Sky Talk

AA wants to delay Chicago-Beijing service

American Airlines has asked the DOT if it can delay its launch of nonstop Chicago-Beijing service until April 2010, a full year after the planned launch.

The airline cited "the extraordinary adverse market and operating conditions affecting the entire airline industry," and said fuel and "general economic conditions" warranted the deferral.Several other carriers have also deferred new routes to China, according to American.

Was it just last year that the airlines were fighting tooth-and-nail to win new routes to China?

- Trebor Banstetter

AA, attendants union discussing in-flight porn issue

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants addressed the question of whether in-flight Internet access could mean more headaches for attendants due to passengers offending other travelers by viewing pornographic sites.

Here's what the union said in a message to members today:

American has introduced inflight wireless Internet service on certain transcon flights flown on 767-200 aircraft.  Press articles have made much of the potential for passengers to access cyber-content that other passengers and crew would possibly consider inappropriate.  Your APFA leadership is in contact with American management to discuss the ramifications of American’s decision to restrict a passenger’s ability to place Internet phone calls while affirming no intent to filter what might be obscene content.  We will keep you advised of the outcome of our discussions.

- Trebor Banstetter

American announces Gustav flight-change policy

American Airlines is giving passengers some options for changing flights to get out of the way of Gustav.

"Customers who will be travelling to and from airports that are expected to be affected by Tropical Storm Gustav will have the option to make a change to their flights without fees," American said Friday.

Customers can make changes at the airport ticket counter, or at a 800-433-7300.

• Fee-free changes for these airports: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Grand Cayman Islands, Jamaica. For tickets issued by Aug. 24, on travel through Sept. 4. One change allowed free of charge.
• Fee-free changes for these airports: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, La., and Gullport, Miss. For tickets issued by Aug. 28, on travel through Sept. 4. One change allowed free of charge.

-- Scott Nishimura

AA unions combine efforts

The joint AA union announcement we blogged about earlier this week is out this morning. The Allied Pilots Association, the Transport Workers Union and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants say in a joint news release that are joining forces in their efforts to win new contracts.

Jim Little, president of the TWU, had this to say: "On this Labor Day, we are sending a loud wake-up call to management. American’s managers need to learn what business they’re in. This is a service industry. American is reliant on its workforce. You don’t have to work at this airline to see how deeply morale has suffered in recent years."

The statement blasts the airline's "lack of integrity" and accuses AA execs of "padding their bank accounts" while employees work under reduced wages.

Keep reading for the full statement.

- Trebor Banstetter

UPDATE, 10:55 A.M.

We got a response to the union announcement from AA spokeswoman Tami McLallen. Here's what she had to say:

"Across the industry, there has been tremendous pressure on wages and cost. Despite those challenges, American Airlines employees are among the best compensated in the industry and continue to maintain their pensions and retiree medical benefits.

"The contract negotiations process is complex, but our goal is simple: We want to strengthen our airline so that we can provide security and opportunity to the thousands of men and women that work hard to serve our customers everyday.

"Forging an agreement that meets their needs and keeps American competitive is in the long-term best interests of American and all of its employees, and we look forward to working with all of our unions to meet that goal."

Online porn at 30,000 feet?

Religious group Focus On The Family is urging people to complain to American Airlines about its plan to offer unfiltered wireless Internet access on flights. The group is apparently worried that some passengers might view online porn sites at 30,000 feet.

Daniel Weiss, the group's senior analyst for media and sexuality, said that "because this nation has not been serious about vigorously attacking pornography, some believe it is appropriate to view in public. Not only will the flight attendants be placed in a situation that could be considered sexual harassment, passengers who openly view porn where children can see it may be violating federal harmful-to-minor laws."

The group is urging members to email American and demand that in-flight Internet be filtered to block potentially offensive sites.

Airline officials have told us that they considered filtering software, but found that too often it prevents access to legitimate Internet sites. Flight attendants will handle problems on a case-by-case basis, and are already trained to deal with passengers who bring offensive material on board.

