more importantly, most profitable airline.

The megamerger and superhub - meet the new giant

iagblog — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:09:05 GMT

The world's biggest airline just arrived - and we mean huge. 770 planes, 75,000 staff and $35bn in annual revenue. Put that revenue in another way - $95m per day. The numbers are boggling. Right now everyone is drinking deeply from the corporate Kool-Aid jug - probably too deeply. This company is going to be so complex that it will stretch managers like never before. Which is important since many of the most experienced managers are leaving. All we hear at this stage is how good its going to be. But the devil is in the details - how well the team executes this giant merger will tell us just how good they really. Ted Reed, airline reporter for TheStreet.com joins IAG's Mike Ciasullo and Addison Schonland to go over this merger and some its obvious implications.

Boeing vs. the IAM - who won?

iagblog — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:25:29 GMT

The strike may be waning as members get to vote on the new deal. There are some small wins for the IAM, but Boeing got to keep its core demands. Scott Hamilton, Richard Aboulafia and Addison Schonland discuss the deal and it appears Boeing did not lose much in the short term whereas the IAM may have caused itself to lose a lot in the longer term. It seems that Boeing will benefit from moving its new planes to a "right to work" state - the conversation suggests Texas. Boeing has to be strong as it is about to start dealing with SPEAA. In the short term IAM gets to make an announcement to its members, claiming victory. But longer term current IAM members had better send their kids someplace else for a job. They are unlikely to get aerospace jobs in Washington State.

Australian aviation update

iagblog — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:39:22 GMT

Qantas has been getting some poor press of late, but the underlying airline is still a great business. Virgin Blue is struggling to get its V Australia operation started but is being held up by Boeing's strike. Meanwhile Jetstar and Tiger continue to grow. Flights' Regional Managing Editor, Nick Ionides, based in Singapore gives us an update of how commercial aviation looks down under. Even though Virgin Blue can be bought for less than the retail price of an A380, Nick does not see any predators and believes Qantas will be unable to take advantage because of Australia's competition laws. Nick points out that Australia allows anyone outside the country to own 100% of its airlines - a novel concept these days wouldn't you think?

Is India's airline industry imploding?

iagblog — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:54:24 GMT

This clever picture shows you competitive India's have been. That is until they all started merging. It seems there will be two biggies left; one owned by the state and the other privately owned. But the latter is going to be a very complex business; four airlines acting as one but with two charismatic CEOs. This latter group won't even be a merger; rather a pooling of people and planes. But after the kind of marketing the picture illustrates, where does any brand go? To explain some of this highly unusual industry maturing, Flight's senior editor Brendan Sobie walks us through the Indian airline landscape. As he sums up, we could be talking about this for two hours and it still won't make sense.

Do airlines lie?

iagblog — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:46:06 GMT

Well do they? Despite howls of denial, it seems airlines do in fact tell lies. Not little ones either. Big fat lies according to EUClaims CEO Hendrik Nooderhaven and he has data to back up this allegation. (www.euclaims.co.uk) They have helped over 8,000 passengers get back an average of €400 over the past 18 months. They have an over 70% success rate and no airline has ever gone to court -typically settling out of court with hush hush terms. British Airways has an awful record of flights that should be compensated for according to EUClaims. EUClaims is now in a suit with Ryanair and fully expects to end up in court. This is a great story in the making. One which we intend to follow and Hendrik has agreed to talk about it when the case is over. After listening to this podcast you may never look at an airline in quite the same light again.

American's 787s and the sharp drop in fuel prices

iagblog — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:35:37 GMT

These items are unrelated, but they are bookends on the state of the industry. American's order came as something of a bolt from the blue. Long discussed and awaited, but it looked far off given the state of the industry. Clearly this puts pressure on other competitors - especially since American went with the larger model. The other bookend is the sharp drop in fuel prices - also unexpected. Southwest has long been a beneficiary of its fuel hedges, but even they were caught by surprise and have a $120m loss to show for it. Their first loss in 17 years. Scott Hamilton and Jon Ostrower discuss these two issues and review what it might mean. One thing is clear, this industry really defies predictability.

Its all about the Benjamins

iagblog — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:52:47 GMT

With the decline in fuel prices, what will US carriers do about all their fees? Its not just nickel and diming, but its about the Benjamins. The IAG analyst team of Paris, Mike and Addison discuss the complexities added by US airlines and how they now are struggling to explain high fares and those irritating fees. Overseas airlines have managed to cut their fuel surcharges because they never went for the convoluted scheme used in the US. A question we discuss at some length is whether consumers might avoid flying as their costs of road travel decline. Especially as the holidays approach.

Collaborative/Network Warfare is here

iagblog — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:57:53 GMT

Hold on for a bunch of acronyms you may not be familiar with. There's J-Stars, Rivet Joint, Astor, Sentinel and a few Nimrods. These are all planes or systems living inside planes. Each of these systems plays a role in airborne intel gathering of various types. To explain all this we have Aviation Week's senior military editor David Fulghum and London bureau chief Douglas Barrie. These two journalists have been writing on this subject for the past decade plus. They understand it well and by the time you're done listening you will be well briefed on what is happening with US and UK forces in terms of their ability to combat irregular forces like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. With this technology in place the many headed hydra is going to see a change in warfare. As is explained, the US and UK will be operating inside the opposition's intel cycle. Which means, militarily, the opposition are going to see a lot more devastation. Couldn't happen to nicer people could it?

Meet TripIt

iagblog — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:26:58 GMT

Gregg Brockway is president and co-founder of TripIt. (Take a look at www.tripit.com.) Gregg takes us through the background and what the service does. If you are a traveler who would like to have all your travel information accessible - to yourself as well as others - then this is the tool for you. Yes it will work on your smartphone. If you don't have such a phone, get one. The world is going mobile and with services like this you'll never fumble through printouts and other scraps of paper. Yes the tool even helps you keep track of your receipts. Since it can track everything you book for, you won't forget receipts. This is a handy dandy thing. Download it now, not because its free, but because you actually will use it.

LCCs and Fortress Hubs

iagblog — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:39:37 GMT

Southwest Airlines announced its intent to start flights into Minneapolis. This has historically been a fortress hub for Northwest Airlines and in normal circumstances Northwest could be expected to react with some prejudice. But of course they are so tied up with the Delta merger. Is this move an indicator of more moves to come? Might AirTran try its luck in Cincinnati? The legacy airlines are all shrinking and even the LCCs are seeing some shrinkage. As David Field, Americas Editor of Airline Business and Mike Ciasullo, IAG's managing partner for consulting services point out, the industry is headed for a nasty winter.

Airline industry - surviving or mending?

iagblog — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:21:46 GMT

John Heimlich is the Air Transportation Association's Chief Economist in Washington DC. The last time we spoke, we were looking at improbable $100 oil. Since then the ride has only grown worse; oil may have come down, but so has just about everything else, even the sky might be falling. John explains that the fixation with load factors must be moved to break even load factors. Moreover, the industry may break even - but it may not. There are still so many factors that impact. The weakening economy is hurting their customers (passengers) especially in New York where a lot of inelastic travel demand exists. Or used to.

Shenzhou 7; A NASA astronaut's perspective

iagblog — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:03:59 GMT

Today we spoke with retired NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao. A veteran of three space flights, Dr. Chiao flew as a mission specialist on STS-65 in 1994, STS-72 in 1996 and STS-92 in 2000. He has logged over 36 days, 12.5 hours in space, including over 26 EVA hours over four space walks, prior to his mission aboard the International Space Station. In 2005, Dr. Chiao was assigned as Commander and NASA Science Officer of Expedition 10, which launched aboard a Soyuz on 14 October 2004. Dr. Chiao describes the latest Chinese launch, tells us about their space suits and technology. He rounds off this great conversation telling us how cool it is to be in space and assures us the world is, in fact, round! More on Dr. Chiao can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Chiao; http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/First_Steps.html Excuse the roar at ~7:40; an F-18 buzzed the office.

What's behind the A400M delay? Possibly quite a bit.

iagblog — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:25:08 GMT

Airbus Military announced their A400M was delayed. Nothing shocking there really. Except the subtle fingering of SAFRAN. The latter responded equally subtly that Airbus was the cause of the delay because of the engine's FADEC. By the polite-speak ways of Europe, this was a fracas. The picture shows how big the A400M engine is compared to the C-130 on the test bed. That is a huge engine. Reviewing this situation with Addison Schonland are Erkan Pinar of airlinestrategy.com and America's Managing Editor Flight Group, Stephen Trimble. As we discuss the A400M program we manage to talk about quite a few EADS programs as well as some of EADS' dealing with Europe's aerospace industry. Steve points out the Antonov An-70/72 basically did everything the A400M is supposed to do, but that program never got any traction. All three of us express disappointment that it never did. It was a remarkable plane and way before its time.

