Archives: January 2009

Continental Leaving SkyTeam Oct. 24

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 30

Continental (CAL) will formally leave the SkyTeam alliance after its last scheduled flight on Oct. 24, becoming the 22nd member of the Star Alliance, the largest of the international airline...

EADS Passes on an Air Force One Fight

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 28

Away from the gloomy financial times for Boeing on Jan. 28, a small piece of good news: it appears the company will keep the White House's business. The parent company...

Airline Stocks: To Like Or Not to Like?

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 27

It was a brutal day for Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) shareholders, with the stock down 20% on Tuesday. The company, which is now the world’s largest airline, said Jan. 27...

Why Not Outsource the Flying?

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 26

For years, the slick travel magazines and trade journals have surveyed their subscribers about airline quality. These queries have produced relatively consistent results in recent years: Carriers such as Singapore,...

Airline P&L: How Does This Story Play Out?

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 21

The airline industry offered more unfortunate financial data for the last quarter of 2008, with United (UAUA) leading the way in showing how fuel hedging can return to haunt the...

US Airways' Crash: A Midtown Miracle

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 15

It’s a safe bet the phrase “in the event of a water landing” will hold new significance for thousands of airline passengers this week following the surprisingly smooth ditching...

Ever wonder what it takes to paint a plane?

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 14

Here's your answer. Here's an interesting time-lapse video showing a Northwest 747-400 being repainted with the Delta livery....

An Airline Bill of Rights, Redux

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 14

The debate about a “bill of rights” for airline passengers will soon heat up Congress again, as two senators introduced a new version of their 2007 bill on Jan. 13....

Airline Liquidations in 2009?

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 13

A belated note that I wrote a story for the Jan. 12th print edition of BusinessWeek, exploring the question of whether we could see any major airlines liquidate during 2009....

Frontier: On the Quest for Cash

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 12

How’s this for a tricky business problem: Your airline is based in Denver, sandwiched between the deep-pockets of an expansion-minded Southwest (LUV) and the market share of United (UAUA), which...

Orbitz, Travelocity Have New CEOs

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 07

How’s this for a rather strange coincidence? Two major travel sites, Orbitz and Travelocity, on Wednesday both announced the departures of their CEOs. Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) said it replaced CEO...

Obama Inauguration: A ‘Revenue Premium’

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 05

Washington D.C. will soon take center stage for the planet’s focus as Barack Obama becomes the 44th U.S. president on Jan. 20, amid a dizzying array of inauguration celebrations. Millions...