Winging It

Raising ticket prices is among the management decisions airlines seldom announce widely.That was the case overnight when Delta Air Lines raised its base coach fares by $5 each way. Analyst Jamie Baker of JP Morgan Securities reported in an investors' note today that American and Alaska matched the increase, making it likely that the other "legacy carriers" -- Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways -- will do the same over the weekend.

The increase was the second one for that group of airlines this year and brings to about a dozen the number of times base fares gone up since the start of 2006. Pushing up the full coach fares also means many lower-priced tickets also rise, since they're based on a percentage discount from the highest fare. The upward cycle of fares, along with cuts in capacity (the number of flights and seats available) by many arilines last year, helped them make money, a rare occurrence for most of them since their salad days in the 1990s .

Discounts are still out there, of course, especially if you can book weeks in advance and are willing to take connecting flights on the majors. But seldom does a major carrier put all of its non-stop flights on sale at the same time -- unless it faces competition from a low-cost ariline on a route. So watch, too, what the low-cost carriers, led by AirTran and Southwest at PHL, are doing. Every few weeks, they put all or most of their advance-purchase tickets on sale..

Check out the most recent news on Delta Air Lines bankruptcy reorganization since it turned down US Ariways' dream of a merger.

Read the full story here.

Forget what we said Friday evening about a $5-one-way fare increase for the major airlines. Over the weekend, other carriers failed to match the increase that was initiated by Delta Air Lines, and it was rescinded by those that had adopted it. Industry analyst Jamie Baker of JP Morgan Securities notes that this is the second failure out of three attempts this year by the older legacy airlines to push up prices.

One of my colleagues in the business of writing about airlines, Trebor Banstetter of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has added more understanding of what happened to the big carriers' most recent effort at a fare increase. Here's what he found, in an article published yesterday:

Analysts say fares may have stabilized for now
TREBOR BANSTETTER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

After a year of steady increases in airfares, prices may have finally peaked, at least for now, according to airline-industry analysts.
A broad $10 increase on round-trip tickets that was implemented late last week by several airlines, including Fort Worth-based American, collapsed Monday after it was rescinded by United Airlines.

It was the year's second price increase to be withdrawn after just a few days. Only one fare increase has stuck so far in 2007.

The collapses could be a sign that airline ticket prices are stabilizing.

"The relevance and likelihood of future increases is increasingly debatable," analyst Jamie Baker of JPMorgan Securities said in a note to investors Monday.

The sharp uptick in ticket prices was a key component of the airline industry's return to profitability last year. The major carriers raised fares by an average of nearly 10 percent in 2006, according to analyst Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities.

But that growth slowed considerably toward year's end. Domestic fares in December, for example, were up less than 2 percent from December 2005, according to the Air Transport Association. That was the slowest rate of growth all year.

Neidl is forecasting that fares will increase just 1 percent this year.

While it's good news for travelers, a softening of ticket prices could slow revenue growth at the major carriers, pressuring them to cut costs further.

Look on the bright side: Flight delays at PHL aren't getting worse, and in one way, they're getting better.

Philadelphia improved its ranking for on-time airline departures in 2006, moving from last place to No. 27 out of 31 large airports, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporrted today. . The agency said 72.2 percent of flights left Philadelphia on time last year, compared with 71.9 percent in 2005. In on-time arrivals, the airport was in 27th place in both years; 70.4 percent of flights arrived on time last year, compared with 71.8 percent in 2005.

Nationwide, airline delays last year rose to their highest level since 2000, the federal data shows. About 22.6 percent of flights arrived at least 15 minutes late, the most since record delays of 23.9 percent in 2000.

Spirit Airlines doesn't serve PHL but it does fly to Atlantic City International Airport, so some of you may find this of use. Starting Saturday, Spirit will allow a passenger one piece of free checked luggage. The second checked bag will cost $10. More than two bags costs even more, as they do on most airlines these days. Southwest is the only major carrier that allows three bags at no charge. Spirit appears to be the only one with a one-bag limit, but if there is a foreign airline with the same policy we haven't heard about, let us know.