Cabin customization - a view from Airbus

iagblog — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:05:25 GMT

Bob Lange is Airbus' head of aircraft interiors marketing and shares his views on how airplane interiors are growing more customized as airlines try to use cabins as differentiation points. He mentions some fascinating numbers - typically interior costs are 5% of plane cost but in some cases this is now reaching 20% on some long haul planes.

Don't Panic

iagblog — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:32:00 GMT

Oil shot up by $25 today, the largest one day jump ever. Last week United Airlines and others looked stupid for locking in fuel hedges at high prices - this week they look quite smart. With conditions changing so rapidly its a wonder everyone doesn't go home with a raging migraine. Tim Hughes, Orbitz VP and travel blogger (http://tims-boot.blogspot.com), is based in Australia. We got early on Tuesday morning his time - before he had a chance to have his day spoiled. Time says don't panic, the travel industry has endured so many shocks and it will overcome the latest shocks. He's a brave man. There are many who would not bet the same way.

Lockheed reacts

iagblog — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:59:34 GMT

Steve Trimble, Americas Managing Editor for FlightGlobal, published two interesting stories today. The first is about the Gripen's marketing of their larger fighter to the Netherlands. This is in response to Lockheed's F-35, which seems to have seen a slowing in its development. A smart move by Gripen as it gives the Dutch (and Norwegians and Danes) negotiating space. How does Lockheed respond? The other story is about Lockheed's response to the A-400M from EADS/Airbus. The thought is that by making the current C-130 higher, wider and longer, Lockheed can take on the A-400M by 2015 when the USAF wants a larger freighter. Boeing is talking about a C-17B - so the space is getting crowded. Lockheed is the big dog in this space though, and their plan for the C-130 replacement bears scrutiny because the stakes are very high and Lockheed will give no quarter to the new players.

Airlines and their consultants

iagblog — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:39:31 GMT

Today we had a discussion between Bryan Johnston, President and CEO of Aviation World Services and Michael Ciasullo of IAG's consulting team review how airlines and their consultants have been doing. The conversation quickly moves into oversight - just like the SEC was supposed to watch Wall Street, the FAA should be watching the airlines. Bryan has a novel suggestion - three strikes and you're out of the industry. Of course applying this to the airlines would quickly see much of its management gone. The discussion is tough - nobody can name names, but the examples are there plain as day. Consultants and their airline customers have not brought us stellar results have they? You decide who the jackass/smartass is!

Alitalia is dead? We can only hope.

iagblog — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:56:38 GMT

Erkan Pinar and Addison Schonland discuss the latest news that CAI has withdrawn from its offer to rescue Alitalia. There are nine Italian unions and many of them would not agree to the CAI deal - giving up that fancy pilot and crew lifestyle seems to have been too much for their unions. Actually the demise of Alitalia is an opportunity for the Italian government. What happens next will be very interesting. The Italian market is big and attractive - who will step in to grab this market?

The aftermath from Meltdown Monday - divergent views

iagblog — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:11:59 GMT

The news on Monday was awful. Global stock markets tanked and literally thousands of people lost jobs on Wall Street. But there was a real drop in the oil price that sent airline stocks higher. Oil seems to be going lower again. Is this a turn around situation for the airline industry? Ted Reed, airline reporter for TheStreet.com, and Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, managing partner at T2Impact.com, have quite different views. The former seems to think better days lie ahead, while the latter sees a even more gloomy future.

After the tanker cancelation, wheeling and dealing goes on

iagblog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:31:21 GMT

So you though the tanker deal was dead for now? Maybe not. Colin Clark, DODBuzz Editor explains that the matter is still being pushed around by interested parties. What's more, the 767 tanker in Italian air force hands seems to have a spot of bother - or is that flutter? The there is news that perhaps Northrop Grumman will offer the Pentagon 20 A330 tankers on a commercial basis. This deal is clearly not closed as the forces created by the process seem to have the bit between their teeth.

AirCell's leap ahead

iagblog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:12:26 GMT

The in-flight connectivity industry is seeing rather rapid changes. Just a few years ago Boeing's Connexion was the big dog. Boeing is long gone, but emerging technology has ensured a cheaper solution that works just as well - and the airlines are flocking once again. Whereas the US airlines had fallen badly behind post 9/11, they are now once again at the forefront. AirCell is leading this effort and is now probably the undisputed market share leader with American, Delta, Air Canada and Virgin America among its customers. Interestingly, as these customers demand over the water service AirCell has to offer satellite services; so changes will keep coming. Fran Phillips, AirCell's SVP Airline Solutions talks about the company, how it is evolving and how it can take over the mantle from Connexion. We even talk about pricing those long hauls to come.

Voices at Aircraft Interiors & WAEA

iagblog — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:53:44 GMT

These are various voices at the Long Beach expo. As you will notice the areas of expertise is wide and Expo covers lots of ground in commercial aviation. The combined show clearly offers attendees a varied exposure to numerous industry vendors - the exchange of ideas leading to many sparks of creativity and new alliances in solving the key industry issue today; namely how to ensure airlines make money and the traveling public is comfortable and entertained.

WAEA Long Beach - Day 2

iagblog — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:33:01 GMT

Lori Ranson and Mary Kirby discuss and review the second day of the WAEA Expo in Long Beach. The show was markedly busier and more news came out about developments. Air Canada jumped into the connectivity fray and this causes a new dimension for its vendor. The impact of rising connectivity offerings means that the rising starts in the industry so far are the new players rather than the existing ones. This also means a shift in industry attention as connectivity starts to impact not only the passenger experience, but also the in-flight operations of the airlines in terms of on-board services. Sponsored by Panasonic Avionics Corporation” Visit us online at www.panasonic.aero

Panasonic's confident look forward

iagblog — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:31:57 GMT

Neil James is Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Executive Director for corporate sales and product management. He sat down with Addison Schonland today at WAEA and summarized his firm's current product outlook and shared his views on where the industry is going.

WAEA Long Beach - Day 1

iagblog — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:15:29 GMT

After a grueling day of walking the aisles and speaking to people non-stop at the Expo, Flight's Lori Ranson and Mary Kirby sat down to share thoughts on the day's events. The discussion ranged widely. We noticed some disconnects; why did jetBlue's CEO not even mention the eBay launch? How come the IFE industry never seems to see anything but a silver lining? Why is there such an apparent gap between those who see network and connectivity as crucial compared to those who prefer stand alone units? Sponsored by Panasonic Avionics Corporation” Visit us online at www.panasonic.aero

News from Seattle

iagblog — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:05:44 GMT

Flight Global's Flightblogger, Jon Ostrower, is in Seattle and has been busy speaking with machinists and generally getting a pulse on Boeing. He speaks about the 737 wing team that was sent home yesterday for lack of activity. He describes what seems like deliberate work slowdowns. The IAM membership seems to be carrying out its threats and possibly defying its leadership's request to go back to work. Jon also mentions that the leadership might put a stay on the strike tonight if they feel Boeing is moving closer. But the reaction on the shop floor seems to indicate members are already playing out what they see as the only next step.

Which has better wings; the donkey or the elephant?

iagblog — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:56:22 GMT

You think its easy coming up with these headlines? Seriously, which of the candidates has a better plan for the USA's commercial aviation industry? Aero-politics has been a non issue. Despite high fares, high oil prices, awful service, terrible on-time performance, numerous safety issues, terrible airline financials and yes, even horrible labor situations. You would think that if either the donkey or elephant were paying attention.... But given the political nature of America's aviation industry, we should keep our expectations very low. And watch out for the next TSA boss - that decision will certainly impact everyone.

To strike or not to strike?

iagblog — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:21:28 GMT

The IAM membership sent a strong message to Boeing - and also a strong message to its leadership. Unions members were not happy with their leadership giving Boeing another 48 hours. Scott Hamilton and James Wallace, aerospace reporter with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, discuss their reactions to the IAM vote news overnight. The big question now is what next? What does Boeing do and can they avert a strike in the next 48 hours?