- Trebor Banstetter

Union's anti-AA ad

We have a story in this morning's paper about the ad published by the Transport Workers Union in the Star-Telegram, as well as in newspapers in Chicago and Tulsa. It's on page 11A in the Star-T, but we thought readers who don't have access to the paper might be interested in seeing it as well. (Click on the image for a larger, readable version of the ad.)

And, in the interest of fairness, here is American's complete response to the ad:

"It is disappointing that the TWU has taken this approach to the current contract negotiations. We want a fair deal for all of our employees and we believe that our recent short term, comprehensive proposal is evidence of our commitment to get a deal done with the TWU.  Although the TWU did not accept our offer, we remain just as committed to working hard to reach an agreement.  Historically, contract negotiations can be a lengthy process, however we have made progress since opening talks in November and continue to meet regularly with the TWU negotiating teams.

"These are, indeed, difficult days for airlines yet American's employees are among the best compensated in the industry. Forging an agreement that meets their needs and keeps American competitive is in the long-term best interests of American and all of its employees. We believe we'll be able to find the best solution by rolling up our sleeves and talking realistically about how to balance the needs and priorities of our TWU-represented employees with the competitive pressures we face. We look forward to working with all of our unions to meet that goal."

- Trebor Banstetter

Forget iCarly, how about dfwCarly?

D/FW AIRPORT -- Olympic champion gymnast Carly Patterson is becoming quite the regular at DFW these days. She was there last week as DFW welcomed home Nastia Liukin, our most recent golden girl from Beijing. And now she'll sing as part of the entertainment for DFW's Sept. 17 reopening of Founders Plaza. (The Plaza has been moved to the Grapevine side of the airport.)

Of course, since she's around, why not make the Allen resident a permanent feature of DFW?

As the voice of Skylink:

"Good morning, travelers, this is Olympic champion Carly Patterson. Having trouble vaulting to your connecting flight? Hop aboard the Skylink..."

As TSA spokeswoman:

"I'm sorry, but this is Olympic champion Carly Patterson. Yes, you do have to divest your metal objects, even the gold medals."

As a gate agent:

"This is Olympic champion Carly Patterson. Sorry for the delay, folks. It's those darn judges again. Slow. Slow. Slow."

As on-airfield entertainment for arriving flights:

"Hello, this is your captain speaking. Off to your right, as we taxi in, you'll see Olympic champion Carly Patterson on the balance beam as we listen to her sing, "I'm Proud To Be An American."

- Bryon Okada

P.S. Here's a link to a map on how to get to the new Founders Plaza: http://www.dfwairport.com/visitor/pdf/map-to-founders-plaza.pdf

Airline shares slide on Citi report

Several airline stocks are down this morning after analyst Andrew Light of Citigroup said travel demand may be weakening. He downgraded his rating on AMR Corp., American's parent company, to "sell" from "hold," despite the recent drop in fuel prices.

"U.S. airlines are not out of the woods," he wrote.

AMR was down 62 cents, more than 6 percent, at $8.99 in mid-morning trading. Delta was down 73 cents at $7.21, more than 9 percent, while Southwest was up 16 cents at $14.93 per share.

- Trebor Banstetter

AA unions plan triple-barrel barrage on Labor Day

We've heard that the unions representing pilots, flight attendants and ground workers at American Airlines will make a joint announcement before the Labor Day weekend to demonstrate their unity in contract talks with the carrier.

The Allied Pilots Association, the Transport Workers Union and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants are all in contract negotiations with American. The pilot talks have been dragging on for two years now, while the TWU negotiations began last November. The flight attendants started their negotiations in June.

- Trebor Banstetter

D/FW spared worst of FAA meltdown, so far

The computer problems at the FAA that have prevented pilots from filing flight plans at some major East Coast airports haven't yet caused major problems at D/FW Airport, officials tell us. Some outbound flights to the Northeast are seeing delays of about 15 minutes, and many arrivals from that region are coming in about an hour late.

The agency has shifted to computers in Salt Lake City, which got things moving again, but at a slower pace than usual.

Still, if you're traveling tonight, be sure to check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport.

- Trebor Banstetter