Airline rankings - April 2019

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Honoring an Industry Great!   

Rest in Peace Herb Kelleher

Herb Kelleher, the charismatic and colorful co-founder of Southwest Airlines, was hardly a cookie-cutter chief executive.  

He was considered a visionary business leader whose record of sustained success at Southwest led Fortune magazine to ask on its cover: “Is Herb Kelleher America’s Best CEO?

Once a feisty upstart, it is now the largest domestic carrier in the United States, with annual revenue approaching $25 billion.

Southwest Airlines has announced this week that it will share $544 million dollars with its employees through the company’s profit sharing plan. This reward equals approximately 10.8% of each eligible employee’s eligible compensation.  

This is Southwest’s 45th consecutive profit sharing award, starting with the first profit sharing payout in 1974.   The 2018 profit sharing award is the third highest in company history.

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FEB and MAR 2019  -- A L O H A !

Southwest Airlines launches service from West Coast Markets  (OAK, SJC, LAS, ONT, SNA, LGB) to MAUI (OGG) and OAHU (HNL).

American Airlines will end New York (JFK) – Orlando service on May 2, 2019 according to Airline Route. The route is currently operated daily with Boeing 737-800s.

February 1, 2019, individual membership fees will increase and household membership discounts will be discontinued.

Starting November 1, 2019, same-day boarding passes on American Airlines or partner airlines will be required for entry.

Any departing or arriving flight: marketed or operated by American Airlines, marketed and operated by any oneworld® partner carrier, marketed and operated by American Airlines or Alaska Airlines in any combination 

Available at select locations for $59. 

EXCLUDES the airports listed below that currently have clubs under construction:

• Boston (BOS)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW)
• Pittsburgh (PIT)

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American Airlines Invites ConciergeKey Members to Use Flagship Dining

ConciergeKey is AA's revenue-based top level given to very high revenue customers and those who influence significant business for the airline.

They got priority for upgrades and other waitlists and they have a myriad of other benefits including Business Class Flagship Lounges for domestic travel and now will be provided visits to AA's exclusive Flagship First Dining. 

• Flagship First Dining JFK
  
• Flagship First Dining Miami
  
• Flagship First Dining Los Angeles

United, Delta and American Airlines are engaged in an airlines arms race to grab the most affluent customers. The decision is part of a larger industry trend to give more space and better service to high-paying passengers who account for a disproportionate share of airline revenue.

Now highly profitable, UA, AA, DL are plowing money into new planes, fancy seats with more legroom, airport lounges and other perks, many of which are aimed squarely at well-heeled travelers.

United raised the stakes when it announced that it will retrofit more than 100 planes as part of a move to add 1,600 premium seats on nearly 250 jets. The airline also plans to start using a new 50-seat jet with mostly premium seats on some routes popular with business travelers.

 Delta executives say they have increased premium seating from 9% to nearly 30% since 2011, and they're selling more than 60% of those seats, up from 13% — not just giving them away in the form of upgrades. They say more corporate accounts are letting employees buy up to premium travel. As a result, one-third of Delta's revenue now comes from premium services and less than half comes from economy seating, down from nearly two-thirds in 2011.

American has added "premium economy" seats often double the price of regular economy but less than business class on many planes used for international flights. 

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CHINA   

American Gets to Keep Its Authority to Fly to China — Without Actually Flying to China

FEB 7, 2019

There’s no Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and China. Instead a bilateral agreement lays out what route authorities can be doled out by respective governments. AA dropped ORD/Beijing and ORD/Shanghai.

AA wants to keep their route authority from Chicago to China even while not using it. That would mean preventing any other U.S. airlines from adding China frequencies, which benefits American by avoiding competition for its DFW and LAX to Beijing and Shanghai service.

AA asked the DOT to grant a ‘dormancy’ of their authority to keep the routes for a year without flying them. Normally they would lose the routes after 90 days.

The odds that they’ll return to flying from Chicago to China are really, really low.  AA wants to focus on Europe flying because they cannot run any part of their system with the kind of losses they have sustained” in Asia.