Southwest and those dual gates

iagblog — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:55:42 GMT

Southwest Airlines makes use of dual jet bridges at Albany, New York. This is the only airport that uses these in the USA. Surprisingly Southwest, which prides itself on quick turnarounds, only uses these at one airport. One would think these jet bridges would be much more in demand. Given that times are tough in the airline world and every minute on the ground costs money, why has the industry not made more use of this concept? Take a look at a design here: http://www.fmt.se/index.php?id=41

Post summer Euro-airline roundup

iagblog — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:35:18 GMT

As the summer draws to a close, Erkan Pinar and Addison Schonland review news from around Europe's airlines. Its been a busy summer with consolidations, talk of consolidations and of course (at last) an Alitalia bankruptcy. As the big airlines jockey for ever greater critical mass, the Euro-airline landscape is changing is a big way.

Boeing's Best & Final is now out

iagblog — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:12:18 GMT

Boeing's final offer to the IAM is now out and can be found here: http://boeing.com/2008negotiations/pdf/bafosummary.pdf Meanwhile before this was posted on Boeing's site, Scott Hamilton and Addison Schonland spoke with the Seattle Times' Dominic Gates about how the negotiations looked. There are numerous factors at play, as Dominic explains. Boeing is trying to change the way it negotiates. IAM members are being pitched directly by Boeing now - leaving the IAM negotiation team fuming. Its high stakes poker in real-time. What a way to go into the Labor Day weekend.

The IAM's response to Boeing's proposal

iagblog — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:22:52 GMT

David White, Assistant Director of Strategic Resources in the IAM National HQ in Washington, DC discusses the union's reaction to Boeing proposal with Scott Hamilton and Addison Schonland. Calm and deliberate, Mr. White sounds quietly confident. He makes a strong case for Boeing's ability to meet IAM's demands. We have an open invitation to Boeing to speak with us.

Boeing vs. IAM - Boeing's rejoinder

iagblog — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:40:59 GMT

So Boeing decided to respond to the IAM's demands. And they moved quite a lot. Michelle Dunlop at The Herald in Everett and AirInsight's Scott Hamilton and Addison Schonland discuss the Boeing counter offer. This is the initial stage in a drawn out process that will take a few more days yet.

The Eclipse saga

iagblog — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:38:12 GMT

This is the little airplane that couldn't or might not. Launched with amazing fanfare and promise, it did not quite work out that way. After bloggers started questioning Eclipse's numbers and business plan, its founder took the outrageous step of suing bloggers. Not a smart thing to do in the 21st Century. Listen to Ireland-based Shane Price, who runs the the Eclipse critic blog (http://eclipsecriticng.blogspot.com), tell the story of the Eclipse jet. Its a great story whose end is not yet here.

The USAF tanker debacle has a long reach

iagblog — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:59:26 GMT

Think the USAF is having a tough time getting a new tanker? Their decision has a long tail way beyond the US. Take Israel for example. They too have a fleet of 707-based tankers. While these are old, the Israelis have decided to add more 707s. They are likely to copy any USAF decision. But the USAF delay has impacted these plans. Arie Egozi, aviation reporter with Yediot newspaper explains the Israeli situation.

The nickel and diming of the US airline customer

iagblog — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:02:32 GMT

As US airlines nickel and dime their customers with fees; $25 for that extra bag, not a snack to be seen, and yes even in one case, $2 for a bottle of water! Sure the industry needs revenues, but is this the best way to achieve this? The impact on code share flights is going complicate this already clumsy policy even more. To quote American's CEO, Gerard Arpey: "First, we have to lower our costs to levels that are more competitive. This will prevent the lower-cost airlines from pushing us out of the markets we want to serve. We've made great progress on this front, but we need to keep pushing." Boy have they pushed - traffic is dropping faster than fees and fares are going up. Southwest Airlines is having a field day with these fees. We joke about a 25c slot at the bathroom door - but be careful what you wish for.

Boeing wants more time

iagblog — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:07:41 GMT

The never ending tanker fracas looks like its going to go on a bit longer. Boeing has requested more time from the DoD. They regard the RFP that is about to come out as entirely new. Which is odd because Boeing has been offering the same tanker solution (with tweaks) for years - so why is this RFP new? Boeing's tanker spokesman Dan Beck speaks with AviationWeek's Amy Butler and IAG's Addison Schonland - he explains how Boeing views the situation now. It appears that Boeing sees the situation as DoD making these changes and they are merely responding.

Kafka comes to America

iagblog — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:55:50 GMT

It never ceases to amaze. TSA is in the news again. This time one of their inspectors clambered over a bunch of American Eagle RJs at O'Hare and damaged some external parts because the inspector used these as a way to climb on to the plane! (Can the inspector read and understand 'NO STEP'?) So the big question here is: Had the airline's staff not discovered this damage and the flight crew been given incorrect data in-flight, imagine what could have happened? It gets worse - who does one sue in the event of a disaster? Try suing the government. Who's in charge here, the FAA or DHS? Only Franz Kafka could appreciate this scenario.

Russia's air force over Georgia - not impressive

iagblog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:09:30 GMT

David Fulghum, senior military editor at AviationWeek in Washington, DC and Douglas Barrie, AviationWeek's London Bureau Chief, review the performance of the Russian air force in the recent Georgian campaign. Their impression is that the Russian's did not perform as expected - and indeed if this is their "A Team", then matters are quite scary for the Russians. Out of practice, poor (possibly malfunctioning) equipment along with a dose of arrogance certainly must have caused some shock in Moscow. The awe goes to the Georgians who either were a lot better than Russia expected or very lucky.

So what does Boeing do?

iagblog — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:46:03 GMT

The choices facing Boeing over the tanker are rather tough. There has been talk that some people want to withdraw. There are rational reasons for this. Yet the bigger picture is daunting - dare Boeing withdraw and let Airbus (under Northrop Grumman's flag) into its turf? The options are just not that simple - Boeing could be in a tough situation. Do they offer a bigger 767? Can they get something flying fast enough? How much time do they have? Scott Hamilton from Leeham & Co. and Amy Butler, Senior Pentagon Editor with Aviation Week & Space Technology discuss and review the situation. Since the revised RFP is due out this week, this discussion is timely. We even take a shot at a split buy.

The Granny vs. jetBlue

iagblog — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:52:33 GMT

This is an amazing story - you will find it unbelievable that such a thing can happen in the United States. Marilyn Parver, a 56 year old grandmother, was taken off a jetBlue flight in handcuffs! Because she would not delete a video she took of an altercation on the flight. As if the jetBlue crew wasn't bad enough, she was then manhandled by police officers at the airport - she is just over five feet tall - buy four officers who met her on the plane, put her in handcuffs only to notice the images she took were not a problem. She was then re-arrested when she refused to delete the images at the request of an unnamed jetBlue official. Imagine that; re-arrested after they decided her images were no problem. Who gave airline officials such power? What is going on here? A very disturbing story. Hello, is this America - land of the free? JetBlue offered the following response: “Upon JetBlue’s initial investigation, we disagree with the customer's version of the story. The customer was removed from the plane after demonstrating an unwillingness to follow crew member instructions. We can offer no other information at this time.”

James Wallace talks tankers

iagblog — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:27:05 GMT

Seattle P-I aerospace reporter James Wallace talks about Boeing and the current tanker activity. He points out that Boeing was dealt a stacked deck, so to speak. Whereas Boeing followed the RFP, Northrop went beyond the RFP and managed to move the Pentagon's thinking. So much so that the revised RFP is likely going to offer extra points for a bigger tanker. This puts Boeing at a disadvantage - no matter what. Northrop has a plane flying that it can demonstrate whereas Boeing might need a few years to get to the same stage with a bigger 767 tanker. This means there is a distinct chance that, given the circumstances, Boeing might simply not offer a proposal. Of course, the incredible time and resource waste from protests and so on is lost. Talk about a Pyrrhic victory.

VikingAir brings back the Twin Otter

iagblog — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:54:08 GMT

Rob Mauracher, Viking’s VP of Business Development talks about the company's history with De Havilland's planes. Once again, one hears about how a classic plane can stay current with new technology.

On the ground in Georgia

iagblog — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:55:18 GMT

Thomas Goltz is an American academic and author who is in Georgia today. He is also very familiar with the territory. Listen as he describes the absent Georgian defenses and Russian army, moving with impunity. Its disturbing to hear about Russian or CIS vehicles being used that carry UN markings though. How long before the regular media pick up that point? Apologies for poor sound quality - the call was to Goltz's mobile phone and routed through Turkey. He had to walk around a bit before we got the signal quality we did.

