After a fifteen-year-old Russian boy survived a two-hour flight at high altitude as a stowaway inside the wheel well of a Boeing 737, his story received some attention. He stowed away at the Perm Airport by sneaking through a hole in the airport fence. Everyone wondered how a modern airport could allow such a major [...]
Archive for September, 2007
“Hole in the airport fence? Nyet problem.”
Posted in Evan's News and Quick Takes, tagged airports, europe, security, world on September 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Families seek video-free enclave on planes
Posted in Evan's News and Quick Takes, tagged budget airlines, consumer advocacy, network airlines, regulation, travel on September 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After her four- and seven-year-old sons were exposed to an R-rated movie with “a lot of nudity” on recent flight, a parent took her concerns to Congress, where two North Carolina legislators have introduced a bill to require airlines to offer “family friendly” seating sections without any visible TV screens. This parent apparently received an [...]
A whole lot of not much
Posted in Evan's News and Quick Takes, tagged asia, open skies, regulation, travel on September 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Travel Weekly reports that after four years of talks, the U.S.-Japanese bilateral aviation agreement has been amended for the first time in ten years, with minimal changes: a minor codeshare rule change, more flexibility in setting fares (“While that provides more fare freedom in theory, the U.S. government never blocked fares, and it was not [...]
Winners all in China grab bag
Posted in Evan's News and Quick Takes, tagged asia, competition, network airlines, open skies, regulation, travel, world on September 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The Department of Transportation has awarded new China route authority (see my earlier post on this), and all the major airline applicants took home a prize. Delta goes first, with immediate approval for Atlanta-Shanghai. The 2008 route is for Guangzhou only, and only United submitted a bid, for service from San Francisco. Finally, in 2009, [...]
FAA reauthorization, part two: the Senate
Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged air traffic control, airports, consumer advocacy, faa, labor, regulation, usa on September 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After looking at the House’s FAA reauthorization bill , it’s time to turn to the other chamber, which is expected to act on its bill, the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 (S 1300), this week.
The key provision is the establishment of a user fee system for air traffic control. [...]
FAA reauthorization, part one: the House
Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged air traffic control, airports, consumer advocacy, faa, labor, regulation, safety, tax, travel, usa on September 20, 2007 | 3 Comments »
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007 (HR 2881) was adopted by the House of Representatives today in a 267-151 vote. The Senate bill will be voted on soon–and will contain significant differences than the House bill, requiring a battle royal in conference.
I have paid very little attention to news coverage of FAA funding politics, mostly [...]
“If airlines aren’t healthy enough to survive, governments should let them go. Don’t try to prop them up.”
Posted in Evan's News and Quick Takes, tagged alitalia, competition, regulation, travel on September 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Wise words from The Cranky Flier regarding government impulses to bail out failing airlines. Let the market work; it does a great job of responding to demand and generating better service than a nearsighted embrace of the status quo does.
Pittsburgh sees the light on incentives
Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged airports, budget airlines, competition, prestige, travel, us airways, usa on September 16, 2007 | 2 Comments »
In 2004, US Airways downgraded its operations at Pittsburgh International Airport from hub to focus city status, taking with it half its flights and leaving swathes of terminal unused. Scott McCartney relates the story of what happened next: fares fell through the floor and low-cost carriers rushed in to take advantage of the situation. For [...]
The not-so-subtle pressure of protectionism
Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged aerospace, british airways, competition, europe, regulation, world on September 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The British government is pressuring British Airways to purchase UK-made products in the interests of British jobs, the Times reports. “Government ministers and officials are understood to be urging Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, to ‘buy British’ by supporting Rolls [engines] and Airbus, both of which have large manufacturing operations in the UK.”
I can’t [...]
Congress: Who’s to blame for airline delays? And how do we end them?
Posted in Evan's Commentary, tagged air traffic control, airports, competition, consumer advocacy, faa, labor, network airlines, regulation, safety, tax, travel, usa on September 26, 2007 | 1 Comment »
The House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation held a major hearing on airline delays and consumer issues, and your humble blogger was there to pass on the highlights. The hearing came at the heels of “the worst summer for airline delays” since the Bureau of Transportation Statistics began keeping records thirteen years ago. Only 72.2 [...]
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