Tag Archives: A320214

EasyJet to roll out allocated seating in November

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) is preparing to introduce assigned seating starting in November. The company issued the following statement:

“As part of its aim of making travel easy and affordable, easyJet is to roll out allocated seating across its network from November 2012. The airline has been trialling allocated seating since April and over this period more than 800,000 passengers have flown on 6,000 trial flights.

Research among these passengers shows that more than 70% think allocated seating is better than easyJet’s current system, due to the improved boarding experience, while over 60% said that they are more likely to use easyJet in the future as a result.

easyJet trialled allocated seating because passenger research showed that the current boarding process can be a source of stress for some passengers and in some cases puts people off flying with easyJet altogether. The key tests of the trial were to improve passenger satisfaction without impacting easyJet’s ability to deliver industry leading punctuality or adding cost – all of which were achieved on trial flights.

On allocated seating flights passengers who do not wish to pay to select their seat will be allocated a seat free of charge. Passengers travelling on the same booking will be seated together wherever possible by easyJet’s reservation system which uses the most advanced seating algorithm in world aviation.

Some interesting facts emerged from the trial flights:

On shorter journeys seat 6A was the best seller while on longer flights it was 1A
On shorter journeys seat 16B was the least popular while it was 19B on longer flights
Passengers preferred seats on the left hand side of the plane with seats A, B and C out selling D, E and F

Allocated seating will continue on trial flights and the key dates in the roll out across easyJet’s network are:

Services to/from	Date
Gatwick South, Luton, Stansted, Southend, Bristol and Glasgow	13 November
Gatwick North, Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Paris Charles de Gaulle	20 November
Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Basel, Geneva, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Paris Orly, Madrid, Lisbon and Berlin Schönefeld	27 November

All passengers will be allocated a seat for free on easyJet’s flights but will be have the choice of selecting their seat for a fee when they book flights or add them later to guarantee where they’ll be sitting. There are three bands of pricing, dependent on the seat selected:

£12 for extra leg room (front row and exit rows)
£8 for up front seats (row 2-5 on A319 or 2-6 on A320)
£3 for any other seat

easyJet trialled allocated seating during the summer season, the airline’s busiest time, to stress test the new systems and procedures. The airline will roll it out during the winter season when fewer people travel to ensure a smooth transition from one system to another. The trial flights showed that allocated seating can be delivered at the same time as maintaining strong levels of on time performance and without adding cost.

easyJet plus! annual cardholders and Flexi Fare customers will be able to select a seat free of charge as well as continuing to enjoy the benefits of Speedy Boarding’s dedicated check-in desk and Speedy Boarding – allowing them to board the aircraft first.

Passengers purchasing Upfront or Extra Legroom seats will be given access to the Speedy Boarding dedicated check-in desk and will be first to board.”

easyJet (UK):

Tyrolean Airways to lease two Airbus A320s from GECAS

GE Capital Aviation Services Limited (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, announced it will lease two Airbus A320-200 aircraft to a new customer, Tyrolean Airways (Innsbruck).

Tyrolean Airways is now responsible for operating all Austrian Airlines flights. Austrian Airlines (Vienna) has become virtually a marketing name rather than an operating airline. Only one aircraft for legal reasons has been retained on the Austrian certificate. Otherwise all other Austrian aircraft and personnel have been shifted to lower-cost Tyrolean. Tyrolean is also dropping the Austrian arrow name.

The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in early 2013 and will expand the existing fleet to around 80 aircraft.

Austrian Airlines Slide Show:

Air Arabia Maroc to fly from Marrakech to Bergamo, Italy

Air Arabia Maroc (airarabia.com) (Casablanca) has announced that it will start a new route connecting Marrakech to Europe.

The new weekly flight between Marrakech and Bergamo Airport (near Mlan) will start on October 28. The new route will operate on Sundays, departing Marrakech International Airport at 13:25 and arriving in Bergamo at 17:55. The return flight departs Bergamo at 10:15 and arrives in Marrakech International Airport at 12:45. All times are local.

Routes from Casablanca:

Hong Kong Airlines to drop the London Gatwick route on September 10, will concentrate on the Asian market

Hong Kong Airlines (Hong Kong) has confirmed it will discontinue the Business Class Hong Kong-London (Gatwick) route on September 10. The carrier added the route only in March 2012. The airline will concentrate on regional routes in Asia.

Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss. The airline is also modifying its color scheme. Newly-manufactured Airbus A320-214 F-WWIA (msn 5264) displays the updated look at Hamburg (Finkenwerder). The airline has been stylizing its name as Hongkong Airlines. The new airliner will become B-LPF on delivery.

Hot New Photos:

Hong Kong Airlines:

Joel’s Airline Corner (August 2012)

Guest Editor Joel Chusid

Guest Editor Joel Chusid

Bees on a Plane

Not snakes, otters or bats this time, but a few days ago passengers on a Delta flight getting ready to depart Pittsburgh International Airport for New York’s JFK were abuzz when it was suddenly discovered prior to fueling that thousands of honeybees had swarmed the right wing. Because honeybees are a protected species, a beekeeper had to be called to carefully remove the insects without harming them. Cell phones and cameras snapped pics, and passengers were more amused than concerned. The beekeeper pronounced the species docile, and he promptly and carefully removed them. Hopefully no one missed their connecting flight at JFK – but these folks now have a good cocktail party story. At the opposite end of the animal size spectrum, a couple of months ago, early morning passengers getting ready to depart Regina, Saskatchewan were startled when they looked out the airport windows to see a huge adult moose wandering on the runway. The huge animal was chased off the tarmac on to a golf course, but returned a second time by crashing a fence. Airport vehicles chased it, perhaps unintentionally onto a busy expressway, but was later caught and tranquilized in a nearby neighborhood.

Thieves, too…

Unfortunately, there can be thieves on a plane, too. The Air France flight attendant who helped herself to business class passengers’ valuables on no less than 26 flights between Paris and Tokyo a couple of years ago made international news when she was caught. But you need to be as careful on a plane as on a subway. Some years back a regular scam on Las Vegas-bound flights was to steal one single credit card from women who were foolish enough to put their purse under their seat, giving the person behind them access. Think about it, if someone managed to get one credit card from your wallet; how long would it take you to realize it? Advice: put your valuables under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin across from you in your line of sight, not over your head! And on long-haul late night flights when people go to sleep, take extra care. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a budget carrier or a five-star airline or in which class – although the premium cabins obviously are more likely to have bigger targets. Consider the case of passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight from Jakarta to Singapore recently. As they dozed or watched videos in a darkened cabin, two thieves rifled through the overhead bins and hit the jackpot, $5000 in cash in a carry-on bag. Luckily, they were spotted and arrested on arrival. But don’t find yourself to be a victim!

It’s Automated

I remember a famous standup comedian telling an airplane joke many, many years ago about getting on a plane and a voice came across the PA saying “This is the Captain speaking; everything on board is automated about this flight; there aren’t even real pilots- the plane is totally automated; there is no need for concern; nothing can go wrong, can go wrong, can go wrong, can go wrong….” Well, something went wrong with Southwest Airlines’ website a couple of days ago, and it’s a good thing this glitch happened on the ground. In this case, it involved social media. In celebration of their reaching three million Facebook followers (or “likers” in Facebook lingo), Southwest offered a one day half-price promotion on their website. People pounced on the sale, but in this case, something did go wrong. The charges went through, but the tickets didn’t. As a result, many would be purchasers ended up getting charged double, triple or worse. One woman trying to buy a $69.60 ticket to Georgia from Virginia was charged twenty times. People hit their credit limits, and those using debit cards had their bank accounts drained of hundreds of dollars, even to overdraft levels. This happened on a Friday night and Southwest’s customer service lines were jammed with calls, while many resorted to airing their grievances on Facebook. Knowing Southwest, they’ll make it right, but it seems that it will take a week or more to sort out some of this, and those poor folks who used debit cards may have to deal with bank fees and at least a little inconvenience.

It’s Not Illegal, But…

I don’t mean to pick on Southwest, since their employees generally have a great sense of humor and the company even had the guts to do a season of reality shows. But they also take their jobs seriously. Ladies, be advised. It is not a wise idea to paint your nails on a flight. A Burbank, California woman flying from Las Vegas to Houston a few months back proceeded to do this and was told by a flight attendant to stop. With two nails to go, she proceeded to finish the job in the lavatory. The attendant was waiting outside the door, and a verbal altercation ensued. The incident resulted in her arrest upon arrival for interfering with a flight crew, and she spent ten hours in custody. Charges were later dismissed. Social media had a field day with this. No, it’s not illegal to do this, unless you’re using a flammable product, but most netizens agreed that the strong smell of polish is offensive and some people might be allergic to it. Best advice: do it before you leave or after you land.

