Bloomberg - When midnight rolled around and flight traffic thinned out, air-traffic controllers guiding planes in the busiest U.S. corridor whipped out laptops to watch movies, play games or gamble online.  Read More>

Travel Weekly - The U.S. Transportation Department once again has moved the goalposts on its eagerly anticipated and hotly disputed Enhancing Passenger Protections III notice of proposed rulemaking, this time to Nov. 30 from Aug. 10.  Read More>

BBC - An Airbus boss says the company has found a long-term solution to small cracks in some of the A380 super jumbo wings, which are made in Flintshire.  Read More>

Chicago Sun-Times - “People I think are going to be shocked by how much higher some fares are,” said Airfarewatchdog.com President George Hobica.  Read More>

NYTimes - For anyone trying to fly between the smaller cities in the United States, it’s not easy to get from here to there anymore.  Read More>

Apologies for the paucity of news lately.  With the AA bankruptcy then the US interest of a merger, much has been pushed aside by the media.

Your FF News Editor

JimG

AIN Online - Two federal watchdogs told a congressional panel on April 25 that the FAA has improved its ability to collect aviation safety data, but lacks the analysis needed to enhance the safety of air traffic operations.  Read More>

Sacramento Bee - Airport restaurateur HMSHost has introduced a smartphone application that enables travelers at Sacramento International Airport to order food from airport restaurants and have it delivered to them at their gate.  Read More>

ExecutiveGov - The Federal Aviation Administration’s efforts to upgrade its air traffic control system to feature satellite-based communication capabilities is over schedule, according to a Transportation Department Inspector General audit.  Read More>

Nine years ago next week, B Ben Baldanza tried to shake up the Dividend Miles Program at US Airways by making a game changing announcement: Unless you were traveling on a full fare ticket, your miles would no longer count toward elite status. He actually said. "Someone who flies alot is not necessarily loyal if he always buys the lowest price tickets when he flies. That's not necessarily the type of loyalty we want to reward. We want to reward those people who pay a premium for the services we offer."

The attempt to change the rules of DM, and in particular, the quote above really got under my skin--and the skin of 6 other elite flyers at US. We organized on Flyertalk and began a grass roots effort to let US Airways and B Ben Baldanza in particular, know that from a customer perspective this would not stand. This movement gave birth to what became known as the "Cockroaches", and within 10 days, US rescinded this proposed change, and we moved on to become FFOCUS.

There is a very strong rumor coming out of Chicago that UA/CO is considering similar changes to Mileage Plus for the 2012 calendar year, and it is being as warmly received by FF's as US--if even less so. We think that UA/CO is going down a slippery slope with these proposed changes, and we hope they will take the time to listen to the voice of the customer before announcing the details of the new Mileage Plus.

Below is my post on Flyertalk from yesterday....as Yogi Berra says, could this be "Deja Vu All Over Again"????

I am sure our friends at UA/CO will get an earful at the upcoming Star MegaDo 3 when participants meet in Chicago--but don't leave it to them--let UA/CO know how you feel NOW. What we are hearing is that if they in fact go down this path, they may see a significant exodus of customers.....let's help them prevent that if at all possible.

Happy Flying

Art

I found myself  booking another trip on US the other night, primarily because my wife is traveling out of ISP the same time I am, and I need to be in CLT for Wednesday morning. This will also be my first visit through PHL in about 4 and a half years--so looking forward to seeing some old friends, if any are left.

As I booked my seats, however, as expected, they won't give exit row seats to Star Golds, but all that was left on 2 of the flights were Choice Seats...so in order to get a pre-reserved seat, I got charged. It just doesn't seem right--I thought if there were NO other seats, they can't charge for them. Have any of YOU had a similar experience? If you change to exits at the airport or within the 24 hour window do they still KEEP your money? Oh wait--that's a stupid question.....

Also we hear tell that US and AA (among others) is now keeping the ticket taxes collected but which cannot be paid to the FAA....in addition to showing some alignment with AA (read Airbus order, charging elites for Choice Seats etc.), does this portend future similarities which could mean a UCT (those on the old USAviation.com would know what that is - Unique Corporate Transaction)? 

Finally there is a big brouhaha brewing over the recent ad placed by USAPA in USA Today concerning an incident where a captain refused to accept an aircraft due to a mechanical issue and was escorted off the airplane. The company swiftly issued a disclaimer  vehemently denying the facts of the incident. The problem is that the strength and volume of their denial actually has the opposite effect and gives credence to the original claim. While we won't get involved in this issue with regard to labor/management disputes, all I will say is that if any evidence can be found indicating that the issues with the aircraft DID exist, and that a subsequent crew ALSO refused to fly the aircraft overseas due to this issue, then further action needs to be taken from a regulatory point of view. 

This should not be made into an internal political issue, but the traveling public has the right to know how safe US really is.....and Doug Parker's article in the recent magazine touting the safety of US makes the situation even MORE suspicious....... One thing you have to remember is that PERCEPTION IS REALITY to most people....so if something APPEARS to be awry and the opposing side gets over-defensive, then there is probably SOME truth to it......

Fly safe my friends.......

Best,

Art