Cheap Airfares

He said two things need to happen before the launch of such an airline: First the open skies deal recently signed between Europe and the U.S., set to increase competition on transatlantic routes, needs to come into effect. Second, O' Leary needs cheap aircraft.
"We're a couple of years away from this. It won't happen unless there's a cheap fleet," he said.
When there's a downturn in the airline industry, as was the case in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the SARS Cheap Airfares epidemic, carriers sometimes decide to sell aircraft, often at steep discounts, to reduce capacity.
This is the opportunity O' Leary is looking for.
The rough plan would then be to operate flights from six to eight top European cities to the same number of top U.S. destinations. The aircraft would be divided between a low-cost cabin and an upscale business class that would seek to best that of Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.
"We can't get rid of business class on long-haul flights. The economics of it don't add up," he said.
At the back of the plane, economy flyers could snap up tickets for as little as 10 euros one-way.
Virgin Atlantic said on Monday that it Cheap Airfares plans to launch business-class only flights between Europe and the U.S. in the next 12 to 18 months. See full story.
O' Leary said that while he likely wouldn't run any new transatlantic airline on a day-to-day basis, he may invest in it to get it off the ground. He said he doesn't expect raising money for the project to be a problem.
He insisted, however, that the Cheap Airfares new airline would have nothing to do with Ryanair. It would be a separate entity run by a new management team.

Cheap Airfares

John Deiner: And we're back. Hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend (seems much longer than a week ago, doesn't it?).

Anyhoo, we have nearly a full team on board today to answer any of your questions, or to pretend to answer your questions. Also here: Maryann Haggerty, who wrote the story in yesterday's Travel section on Virginia Cheap Airfares wineries and is eager to give you any assistance she can.

First, any thoughts about the TB Man and his jaunt across the Pond? Editor KC Summers blogged about it this morning, so let's open it up for comments in this forum as well.

And for the big prize: It's summertime! Cheap Airfares Well, sorta. I know the kids are still in school, but a bunch of us here are up to our necks in a big Jersey Shore section coming down the pike in a few weeks. So I'm wondering: Where do you guys go to the beach every summer? And why? (Or where DON'T you go? And why?)Everyone seems to have his/her Cheap Airfares faves, so share.

Cheap Airfares

Dothan Regional Airport by its local carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
Complaints about ASA service and the cost of flying out of Dothan are commonplace. ASA was recently ranked as the nation’s worst airline in terms of baggage handling and on-time performance by an annual study conducted by the University of Nebraska and Wichita State University.
Everett recently testified about the airline’s shoddy service to a House transportation subcommittee. Everett Cheap Airfares said many small towns and rural areas are suffering from poor air service reliability and high airfares. According to Everett, about 70 percent of flights coming into Dothan from Atlanta, and 50 percent of flights leaving Dothan for Atlanta, are either delayed or cancelled. Everett has hinted in several speeches that if something wasn’t done to correct the matter, the government may take steps.
“Listen, I’m a Republican and I don’t believe in government interference unless we need it, but unless we see some Cheap Airfares improvement Congress will have to get involved,” Everett said.
Flanked by Everett and local officials Friday, Wayne Aaron, a Delta vice president, said the airline has taken over customer service from ASA at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Cheap Airfares Atlanta, shifting more than 1,200 employees from ASA to Delta control.

Cheap Airfares

CHICAGO: Northwest Airlines, the last U.S. carrier in bankruptcy, left court protection Thursday after reducing its operating costs to the point where they are now close to the lowest in the industry.

The company used its 20 months in bankruptcy to carve $2.4 billion, or 20 percent, from its annual expenses. It slashed labor spending by $1.4 billion, or 40 percent. Northwest also reorganized its regional flights, trimmed its fleet by 13 percent, and replaced older fuel-guzzling planes with newer cheap airfares models.

"They were pretty aggressive," said William Warlick, an analyst for Fitch in Chicago. "The proof is in the pudding, and they're going to come out of bankruptcy with lower costs than virtually all other legacy carriers."

The reorganization will produce a $794 million profit in 2007 after a $2.84 billion loss last year, Northwest estimates. The operating profit margin in the last quarter was 7 percent, the best among major U.S. airlines. American Airlines was second with 4.6 percent.

Northwest, based in Eagan, Minnesota, was the last of four large U.S. airlines to file for bankruptcy protection after air travel slumped in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks. US Airways Group filed for cheap airfares bankruptcy in August 2002 and again in September 2004; United Airlines in December 2002; and Delta Air Lines about 30 minutes before Northwest on Sept. 14, 2005.
Today in Marketplace by Bloomberg cheap airfares

Northwest lost $4.62 billion from 2001 through 2005, and listed debt of $17.9 billion in its filing. "They had the benefit of being the last through," said Robert Mann of R.W. Mann, a consultant for airlines and labor groups, based in Port Washington, New York. "On that basis, they were able to work off everyone else's set of objectives."

With "relatively good" non-labor costs, Northwest focused on paring personnel expenses, said Philip Baggaley, cheap airfares and analyst with Standard & Poor's. Steenland and his lieutenants trimmed the work force by 22 percent from June 30, 2005, to 30,008 employees as of March 31. They also pushed through reductions in salary, vacation time, sick leave, health care benefits and crew meals and accommodations.

Excluding fuel, Northwest cut its cost to fly each seat one mile, to 7.7 cents last year, from 8.9 cents before it filed for bankruptcy. That compares with 7.4 cents at Delta and 9.1 cents at United, according to Northwest.

Unlike Delta, which exited cheap airfares bankruptcy after shifting jets to international routes, Northwest did not have to change strategy. It already had a larger share of higher-profit overseas flights than most of its U.S. peers. About 41 percent of Northwest's capacity last year was on international routes, second only to the 47 percent of Continental Airlines, according to Susan Donofrio, an analyst for Cathay Financial in New York cheap airfares.

The lack of an "open skies" agreement between China and the United States means Northwest and United will keep their cheap airfares edge in Pacific passenger traffic before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said Roger King, a debt analyst for CreditSights in New York cheap airfares.