Exclusivity Aloft…Organically

A recent Boeing study on premium passengers reported an obvious but critical fact to airline profitability: 15% of their passengers generate 50% of an airline’s revenue. So it’s no surprise that airlines go to great lengths to cater to their most important customers: those buying seats in the front of the plane. Some carriers offer free limousine service, on board chefs, showers, standup bars (I haven’t heard of any on-board pianos coming back that were on American Airlines flights in the 70’s) and much, much more. Now here comes Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways who recently purchased three beehives and 200 free-range hens to produce their own exclusive organic honey and eggs to be used in meals for their first class passengers. The airline is also planning to produce its own signature pickles at an organic farm in Abu Dhabi. What’s next?

Taking Branding to New Heights

Some airlines, and now airports, are teaming up with companies to jointly develop their brands. Virgin America previously did a deal with Banana Republic to promote their Mad Men collection, complete with a special aircraft livery. Then they asked the retailer to design new flight attendant uniforms. An 18-month project between the two firms resulted in a fashionable yet functional wardrobe that complements the aircraft mood lighting for both flight and ground crews, due to debut August 8. But the airline went a step further, and Banana Republic will offer some of the items for sale. No, you won’t be able to buy the uniform for Halloween, but the men’s and women’s trench coats, aviator sunglasses and other travel accessories will be available. At Paris-Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, Swedish retailer IKEA opened a 220 square meter lounge akin to walking through one of their stores. The lounge, open to all, includes nine bedrooms, sofas, TVs and even a secure children’s area where you can drop off your tykes for some supervised fun – just like in the store. The lounge opened in July, but it was due to close in early August. See photo below.

World Airline News – Fresh Daily Airline News: CLICK HERE

Bottom Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. Airbus A320-214 N847VA wears the special Banana Republic – Madmen Collection motif at the San Francisco base.

US Airways reaches a tentative agreement with its flight attendants

US Airways (Phoenix) has announced that it has reached a tentative agreement on a collective bargaining agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents the airline’s 6,800 mainline flight attendants who are based in US Airways’ three hub cities of Phoenix, Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., and in its Washington, D.C. focus city.

US Airways:

Interjet arrives today in New York

Interjet (Mexico City) today (August 2) launched its first service from New York (JFK) to Mexico City. The daily flights add a third gateway city in the United States for Interjet, which already operates out of Miami and San Antonio.

New York represents the airline’s sixth international destination. In addition to the three U.S. cities, Interjet flies to Guatemala, Havana, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

The JFK service departs from New York at 7:25 am (0725) Monday through Friday and 10 am (1000) on Saturday and Sunday. Return flights leave Mexico City at 4:40 pm (1640), arriving at JFK at 10:30 pm (2230).

Interjet:

Aer Lingus has a pre-tax first half loss of $30.1 million

Aer Lingus (Dublin) has reported a first half pre-tax loss of $30.1 million.

Read the full analysis from the Irish Examiner: CLICK HERE

Read the full report from the airline: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Dave Glendinning. Airbus A320-214 EI-DVM (msn 4634) painted in the 1963 retrojet livery taxies at London (Heathrow).

Aer Lingus:

Republic Airways Holdings improves to a 2Q net profit of $20 million

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Indianapolis) reported net income of $20.0 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2012. This compares to a net loss of $14.9 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the same period last year, on operating revenues of $728.1 million, a decrease of 1.6%, compared to $739.7 million for last year’s second quarter on a 5.1% decrease in consolidated capacity.

The Company also reported the following key metrics for the second quarter of 2012:

	Three months ended June 30,
(Unaudited)	2012			2011			% Change

Consolidated operating revenues (millions)	$	728.1		$	739.7		-1.6	%
Consolidated ASMs (millions)		6,392			6,736		-5.1	%
Consolidated operating margin		9.0	%		1.6	%	7.4 pts
Consolidated net income (loss)	$	20.0		$	(14.9	)	nm
Diluted Earnings per share	$	0.40		$	(0.31	)	nm

Consolidated EBITDAR (millions)	$	174.6		$	128.7		35.7	%
Consolidated EBITDAR margin		24.0	%		17.4	%	6.6 pts

Frontier total revenue per ASM (cents)		12.18			11.25		8.3	%
Frontier operating income (loss) (millions)	$	15.5		$	(30.8	)	nm
Frontier operating margin		4.2	%		-9.2	%	13.4 pts

Business Segment Presentation
As announced on its fourth quarter 2011 conference call, the Company has adjusted its presentation of business segments in 2012 and has revised the prior year’s information to conform to the current period segment presentation. Reportable segments now consist of Republic and Frontier. The Republic segment includes all regional flying performed by sub-100 seat aircraft operating under either fixed-fee or pro-rate agreements, subleasing activities, regional charter operations and the cost of any unassigned regional aircraft. The Frontier segment includes passenger service revenues and expenses for operating Frontier’s Airbus fleet, as well as its charter and cargo operations.