Thanks to those of you who alerted us to at least two other airlines, both foreign, with limits on checked or carry-on bags. As noted in the comments about last week's Spirit Airlines posting, Virgin Blue, the Australian discount carrier, is one of the airlines. Of course, it doesn't serve PHL.

What British Airways is doing needs a little more space, and it does serve PHL. Starting tomorrow, BA will institute a limit of one free checked bag weighing up to 23 kilograms (about 50 pounds) on coach passengers, on both transatlantic and intra-Europe flights. Checking more than one bag will cost extra. Those in other classes of service are allowed to check more free. BA also has a carry-on limit of one bag per passenger, which is different from most domestic airlines.

When it comes to baggage rules, it should be mandatory to check an airline's Website to make sure you know what's allowed before getting to the airport. Find the latest from BA
here

Soutwest Airlines was the leader this time in raising most of its fares. Southwest prices went up $2 each way on flights of 400 miles and less, $3 each way on flights of 401 to 999 miles, and $10 each way on flights of 1,000 miles or more. Southwest put the higher fares up Friday night, and by today, the six other big airlines had largely matched the increase. The smaller carriers did not raise prices, or haven't decided yet whether to match.

This is the first fare increase of 2007 for Southwest, and its seventh since the start of last year. The other major carriers have increased ticket prices a dozen times since the start of 2006.

Frequent air travelers know this, so here's some information for the less-than-frequent. AirTran Airways became the first airline we've seen to issue a news release this afternoon about the big winter storm that's moving across the Midwest and will hit the East Coast tomorrow. As carriers always do during big weather events, AirTran will relax its rules on penalizing passengers who need to change their flights. If you're flying this week, check the Website of your airline to see what you need to do to adjust. You will find links to airlines serving PHL in the column to the right.

The snow is flying in the Philadelphia area this morning, but most flights are still operating on schedule, according to PHL's handy Website, which has real-time arrival and departure information. You can check on your flight here.

That "wintry mix" is getting heavier. Most flights to and from PHL are operating late and about 25 percent had been canceled as of mid-afternoon. Keep checking with your airline or the airport's Web site if you're flying.

No suprise: PHL is not operating normally, but it is open and crews have been working to keep runways clear. Here is what you need to know, from our story posted on philly.com.

Air travel: Philadelphia International "Through about 11 o'clock about 50 percent of arrival and departures are canceled," says Mark Pesce, spokesman for Philadelphia International Airport. "We also have numerous delays." For flight information, go to http://www.phl.org or call 1-800-745-4283 (1-800-PHL-GATE). "The airport is operational," he said. "We've had crews working since yesterday keeping our airfield open, our roadway system, our sidewalks, everything that we do here." About 300 city employees help with airport snow removal, using 50 large pieces of equipment and assorted smaller ones to the airport's 25 million square feet of concrete, he said. "The airfield alone is 16 million square feet." (During better weather, those employees do other kind of maintenance.)

The number of cancellations is down compared with yesterday, but the weaher continues to affect PHL operations. Many flights are running a half hour to two hours behind schedule.
You can check on your flight here.

A post on Monday (see One-bag airlines) had incorrect information about British Airways' policy for checked bags on transatlantic flights. The airline will allow two checked bags for coach passengers. When you check the BA Website for detailed information under "checked baggage allowances," don't be confused, as we were, by looking at the limits for "Europe and all other international routes." Keep moving down the page to "USA etc." routes. On another portion of the Website, you have to watch for the asterisk that shows the exception for US flights. We appreciate a commenter for pointing out the error. Find the rules on the BA Website here

Local broadcast coverage of the aftermath of last week's snow and ice would lead one to believe that there's a repeat going on of US Airways' infamous baggage-service meltdown during the 2004 Christmas holidays. That's not true. Then, as now, this is an easy story for TV stations to do because it's a visual about the airport they can capture on tape without going through security, or in fact doing much work at all. Here's the way we look at the "story."

