From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Apr 3 01:39:04 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 21:39:04 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] No Smooth Takeoff for US Airways IT Conversion Message-ID: <20070402213857.S574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2 April 2007 ; Computerworld No Smooth Takeoff for US Airways IT Conversion http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=154&articleId=287874&intsrc=hm_topic --- Integration of reservation systems with America West blamed for delays Inflexible legacy systems were partly to blame for glitches at US Airways Group Inc.'s self-service check-in kiosks early last month, according to an e-mail sent to frequent fliers by an executive at the company. The problems led to long lines and delayed flights at some East Coast airports. The kiosk glitches were tied to the launch of a common reservation system for the operations of US Airways and America West Airlines, which merged two years ago under the name US Airways Group. During the first weekend in March, US Airways was switched from Sabre Holdings Corp.'s reservation system to one Electronic Data Systems Corp. built for America West. But when US Airways' 7 million reservations were transferred to the America West system, about 1.5 million "didn't .sync up' correctly, and our agents had to hand-process each reservation," H. Travis Christ, the airline's vice president of sales and marketing, wrote in his March 23 e-mail. "Many systems that were otherwise ready to go became bogged down." Mainframe-based reservation systems such as those used by US Airways and America West "are very reliable but very inflexible," Christ added. "It's as though we're fighting with one hand tied behind our back." Held Back by IT Joe Beery, US Airways Group's CIO, said in an interview that there's nothing wrong with mainframes per se. "It's the framework and how the architecture of the systems is built that really hold us back," Beery said. Both Beery and Christ acknowledged that US Airways will ultimately have to move to a more up-to-date reservation system. "We can't continue to operate forever using technology that was developed in, and ties us to, the 1970s," Christ said. But, the two executives noted, a new system that could meet all of the company's needs doesn't yet exist. The check-in problems occurred on March 4 and 5. Most of the affected passengers were at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C., according to US Airways officials. But travel at other locations, including Boston's Logan International Airport, was also disrupted. "There are two issues here," said Bob Mann, an analyst at R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, N.Y. "One issue is migration from one [system] to another, which was problematic. The other is the functionality of legacy systems vs. new-generation systems." Like Beery and Christ, Mann said no replacement systems are available now that could meet all the reservation needs of a large airline. "If one existed, everyone would be standing in line for it," he said. Henry Harteveldt, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc., said both Sabre and EDS have modernized their systems to some degree to make use of service-oriented architecture and Web services technologies. But the systems still aren't as flexible as airlines would like, he added. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Apr 3 01:40:50 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 21:40:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] Study: US Airways, United Tied for Most Customers Complaints Message-ID: <20070402214043.L574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2 April 2007 ; 92.3 KTAR Study: US Airways, United Tied for Most Customers Complaints http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=436520 --- A new study suggests the airline industry has a long way to go to make the skies friendly again. According to the annual Airline Quality Rating report, more passengers were bumped, more bags were lost and there were fewer on-time flights this year than last. It's the third year in a row those problems have grown worse for the industry. The study also found that Tempe-based US Airways tied with United Airlines for the most complaints - 1.36 per 100,000 passengers. Dean Headley, an associate professor at Wichita State University and co-author of the study, says: ``They just don't get it yet.'' Researchers say there's one upside. The number of complaints about airlines has stabilized since hitting a five-year low in 2005. The report does not include recent weather-related flight delays such as the ones that left JetBlue and United Airlines planes idling for hours on taxiways. Jet Blue, which rated highest on the list for the past three years, was bumped out of the top slot by Hawaiian, which made its debut on the list this year. The top three on the 18-airline list were Hawaiian, JetBlue and Air Tran, while the bottom three were, from worst to best, Atlantic Southeast, American Eagle and COMAIR. Industry spokesman David Castelveter blamed the majority of delays on bad weather. Making matters worse, he said, more planes will be in the air in coming years and the air traffic control system cannot handle the growth. ``We're going to see more delays and those delays translate to cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers,'' said Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for the major U.S. carriers. ``It's not a pretty picture.'' Congress needs to provide more money to update the system so it can improve its handling of the increased traffic and weather problems, Castelveter said. The Airline Quality Rating report, compiled annually since 1991, looked at 18 airlines and was based on Transportation Department statistics. The research is sponsored by the Aviation Institute at University of Nebraska at Omaha and Wichita State University. Among the findings: * Southwest had the lowest number of complaints in 2006, 0.18 per 100,000 passengers. United and US Airways tied for the most, 1.36 per 100,000 passenger. * Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance (93.8 percent) for 2006, followed by Frontier Airlines (80.7 percent) and Southwest (80.2 percent). Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the worst on-time performance (66 percent). On-time was defined as within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Canceled and diverted flights counted as late. The biggest disappointment is mishandled bags, Headley said. Last year, for every 1,000 passengers, 6.50 bags were lost, stolen or damaged, compared with 6.06 in 2005. Hawaiian had the best baggage handling performance; Atlantic Southeast the worst. The increase in lost bags comes as at least one domestic carrier - Spirit Airlines - plans a new fee for passengers who check their bags. Come June, Spirit will charge $5 each for one or two checked bags if the ticket was booked online and $10 each for passengers who do not book online. Headley does not think the idea will fly with consumers who long have expected their ticket prices to include a checked bag or two. ``It will set off an absolute atomic bomb,'' he said. On-time performance, the report said, worsened last year, with 75.5 percent of flights arriving on time, compared with 77.3 percent in 2005. JetBlue Airways took a hit in February, when passengers on 10 planes spent from five hours to 101/2 hours sitting on runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York because of icy weather and gate congestion. It took days for the airline to recover from the February storm and resume normal operations. It led JetBlue to establish a customer bill of rights promising vouchers to passengers who experience delays. Overall, complaints about the airlines last year held steady at about 0.88 complaints for every 100,000 passengers. Nearly half the complaints were about flight problems or baggage. The study found an increase in the number of passengers bumped or denied boarding because of oversold flights - 1.01 denied boardings per 10,000 passengers last year, compared with 0.89 per 10,000 in 2005. JetBlue had the lowest rate of bumped passengers; Atlantic Southeast the highest. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Apr 3 01:41:47 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 21:41:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] 3 US Airways pilots try to force FAA to let them fly past 60 Message-ID: <20070402214137.W574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2 April 2007 ; KVOA News (Tucson) 3 US Airways pilots try to force FAA to let them fly past 60 http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6314984 --- HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Three pilots who fly for Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways have asked an appeals court to let them keep flying past the mandatory retirement age of 60, a limit federal regulators plan to raise to 65. The pilots said in a petition to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that they don't want to wait for the Federal Aviation Administration to complete the process of raising the limit. Plaintiffs Joseph G. LoVecchio, of Lancaster; Lewis J. Tetlow, of Bedford, N.H., who turned 60 on Monday; and Richard C. Morgan of Charlottesville, Va., argue it is unreasonable to deny their petition for a waiver to a rule that is likely to be wiped out anyway. Tetford turned 60 on Monday. "I'll probably have to look for a flying job, but at age 60, it's always hard to do that," Morgan said Monday. "It's very daunting and the market is actually flooded with other airline pilots." The pilots asked the court in their motion, filed Thursday, to order the FAA to act on their waiver requests before April 30. The pilots said FAA officials told them they would not act on waivers "piecemeal" while the rule revision is being considered. An FAA spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday. With airlines slashing pensions and in need of qualified pilots, pressure has mounted to rewrite the age limit, which has been in place since 1960. Critics say that flight safety must come first, and that the impact of raising the age limit is not fully understood. Pilots' unions have split on what the limit should be. On Jan. 30, the FAA's administrator, Marion Blakey, proposed allowing pilots to fly until 65, as long as at least one member of the flight crew is under 60. However, Blakey at the time said it would take up to two years for the rule to take effect. The FAA's proposal mirrored a rule adopted two months earlier by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations group. Since the international standard changed, foreign pilots have been able to fly in the United States up to age 65, as long as they're accompanied by a co-pilot under 60 and undergo medical testing every six months. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Apr 5 14:27:46 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 10:27:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways to recall 26 pilots for growing fleet Message-ID: <20070405102738.T574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 5 April 2007 ; Charlotte Observer US Airways to recall 26 pilots for growing fleet http://charlotte.com/122/story/74953.html --- US Airways Group Inc. plans to recall 26 more pilots this month through December to serve as first officers on 100-seat aircraft the carrier is adding to serve smaller markets. US Airways, Charlotte's dominant carrier, also intends to call back about 90 laid-off flight attendants to fill vacancies caused by attrition, spokesman Philip Gee said Thursday. The flight-attendant recalls aren't related to the growing fleet of Embraer 190 jets, he said.US Airways said the pilot recalls disclosed Wednesday are in addition to its January announcement that it would call back as many as 274 pilots during this year's first half. -- Bloomberg News From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Apr 9 12:02:06 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 08:02:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways 34-seater makes emergency landing at Yeager Message-ID: <20070409080201.X574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9 April 2007 ; The Charleston Gazette US Airways 34-seater makes emergency landing at Yeager http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/News/2007040517 --- A US Airways flight had to make an emergency landing Thursday afternoon shortly after leaving Yeager Airport. The 34-seat Saab 340B airplane with GE engines took off just after 1 p.m. headed for Washington National Airport, Airport Director Rick Atkinson said. The pilot noticed something wrong with one of the engines. "They didn't think the engine was operating at its best efficiency," he said. "The pilot didn't think it was performing right." The plane made a successful emergency landing about 1:15 p.m. Fire trucks followed it to make sure the 23 people aboard, including the crew, made it off the plane safely, Atkinson said. No smoke was visible from the plane, he said. Nobody was hurt. Mechanics worked on the faulty engine while passengers were being rescheduled to other flights, Atkinson said. However, rebooking flights is tricky this time of year because of the heavy Easter and Spring Break travel season, he said. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Apr 9 12:03:27 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 08:03:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways expects 1st-quarter profit despite weather, computer problems Message-ID: <20070409080321.F574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9 April 2007 ; NEPA News (AP) US Airways expects 1st-quarter profit despite weather, computer problems http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18184260&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6 --- US Airways Group Inc. is projecting a slight profit for the first quarter despite weather-related disruptions and a computer glitch that temporarily shut down the airline's check-in kiosks at airports across the country. "We are happy to have the first quarter of 2007 behind us," US Airways President Scott Kirby said in a statement Friday. "Two significant ice storms around Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day led to major disruptions in our Philadelphia hub and we created our own problems with a difficult reservation system migration in early March," Kirby said. "Despite the disruption, we still project a slight profit (excluding special items) for the first quarter." US Airways also reported Friday that its revenue passenger miles for March were up less than 1 percent, to 5.6 billion, compared with the previous year. Capacity was down 1 percent, to 6.9 billion available seat miles. The percentage of filled airline seats for March was 82 percent, compared with 81 percent in March 2006. The carrier also reported a domestic on-time performance of 55.5 percent. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Apr 10 11:41:08 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:41:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways says snowstorms affected costs Message-ID: <20070410074102.Y574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 10 April 2007 ; MSN Money US Airways says snowstorms affected costs http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=ACBJ&Date=20070409&ID=6719716 --- US Airways Group Inc. said Monday in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its first quarter mainline costs were 1 percent to 3 percent higher due to "major operational challenges" from two snowstorms that affected its Philadelphia hub and its move to a single reservation system that combined its operations with America West. The Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier (NYSE:LCC), the leading carrier at Pittsburgh International Airport, said its March traffic rose 0.2 percent while capacity in the month fell 0.9 percent. The percentage of seats filled rose to one percent to 82 percent. "From an operational standpoint, we are happy to have the first quarter of 2007 behind us," US Airways president Scott Kirby said in a statement. