Moving to BoardingArea!

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 18, 2008
in Site News
. 0 Comments

Well, things here at danwebb.us are changing for the better!

I have now moved over to BoardingArea.com, a site loaded with other great business travel blogs that was started by Randy Petersen, founder of FlyerTalk. You can see my new page here. I’m really excited about the news, and I hope you will keep reading my  posts!

Special thanks to Randy, Mikel, and Tim over at BoardingArea for getting me set up!

So what will happen to danwebb.us?

Well, it will stay in its current state for a couple of weeks, and eventually it will become my personal blog once again.

Thanks for reading here, and see you over at BoardingArea!

Some Thoughts on the Drop in Oil

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 17, 2008
in Random
. 0 Comments

Oil prices have certainly taken a tumble since they reached their peak near $150 back in July, and they are finally below $100 again. Does this mean a rosy next few moths for the airlines? Well, maybe, maybe not.

First, here’s a graph of spot prices for WTI Crude:

And now, New York Harbor Jet Fuel:

Note: Updated EIA data will be posted today so I will update the graphs later to reflect the latest drops - these graphs only go to September 9.

The recent drop in prices will help for sure - they are just around where they started this year, so basically a year of gains has been erased. But, they are still higher than they were a year ago. So at these levels the airlines will still have to deal with high fuel costs, just not as obnoxiously high as they were for part of this year.

Will there be a rollback in a fees or a reduction in fares? Possibly, but I think this will take awhile. First, I think that the airlines will wait to see what demand looks like after their capacity cuts. Another important factor is where the oil price will eventually settle.

What I want to see is what the airlines will do in terms of hedging. They might be a bit hesitant to hedge as prices might fall a bit more and they could end up pay extra. For example, take a look at this posting about some of Continental’s recent hedging. If the airlines start hedging though, it most likely means they think these prices are a bit too low and will start going up again.

Overall, I think it is more likely there will be a halt to fare additions and fare increases before we see any reductions. Either way, I am cautiously optmistic about this news, especially if oil stays at these levels, or even drops further.

Hawaiian Joins the Winglet Club

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 16, 2008
in Hawaiian
. 2 Comments

Hawaiian may be converting to an all-Airbus long-haul fleet in a few years, but apparently it is worthwhile for the modify at least some of their Boeing 767-300 aircraft with winglets. The airline announced yesterday that is was ordering eight pairs of them, with options for seven more. Installations will begin September next year and be completed some time in 2010. I really wish the press release would include a rendering of what the planes will look like, especially what Hawaiian will paint on them, but sadly this is not the case. Here’s a link to a picture of the first 767 with winglets, though. :D

The press release states that the winglets will save about 300,000 gallons of fuel per year per aircraft. The latest price (that website updates again tomorrow) I can find for New York Harbor Jet Fuel is $3.189/gallon. That’s $956,700 in savings for each aircraft annually, or $7,653,600 for all eight aircraft.

Hawaiian also says that the winglets can improve takeoff performance, reduce engine maintenance, and increase the range, and increase the payload.

Lots of the American airlines are using winglets now - AirTran, American, Contiental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, United, US Airways, and others.

Anyway, seems like a good move for Hawaiian.

United Raises the Second Checked Bag Fee

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 15, 2008
in United
. 1 Comment

Well, now there are two airlines that charge $50 for the second bag - Delta and United, which just made its announcement today. The fee applies to all tickets purchased tomorrow and later for travel starting on November 10. There is one major difference between the airlines, though. Delta doesn’t charge for the first bag, but United charges $15 for it.

I really don’t think this fee makes a whole lot of sense. First, as many have said before, United markets itself as a premium carrier but doesn’t act like it. Second, the timing is bad. Airlines are still paying more for jet fuel than they did last year for sure, but with oil going down it doesn’t look as good to when oil was climbing fast with no sign of stopping. Plus, as Brett Snyder reports on his BNET blog, Singapore Airlines is reducing its fuel surcharge. Obviously these are two very different airlines, but some could wonder why one airline is raising fees while another one is lowering its surcharge.

Oh well. All I can say is if you are planning to take a couple of bags with you on your next trip, check out all of the fees before you make that booking to determine your final cost. It could change the airline you end up flying.

Great New AirTran Ad

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 15, 2008
in AirTran
. 0 Comments

My dad spotted this while watching TV yesterday….I love it! Today’s post wil come later.

Saturday Links #10

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 13, 2008
in Saturday Links
. 0 Comments

Wow…a milestone! Actually my 100th post was this week too.

  1. Forbes has a good story on how things with Alitalia just keep going down the drain.
  2. Could Lufthansa invest in SAS? PlaneBuzz has all the details.
  3. Another one bites the dust…this time it’s XL.
  4. There was a House hearing this week about the DHL-UPS deal.
  5. Frontier is the latest airline to join the first bag fee club.
  6. AirTran made some changes to its frequent flier program, and some of them seem pretty nice.
  7. And in case anyone was wondering, United is not going bankrupt again. Whoops.

Venezuela Wants to Reduce Flights

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 12, 2008
in Policy
. 0 Comments

Uh-oh.

Reuters reports that Venezuela is ordering a reduction in flights to the country by US airlines. Why? Well earlier this week, the TSA issued a travel advisory (found via Sky Talk), saying how they’re unsure about the quality of security at Venezeulan airports, and that TSA agents have not been allowed to investigate. So this is Venezuela’s way of responding. If this order remains, American, Continental, and Delta will be affected.

This is certainly an awkward situation for the United States government. Should they restrict flights into the US by airlines from Venezuela as a way to respond in kind? Also, how should it be decided which flights by the US carriers should be cut?

This will be interesting to watch. As Cranky said earlier this week, aviation policy is important and should be considered in this year’s election.

Southwest on Kayak…Sort of?

Published
by
Dan Webb
on September 11, 2008
in Southwest
. 0 Comments

Sometimes I just like playing around with Kayak.com (which does prove my nerdiness). It is a great website, though.

Anyway I found something interesting during my my travels through the site the other day - Southwest is kind of on Kayak!

Southwest now appears in the list of airlines, but with no fare.

The same goes for individual results. Kayak will present Southwest itinerary options, but users have to click on a link to Southwest’s website to see the price.

The only annoying thing is that after one clicks the link to head over to Southwest, he/she has to enter in the dates of travel, etc. all over again. I believe the other airlines automatically detect Southwest’s settings.

Either way this is certainly an interesting change, and I wonder how long it has been going on. It certainly does make comparison shopping a bit easier though, at least in terms of schedule.