PlaneBuzz

Hello earthlings.

Our "bonus" edition of PlaneBusiness Banter is now posted.

This week we conclude our earnings coverage with in-depth earnings reviews of Pinnacle, AIr Canada and WestJet.

We also take a look at the June DOT Airline Travel Consumer Report. Yep, three hour tarmac delays were much lower -- but cancellations were not up. They were flat.

But hey, like we said last month, one month does not a trend make. Nor does two for that matter.

We take a look at these numbers as well as all the usual DOT consumer moaning and groaning reports, lost bags, and on-time performances.

Of course we also give you the scoop on the LAN/TAM deal. LAN's acquisition of TAM will create the largest airline in Latin America. Big news!

Then there is the new United livery, Delta's upgrade at JFK (about time), Spirit's latest swipe at a competitor (they never miss an opportunity to do so), and more.

All in this week's "bonus" issue of PBB.

Subscribers can access this week's issue here.

And with that, we are all officially on vacation!

Posted by Holly at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We may be a little late, but hey, we made it.

I know. I can't wait to get my tarmac rule violation bill in the mail this week from the DOT.

Hello all ;-)

This week's issue of PlaneBusiness Banter is now, finally, posted. If you read my previous post here you'll get the skinny on why we are posting on Wednesday night. An addendum to that post: while all the other problems were apparently fixed, now I cannot send email on my planebusiness.com account using Verizon.

At this point, I don't care. I can take up that battle tomorrow.

In the meantime, a head's up for PBB subscribers. We will be posting another issue of PBB either later this week or the first of next week. Yes, I was supposed to go on vacation yesterday, but because of all this Verizon mess, we were unable to complete all the material we wanted to include in this final issue for the summer.

So -- the mojitos have been put on hold. The box of mint is still in the refrigerator.

We'll be back for one more issue before we formally depart.

In the meantime however, we have a lot to talk about in this issue, including in-depth earnings reports on Republic, Hawaiian, and SkyWest. We talk a lot about the SkyWest/ExpressJet deal, and there were also more details given about SkyWest's involvement with Air Mekong in the airline's earnings call. We'll update you on all that as well.

Cathay Pacific also reported earnings last week -- and the airline did very, very well. More on those, in addition to the scoop on the newest low fare Asian airline -- a JV between Thai and Tiger.

DAE has apparently told Airbus and Boeing that it is canceling 50 aircraft that had been included as part of the company's eye-popping $27 billion order spending spree at the Dubai Air Show two years ago. Reality has apparently come to the Middle East. Or at least one part of it. There are still all those mind-numbing Emirates aircraft orders out there.

We give you the rundown on which airlines shone in the second quarter in terms of break even load factor and operating margins. And we'll talk about those that posted rather worrisome numbers.

One hint: The same two airlines finished last and next to last in both metrics. Who were those two airlines?

And what about the Canadian airline Jazz? Why does it think it's okay to report its quarterly numbers -- absent any mention of RPMs?

We have a pretty good idea why -- do you?

As always, this is just a part of this week's issue. All this and more -- in this week's issue of PlaneBusiness Banter. Subscribers can access this week's issue here.

Posted by Holly at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello.

See this truck?

This is the truck that the Verizon FIOS service repair person drove to the Worldwide Headquarters this morning at 10 AM.

This visit was in response to my call to Verizon on Tuesday after a new router that they sent did nothing to solve the problem. Their customer service person at that point assured me that the problem was in the Verizon "box" on the wall.

This was after customer service at Verizon had told me Monday that we had lost connectivity because of a bad router.

But remember, I installed a new router on Tuesday -- and nothing changed.

So today, at 10 AM, a live person shows up to "change out" the bad Verizon box on my wall. However, in an ominous sign, he tells me before he does it that this will probably not solve the problem. He's been down this road before.

Live person changes out the box.

He was right.

Nothing changes.

For the next four hours he and I keep testing. Ethernet only. Router on, router off. Hard reboots. On and on. He keeps telling Verizon techs the same stories over and over and over. I can't go anywhere else and try to get this week's issue of PlaneBusiness Banter completed - as I have to stay and test with my laptop.

Because I am the customer. Because the Verizon tech can't stay here by himself.

By this time, after six days of this -- and a huge issue sitting half completed -- I feel like I have been put through a pasta machine. Over and over and over again.

Finally, at 2:38 P.M., after test number 268, the pages magically load. The connections don't hang. I can finally upload pages to the website again.

And post this blog post.

See that truck?

The one that is marketing Verizon's "blazing fast internet." What you don't see is the small print that reads,

*Most of the time. And definitely not when your PON card is bad.

You IT geeks will understand.

For all the rest of you -- Monday's issue of PBB will be posted later today.

Posted by Holly at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)