Republic Segment Summary
Republic revenues decreased 12.1%; compared to the prior year’s second quarter on an 8.9% decrease in block hours. The block hour reduction was due to a significant reduction in the level of pro-rate flying performed on behalf of Frontier Airlines (Denver). As of June 30, 2012, Republic operated 14 fewer 37- to 50-seat aircraft than a year ago. Republic also redeployed 14 of 17 E170 aircraft that had been flown on behalf of Frontier in 2011 into fixed-fee service with Delta. The remaining three E170s are being subleased offshore.

Income before taxes for Republic was $19.0 million for the quarter, compared to a pre-tax income of $10.0 million for the second quarter of 2011. The improvement in Republic’s second quarter result stems from a significant reduction in pro-rate flying and related losses that were incurred in the second quarter of 2011 on sub-99 seat aircraft operating on behalf of Frontier.

Fuel costs for Republic were $54.4 million for the quarter, a decrease of $33.9 million from the prior year’s second quarter, due mainly to the reduction in pro-rate flying. The price per gallon decreased 8.2% from $3.55 to $3.26 year over year for the quarter.

Cost per Available Seat Mile (“CASM”), including interest expense but excluding fuel, increased 3.8% to 8.48¢ for the second quarter of 2012, from 8.16¢ for the same quarter of 2011. The increase is mainly due to expenses for aircraft that were unassigned and not producing ASMs during the quarter, and reduced seat count on our 58 US Airways E-jets, which have been reconfigured with first class cabins and total fewer seats.

As of June 30, 2012, Republic operated 56 aircraft with 44-50 seats and 126 aircraft with 69-80 seats under fixed-fee commercial agreements. Additionally, Republic operated one aircraft with 50 seats and 17 aircraft with 99 seats under pro-rate agreements with Frontier. Twenty 37- to 76-seat aircraft were unassigned as of June 30, 2012. Of the 20 unassigned aircraft, four ERJs and four Q400s will be returned to service for United-Continental under CPA agreements and two E170s will be subleased offshore during the third quarter.

Frontier Segment Summary
Total revenues increased 11.3% to $370.7 million for the quarter, compared to $333.2 million for the same period in 2011. Capacity on Frontier, as measured by ASMs, increased 2.7% from the prior year’s second quarter, due to a change in the Airbus fleet mix in 2012. Load factor for the second quarter was a record 90.1%, and an increase of 1.7 points from the second quarter of 2011. Total revenue per ASM (“TRASM”) was 12.18¢, an increase of 8.3% from the same quarter in 2011.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Frontier posted pre-tax income of $14.1 million compared to a pre-tax loss of $32.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The significant improvement in Frontier’s financial results was driven by solid unit revenue increases and lower unit costs as a result of the network and financial restructuring completed in 2011.

The operating unit cost for Frontier operations, excluding fuel, was 7.18¢ for the quarter, a 5.7% decrease compared to 7.61¢ for the same quarter of 2011, due primarily to lower non-fuel expenses and an increase in the average aircraft seat density in the current quarter.

Under the Company’s arms-length pro-rate agreements, Republic is allocated an industry standard pro-rata portion of ticket revenue, while Frontier retains all connect revenues as well as ancillary revenues on regional flights. Frontier maintains certain rights to deploy the regional aircraft and maintains control of pricing and revenue management. Frontier also retains responsibility for all customer service expenses, including airport rents. Selling and distribution costs are shared between Republic and Frontier. Frontier’s unit cost for the second quarter of 2012 includes approximately 0.40¢ related to these expenses associated with pro-rate operations between Republic and Frontier.

Fuel costs for Frontier were $136.8 million for the quarter, a decrease of $1.7 million from the prior year’s second quarter. The fuel cost per gallon, including into-plane taxes and fees, decreased 4.0% to $3.35 for the second quarter of 2012, compared to $3.49 for last year’s second quarter. The second quarter result included expense on fuel hedges of $3.4 million, or $0.08 per gallon, for 2012 and $3.6 million, or $0.09 per gallon, for 2011. Of the $3.4 million second quarter 2012 fuel hedge expense, $1.2 million was settled during the quarter; the remaining $2.2 million was an unrealized loss as of June 30, 2012.