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Apr 11 20:33:18 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:33:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways traffic up slightly, capacity down Message-ID: <20070411163312.R574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 April 2007 ; Washington Business Journal US Airways traffic up slightly, capacity down http://washington.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2007/04/09/daily1.html --- US Airways Group Inc. reported a slight increase in passenger traffic last month. Capacity, however, fell 0.9 percent. The airline, which operates out of Birmingham International Airport, flew 5.6 billion revenue passenger miles in March, up 0.2 percent from the year-ago period. The airline filled 82 percent of its seats, up from 81 percent in March 2006. Capacity fell 0.9 percent to 6.9 billion available seat miles. The carrier (NYSE:LCC), meanwhile, says it expects a "slight" profit despite two snowstorms that affected operations at its Philadelphia hub and recent disruptions caused by the integration of reservation systems between U.S. Airways and America West Holdings Corp. US Airways completed its $1.5 billion merger with America West in September 2005. The combined carrier, which took the US Airways name, is based in Tempe, Ariz. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Apr 11 20:35:20 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:35:20 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] Ouster Sought Of Official In Imam Case Message-ID: <20070411163515.I574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 April 2007 ; New York Sun Ouster Sought Of Official In Imam Case http://www.nysun.com/article/52203 --- By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN Staff Reporter of the Sun Mayor Bloomberg is being asked to dismiss from the city's Commission on Human Rights the lawyer involved in a lawsuit that could discourage ordinary citizens from reporting what they believe to be suspicious activity. In a letter sent to Mr. Bloomberg on Monday, an assemblyman of Queens, Rory Lancman, said Omar Mohammedi's position on the human rights commission undermines efforts to encourage New Yorkers to act as the eyes and ears of law enforcement. Mr. Bloomberg made Mr. Mohammedi a commissioner for the human rights commission in 2002. As a private attorney, Mr. Mohammedi is representing a group of imams from Arizona who are suing US Airways after they were removed from a flight last November. He is also suing any passengers on the flight who alerted authorities to what they regarded as suspicious activity by the imams. "Do you not also see the absurdity in retaining a Human Rights Commissioner who sues well meaning citizens for reporting suspicious activity?" Mr. Lancman wrote. This was especially so, Mr. Lancman wrote, given that residents in New York frequently encounter the slogan: "If you see something, say something." "Before they do so, I think they have a right to know that they won't be sued by their own Human Rights Commissioner, Omar Mohammedi," Mr. Lancman wrote. Mr. Lancman said he intends to introduce legislation in Albany that would immunize from lawsuits citizens who report suspicious activity. Similar measures have been introduced in Washington, D.C. In court filings, Mr. Mohammedi has signaled that he wants to question the passengers on the US Airways flight to determine whether their reports against the imams were made in good faith, or were motivated by prejudice. Mr. Mohammedi did not return a call for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg has said the mayor believes that Mr. Mohammedi, as a private attorney, has a right to represent whomever he wishes. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Apr 11 20:36:50 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:36:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways adds agents Message-ID: <20070411163640.Q574-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 April 2007 ; Charlotte Observer US Airways adds agents http://charlotte.com/122/story/81092.html --- NEXT, PLEASE? 10 percent bigger staff follows service debacles By STEVE HARRISON After two high-profile customer service meltdowns, and with passenger traffic surging, US Airways is increasing the number of ticket and gate agents at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport by more than 10 percent. After agents struggled to handle long lines last month caused by the airline's switch to a new reservations system, as well as a surprise late winter storm, US Airways President Scott Kirby said staffing in Charlotte was adequate. But the airline placed nine new agents in Charlotte this week and has 40 more in a seven-week training class. The hires were made to handle the busy summer traffic season, but they also were in response to lobbying by airline officials in Charlotte, said airline spokeswoman Michelle Mohr. The airline's agents in Charlotte will increase from 450 to 499. "It's going to take a lot of stress off the agents as soon as they (the new hires) get on the floor," said Janice Garris, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 3641, which represents the airline's