Reflections on the Russian Air Force over Georgia

iagblog — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:53:17 GMT

Georgia has claimed up to 20 Russian planes shot down. Of course Russia denies this but has admitted to a surprise at the Georgian air defenses. Other than that though, Georgia's response to the Russians appears puny and unconvincing. On the other hand, Russia's air force has not covered itself in glory. Missed targets - obviously missed - and large numbers of civilians killed do not speak highly of their training or precision weapons. This review by Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia and UPI's defense industry editor Martin Sieff will end up leaving listeners uncomfortable. Georgia fumbled badly and the Russians will feel even more pushy. The region's future looks very unpleasant.

Boeing Tanker update

iagblog — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:54:02 GMT

Aviation Week put out a story that Boeing might not compete for the revised tanker RFP and today the Seattle P-I has a story that Boeing will compete but with a bigger 767. With these stories out there, listen to what these sources have heard from Boeing and then make your own decision. Boeing sounds like they are going to compete and until the RFP has been analyzed, they are not going to commit to any specific size plane. Dan Beck is Boeing's tanker spokesperson and answers our questions and offers his take on the other stories.

The Goose is back!

iagblog — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:09:22 GMT

Old planes, especially really strong ones, don't go away, they come back stronger (and cooler). Remember the Grumman Goose? Well it comes from the 1936-era. We are talking older than the B-52 by a long shot. We are talking about the DC-3 period. This amazing plane is making a comeback thanks to Antilles Seaplanes (http://www.antillesseaplanes.com) Look at this plane - classic lines and neat PT6s. Of course you want one. For $3.5m its yours; location not included. On the other hand with his plane you could get there pretty easily. Actually this plane can take you just about anywhere.

The Southwest of air refuelers

iagblog — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:24:28 GMT

Omega Aerial Refueling Services is the name behind the world's only private in-flight refueling service. Their website is worth a visit. (http://www.omegaairrefueling.com/vms/) We spoke with Ulick McEvaddy, the company's President , based in Ireland about his business and his views on tankers. Old hands will smile at his comments about how older planes are built stronger. He also explains how his firm is able to refuel planes in-flight for so much less than his military customers. Given the rise in military aviation assets around the world, his looks like a good business to be in.

British Airways goes for the 777-300ER

iagblog — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:17:38 GMT

There have been rumors for months that BA would order these planes. The conventional theory being that the 787 delays made this necessary. Well, the order was announce - a small order at that - 6 firm and 4 options. Does this mean BA is being clever; not too big a commitment to Boeing while it waits for the A350XWB? Our view is that BA is in fact not committing itself to Boeing. It wants the option of being able to buy A350's. But every airline that has ordered the 777-300ER has been so impressed, they have ordered more. So, BA is making a deliberate decision here, which leaves its options open to still get the best deal later on.

Rivers of Red

iagblog — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:46:27 GMT

Listening to Henry Harteveldt, VP & Principal Analyst - Airline/Travel Industry Research at Forrester and Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, Managing Partner at T2Impact should leave you shaken and stirred. Things for the industry are looking awful and they are going to get worse - much worse. The flu being suffered at the US airlines is leading to pneumonia within the broader travel industry.

DC Policy Update

iagblog — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:01:18 GMT

Evan Sparks walks us through the latest Washington DC policy issues - FAA and the "congestion pricing" that isn't. That depends on your position of course. One man's congestion pricing is another man's creative new fee. Peak pricing is necessary and despite all the yelling over semantics, the truth is that there is only so much sky and so many minutes in an hour to fly. Moving along, we also discuss the airline industry's oil speculator war. You probably also got one of those emails. Ugh! Anyway, what you gonna do? Junk mail, its the American way.

EU LCC roundup in light of the EU pricing rules

iagblog — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:24:54 GMT

Erkan Pinar from AirlineStrategy.com takes us through the new transparency pricing rules and the impact this will have on the industry. Clearly the impact could be huge in terms of refunds with missed flights - imagine the refunds an airline like Ryanair could be paying back? This leads to a discussion regarding Air Berlin. This airline's chaotic growth seems to have caught up with its rather poor execution. As Erkan points out, the US problems are coming to the EU fast. The industry is likely to see a lot of upset in the coming months.

Chief 777 Test Pilot Suzanna Darcy-Henneman provide a briefing on the 777F flight test program from May 21, 2008

iagblog — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:44:01 GMT

Jon Ostrower's recording of the debrief.

Channel 9 - Trans Atlantic, OpenSkies and the premium market

iagblog — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:04:03 GMT

Thomas Lang is an interesting person to enter the fray in analyzing the airline industry. He started out as a journalist, spent time at the lamented eos in marketing and revenue management and is now heading off to do an MBA. Tom has a good view on OpenSkies, the Trans Atlantic market and listening to him you get to figure out why some of the earlier attempts at offering premium service in this market might not have worked. You should check out his website to stay abreast of his industry musings. In the podcast we discussed OpenSkies offering the only flatbed between New York and Paris. Tom would like to clarify that they offer the only flatbed in business class.

Meet Aviation Partners' CEO Joe Clark

iagblog — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:23:09 GMT

From the moment he starts speaking, you immediately pick up Joe Clark's infectious love for the business. He tells us how he got started in the winglet business, how Southwest really turned the industry on to their solutions and where they are going next - spiroids (a new word we need to learn), the coming plans for the 777 and the fact he can't talk about working with Airbus - but he shares his thoughts on how neat an A380 with winglets might be. Joe Clark may be the only person outside the oil industry who likes high fuel prices. These reaffirm the value of winglets which can now be amortized in two years.

This is a great time to start an airline - no really, listen...

iagblog — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:01:19 GMT

We hold Professor Sabena in high regard - hey, the guy's a Prof! Seriously, this podcast is replete with tongue in cheek cracks. However the underlying proposition has merit. It's a BIG if, but IF you could finance an airline now, this may be a great time to start. Planes are cheap, cheaper than they've been in a very long time. There are thousands of people who will jump at the chance for a job - skilled and experienced airline people. With not a lot of money, you could get something started now and, other than Southwest, the competition is incapable of responding. In the history of US airline start ups there has never been a time like this. So, got some serious coin you're happy to bet?

Washington update

iagblog — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:12:03 GMT

Evan Sparks is our Washington DC contact who keeps us updated on the aviation policy news and shares his views on the New York congestion issues, the current environmental talk plus his take on Herb Kelleher's speech. As usual Evan gives a great summary. The plan is for us to speak monthly and stay updated.

Airlines, Politics and You

iagblog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:40:16 GMT

The massive airline mess that is unfolding before our eyes is not something you can watch from the sidelines. It involves all of us - this is an election year and we can expect to see more than a little pandering. There are going to be thousands of people without airline jobs soon and many of those jobs are not coming back. Which candidate do you think will say that? Both candidates come from cities where major airlines are based - this is a local issue for them. Wait for the start of a round of aero-politics to start in earnest. Then there is you. Think you can sit this one out? Oh no you won't. Besides seeing flights shrink faster than a puddle in the summer heat, getting on a flight will cost you a dollar amount you cannot comprehend yet. Don't expect anything other than a seat and masses all around you. Your current air travel value for money proposition is out the window. Any rescue of the industry is also going to cost you as a tax payer. Have a great summer vacation - just try not to fly.

Happinomics

iagblog — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:15:15 GMT

Add this word to your growing travel vocabulary – it’s a new 2008 word along with “Staycation”. Ian Yeoman, a travel industry futurologist explains what people need to be doing to make their summer vacations more valuable. He has lots of examples from Alaska to Scotland of how people are making their lives simpler. With oil prices at levels high enough to make everyone depressed and a lot of people find comfort in their basements (or bunkers in Idaho?), it’s time to step back. There are few people who don’t want to get away this summer – Ian suggests someplace without TV, Internet or media. If you’re going to have a vacation, make it count.

More on the launch of the CSeries

iagblog — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:51:31 GMT

Jacques Kavafian is Vice President, Airlines and Aerospace Analyst at Research Capital Corporation in Toronto. Jacques just issued a report on Bombardier's CSeries - and promptly got a lot of attention with his projection that China Southern will be the launch customer for the plane (to be announced at Farnborough) with an order for 50. On top this, the airline will also buy 50 Q-series turboprops. One comment is worth particular attention - he thinks his forecast of a market of 6,000 planes for this size may be too low. He also thinks P&W has a decade head start over competing new engines with its GTF. This is a powerful endorsement for P&W.

China Southern to launch CSeries?

iagblog — Fri, 30 May 2008 20:41:42 GMT

In a report published today by Canada's Research Capital Corp. they suggest that China Southern will be announced as the launch customer for Bombardier's CSeries. This is huge news for Bombardier and they are likely irritated that the news has come out before the Farnborough show. We discuss the news with Flight International's senior editor Mary Kirby who put out a story about the report today. This is a very interesting development.

