FAA's New Rules to Help With Pilot Fatigue

The FAA has updated airline pilots work rules, some of which go back to the 1960's. The new rules came out after a crash at Buffalo nearly three years ago, and an investigation that found the two pilots were exhausted and shouldn't have been flying.

The new rules reflect the need for rest and how night shifts and traveling through time zones can increase errors. Carriers have two years to adapt to the new rules.

The new rules limit the maximum time a pilot can be scheduled to be on duty, including wait time before flights and administrative duties, to between nine and 14 hours. The total depends on the time of day pilots begin their first flight and the number of time zones crossed. The maximum amount of time pilots can be scheduled to fly is limited to eight or nine hours, and pilots would get a minimum of 10 hours to rest between duty periods, a two-hour increase over the old rules. The minimum amount of time off between work weeks will be increased 25 percent, and there will be new limits on how many hours per month pilots can fly. Pilots flying overnight would be allowed fewer hours than pilots flying during the day.

It is interesting that cargo pilots are not included in the new rulings. The FAA said forcing cargo carriers to reduce the number of hours their pilots can fly would be too costly when compared with the safety benefits. Those companies that contract for military charters are included in the new rules. The rule will require pilots to sign a statement before each flight stating that they are rested and fit for duty.

DOT to Postpone Some Consumer Protection Laws

The Department of Transportation is postponing some consumer protections scheduled to take effect on August 23. The airlines said it would take more time to implement the changes. The rules that are being delayed until January 24 are:

• Airlines must prominently disclose all potential fees on their websites, including fees for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, and advanced or upgraded seating.


• Also, airlines and ticket agents must include all taxes and fees in every advertised price.


• Airlines must disclose baggage fees on e-ticket confirmations. Airlines must apply the same baggage allowances and fees through a passenger's journey, including segments with interline and code share partners.


• Airlines are banned from raising prices after the purchase; unless they are due to government-imposed taxes or fees, and only if the passenger is notified and agrees to the potential increase at the time of sale.


• Airlines are required to provide passengers timely notice of flight delays and cancellations.


• Airlines must allow reservations to be held at the quoted fare without payment, or cancelled without penalty, for at least 24 hours after the reservation is made if the reservation is made one week or more before a flight's departure date.
  
  The Laws that will take effect on August 23 are:
  


• Passengers that are involuntarily bumped from flights will be eligible for increased compensation. Under the new rule, bumped passengers can get up to $650 or $1,300 respectively. Inflation adjustments will be made to those compensation limits every two years.


• International flights delayed on U.S. airport tarmacs more than four hours must allow passengers to deplane, with exceptions allowed for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons.


• Foreign airlines must post contingency plans for lengthy delays, customer service plans and contracts of carriage on their websites.


• Airlines must refund any baggage fee if the bag is lost.


• Airlines must post changes in baggage fees on their websites for three months.


• Airlines must prominently disclose all fees for optional aviation services on their websites.


• Where refunds are due, airlines must provide prompt refunds of fares and optional fees.

December Snow Cost the Airlines

Nationwide, airlines cancelled about 4% of flights during December 2010, due to the severe weather. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics are out and they show that airlines cancelled thousands of flights in December, as much of the country dealt with several severe winter storms.

There were three flights that had tarmac delays over three hours in December, down from 34 in December 2009. The flights were a Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to Miami delayed 192 minutes on December 12, a United Airlines flight from San Diego to San Francisco delayed 189 minutes on Dec. 27, and a Pinnacle Airlines flight from Detroit to Cedar Rapids, delayed 186 minutes on December 12.

Since the new tarmac rules went into effect there have been only 15 flights with three-hour-plus delays compared with 584 in the same period in 2010. What an incredible difference!

World's 5 Largest Airlines are not from the USA

The world's five biggest airlines now hail from Asia and Latin America, highlighting the industry's shift away from the U.S. and Europe to higher-growth countries.

Air China is now twice the size of both U.S.'s Delta Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa. "The world is changing in aviation, and it's changing very, very quickly," IATA Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani recently stated at a news conference in Geneva. "Rapidly developing markets are shifting the industry's center of gravity to the East."

The Geneva-based group representing some 230 carriers and 93 percent of scheduled air traffic said the outlook is bright for Asia. A rapidly expanding middle class in Asia along with growing demand for air links between the continent's 15 mega-cities, with over 10 million inhabitants in each, promise strong industry profits in the region, Bisignani said. If "archaic ownership rules" in the United States were changed, the industry might soon see the first takeover of a U.S. carrier by an Asian airline, he added.

No More Free Meals on Continental

Continental Airlines, the last US carrier to offer meals for free on its flights of over three hours, announced recently that it will discontinue free meal service for coach passengers on most domestic flights soon.

