Travel Industry Archive

US Airways says it won’t leave Logan International – US Airways is trying to quash rumors that it will cut its Boston flights because Southwest Airlines Co. will enter Logan International Airport this fall. When asked by an employee in a corporate newsletter if the airline planned on pulling out of the market as it did in Las Vegas or Pittsburgh, US Airways replied it had no...

More...

The hit parade just keeps coming. Today I’m taking a slightly deeper look at United’s annual report. Here are some interesting bits for you. At the end of 2008, the new first and business class products had been installed on only 25 aircraft. The “majority of the 66 remaining aircraft” will be completed in 2009 and 2010 with the project fully completed in 2011....

More...

Fed up with having to deal with negative press about rising drug violence in Mexico, Cancun’s tourism board decided just to not mention it’s in Mexico. Who knows? Perhaps it will work – Americans aren’t known for their geography skills. The negative press, released right before the lucrative Spring Break rush, stems from a U.S. State Department advisory on travel to...

More...

I had so much fun walking through Delta’s 10-K, that I thought I’d keep it going. Next up is Allegiant, and if you’ve never really fully understood the model, Allegiant does a great job of explaining it to you. Here are some highlights. “Based on published data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (”DOT”), we believe the initiation of our service...

More...

Sheldon Adelson, the embattled chief executive of the struggling Las Vegas Sands Corp., said he isn’t apologizing for Las Vegas’ entertaining atmosphere but he is going to search for the country’s most boring city. Adelson’s sentiments were based on President Barack Obama’s quote about businesses receiving bailouts shouldn’t be heading to Las Vegas for...

More...

Cancun decides not to mention it’s in Mexico — With recent U.S. State Department warnings about drug violence in Mexico making tourists jittery, its biggest resort town has decided not to mention it’s in Mexico. Instead, Cancun will highlight its beaches, which have been relatively free of any violence. Hotels are expected to house 1 million foreign and Mexican visitors...

More...

There’s no question that February was a very ugly month for the airlines.  They all saw serious cuts in capacity, with the exception of Allegiant.  And only Southwest and Alaska actually showed an increase in load factor.  If this is the beginning of a longer term trend, it is not a good one. Click for definitions. Airline ASMs RPMs Load Factor AirTran (9.1%) (13.6%) -3.9 pts ...

More...

Depending on who you listen to, Bombardier’s proposed 100- to 150-seat CSeries jets are either poised to take off, or permanently grounded. First — for all of you who have actual lives and don’t obsess about proposed new airplanes — here’s the backstory: The CSeries would be the Canadian regional jet builder’s largest planes, big enough to compete with Boeing...

More...

Delta put out its latest 10-K this week, so I thought I’d pick through it and point out some highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be). Continental has told the airline that it will end its marketing alliance with Delta on July 31, 2009 and with Northwest on April 14, 2009. We knew this was coming with Continental’s impending move to Star Alliance, but I don’t remember...

More...

A rash of stories lately have been profiling the ways gaming industry Goliaths are trying to relieve some of their debt burden, most notably Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage. Out of the two, MGM Mirage seems to be in the most trouble. With no financial reports since September and more than $13 billion in debt, shareholders should be getting a little anxious. Although there was a $775...

More...