Sky Talk

American is "about average", study says

American Airlines is "about average" when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to a new J.D. Power study released on Tuesday.

Several carriers ranked higher than the Fort Worth-based airline with Alaska Airline taking the top spot in the rankings.

Airline travelers are increasingly dissatisfied with in-flight service as the study finds that overall customer satisfaction has dropped for the third consecutive year to a four-year low.

"Despite the economic stresses that airlines are under, they are recognizing the value of passengers' time and trying to make air travel more expedient and efficient," said Dale Haines, senior director of the travel practice at J.D. Power. "Unfortunately, any improvements in customer satisfaction are being offset by passenger displeasure with cutbacks on in-flight services, increases in fees and issues with the helpfulness and courtesy of flight crews."

In the low-cost carrier segment, JetBlue Airways ranked the highest with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and WestJet tied for second.

-Andrea Ahles

Tuesday a.m. headlines

Surfing the net this morning there are quite a few airline headlines to check out...

American Airlines will sell $520 million in debt to finance 737 airlines. (I got swamped and didn't have a chance to post this yesterday.

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1460805.html

Airfares may go up after midnight tonight as major fare sales expire today, according to Tom Parsons at Bestfares.com. I talked with Tom yesterday and he says if load factors are good for July and August, you may not see any fare sales for late summer travel. But the good news is there are some great deals out there for fall and Christmas holiday travel. Check them out here.

And then my favorite morning news article, courtesy of the NYTimes. Naked airline employees in a safety video on Air New Zealand. The article is here. The video which will make you do a double take is here.

-Andrea Ahles

AMR gets amendment to its $433 million loan

AMR's lenders have agreed to ease the terms of a $433 million loan, according to an SEC filing on Thursday.

Lenders waived a debt-to income ratio requirement for the parent company of American Airlines in exchange for a higher interest rate.

Under the new terms of the agreement, the interest rate will increase to 4 percentage points above Libor, a daily reference rate. There is also a Libor minimum of 2.5 percent compared to the previous 0.6 percent specified in the loan.

-Andrea Ahles

American Eagle will launch new DFW-Tallahassee flight on Aug. 1

American Eagle announced this morning that it will add a second flight to its DFW-Tallahassee route starting August 1.

"This new schedule allows Tallahassee customers the ability to fly into Dallas to conduct business meetings and be home that same day," said Peter Bowler, chief executive of American Eagle.

The flight added includes a 7:15 a.m. departure from Tallahassee and then a return trip leaving DFW at 5:55 p.m.

-Andrea Ahles

International air traffic down 9.3% for May

Fewer people traveled by airplane this May as international air traffic dropped 9.3 percent in May, the International Air Transport Association said today.

But despite the almost double-digit decline, IATA said it appears that demand for international air travel has stabilized.

"We may have hit bottom, but we are a long way from recovery," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's chief executive. "After a 20 percent fall in international passenger revenue in the first quarter, we estimate that the drop accelerated to as much as 30 percent in May. This crisis is the worst we have ever seen."

The effect of the swine flu hurt airlines, particularly those in the Latin America markets. Mexican carriers saw their traffic fall almost 40 percent in May, IATA said.

Passenger load factors were 71.2 percent, down from 74.5 percent in May 2008. International cargo demand also dropped 17.4 percent, which is up from the 21.7 percent decline recorded in April.

-Andrea Ahles

APA has a different view of American's alliance with BA

Yesterday, it was the ground workers speaking out in support of American Airlines' application for anti-trust immunity.

Today, it was the pilots turn to say what they thought about the Fort Worth carrier's alliance with British Airways and several other international carriers. And clearly, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 11,500 pilots for American, are concerned that anti-trust immunity will cost pilots' jobs.

"If more airlines receive anti-trust immunity, the result will be fewer choices and higher ticket prices for travelers," APA president Captain Lloyd Hill said. "When companies cooperate and consolidate, some jobs inevitably become redundant."

Read APA's letter here. http://www.alliedpilots.org/Public/PublicRelations/PressReleases/press_releases.asp

-Andrea Ahles

TWU supports American's joint venture with BA

The Transport Workers Union says it's in favor of American Airlines'alliance with British Airways, sending a letter to Transportation secretary Ray Lahood, voicing their support.

The union, which represents 26,000 ground workers at American and American Eagle, said it is in the best interest of the airlines' workers for the U.S. government should grant anti-trust immunity to the alliance.

"International agreements, antitrust exemptions and airline regulations should not be used to give one airline or airline alliance an advantage over another," the letter said. "In the fragile, unforgiving and highly competitive U.S. airline industry we should strive to maintain an even playing field not only to balance fairness between corporate players, but as a means of protecting the livelihoods of the workers, the families and communities dependent on their incomes."

American is hoping to gain anti-trust immunity for its OneWorld Alliance which includes British Airways and several other international carriers. The Department of Justice is expected to issue a ruling this fall.

Read the full letter here. http://www.twu.org/downloads/Divisions/Airline/LAHOOD 6-18-09.pdf

-Andrea Ahles

APFA president: "save a job of a fellow member"

Fewer flights means fewer flight attendants.

Of the 1,600 job cuts that American announced on Thursday related to cuts in its fall flight schedule, 1,200 of those will be flight attendants.

And late Thursday night, Association of Professional Flight Attendants' president Laura Glading issued a memo to its union members, saying she is not sure how many of the potential furloughs can be avoided in this round of cuts.

Glading also encouraged those who are on leave or thinking about retirement to help save the jobs of others.

"Your leadership has pressed and will continue to press the company to provide maximum opportunity to those members who wish to reduce their flying - through leaves, partnerships or retirement - in order to preserve the jobs of as many members as possible," the letter said. "We have achieved special incentives in the past and will continue to seek creative ways to confront excess manning."

Read Glading's note in its entirety here: http://www.apfa.org/content/category/9/17/46/

-Andrea Ahles

More new planes but fewer fall flights, AMR chief says

AMR Corp. chief executive Gerard Arpey said Thursday that American Airlines plans to order an additional 8 Boeing 737-800 jets.

With the additions, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to have 84 new planes coming into service in 2009 through 2011. The average age of its airline fleet is about 15 years, Arpey said.

The company also expects to get its first 787 jets from Boeing in 2013.

Speaking at the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 2009 Global Transportation conference, Arpey announced the company will also cut additional flights out of its fall schedule.

"The cuts we implemented last year were helpful. As a result, we did not make changes to our summer schedule, but looking ahead we think changes to our fall schedule is warranted," Arpey said.

-Andrea Ahles

AMR chief Gerard Arpey talks at 11 a.m. and El Salvador maintenance for Southwest

We've heard Southwest's CEO Gary Kelly address investors already this morning. At noon, it's AMR's chief Gerard Arpey's turn.

Arpey is scheduled to give the luncheon address at the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 2009 Global Transportation conference in New York today.

Rumor is that Arpey is scheduled to make news during the presentation. But will he give the same gloomy forecast as Kelly did this morning?

Also, this Wednesday headline out of our local NBC station. It appears that Southwest will go south of the border for maintenance on some of its planes.

In July, the first Southwest plane will head to El Salvador for maintenance. Southwest mechanics union previously agreed to allow some work to be outsourced to a foreign company last year.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Southwest-Airlines-Will-Send-Planes-to-El-Salvador-For-Maintanence.html

-Andrea Ahles