787 Media Day Update

iagblog — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:56:47 GMT

Jon Ostrower from Flightblogger is in Seattle today for the 787 Media Day. Jon gives us a ten minute update on his impressions. He is much more optimistic about the program - he says its a 180 degree turnaround from six months ago. This is great news!

Sex travel now and in 2030

iagblog — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:03:28 GMT

Ian Yeoman offers his futurologist thoughts on how travel and sex are intertwined. Both now and looking forward as far as 2030. Where is the travel industry heavily impacted by the human interest in sex? You will be surprised to hear how this is changing travel patterns around the world. And its not just about vacation travel - even guest workers suffer. The Vietnam War also gets a mention. From Las Vegas to Bangkok – with a stops in between – Ian explains what STDs and poverty are doing to change travel patterns. Don't walk on the wild side.

Tomorrow's Tourist

iagblog — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:57:34 GMT

Ian Yeoman has podcasts with IAG before and, as usual, he offers interesting views we have not come across before. Imagine forecasting the future of tourism 25 years out? Its hard enough looking forward one year. With so many variables, Ian takes a brave look into the future and shares some of the highlights of his new book. You can buy the book at this site: http://www.tomorrowstourist.com. Visit the site while listening because you will pick up snippets on the site that are provocative. Ian is a provocative thinker. Feedback?

Hurt me! Hurt me! Make me merge.....

iagblog — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:30:34 GMT

Today there were strong rumors about US Airways and United Airlines doing merger talk. Discussing the news is Professor Aaron Gellman, who is the Transportation Center at Northwestern University and George Hamlin, MD of ACA Associates. As we discussed this idea, we could not come up with any compelling reasons that the deal makes sense. US Airways is still dealing with two pilot groups and essentially operating as two airlines within one. That scene is one to avoid like a thunderhead. United on the other hand is a mess; its losing buckets of money (an American Alitalia?) What does United's stellar managers have to offer this combined company? It seems clear that the merger talk is emotionally driven now; there is a fear of being left out. But only the weak airlines have this fear. American, Southwest and Continental are above the fray and are likely to be the best US airlines to fly because of the minimal indigestion they will be suffering as time goes on. No wonder BA is rumored to be quietly talking with American and Continental. Its funny how the US' strongest airlines are in Texas. Feedback?

The Shotgun Fleet Marriage

iagblog — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:53:35 GMT

The IAG analyst team is back this Friday to discuss the apparent merged fleet news - the CEO at both airlines are touting this as an advantage. This view flies in the face of every other airline cost issue - rationalizing fleets are gospel everywhere else. But apparently not at these two airlines. In addition, looking at the cost of fuel, no matter how the management packages it, fleet cuts must come because there too many seats. The merged airline looks like it has no plans to cut any routes. Perhaps this is grandstanding for Congress. Or perhaps, these people really believe this? Surely they cannot; but who knows? Little makes sense these days. Feedback?

Got any summer travel plans?

iagblog — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:05:18 GMT

Chris Elliott, syndicated travel columnist and Ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine is a travel maven. Google his name if you need to verify this; then visit his site www.elliott.org. Chris describes the travel mess facing consumers - especially those in the US - this summer. Horrible gas prices will hit both air and road travelers. Chris thinks many people will simply vacation at home. Its interesting that the obvious low cost of the US as a destination for overseas travelers may not be enough to overcome security fears.

Commercial aviation and bloggers

iagblog — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:45:37 GMT

Commercial aviation does not like blogs much at all. Just this week we have yet another case where a company (Eclipse) has gone after a blog that has sometimes been critical of the company. We discuss this issue with Rob Mark from Jetwhine.com. This follows an increasingly well worn path. Holly Hegeman's excellent Planebusiness blog is embroiled in legal issues with Mesa Airlines. Without naming names, there are other cases we are aware of where a large aerospace firm has tried to shut down a sometimes critical blog. This is likely to continue. If you cannot control the information, don't fight it, embrace it. All bloggers want to do (most of the time) is tell a story. That means bloggers want content and companies can supply this content. If companies want to battle bloggers they will lose - the Internet is a massively disruptive technology which does not favor corporate views of information control. Bloggers are at the sharp end of using the Internet; if you doubt this ask Dan Rather. It really does not have to be this way.

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco; the pathway to airline profitability

iagblog — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:51:30 GMT

The team is back with a review of the primary challenge facing airline executives; its about profitability NOT market share. How does one get airline executives to break their market share thinking? Can an airline shrink to profitability? How about increasing the product level? Taking seats out of the market does not necessarily mean parking planes - but will anyone try this? Is there an airline brave enough to go against the ingrained thinking?

Alitalia - the soap opera masquerading as an airline

iagblog — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:37:21 GMT

Brett Snyder, from CrankyFlier.com, shares his thoughts about the airline he (and many others) refer to as the world's worst. Pay attention to his comments about the new LAX-Rome flight launch event; read about here (http://crankyflier.com/2008/04/18/alitalias-lax-reception/). This airline has become such a bad joke, one wonders how it has survived this long. Can one measure brand values in negatives?

ALPA booted at USAirways

iagblog — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:08:11 GMT

Ted Reed, airlines reporter at The Street.com, explains what's been happening at USAirways and the infighting going on at the airline among its pilot groups. What a horrible to fight this out. The airline industry is being brought to its knees by fuel costs - how many of these people stand to lose their jobs if the airline cannot sustain? Another question not asked in this podcast is this: What is it with pilots and seniority? Who invented this awful thing that makes seemingly irrational behavior rational? Clearly a subject for another day.

Mergers & Shotgun Weddings

iagblog — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:25:48 GMT

A three way discussion with our "unknown analyst" and Timothy O' Neil-Dunne (managing partner T2Impact) - reviewing the merger information so far and the rising rumors about United and Continental or United and USAirways. Our general summary is that these are all shotgun weddings - there is no inherent love here. These company cultures have been trained to fight with each other tooth and nail for every dollar and every customer. How one welds such diverse cultures into a new entity is, we believe, beyond the abilities of these firm's leaderships. There is an opposing view in today's WSJ you might want to read as you listen to this. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120830669812418021.html)

Where do we go from here?

iagblog — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:53:33 GMT

Our team of four analysts discuss where the industry goes from here - an awful week and the future looks very distressing. No airline looks ready to handle the status quo. What are the alternatives to the status quo?

Guns on flightdecks - part 2

iagblog — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:01:27 GMT

We chat with two pilots who have interesting views on armed pilots. Clearly the need for preparing for a 9/11 type event is now moot - between marshals and passengers, terrorists are highly unlikely to get away with another 9/11 event. But the forces that brought us armed pilots are entrenched and will not go away any time soon. One has to wonder if the program really has anything to offer - this is a question we need to ask. Guns in cockpits are, for many, like water and electricity - you just know something can go wrong.

April 11 Roundup

iagblog — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:05:02 GMT

Today we spoke with the Flight team again - David Field and Megan Kuhn - who share their thoughts on American Airlines' MD-80 inspections driven by a newly aggressive FAA, the Frontier Airlines Chapter 11 entry, and the downstream impact of Skybus' closure on communities that actually put money into supporting that airline's operations. It has been an awful week in commercial aviation. The future looks rather bleak.

OnAir delivering on its promise

iagblog — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:57:07 GMT

David Russell is COO of OnAir, a European based in-flight communications company. The firm has attracted a lot of attention lately with new customers and its successful launch with Air France. Indeed, Air France just successfully turned on the voice feature. While the US market seems to be tough to crack, OnAir seems poised to become the leading provider of these services among GSM markets.

Pilots and guns

iagblog — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:44:44 GMT

Recently a pilot had his weapon discharge in-flight. This set off alarms all over the US airline industry. What is up with this idea of guns on airplanes? We have a discussion with a captain at a major US airline. He is what they call an FFDO (Federal Flight Deck Officer, or a pilot carrying a gun). As he points out this was not something he liked at first. But after checking out the TSA program he decided to join it. What is interesting is that this pilot realizes that his gun is by far the last resort. There are numerous things that will happen before a threat can get to the flight deck door, much less enter it.

The rise and rise in US air fares

iagblog — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:55:07 GMT

Rick Seaney is CEO of Farecompare.com and probably now one of the leading thinkers on US air fares. Everybody wants to hear what he has to say about air fares. Americans have been spoiled for years with low fares. But times have changed radically in the past year. With an airline sector in crisis and no sign of any calming of the stormy skies, what should travelers do? Rick says book early. But, we think, beware who you book on - the airline may not be around later this year.

