Aviation Week - With crude oil beginning the year above $110 a ­barrel, and little prospect of aviation fuel prices coming down anytime soon, the imperative to find alternative sources to ensure price competition and supply security remains strong.  Read More>

Aviation Week - A mixed bag of fortunes awaits the world’s airlines in 2012, with some of the larger operators, for now, confident in their ability to return a profit during another year of belt-tightening.  Read More>

LA Times - There is good reason why the nation’s airlines are moving quickly to make wireless Internet an increasingly common onboard service, along with drinks, food and movies: It generates more revenue from fees.  Read More>

Vancover Sun - Europe's safety authorities on Friday ordered urgent inspections on a third of the Airbus A380 fleet after the discovery of wing cracks on the world's largest jetliner.

CNN - For those who like to fly but hate the hassle of hidden airfare fees, there is hope on the horizon. Starting next week, the only surprise they should experience is that there are fewer surprises.  Read More>

NYT - The use of jet fuel from renewable sources is now well demonstrated, but it costs more than double what fuel made from petroleum does, according to airlines, aircraft companies and suppliers.  Read More>

Aviation Week - SkyTeam has almost no hope of persuading the emerging Latam Airlines Group to join the alliance, says the group’s top executive.  Read More>

Aviation Week - The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) is giving airlines a six-month reprieve on some of its new bag fee requirements. All the new rules still will become effective Jan. 24, but only some will be enforced immediately.  Read More>

The Hill - The lobbying group for airports said Thursday that a new funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration should be the first piece of legislation in line for takeoff when Congress gets back to work later this month.  Read More>

[Editor's note:  AA has added the fee, resulting in all U.S. carriers with scheduled Europe service having this fee]

USA Today - United-Continental and US Airways have joined Delta in adding a $3 surcharge to one-way tickets to Europe, days after the European Union started requiring airlines to pay for carbon emissions.  Read More>http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/story/2012-01-05/United-Continental-US-Airways-Delta-add-Europe-surcharge/52396406/1

Reuters - Engineers have discovered minor cracks in the wings of a "limited number" of A380 superjumbos but their safe operation is not affected, Airbus said on Thursday.  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