Winging It

If mergers among the Big Six airlines take place, we will have to report on them, so we don't want to get carried away with providing you too much information about their negative aspects. We've pointed out some reasons that mergers would face strong opposition in a Jan. 21 Road Warrior column. To learn more about the reasons mergers face an uphill battle, read the thoughts of a longtime aviation expert, Hubert Horan posted on a business-travel trade magazine Web site.

Today's Road Warrior column looks at the competition for business-class passengers across the Atlantic. The online version includes a correction from the print version in today's Inquirer business section on what kind of jets US Airways flies. Read all about it here.

Here's news to pay attention to if you check bags on major airline flights. United said it will begin charging passengers $25 to check a second piece of luggage for domestic travel if they buy non-refundable tickets and if they aren't frequent fliers (less than 25,000 miles a year). Other major airlines allow passengers to check two bags for free regardless of the type of ticket they buy or their frequent-flier status. United said the charge will generate more than $100 million in revenue and cost savings each year. The change takes effect May 5 and applies to tickets purchased on or after today, Feb. 4. Watch this space to see if other airlines match United's move.

The headlines are about 2007 as a terrible year for air-travel delays. In fact, good things and bad things happened. December was a good month, relatively speaking for US Airways. Here's our take on how PHL did last year. The national perspective is in this AP story..

We explore what happens when London's coveted Heathrow Airport is opened to more competition from U.S. airlines. Find the full story from today's front page here.

The chatter about airline mergers is getting louder. The AP, quoting a source close to the discussions, says Delta and Northwest could announce a deal to combine operations next week. We will keep you updated as events unfold.

New Jersey's U.S; senators, Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, are unhappy with the Federal Aviation Administration for, among other things, the airspace redesign plan that has meant more aircraft noise over areas near PHL and Newark airports. The lawmakers today said they would use a parliamentary device called a hold and held up confirmation of Bobby Sturgell to be FAA administrator. Read more here.

We explained possible implications of mergers of the nation's biggest airlines this morning. Learn more here.

The outsourcing of aircraft maintenance by airlines is a topic of concern to many in aviation. You can listen free over the Internet tomorrow morning to the Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Conference, sponsored by the Business Travel Coalition and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, There's an impressive lineup of speakers for the conference in Wasington. Learn more here.

The Road Warrior column this morning covers some news about December airline service that wasn't reported in last week's story about on-time performance. Read it here.

We listened to an informative conference in Washington yesterday on outsourcing of aircraft maintenance. Read our report here.

Other airlines are taking precautions to avoid a repeat of what happened to a British Airways 777 jet landing last month at Heathrow Airport. The Wall Street Journal had a story about it this morning.

The weather has played havoc with PHL flight schedules since last night and it's not over. The airlines have issued their usual advisories that passengers can make changes without penalty to weather-affected areas of the Northeast. Tell us anything beyond the usual hassles of late or cancelled flights about the way airlines treated you during the disruptions.

Marriott, the biggest hotel operator in the region, had a drop in quarterly profit but not because you were paying less to stay in its rooms. The AP reports the details here.

Pilots' unions and Air France/KLM are now being discussed in the same stories with Delta- Northwest merger talks. Read what's happening today.

The new part: A longer story on US Airways' frequent-flier change can be found in the LA Times this morning.

Here's what we posted yesterday: US Airways frequent fliers received this message by e-mail this morning:

Dividend Miles program changes. As part of our continuing efforts to provide valuable benefits to our frequent flyers, US Airways is making a change to our Dividend Miles program. We're making these changes to offset record fuel prices and rising airline related expenses while maintaining the benefits you've come to expect. Beginning May 1, 2008, Dividend Miles will award the actual number of miles flown rather than a minimum number of miles flown for each segment. Also, members who redeem miles for award travel within 14-days of departure on usairways.com will be assessed a quick ticketing fee.

Read the entire e-mail to see what other changes will be made, In the meantime, would someone please explain to us why this is "part of our continuing efforts to provide valuable benefits?"

US Airways' frequent fliers may be steamed this morning (see below for the Dividend Miles posting from yesterday, including the comments), but Mayor Nutter and US Airways are working out differences from last fall about gates at PHL. Both the mayor and airline execs talked us about it for this story.

US Airways and PHL -- has a new day arrived in the relationship? Read more about what we see plus a little more on the Dividend Miles changes.