Meet the Cozy Suite - coming to Delta Air Lines first in 2010

iagblog — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:17:51 GMT

James Thompson is CEO of UK-based Thompson Solutions (http://www.thompsonsolutions.co.uk/index.html) and this firm is behind the novel design you see here. At last week's Hamburg Expo, Thompson announced that it has a launch customers in Delta Air Lines. The seat is going to take 14 months for certification - installation is due in January 2010. Mr. Thompson makes an astounding claim - his seats on a 767 will offer an airline the same per seat costs as a 787. Given the parlous state of the airline industry and incredibly long lead times to get the new planes, his seats potentially offer airlines a fabulous solution. Expect to hear a lot more about Thompson Solutions.

Airline bankruptcies - who's next?

iagblog — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:51:59 GMT

Three analysts discuss the recent spate of airline bankruptcies in the United States. Who's next and what's the problem? Are any legacies up next? Or does it stay among the smaller airlines?

US airlines, the FAA and Jim Oberstar

iagblog — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:58:09 GMT

Rob Mark is CEO of CommAvia and editor of the industry blog Jetwhine.com. His operational experience comes from being an airline and a corporate pilot, and also from 10 years as an FAA employee. Rob talks about the current fracas over airplane safety - how real is the issue? What is really going on? It seems that there is a lot more behind all this noise than airplane safety.

BA & T5 - ouch!

iagblog — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:30:40 GMT

Jared Blank runs two well known travel web sites (tripmela.com; onlinetravelreview.com) and has been a well known travel maven for years. In discussing the current news from Heathrow we go over the impact on BA's brand and the potential impact as people try to avoid T5. This means other options look better than ever; Virgin Atlantic, the new Air France/Delta code share and even eos and SilverJet. The news at T5 could not have been worse for BA. Open skies means there is much more choice and BA's customers may simply decide to switch brands. Such a decision will cost BA dearly at a time when it can least afford it. The stakes are very high for an urgent solution.

April 2 Industry Roundup

iagblog — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:15:51 GMT

Kieran Daly and David Field discuss this week's big news stories in commercial aviation. The Alitalia end of the line situation, the T5 baggage mess and its impact on British Airways' chief Willie Walsh, the amusing solution of moving the "lost" bags to Milan for sorting, the disappearance of airlines in the US (Aloha & Champion) and finally the crazy situation among US carriers of grounding planes left and right - a response to to the FAA and Mr. Oberstar? Certainly it looks like overkill and undoubtedly will hand travelers intense irritation and probably make people look at planes in a jaundiced way as never before.

The Juxtaposition of M&A vs. Bankruptcy for the US airlines

iagblog — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:19:36 GMT

George Hamlin is the managing director of ACA Associates, A New York-based aviation and aerospace consulting firm. George has been in the business for over 30 years. There is nothing about the current industry malaise he is not familiar with. He points out that the industry cannot seem to decide what it can sell for a reasonable rate of return. Furthermore the industry cannot benefit unless stricter laws of nature are applied – the weak need to leave the industry. It’s been that way before and it is time the laws of nature allow the system to self correct.

US airlines - do you reconfigure or reregulate?

iagblog — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:40:03 GMT

Professor Victor Cook is a senior faculty member at Tulane University - he is the Freeman Professor of Doctoral Studies and Research. Recently Professor Cook wrote a piece on SeekingAlpha.com (http://seekingalpha.com/article/68793-fixing-the-airlines-reconfigure-or-reregulate) that is an eye opener. If you ever thought about investing in the airline industry, read his post first. Then think again. This is a fascinating podcast and we look forward to more chats with the Professor.

Optimal boarding - an approach worth looking at

iagblog — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:58:08 GMT

Jason Steffen is the Brinson Post-Doctoral Fellow at FermiLab near Chicago. Jason's "day job" requires him to study cosmology and extra-solar planets. So boarding a plane is downright easy. He built a model after a bad day at the airport and has a model he thinks could save an airline 25% of the time they take to board a plane now. Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, managing partner at T2Impact and Addison Schonland have a short conversation with Jason. What is 25% worth? For a small plane doing 8 turns per day, it could mean fitting in a ninth operation. That is a huge impact for an airline. Pay attention to this thinking. It is very smart.

March 19th Industry Roundup

iagblog — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:18:24 GMT

In the second of a series of weekly roundups with the correspondents at FlightGlobal and Airline Business, we review the industry's news that caught attention. This week we discuss the Dubai-based LCC in the works, can US airlines shrink their way to survival and the remarkable sight of British Airways pilots marching outside Heathrow airport. The plan is to do this every Wednesday morning Pacific Time - if you have questions or suggestions, please reach out to any of us and we might be able to address this in the podcast.

Part 2 - Pilot fatigue

iagblog — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:10:30 GMT

This is part 2 of the series on pilot fatigue. In part 1 we got the view from pilots about the lifestyle - being tired is a part of the job. In part 2 we speak with a sleep expert who explains what a pilot (and anyone else) can do to fix the problem of fatigue. Turns out the fatigue issue is common. The solutions are not radical and require a small investment - you can do this privately and discreetly. Visit this site for more information: www.mysleepmatters.com and a free evaluation. Oddly it seems the FAA does not have rules about pilots and fatigue - a call to the FAA about this was not responded to. If this is not the case, and FAA has rules, we'd like to hear about it.

Is Air Berlin starting to come apart?

iagblog — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:09:14 GMT

Speaking with airlinestrategy.com President, Erkan Pinar, we get an update and view of the goings on within Air Berlin. This airline was the go-go player - the darling of so many in the travel industry. But all is not well - and as Erkan points out, you can only blame so much on fuel prices. Air Berlin's boss is going to have to be extra talented to talk his way out of these results. We would not be surprised to see changes at the airline - starting at the very top. Real soon.

Gulftstream G650 announced

iagblog — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:20:18 GMT

Robert Baugniet, Director, Corporate Communications at Gulfstream Aerospace talks about the new jet announced today. The excitement is real - this is the company's first new jet in a long time. As the new yardstick in terms of capabilities the plane is bound to be ordered by corporations with global ambitions. It has a range of 7,000 miles making it as capable as most long haul airliners in range terms.

Southwest pulls 41 planes for inspection

iagblog — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:41:30 GMT

David Field, Americas Editor for Airline Business, briefs us on breaking news of Southwest Airlines pulling 41 of its older 737s from flying for inspections after allegations about the airline missing safety inspections. This represents roughly 8% of its fleet - so this is big news. This move caused a cancellation of approximately 120 flights today. This is unprecedented action by Southwest and indicates how seriously the company takes the FAA allegations.

March 12th Industry Roundup

iagblog — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:54:47 GMT

In the first of a new series of weekly roundups with the correspondents at FlightGlobal and Airline Business, we review the news about what's not new with mergers in the US, Southwest Airlines and its FAA challenges and EADS 2007 results. The plan is to do this every Wednesday morning Pacific Time - if you have questions or suggestions, please reach out to us and we might be able to address this in the podcast.

Pilot fatigue - Part 1

iagblog — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:21:48 GMT

This is the first of a two part podcast on pilots and fatigue. The timing on this podcast is auspicious - this being Sleep Awareness Week. Fatigue is subtle and pilots don't like admitting to it. Tired people make mistakes - and being a tired pilot is not a good thing. As one pilot said, its the little things that happen (or don't happen) when you're tired. Fatigue creeps up on pilots and this is an issue that needs more attention. A lot more. Indeed, take a look at these two links to see how one pilot views the matter. http://www.thedigitalaviator.com/blog/?p=501 http://www.thedigitalaviator.com/blog/?p=507 Here's another link to look at: http://www.leftseat.com/AME/Desynchronosis.htm

Dayton Airport makes a comeback

iagblog — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:53:31 GMT

Iftikhar Ahmad is Dayton Airport's Director of Aviation and probably the region's biggest booster. He explains how the Dayton Airport - once a hub for Piedmont - is clawing its way back. It once handled over 6 million passengers per year and after losing its hub status lost much of its traffic. The airport is back over 50% of its peak traffic and yet cutting its costs - likely making it the least expensive airport compared to Cincinnati and Columbus. Squeezed between Delta dominated Cincinnati and Skybus dominated Columbus, Dayton has to be creative and aggressive. They have plans that many people in the industry will be hearing about.

