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Southwest Airlines Co.’s plan to buy AirTran Holdings will not affect JetBlue Airways’ intent to grow organically, JetBlue’s chief executive said.
In a memo to employees obtained by Reuters, Dave Barger said JetBlue “would not be distracted” by the planned Southwest purchase of AirTran for $1.4 billion in cash and stock. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | A federal judge in California denied a request that he enjoin the merger of UAL Corp. with Continental Airlines Inc. on antitrust grounds, according to a ruling in San Francisco late yesterday.
An AirTran plane takes off. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file
The proposed consolidation between Southwest and AirTran could lead to higher airfares at Midway Airport, especially to vacation destinations, according to one industry analyst.
“A lot of the rock-bottom fares from Midway to Florida were often initiated by AirTran,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a transportation expert at DePaul University, Chicago.
The merger would increase the pace at which Midway is becoming what Schwieterman called “a one-airline act.” Get the full story »
By Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel | Orlando-based AirTran Airways said today it has agreed to be bought by Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which is the busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport. What does this mean for customers and shareholders? Read on to see: Get the full story »
Airlines appeared on a potential collision course with regulators on Friday over the cost of carrying out proposed checks on over 100,000 passenger seats in the wake of a row over questionable safety data.
U.S. and European safety agencies said on Thursday they were proposing mandatory checks on Koito-manufactured seats, estimated to affect 150,000 seats on 1,000 mainly Airbus and Boeing planes. Get the full story »
A United Airlines plane prepares for takeoff at O'Hare. (Chris Sweda/ Chicago Tribune)
Federal officials penalized United Airlines $12,000 for over-reporting its May tarmac delays, even though the flights in question did not violate new rules aimed at eliminating nightmarish ground delays.
The fine is the first issued by Department of Transportation officials related to rules, which took effect April 29, mandating carriers provide passengers with food, water and the chance to exit before a tarmac delay hits the three-hour point. Airlines face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger, or $3 million for a typical Boeing or Airbus narrow-body jet, for any flight that doesn’t comply. Get the full story »
JetBlue said Wednesday it signed a deal to install satellite broadband Internet and TV service on its fleet of 160 planes.
The airline is partnering with telecommunications company ViaSat Inc. to begin installing the service by the end of 2012. The system must be tested and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration before the airline can roll it out on all of its planes.
JetBlue didn’t say how much the new system would cost. Airline Wi-Fi expert Michael Planey estimates hardware and infrastructure will cost about $15 to $20 million. Get the full story »
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. says a key third-quarter revenue figure will rise between 9.8 percent and 10.8 percent compared with a year ago.
Shares of the new United Continental Holdings Inc. will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “UAL,” the two airlines that will become one said Monday.
United CEO Glenn Tilton, left, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley at a press conference on the United-Continental merger on May 4, 2010. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-based United Airlines shareholders on Friday overwhelmingly voted to approve a deal to combine with Continental to form the world’s biggest airline.
Meanwhile in Houston, Continental shareholders also gave the merger a thumbs up.
Shareholders of United parent UAL Corp. met in Elk Grove Township on Friday morning to vote on the $3 billion stock swap. The companies expect the deal to close in the next two weeks. Get the full story »
A Russian state-owned company says it will buy 50 new Boeing 737 Next Generation airliners in a deal worth $3.7 billion. Get the full story »
Boeing says the airline industry will need to hire more than one million workers over the next 20 years to prepare for a wave of 30,000 new aircraft.
The airlines will need to hire 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance crew workers between 2010 and 2029, the aircraft maker said Thursday — that’s an average of 23,300 new pilots and 30,000 maintenance workers annually from now until 2029, the company said. Get the full story »
New airline seats inspired by a saddle. (Aviointeriors)
An Italian company is about to take the wraps off a space-saving seat for commercial aircraft that promises a flying experience similar to riding a horse.
Aviointeriors’ SkyRider seats are more like a saddles with armrests than like the traditional flat-cushion seating that fliers are accustomed to. The SkyRider seats are smaller and sit a little higher, which would allow airlines to narrow the distance between seat rows.
On a short-haul flight, the space between rows in economy seating now is at a minimum 28 inches, according to data provided by SeatGuru.com. The SkyRider could cut that down to 23 inches. Get the full story »
United and Continental Airlines agreed on Monday to maintain a hub in Cleveland for at least five more years, as Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray ended his antitrust investigation of the mega-merger.
The announcement clears one of the last remaining roadblocks to the tie-up, which will create the world’s largest carrier. The Justice Department, which had been expected to provide the closest scrutiny of the deal, concluded its antitrust probe last month.
United and Continental shareholders will vote on Friday to formally approve the financial union of the two airlines. The deal is slated to close on Oct. 1, when Continental CEO Jeff Smisek will become chief executive of the new United. Get the full story »
Only three flights suffered excessive tarmac delays in July, all of them at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, as the threat of hefty, new fines continued to make an impact on air travel, new data shows.
But passengers don’t always benefit from the new rules, imposed at the end of April. Get the full story »
