Travel Industry Archive

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is out bargain-shopping. With both Airbus and Boeing expecting further declines in new jet sales during 2009, the irrepressible Irishman has started talks toward a deal for as many as 400 new single-aisle jets. O’Leary’s done this before. Back in 2002, when Boeing was in the midst of laying off 40,000 people, Ryanair came in with a big order for 100...

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Boeing issues warning to 777 operators and airlines — Last week, Boeing Co. issued a warning to those airlines and operators of its Boeing 777s with Trent engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce, saying that ice blocking the fuel path could cause a sudden loss of engine power. Some measures could be taken to lessen the chances of engine failure, the company said, and the Federal Aviation...

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When David Neeleman founded JetBlue, he said that if a workgroup voted a union in, he would have felt like he failed his employees. Yesterday, the pilots voted on a union contract and overwhelming turned it down. Even though Neeleman isn’t at the airline anymore, I’m sure he’s smiling. Apparently, only about 33 percent of pilots voted for the union. A majority vote was...

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The government has now released all of Virgin America’s data through the third quarter of 2008 (through October 2008 for monthly data points), and I’ve been poring over it for hours. The results? Not good at all. We’re looking at an airline that is bleeding money right now and is nowhere near profitability, even with some fuel relief. It is seeing some improvement, but...

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Did you really think that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. dropped about 20 Alaskan cruises a year because of a local $50 head tax on passengers? No, I didn’t either. Alaskan cruises are more expensive than most other cruises in North America – perhaps slightly because of taxes, but mostly because of distance and costs. Because the luxury cruise market, along with any high-end...

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Continental was the first airline to announce its January operating performance, and it wasn’t a good one. Their report always includes more information than others, and it’s the RASM (click for definition) estimates that have me concerned. With RASM down 5 to 6 percent in January, even on strong capacity cuts, things aren’t looking good. Despite having 6.5 percent fewer...

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Now that the release of Virgin America’s financial information is imminent, the airline has decided to try to do a little damage control. Today, before the information was released, the airline put out a press release showing some high, er, lowlights of its financial performance. The results were far worse than I could have imagined, though I’ll wait for the full results to see...

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Cruise lines hope cheap cruises lure customers — Six-day cruises to the Caribbean from Miami for $299 a person will lure customers, a spokesman for Carnival Cruise Lines said. Norwegian Cruise Lines is also offering Bahamas trips starting at $229. So far, cruise lines have relied on discounts and cuts to keep ships running , but now the industry hopes its switch to cheaper cruises...

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You’ve probably seen the complaint sent to Virgin Atlantic after one of its passengers was so disturbed by the food being served that he felt compelled to write a letter to Sir Richard Branson himself. I’ve seen it called the world’s funniest complaint letter or the world’s best. Personally, I didn’t think it deserved all the press it got (have we forgotten the...

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