As of June 30, 2012, Frontier operated a total of 58 Airbus aircraft. During the second quarter of 2012, Frontier reconfigured its fleet of A320 aircraft to include six additional seats, increasing the seat density from 162 to 168 seats. Frontier added one A320 aircraft during the second quarter of 2012, increasing its A320 operational fleet to 16 aircraft. Two A319 aircraft were returned to lessors during the second quarter of 2012.

Recent Business Developments
On May 14, 2012, the Company announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with Continental Airlines, Inc. to operate 32 Q400 aircraft under the United Express brand. The agreement was finalized on July 20, 2012. The eight-year agreement includes the four Q400 aircraft Republic previously operated under pro-rate service in Denver for Frontier plus 28 additional aircraft leased from Export Development of Canada (“EDC”).

On June 26, 2012, the Company amended its capacity purchase agreement (“CPA”) between Chautauqua Airlines, its 50-seat subsidiary, and Continental Airlines. The amended terms of the CPA provide for an extension of service, and the operation of an additional four E145 aircraft through August 2014. Under the amended agreement, Chautauqua will operate a total of 12 aircraft by September 2012.

On July 25, 2012, the Company reached an agreement in principle to sell five E190 aircraft to US Airways. The sale of the aircraft is subject to final documentation. If completed, the first two aircraft would be scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2012, with the remaining three to be delivered in early 2013.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity
The Company’s total cash balance increased $39.7 million to $410.4 million as of June 30, 2012, compared to Dec. 31, 2011. Restricted cash increased $78.7 million, to $230.1 million, from Dec. 31, 2011. The Company’s unrestricted cash balance decreased $39.0 million, to $180.3 million, from Dec. 31, 2011. A condensed cash flow statement has been provided in the tables section of this release.

The Company’s debt decreased to $2.25 billion as of June 30, 2012, compared to $2.36 billion at Dec. 31, 2011. As of June 30, 2012, approximately 85% of the total debt is at a fixed interest rate. The Company has significant long-term lease obligations for aircraft that are classified as operating leases and are not reflected as liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. At a 6.0% discount factor, the present value of these lease obligations was approximately $1.12 billion and $1.20 billion as of June 30, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2011, respectively.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Republic is now expecting to spin off Frontier Airlines in the first half of 2013. Frontier Airlines’ Airbus A320-214 N211FR (msn 4688) completes its river approach into Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA).

Frontier Airlines:

Virgin America hosts “First Pitch” at San Francisco Giants home game at 35,000 feet

Virgin America (San Francisco) knows how to get attention with its unusual and wacky promotions. Here is the latest announcement:

“Virgin America, the only airline headquartered in San Francisco and the Official Airline of the San Francisco Giants, today is inviting baseball fans to help do good and compete for the chance to throw out the first-ever baseball pitch live broadcast from onboard a Virgin America commercial flight at 35,000 feet – to open the San Francisco Giants’ home game against the Colorado Rockies on August 11, 2012. The first pitch will be thrown down the aisle of Virgin America commercial flight 753 as it enters Bay Area air space en route from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The first pitch will be captured live on video by AEG Digital Media and transmitted air-to-ground via the airline’s Gogo® in-flight WiFi to AT&T Park, where more than 40,000 San Francisco Giants fans will be watching.

Super fans can win a chance to throw the first-ever mile high pitch today by entering into a contest* hosted by Virgin America, the San Francisco Giants and Major League baseball. All entrants will automatically score a 20 percent off discount** on fall travel on Virgin America – and help give back. For every entry into the competition, Virgin America will donate five dollars to help raise awareness and funds for cancer research via the Stand Up To Cancer initiative. The lucky super fan will join Giants mascot “Lou Seal” in-flight and get to create their own cheering section in the sky: by inviting five friends onboard to help him or her “make it over the plate” (which in this case, is Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select Row Three).”

To enter and for official rules, see: www.sfgiants.com/virginsweeps.

Top Copyright Photo: Virgin America.

Virgin America:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. Airbus A320-214 N849VA (msn 4991) is named “Fly Bye Baby,” and was painted in honor of the Giants. N849VA was introduced on March 29, 2012.