When it snows, especially when mixed with ice, airports and airlines slow down. If they didn't, safety could easily be compromised. US Airways ramp workers who load bags and direct planes in and out know this: There were several broken bones and cuts requiiring stiches for workers who slipped and fell last week. Of course, flights are going to be delayed and many cancelled. Bags are going to miss connections. Some will take days to find their owners. The bag-tracing phone lines at US Airways and other airlines will be jammed, and you may be cut off. In the end, only a tiny handful of bags will be truly lost. On average more than 99 percent of all checked bags are delivered when they're supposed to be, at the end of a flight.

But is the number of bags that piled up over the weekend at PHL unusual for US Airways or any airline? The answer is no. About 700 bags were in the US Airways bag-claim area yesterday. By this morning, when the story was still being broadcast, there were betrween 300 and 400 bags still waiting to be reunited with their owners. US Airways carries about 60 percent of the 31-million-plus passengers who use the airport annually. If each passenger checks one bag, which is average, US Airways handles close to 20 million bags a year -- just at PHL.

A week after the Valentine's Day snow-and-ice storm forced the cancellation of nearly 700 flights, misplaced bags continued to clog the baggage claim area yesterday of Philadelphia International Airport's Terminal C.

US Airways Group Inc. workers sorted hundreds of bags yesterday, and officials of Philadelphia's biggest airline said they had reduced the number of bags still waiting to be reunited with their owners to about 250 by yesterday afternoon.

More...

Inquirer photo by Michael Bryant.

The five-day breakdown in operations at JetBlue Airways touched only a limited number of fliers in the Philadelphia region because the airline doesn't serve PHL. But PHLcustomers have voiced a lot of complaints about service here during last week's storm, mostly about US Airways but also about Delta. Several flights from PHL took off four to six hours late, with most of the delay spent idling on the ground at the airport -- surely one of the most aggravating aspects of air travel. There are too many stories to count about bags going astray, although, as we said yesterday, this was not a repeat of the Christmas 2004 meltdown..

The airlines' performance has renewed calls for Congress to adopt a passenger bill of rights that would punish airlines for bad service. JetBlue itself has fueled the effort by offering a version of its own, to try to compensate some of its aggreived customers.

Please tell me what you think about this issue, in comments here or by e-mailing me at tbelden@phillynews.com.. Before you do, however, do me this favor: Read why Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, thinks legislation is a bad idea. To see his view, read his Feb. 2 news release on the issue at his Website here...

PHL has experienced flight delays and a few cancellations today, mostly because of the big winter storm that's beaten up the Midwest and Northeast the last few days. As always, check with your airline or the airport's phl.org Website if you're planning a trip.

Elsewhere, JetBlue canceled more flights at its hub at JFK in New York. For the most recent story posted on philly.com click here

We have added a handy feature to philly.com that provides links to all of the key traffic and weather Websites in the Philadelphia region.Watch the traffic move -- or not -- or I-95, get the latest updates on highway conditions, check on mass transit or on the status of a flight to or from PHL. A link directly from this page can be found near the bottom of the right-hand column, under useful sites. Take a look here

A JetBlue Airways flight enroute from Pittsburgh to New York's Kennedy Airport made an unscheduled landing this morning at Philadelphia International Airport. The diversion was not an emergency. The 54 passengers were given a choice of getting off and finding their own way to the New York area, or riding a bus to JFK that JetBlue chartered.

JetBlue, airport and FAA officials explained what happened. The captain of the jet dverted after a cockpit instrument indicated a problem with de-icing devices, which are mounted on the leading edge (the front part) of the wings. The devices prevent ice from building up on the wings as the plane passes through cold, wet air. The air near Kennedy had the potential for an ice buildup, so the captain decided to do the prudent thing and go to PHL, the nearest major airport where conditions were better. The FAA doesn't keep track of diversions but they're not uncommon, and they usually are because of weather conditions at the scheduled destination..In fact, three United Airline flights headed to Washington Dulles were diverted to other airports today because of the weather, an FAA spokesman said.

For anyone living in a cave the last two weeks,. JetBlue was criticized after bad weather stranded passengers in planes at JFK, its main hub, for up to 10 1/2 hours after the Valentine's Day storm. The airline has been playing catchup, promising a better performance in the future.

We had a story in print and online this morning about a beef the Interational Association of Machinists, which represents merchanics and baggage handlers at US Airways, is having with the airline. If you missed it you can link to it here