agents at Charlotte/Douglas. Ticket agents are responsible for tagging luggage and helping passengers check in to flights, among other duties. Those who work at gates board planes and juggle seat assignments. In early March, US Airways switched to a new reservations system -- a change that left many of its self-service kiosks not working. Agents had to do work usually handled by machines, and there were long lines. Two weeks later, a storm caused delays throughout its system. More than 3,000 people slept at Charlotte/Douglas on a Saturday night, and many passengers needed to be rebooked on different flights. Agents said the lines were especially long because the new Shares system couldn't handle rebookings as quickly as the old reservations system, Sabre. During both malfunctions, the airline's ticket and gate agents said they were woefully understaffed to handle a crisis. They also said they struggle to handle passengers even on normal days. The number of agents in Charlotte has been steady since before the merger with America West in fall 2005, Mohr said. During US Airways' second bankruptcy, in 2004, the airline laid off some agents and replaced them with kiosks. While the number of agents had been steady, airline traffic at Charlotte has been increasing rapidly. In the past six months, Charlotte/Douglas has added passengers at a greater rate than any other American airport, according to an Observer analysis. In the first two months of this year, Charlotte/Douglas handled 16 percent more passengers compared with the same period a year ago. On average, that's an additional 11,000 passengers passing through the airport each day. US Airways has more than 80 percent of the airport's daily flights, so its agents have handled most of that increase. After the problems with the reservations system switch, US Airways installed some new check-in computers in unused space at its ticketing counter. It also installed four new kiosks that can be used during peak times. Mohr said the airline still "has anomalies" with its reservations system but that overall things are working smoothly. Traffic Up Charlotte's passenger traffic has grown faster than any other large American airport in the past six months, compared with the same period a year ago. 1. Charlotte/Douglas +13.4 percent (+1.7 million passengers) 2. New York-Kennedy +9.6 percent (+1.9 million passengers) 3. Denver +6.5 percent (+1.4 million) From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Apr 14 13:40:18 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:40:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [US Airways] United, US Airways add fee on LAX departures Message-ID: <20070414094011.I13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 14 April 2007 ; Arizona Republic United, US Airways add fee on LAX departures http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0412biz-airlines0412.html --- By: Dawn Gilbertson Passengers flying to Phoenix from Los Angeles International Airport will have to pay more for their airline tickets after United Airlines announced a new $10 surcharge on departing flights that was quickly matched by Tempe-based US Airways. The new fee is designed to offset a $10 million annual rent increase there, United said. Southwest Airlines, which - along with other airlines - has criticized the rate hike, said it will not impose a surcharge. Other airlines have not revealed their plans. Phoenix-bound passengers will be among the hardest hit by the new fee because the city is among the top 10 domestic destinations out of Los Angeles International, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Last year, 784,000 passengers boarded planes bound for Phoenix. The top destination out of LA is Chicago, where United has a hub, followed by Honolulu. The rent boost at LAX is "in clear violation" of the lease agreement with the agency that runs Los Angeles International Airport, United said in a statement. The carrier added that the fee is effective immediately. The surcharge is the latest airline backlash over the Los Angeles rent increase, which the airport says will help pay for security upgrades. United, American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. filed a lawsuit in January. Seven other carriers protested to the U.S. Department of Transportation in February. Both US Airways and Southwest were part of the latter group. Los Angeles has struggled for years to expand the world's fifth-busiest airport, popularly known as LAX, because of neighborhood opposition over noise, pollution and traffic. Airport operator Los Angeles World Airports said this week that a $723 million renovation of the international terminal is the first of its kind since 1984. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is also turning to its carriers to help foot expansion and renovation plans, much to the airlines' chagrin. In February, both US Airways and Southwest Airlines objected to a $2.9 billion expansion at Sky Harbor, saying that the proposal would require them to pay millions more in rent and landing fees in coming years and effectively double their cost of doing business in Phoenix. The rate hikes in Phoenix are not as significant as those in Los Angeles, however. United said Wednesday that it supports modernizing LAX but that it has "no interest in paying higher fees without greater benefit for our customers."