Amtrak assures us it won't be as time-consuming as airport security is, but it's going to do random screening of passengers' bags. Read more of the front-page Amtrak story here.

How do you tell when rumors come closer to reality in the airline-merger world?. When the major newspaper and other news outlets all find sources "familiar with the talks" and say tomorrow or this week will be the announcement day. The leaks on this one are becoming a steady stream. Here's what the the New York Times is reporting today.

Just when we thought we could predict the future, a Delta-Northwest merger may not be close after all. Read the latest AP story about what's happening.

Airlines are issuing their usual alerts about areas affected by what looks like a doozie of a winter storm moving across the Midwest and upper South toward PHL and other airports in the region. Wear your mittens, button up and prepare for a slog if your're on the road or in the air tomorrow..

The Inquirer made some good points this morning in an editorial that applauds Amtrak's steped-up security plans.

We reported from the airport itself during this morning's winter storm, rather than our usual perch in a warm office. Here's what we filed, which may or may not be in print or online elsewhere tonight or tomorrow:

The airport was experiencing extensive delays this morning because of the weather, although runways were open and most aircraft ramp areas around gates were clear of snow by early morning. About a quarter of all flights scheduled to depart before 9 a.m. were canceled and about a third were delayed, according to the www.flightstats.com Web site. Virtually all arriving flights before 9 were late. Conditions got a little worse as the morning went on, with four out of 10 flights canceled and almost nine out 10 of those still operating running late. (Find the www.flightstats.com site on the Road Warrior blog homepage.)

Bob Ciminelli, US Airways’ vice president for its Philadelphia hub, said the airline canceled about a third of its Express commuter flights for the day and less than 20 percent of its mainline, or large-jet flights. Ciminelli, who joined US Airways last month after a 29-year career at American Airlines, said airlines always have a challenge deciding which flights, and how many flights, to cancel when a major winter storm is approaching. US Airways is the airport’s busiest carrier, with 61 percent of the traffic. Decisions about which flights to cancel depend on how full a flight is and how many of the passengers booked on it can be put on flights later in the day, he said.

“We planned this long weekend, and we’ve had all this dry weather,” said Yocum, a health and physical education teacher, who was traveling with his wife, Cheryl, and fellow teachers Lori and Chris Spohn. “And then what day do we get – the worst stinking weather of the year.” Still, he added cheerfully, “Our flight is going to go. Now it’s only an hour and 15 minutes late. We’ve been treated well.”

Andrew Stoltzfus of Lancaster, was having an even longer wait to reach St. Louis but said he had no complaints about the way Northwest Airlines and US Airways were handling the delay. The two men, headed to a convention in St. Louis, started their trip yesterday at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport, where Northwest canceled the first leg of the trip, through Northwest’s Detroit hub. They were rebooked on US Airways through Philadelphia, and given hotel accommodations, food vouchers and a free roundtrip ticket for a future flight, all at Northwest’s expense, Stoltzfus said. “I’m pretty happy with the airlines,” he said. “They treated us really well.”

The Road Warrior sat down with US Airways new PHL leader. Read what he says here.

We found two stories of interest to business travelers to share with you this morning. The Detroit News has this report on pilots' unions at Delta and Northwest continuing to talk about making a merger of the two carriers work best for their careers. This is a signal that the anticipated announcement of a merger by the airlines is still pending.

The AP offers a wide-ranging story on what the travel business and companies with people of the road are both doing and contemplating in an economic slowdown.

Air traffic controllers and two members of Congress joined Delaware County residents yesterday in denouncing anew the FAA's routing of planes over residential areas. Read the Inquirer's story here.

My editors thought this story about a new US Airways policy charging $25 for a second checked bag was worthy of the front page in print this morning. It matches a move United made three weeks ago. Most frequent fliers won't have to pay the fee, which takes effect May 5, and in fact most passengers don't check a second bag these days. Some day, someone (guess who) should add up what it really costs to fly on some airlines considering the fees. One of our longtime panel of experts on airlines, Terry Trippler, predicts most other airlines will be matching the US & UAL moves by summer.

We found a good story in the New York Times this morning that puts the holdup in merging Delta and Northwest into the context of the US Airways merger with America West.

We spent yesterday at US Airways annual media day at its headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., where much of the talk was about the recent focus on improving operations at PHL. Read more about what the senior executives said here.