Network 2008 roundup

iagblog — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:36:29 GMT

Mark Pilling, Editor of Airline Business and David Field, Americas Editor of Airline Business review this year's conference in San Diego. The general feeling was that open skies would be a smaller issue than expected, but it nonetheless got a lot of attention. Similarly, the fear factor associated with mergers among US airlines from only two weeks ago has abated. But the industry still faces tremendous threats from rising fuel prices. Yet airports are watching closely for opportunities and any nuances from airlines. The consensus from airline panel discussions was somewhat downcast; and airports generally were more sanguine. There is not much they can do about oil, but they still will fight for traffic and service.

International air service at Hartford Bradley Int'l

iagblog — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:47:34 GMT

Kiran Jain, Director of Marketing and Development at Bradley International Airport, describes the impact Northwest's new service to Amsterdam has had on their region. The city is now focused on more international air service.

KC-30 wins!

iagblog — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:26:10 GMT

In a remarkable turn of events, the Pentagon selected the KC-30 over the KC-767. This was a stunning decision for most observers. John Ostrower was at the Pentagon and tells us what he saw and heard. The call was taken outside the Pentagon under the approach for Washington Reagan Airport, so there is quite a bit of ambient noise on Jon's side of the call. Of course now comes the other shoe; will Boeing protest? Will Congress take approve this decision? How will it play to the election campaign? And last, but not least, how will this affect the WTO case?

Update on the Airbus A350XWB

iagblog — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:38:05 GMT

Alan Pardoe, Head of Product Marketing for the Airbus A330/A340/A350 programs, provides an update on the XWB. He explains where the company is in terms of definition, the speed of the design process and the care they are taking with the plane. (The lessons from the A380 and 787 have been learned) With some 3,000 people worldwide working on the program, its getting a lot of attention. Alan mentions that the 787-3 is likely to not be immune to previous niche programs like the VC10 or folding wing 777. Indeed he feels that modifying Japan's airports would be the better solution to enable larger planes to be used. Alan also updates us on the A330's bright future and the A340.

The Influence Dornier's DO 728 had on today's RJs

iagblog — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:55:01 GMT

Erkan Pinar from AirlineStrategy.com explains the influence that Dornier's 728 had on Embraer's eJets, Bombardier's CSeries and Sukhoi's SuperJet. As the image shows, the 728 was a really fine looking plane. Look at those lines and look at these other designs. Unfortunately the company was shut down just before the plane made its first flight. Erkan suggests there were some odd decisions at play when this happened. The sudden loss of Dornier and Fokker is a subject worthy of exploration in future.

Privatizing Midway – implications?

iagblog — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:17:45 GMT

David Bentley is author of “Global Airports Privatization Report” and also editor of Airports Investor Monthly. David reviews the Midway situation and discusses various other US airports and their potential for privatization. The US has not been a particularly good place for these deals – they are more common overseas. But given the Midway deal on offer, it may open up the US to more such deals. Airports, according to Bentley, offer returns between 20% to 30%, so it’s an attractive investment.

Airline labor attracts Clinton & Obama attention

iagblog — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:05:34 GMT

David Field and Addison Schonland discuss the 2008 Presidential campaign and its sudden interest in well paid, highly skilled airline pilots as a voting block. Commercial pilots are facing a daunting future with mergers and other industry uncertainties and look back on the past few terrible years. As a group these people are natural Democratic supporters - will the candidates give them the attention they think they deserve? We vote yes, they will.

Cessna Columbus announced

iagblog — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:43:43 GMT

We had a bit of a scoop today – minutes after Cessna sent off its sales team to start the emails, faxes and phone calls we got the word from Cessna’s VP Marketing Tom Aniello about the just announced Cessna Columbus. A large cabin jet that takes over from the Citation X – 4,000 mile range and to have the greenest engines in its class. To say that Mr. Aniello sounded pumped is putting it mildly!

EAS suffers big cut in US budget

iagblog — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:34:18 GMT

David Field, Americas Editor for Airline Business and Ted Reed, airlines reporter at TheStreet.com debate the merits of essential air service. The conclusion is that it may have some merit but in increasingly limited cases. The debate has amusing moments when we start talking about Senator Robert Byrd.

Feeling lucky? Flying in the USA.

iagblog — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:48:54 GMT

Rob Mark writes a neat blog at jetwhine.com and has strong views on FAA and its relationship with Air Traffic Controllers. Listening to him you start to have a deep down sense of unease - what if the system is really at max capacity? What is the controllers are unable to do more than they do now? We know there are increasing "near misses" - that's a fact. So why is this happening? After all this is the USA, with its amazing safe aviation system - right? Listening to Rob you might feel a little squirm also. The kind that leaves you wondering about the miracles that people perform daily keeping literally thousands of air travelers safe. How much can the system handle before something goes wrong? Still feeling safe, or is it lucky?

Feeling lucky? Flying in the USA.

iagblog — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:45:00 GMT

BA's A318 plans - a good idea or not?

iagblog — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:24:07 GMT

We speak with Timothy O'Neil-Dunne from T2Impact LLC and David Bentley at David Bentley Associates about today's announcement by British Airways that it intends to fly from London City Airport to JFK using 32 seater Airbus A318s. That is a very long ride on a very small plane. It will have to refuel, it will have to work around TSA and quite a few other things. But because Air France has now almost 50% of the traffic at London City, perhaps BA had to do something. This may not be a particularly clever move, but else could BA do? Then there the BA pilots, hot under the collar about OpenSkies...making choices more complicated. A number of interesting strategies coming out of Waterside.

Airborne Picocell Networks

iagblog — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:51:45 GMT

We speak with David Gross, chief analyst at Freesky Research, and discuss the report he just published (http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=57984). David mentions the future of in-flight communications for airlines, the various revenue models and the ease with which WiFi can be installed in the various fleets. 2008 is going to be a very interesting year for in-flight communications in the US.

Row44 wins Southwest

iagblog — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:24:17 GMT

Mary Kirby, a Senior Editor at Flight International, and Addison Schonland interview John Guidon, CEO of Row44 about his firm’s selection by Southwest Airlines for its in-flight connectivity. This announcement follows Row44’s selection by Alaska Airlines and is a big leap forward for the firm. John discusses the company’s forthcoming trials with both airlines as well as its planned expansion across the Atlantic with both EU and American operators. He gives his view about satellite and cell based solutions.

The OpenSkies brand experiment

iagblog — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:48:07 GMT

In a fairly long podcast (~21 minutes) we have a conversation with Doug McVitie from Arran Aerospace in Paris and Timothy O'Neil-Dunne from T2Impact in Seattle discussing British Airways' new airline. The consensus is that this experiment does not look like it will amount to much. Indeed, we cannot figure out what exactly BA is trying to to achieve. Given that BA is a very well established brand and is as mature an airline as exists, what on earth are they doing? From every angle we look at it, this is an odd decision. A decision we think that will be reversed before long.

Essential Air Service - a 30 year old boondoggle

iagblog — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:31:30 GMT

The Crankyflier, AKA Brett Snyder, has a post on his blog that makes good reading. (http://crankyflier.com/2008/01/08/essential-air-service-thirty-years-of-wasting-your-money/) Brett brings up one of those government programs set up decades ago that continues to run, this one costs $100m per year, and it's not clear what tax payers are getting for their money. The EAS program is in the news lately because of the pending closure of Big Sky Airlines. This airline basically lives off the EAS program, otherwise it might not be shutting down. Like big empty sky? It is tough when people lose their jobs anywhere. But why do rural communities get this benefit? What's in it for the rest of us?

Essential Air Service - a 30 year old boondoggle

iagblog — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:29:26 GMT

Israel's UAV plans

iagblog — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:12:19 GMT

Arie Egozi is Flight Global's correspondent in Israel and he gives us an update on that nation's growing UAV plans. All three branches of the IDF have UAV plans - the air force seems to have the largest need. That said, there are UAVs for perimeter protection, and the navy even is looking at helicopter UAVs for its patrol boats. The navy also is working with a 5m UAV patrol boat. Israel's UAVs range in size for a 737-sized strategic device (picture) to items the size of a bird or even butterfly. This is tremendous technology for such a small country.

So, you want to start an airline?

iagblog — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:33:50 GMT

Listen to Jack, a US-based entrepreneur, who wants to start an airline. He explains what it has taken over the past three years to understand the business - get people first, not money. Nobody will invest in an airline without a team to execute. Jack also explains how hard it is - but clearly how exciting it is too. He points out that you need big friends - people like Boeing's Startup group to keep you focused and on track. Yes, if you have a vision you can do this too.

