Sky Talk

Cousin's and La Bodega make Food & Wine's ultimate airport dining guide

With Thanksgiving travel season under way, Food & Wine magazine has put out their "ultimate airport dining survival guide" to point holiday travelers to the best bets in the nation's terminals. My personal out-of-town favorite, La Carreta at Miami International, made the list for its Cubanos. And, of course, Pappadeaux at IAH made the list. At D/FW, two familiar names made the list: Cousin's Barbecue and La Bodega Winery. 

Here's what the entries say:

• Cousin’s Barbecue: As with the Charlotte, North Carolina, airport, your best bets here are barbecue and local wines, both found in terminal D. Cousin’s (near gate 28 and in terminal B, gate 27) offers Texas standards like smoked brisket, ribs, sausage and pinto beans.
• La Bodega Winery: Near gate 14, you’ll find a tasting room from La Bodega Winery in Grapevine, Texas, selling wines by the bottle or the glass. There’s another location in terminal A, at gate 15.

The full list is here.

- Bryon Okada

AA line maintenance chief retires

Danny Martinez, who is vice president of line maintenance at American, is retiring next month. He'll be replaced by Ken Durst, who currently is head of line maintenance for the airline's southwest division, based at D/FW Airport.

- Trebor Banstetter

Another month, another traffic decline

The International Air Transport Association reports that international air traffic dropped by 1.3 percent in October, the second consecutive monthly decline. It was slightly better than September's 2.9 percent decline.

"The gloom continues and the situation of the industry remains critical," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO, in a statement. "While the drop in oil prices is welcome relief, recession is now the biggest threat to airline profitability. The slight slowing in the decline of passenger traffic is likely only temporary. The deepening slump in cargo markets is a clear indication that the worst is yet to come."

- Trebor Banstetter

Passengers breezing through lines at D/FW

We chatted with Joel Frey of Travelocity.com who is spending the day at D/FW Airport, monitoring security lines and conditions generally. He said that things have been remarkably smooth, with very few problems and no major waits.

"I'm at D18 right now, and there's about a 15-minute wait, which is the longest I've seen all day," Frey said. An hour ago, he added, all four checkpoints in Terminal A had no wait at all. "It's really going well," he said.

Despite the new fees airlines have been charging for checked bags, there hasn't been any sign of problems for D/FW passengers, and signs clearly spell out the charges. "People seem to be well prepared," Frey said.

You can read his updates here at the site's "Window Seat" blog. Reports from Miami, Denver, New York LaGuardia and others can be found here.

- Trebor Banstetter

Ex-TWA attendants decry Delta/NW integration

An American Airlines flight attendant who led the fight to extend recall rights to former TWA flight attendants said he's worried that attendants affected by the Delta/Northwest merger could experience similar problems.

Roger Graham helped organize a successful grassroots effort to extend recall rights past five years to the TWA flight attendants who worked for American after that airline was acquired in 2000. TWA attendants were added to the bottom of the American seniority list, and many were laid off in the months following Sept. 11, 2001. By 2006, many began to lose their right to return to work, which expired after five years.

Graham said Tuesday that the Delta/Northwest merger had the potential for similar problems, pointing out that Delta attendants aren't unionized, while Northwest attendants are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants. Delta has formed employee committees to plan the integration, but Graham said the airline should wait until employees can vote on whether to unionize.

"Delta’s attempt to undermine that legislation and process is reprehensible," he said. "If Delta implements their plan of a 'fair and equitable' integration without first having a union vote, it will most certainly lead many of these flight attendants down the same flight path as the TWA attendants.“

- Trebor Banstetter

Southwest hires Channel 8 newsman

Brad Hawkins, who currently works as a reporter/anchor for WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas, will join Southwest Airlines' communications team after the first of the year. Hawkins will be a spokesman for the carrier, and his long experience in news should be a benefit in keeping those pesky airline reporters (and bloggers) in line.

"I've loved every job I've had with (Channel 8 owner) Belo, but it was time for new challenges and a new perspective," Hawkins said. "I feel like I'm jumping from one great Texas company to another."

He said that the move "was absolutely my decision," and added that he was "flattered that Channel 8 wanted me to stay."

Airline spokeswoman Beth Harbin said Hawkins was a perfect pick for the job.

"Brad took an early interest in aviation and Southwest, and has always been interested in what's going on and seemed to appreciate our culture," Harbin said. "He's very well respected and liked, and we think he's a very good fit for the job."

- Trebor Banstetter

Looking good at D/FW

Things appear to be flowing smoothly at D/FW Airport this morning as Thanksgiving holiday traffic builds (it should peak tomorrow then drop off substantially Thursday, before rebounding over the weekend). FlightStats.com reports that delays at the airport are "very low," and the FAA is similarly reporting normal operations. The weather is expected to be sunny and clear all day, which should help keep things moving.

Traffic flowed nicely at the airport last week as well, with nearly 90 percent of D/FW arrivals on time from Nov. 16 through Nov. 22 and less than 1 percent of flights cancelled, according to FlightStats.

- Trebor Banstetter

Sturgell: ASAP lapse at American 'disheartening'

In a speech today at the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., FAA acting administrator Robert Sturgell noted the recent cancellation of the ASAP safety program at American Airlines. That's the voluntary disclosure program that was developed by the airline, the Allied Pilots Association and the FAA, which had served as a model for the industry. It expired recently because American and the union couldn't agree on renewal terms.

He never mentioned American specifically, but it's pretty clear Sturgell was talking about the Fort Worth-based airline here:

"... we have fought long and hard for voluntary disclosure programs like ASAP. They are critical for us to continue to raise the level of safety. It’s disheartening to see some of our carriers and pilot unions abandoning these programs at a time when we need them the most. You must separate safety from the labor issues and put these programs back in place. The data we gather from them is critical."

- Trebor Banstetter

D/FW traffic flowing smoothly as holidays kick off

Traffic appears to be flowing smoothly at D/FW Airport today as we get into Thanksgiving travel week. FlightStats.com reports that delays are at just a 0.75 on their five-point scale (which is deemed "very low"), and the FAA isn't listing any significant delays. The only exception is flights to Philadelphia, which are averaging delays of about 17 minutes because of weather.

- Trebor Banstetter

AA's Horton: Foreign ownership, mergers likely

Tom Horton, American's chief financial officer, told the Financial Times recently that he expects Congress will end restrictions on foreign ownership of U.S. carriers, opening the door for global consolidation of the industry - and American's proposed alliance with British Airways is a first step in that direction.

"The foreign ownership restrictions are likely to come down," Horton told the London-based newspaper. "This industry is as global as any."

The Times also reported that:

Efforts by American and its peers to forge closer ties to transatlantic allies mark the first step towards "a world when there will be a handful of global companies that can take customers and cargo anywhere they need to go", Mr Horton said.

That's exactly what American's unions have been citing in their opposition to the alliance with British Airways, which includes an application for anti-trust immunity on transatlantic flights. Union officials fear it's the beginning of a merger that could end up with U.S. jobs outsourced to European carriers.

The Allied Pilots Association recently launched a site voicing concern about what they call the "virtual merger."

Federal law currently prevents foreign airlines from owning more than 25 percent of a U.S. carrier.

The full Times article can be read here.

- Trebor Banstetter