In case you hadn’t heard, Delta Airlines is buying a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways. The shares are currently owned by Singapore Airlines. Delta is hoping to eventually start a relationship where frequent flyers can use mileage on both airlines as well as open up valuable slots at London’s Heathrow Airport. Sort of something similar to what American Airlines and British Airways have.
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Air Canada announce a new low cost carrier to operate leisure flights to Europe and the Caribbean. It’s called “Rouge” and will begin operations on July 1. Air Canada says “Rouge” will make money by paying new airline hires less than current Air Canada employees and add seats to their aircraft—as many as 50 on a 767.
Some “Rouge” destinations, such as Edinburgh and Venice, are not currently served by Air Canada.
Let’s hope “Rouge” is profitable and stays out of the rouge, eh?
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Southwest Airlines, which has so far ceased to weigh passengers down with incessant extra fees, announced it will start charging no show passengers. If you’re scheduled to fly on Southwest and don’t cancel your flight prior to its departure, and then want to reuse the ticket, you’ll be charged a fee. No word yet on when this will all take place or how much it will cost.
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During the third quarter of this year, the ten largest U.S. airlines each made an operating profit. Much of that profit is due to all the extra fees charged by the airlines—check bag fees, meal fees, premium seating fees, etc. How much? Collectively, the airlines took in $924 million during that three month period. Don’t expect these to go away anytime soon.