Marcus Endicott - The Original Internet Travel Guru

iagblog — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:42:33 GMT

Long, long ago when the WWW was first invented there was a man called Marcus Endicott who produced a book online about travel (in 1994). Marcus was doing online travel as the web was born - he has seen it all and now is once again being a pioneer at www.meta-guide.com. Who better to ask questions about where travel is headed? Listen to arguably the original online travel expert.

Oil, Labor & Consolidation

iagblog — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:13:32 GMT

Speaking with our "unknown" analyst we have a podcast that addresses three horsemen of the airline apocalypse. Don't worry about the fourth horse....its identity will be come soon enough! This podcast is timely - there are rumors of Delta and Northwest talking again (more seriously) and Southwest sneaking a peek at AirTran.

Boeing's selection of the 767 as a tanker

iagblog — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:25:43 GMT

Bill Barksdale, Boeing's spokesman for their tanker program, explains how the company came to select the 767-200 airframe as the basis of its tanker proposal for the USAF - in light of the larger competitor it is facing off against for the KC-X program. Bill also talks about the overseas competitions where the same two competitors continue to face off - he makes the case that Boeing is responding to customer requirements and only talks about contracts it has won as opposed to MOUs and so on. It would be fair to say Boeing is quietly confident about its final proposal that is being delivered this week for the KC-X.

New York's airports caps and passenger protection law

iagblog — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:42:59 GMT

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, discusses the imposition of airport caps on New York's airports as well as the New York state law which would ensure basic services are provided to delayed passengers. We did not agree with David, but he made his case. David's position is that in the end, no matter what, passengers will end up paying for this form of regulation.

A look at 2008

iagblog — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:05:45 GMT

Speaking with T2Impact, Ltd. Managing Partner, Timothy O'Niel-Dunne, we take a look at 2008. Listeners might like the ideas about United being in play with acquisitive foreign airlines like, say, Emirates. Also we discuss Open Skies and softening of coach fares from Heathrow. Biofuels might become more of a "thing" in 2008. Plus the restart of in-flight communications. We also review NY's airport caps plus the great news of that state's passenger rights legislation.

Connectivity Breakthrough

iagblog — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:35:18 GMT

Mary Kirby, a senior editor at Flight International, is about to publish a story in Airline Business about the breakthrough that is occurring among the airlines that are adding in-flight communications - a long awaited breakthrough after the collapse of Boeing's Connexion. You can check out Mary's own blog - http://runwaygirl.blogspot.com/ There are two main approaches - satellite and cell technologies. Those airlines that announced their choices are off to a start. But two huge airlines are keenly being watched - Lufthansa and Southwest. Their approach will likely determine how others react. However, as Mary points out, 2008 looks to become the breakthrough year for in-flight passenger communciations.

Air Congestion in New York

iagblog — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:51:14 GMT

Patrick Smith's day job is piloting a widebody jet for a large US airline and he is based out of New York. He also known as person behind Salon.com's Ask The Pilot column. Patrick discusses the news that the federal government wants to cap the traffic flows at JFK. Its not just a JFK problem - the space in the sky is an issue throughout the north east US. The issue is airline created as much as anyone else's because of the volume of RJs. Patrick's advice is the give yourself more time connecting in New York because the problems are going to get worse before they get better.

Looking back over 2007

iagblog — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:40:49 GMT

Speaking with Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, managing partner at T2Impact.com; we review the airline industry over 2007 - discussing oil prices, profits (plus labor problems), ATC issues (including VLJs), global pilot demand and the afterlife of Chapter 11. We also skirt the JetBlue/Lufthansa deal and talk a bit about United.

BetaBlue - in-flight communications arrives at last

iagblog — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:58:49 GMT

We had a great discussion with Henry Harteveldt from Forrester and JetBlue's Bryan Baldwin on the airline's newly arrived in-flight communications option - only available on one plane at this stage - aptly named BetaBlue. Read more about the technology here: http://www.jetblue.com/about/whyyoulllike/about_betablue.html?source=gsbetablue100 The concept is to not over promise and allow both customers and the airline find the sweet spot. This approach is novel given the US airline industry's incredible ability to disappoint. Henry was on the first flight and caused quite an industry stir with his emails sent from the plane at 36,000 feet. Kudos to JetBlue for its pioneering efforts and its approach in keeping expectations real. The American traveling public have been waiting long enough for this technology. If Starbucks can offer it, why not an airplane?

Tracking flight profitability

iagblog — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:13:19 GMT

John Cullom, managing director of the OBC Group, explains how his firm's software tool Flight Profitability enables airlines, investment banks and analysts to monitor airline profitability down to the most appropriate level - by flight. This allows one to build up information which allows for "operations based costing". Airlines are able to track their performance against business plans and make changes as they are required to optimize resource allocation and overall business performance. Their web site is http://www.theobcgroup.com

Hawaiian buys Airbus

iagblog — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:19:35 GMT

Mark Dunkerley, President & CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, discusses his airline's recent fleet renewal process - selecting Airbus over Boeing. He also explains the engine selection process; new routes for the fleet and the consideration of new narrow body planes over the next two years. This podcast confirms the race between Boeing's 787 and the Airbus 350 is not as straightforward as many think.

EADS & Airbus - where, exactly does it hurt?

iagblog — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:51:08 GMT

We discuss with Munich-based Erkan Pinar, principal at Airlinestrategy.com, Airbus' claim that the weak US Dollar has now gone beyond the "pain barrier". Record orders in Dubai, followed by yesterday's huge order from China surely mean Airbus - and by extension EADS - needs all their staff to get the planes built and delivered. Yet senior management is insistent on layoffs and pushing production costs offshore.

Fuel prices and US airlines

iagblog — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:35:45 GMT

We spoke with John Heimlich, VP and Chief Economist at the Air Transport Association of America and Kieran Daly, Group Editor for Premium Products at Flight. The subject of this podcast is the impact of high oil prices on the US airlines. John explained how the industry is managing to work around the issue, and that its recent financial success may be short lived because of issues like rising labor costs. He also explained that no big fleet decisions are likely until the industry has reduced its debt significantly.

Corporate Travel Audits

iagblog — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:23:39 GMT

Mike Putman is founder of Travel Team Consulting. The firm is based in Greenville, South Carolina. Mike explains a what a corporate travel audit is and how his firm undertakes these projects. Corporate travel audits are important because they save corporate travel budgets 18% to 30% . Not to mention that employees may have better travel experiences, too. You can Travel Team Consulting at www.travelteamconsulting.com

Revenue management in the age of LCCs

iagblog — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:00:06 GMT

We speak with Ron Kuhlmann, editor in chief of the Unisys Scorecard. Sign up at www.unisys.com/transportation. Ron explains why the e-commerce environment is so challenging for legacy airlines - they cannot show their advantages to customers because the booking systems do not allow them to demonstrate their better value proposition. This is a novel way to looking a how legacies are being beaten by LCCs. If a legacy carrier costs only 10% more but gives you meals, space and real ambiance, why not fly it? The problem is that in the current booking systems you only see the 10% price difference - you never know about the other side of the deal - unless you're an industry insider.

Southwest's new procedures

iagblog — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:29:58 GMT

We have a chat with Rick, a very frequent Southwest flier - about twice per week for years. He's seen just about everything the airline does - in fact, he has about as good a pulse on the airline as any customer. He notices the nuances. Rick really likes the new boarding procedures - its way better. But he's not taken with the new pricing, at all. He makes an interesting point about how few people he has has seen that have bought the new more pricey Business Select fares.

The incredible opportunity that is India's aviation sector

iagblog — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:27:20 GMT

Vishnu Murali is CEO of SAASTRA, an India-based travel eco-system software company. He has been in the travel industry for over a decade. We discuss with him the possibility of 5 years of 30% annual growth in commercial aviation, the lack of infrastructure but the incredible growth in online sales that will come from hand held devices rather than PCs. India has 23 million PC-based Internet home users out of a total 65 million internet users (PC-based). But it has already 250 million mobile phone users. India is a market with truly enormous potential and it looks like the government has decided - wisely -to let the private sector close the digital divide and unleash the latent power in India's consumer market. The numbers are breathtaking.

Vought and the Boeing 787

iagblog — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:54:31 GMT

The AirInsight Team reviews today's Vought analyst call and the impact for further delays in the Boeing 787 program. The need for Boeing to send significant resources to Vought has our team wondering about the downstream implications on further delays - indeed we expect there are likely to be more. And its not just the 787, the 747-8 program might be impacted also.