Starting this fall the airline will begin charging for food. The airline said it would offer a variety of high quality, healthy food choices for purchase in economy class on many of its US, Canada and certain Latin American routes. The airline will continue to offer complimentary food in the economy cabin on all intercontinental and certain other international routes and on long-haul domestic routes over six hours.

They will continue to offer complimentary food in First Class and Business First on worldwide routes, and complimentary pretzels and non-alcoholic drinks in coach.

Wi-Fi on Airplanes Not so Popular When it's not Free

The Wall St. Journal reports that more than 500 airlines are now flying around the U.S. with wireless internet access up and running! But airlines are finding that the technology that they hope will bring new revenues may be more like in-flight meals: People gobbled up food when it was free, but they find it a lot less appetizing when they have to pay.

Airlines and in-flight Wi-Fi providers say usage has been strong and is growing as more travelers sign up for the service and find it on more flights. Virgin America and AirTran Airways have Wi-Fi hotspots installed on all their aircraft and Delta has them on more than 225 of their planes.

But in tests and now in regular service, usage drops off considerably when travelers must pay for the service. Alaska Airlines even tested charging just $1. The result: a lot fewer laptops, BlackBerrys and iPhones signed on. "There's a very substantial decline in passenger usage the minute you start charging for the service,'' said Michael Planey, a consultant specializing in in-flight passenger technologies. "It really begins to invalidate the model on which this service is being built for the next 10 years."

Mr. Planey believes that ultimately Wi-Fi will be free for most fliers, and the best use for airlines will come in having that seat-back connection to customers. A Wi-Fi hotspot can allow airlines to sell tours and tickets in destinations travelers are flying to, and could possibly one day allow in-flight updating of flight connections or baggage problems before landing.

Best and Worst Airlines 2008

By Travelandleisure.com Staff

Feel like you’re spending more and more time at the gate or on the tarmac? It’s not just your imagination. Delays are bedeviling air travel these days; the carriers with the poorest records averaged nearly one-hour delays on their latest flights, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

That’s just some of the data we uncovered researching on-time percentages from September 1, 2007, to August 31, 2008. Mining that data, we put together a list of the best and worst airlines for delays. This list has changed quite a bit from 2007, even more so than our list of the Best and Worst Airports—there are newcomers in both categories, and some airlines have changed dramatically. How come?

While there are industry-wide efforts to improve on-time performance, perhaps more effective are the steps that individual airlines are taking. US Airways, which had the lowest on-time performance in 2007, with just 68 percent of domestic flights taking off on schedule, began offering its employees bonuses for improving conditions. In 2008, its punctuality record ranked near the top. And the worst offender, American Airlines (running last during the first eight months of 2008), is also changing its ways. The carrier has scheduled longer periods between flights to give staff more time to prepare planes, and it’s building up its spare-parts inventory so that repairs can be made more quickly.

Ultimately, airlines save money by being punctual. And in this economic environment, it’s clearly in an airline’s self-interest to get to the gate on time.

So who’s acting self-interested? Certainly not the two airlines that dropped off our best carriers list from 2007, Aloha and AirTran. But one of the airlines that moved into the list did so in a big way: US Airways was No. 3 on the worst carriers list last year, with fewer than 68 percent of its flights arriving on time. This year it’s at 79 percent and No. 3 on the best list.

And the worst? Last year’s worst carrier, Atlantic Southeast, dramatically improved its on-time performance from 2007, moving from 63 to 72 percent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep them out of the top five. Gone from the 2008 list are JetBlue and US Airways, but taking their place are two other large carriers: American and United.

Original Article: Best & Worst Airlines 2008

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Airline Baggage Fees

It seems that everyone is feeling the effects of the record breaking fuel prices in some way or another. For most of us, it’s when we go to the gas station or buy food. Every time I fill up my car, the prices are higher than the time before and a few items at the grocery store breaks the bank. Because of this, I’ve been trying different methods to use less gas, be more fuel efficient and I decided to plant a garden.

This also means that companies using large quantities of fuel, such as airlines, are finding ways to either reduce their consumption through alternative fuel research and/or by charging for what used to be included in all flights such as drinks and snacks. They are looking for any way to cover the costs.

Unfortunately this means higher airfares and more fees for passengers. Many airlines have started charging fees for all checked bags, including the first one. I have a feeling that all domestic airlines will be charging these fees soon if gas prices don’t start going down soon.

For a complete list of which airlines are charging fees for checked bags, speciality seating and snacks, check out this link http://rickseaney.com/domestic-airline-fee-chart/ or contact your airline.

Even with the high fuel costs, there are incredible deals for all international travel. Airlines still want their planes full and look at the bottom dollar. To find out about the best prices and the inside, up-to-date scoop, contact your Travel Agent for all your travel needs.