Earlier today, Air Canada unveiled plans to implement in-flight internet service. The carrier said they’ve begun testing the technology on flights from Los Angeles to both Toronto and Montreal. Although they’re a bit behind U.S. carriers with in-flight internet, Air Canada will be the first Canadian airline to offer the service. Air Canada said they will continue testing until January 29th, and will analyze results / customer feedback prior to launching the service on other routes... Read Full Story

Just when you thought 555 passengers was a lot to fit in a commercial airliner, try 840. Air Austral, the flag carrier of Reunion in the southern Indian Ocean, purchased two all-economy versions of the aircraft – the first all economy version Airbus has sold. Is it safe, and how will it affect ticket prices? Airbus’s chief operating officer, John Leahy, says the plane still will have wider seats, wider aisles, and more space for each passenger compared to Airbus’s competitors. Fare price wise... Read Full Story

Today is a day of thanks for all who served, and serve – I think Boeing sums it up fairly well with this advertisement: Read Full Story

The price of NYMEX crude oil futures is just about at the $80 mark, and within the past month, the price of oil has risen nearly $10 (see oil chart below). It’s no surprise that the price of oil is climbing. In early summer, many oil experts predicted the price to settle in the $70s during the Fall season. How will this affect airlines? Obviously, more expensive oil means higher fuel costs for airlines. Yet, as the IATA predicts, passenger demand will likely rise within the next year, l... Read Full Story

Continental Airlines, based in Houston, TX, officially switched from the SkyTeam alliance to Star Alliance. The move isn’t a surprise, as Continental’s intentions to switch were announced over a year ago. Star Alliance is the world’s first and largest airline alliance, consisting of founding members: Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways, and United Airlines. A day following failed merger talks with United, Continental CEO Larry Kellner received a call from United’s Glenn Tilton, asking fo... Read Full Story

As airlines struggled this past third quarter, good news came from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). After surveying airline chief financial officers, the industry trade group reported an increase in market confidence from airline CFOs, with over 73 percent of them expecting profitability to improve over the next twelve months. How will airlines stack up with this prediction? It’s not too difficult for airlines to improve – it seems as though they’re at their worst. Profitab... Read Full Story

The nation’s cheapest, ancillary revenue friendly airline, Allegiant Air, reported a profit of $13.8 million this past quarter, making them the nation’s most profitable airline for this quarter. In a period of weak demand for air travel, Allegiant successfully boasts higher profit margins than any other carrier in the United States. What are they doing right? (see post) Nothing’s changed drastically. The Las Vegas based company continues to make money from food, beverage, and souvenir sales. ... Read Full Story

In an effort to increase the amount of experience required for airline pilots, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3371, the “Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009.” Many organizations, including the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA), applauded the bill’s passing by the House, but not everyone is happy. The primary element of the bill requires all pilots to hold an FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license and have a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight... Read Full Story

Germany’s largest airline, Lufthansa, announced plans to bring back WiFi and phone services. Within forthcoming months, the carrier said they would bring back the service, beginning with flights between the United States and Europe. The service will likely be fleet-wide by mid 2010. You might recall Lufthansa offering WiFi three years, however the airline removed the service citing weak demand. The price of WiFi used to be $10 per hour, or $27 for the entire flight; in-flight calls tended to ... Read Full Story

Online social networking quickly became the primary way we communicate and stay-in-touch with others. Through status updates, “tweets”, or blogs, we’re readily updated on friends, family, co-workers, and now… airlines too are on-board with social media. In the past few years, many airlines launched blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook fan pages aimed at keeping consumers in-the-loop of airline news, sales, and general day-to-day flying information. Just recently, I spoke with Mr. Christopher... Read Full Story