How Changes In The Airline Industry May Affect You

By Mike Grasso

The past few months have been turbulent ones for the airline industry. Put simply, the airlines are shrinking. We already lost Aloha, ATA, and SkyBus - among others. Remaining airlines are finding ways to "trim the fat" and find reasonable ways to limit costs/increase revenue while being hammered with record high oil prices. These changes will affect most passengers in some form.

Reuters has reported that more than 50 towns and small across the United States will reportedly loose airline service alltogether by 2009. Existing service to major cities, including right here in the Bay Area will be trimmed where necessary. Having a plane 80% full was the industry gold standard, now the bar has been raised. The airlines can no longer sustain flying planes 20% empty with the current cost of crude oil at all time highs. This means you can plan on flying fuller plans in the future. On average, that empty middle seat will now be filled with a warm body.

A method the airlines will use to ensure fuller flights is to limit the number of daily flights to particular cities. For example, City A to City B may have previously operated 6 daily flights, that may be cut down to 5. It may seem insignificant, but if the demand is the same, you can bet those 5 flights will operate near capacity, not to mention cost you more.

Fewer flights mean that during irregular operations, such as weather or mechanical cancellations, finding another flight to standby on will become more difficult. On the other hand, fewer flights may help already congested airports, such as Chicago's O'Hare, and get flights off the ground sooner.

You can also expect that your airline ticket price includes a seat and few other amenities.
American Airlines for example announced plans to charge $15 to check in your first bag. They also announced a $5 fee to book award travel on their website. U.S Air and United are now charging $150+ to make changes on non-refundable tickets. The cost of alcohol and food on some airlines is also climbing. Expect other fees in the future, and adjustments to existing ones.

Finally, frequent flyer miles. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I am an advocate for using your miles. The airlines will continue to find methods to devalue your frequent flyer account, or resort to options limiting the number of new miles you can accrue, such as a recent policy change by United & U.S Air eliminating the 500 mile minimum rule on short-haul flights.

Although it may not sound it, I am an ally of the airlines. They are under extreme pressure to change a business model that is simply not working in this high-price-of-fuel environment. They are making adjustments the best they can, and ultimately some of these decisions will impact all of us during future travels.

American to eliminate Oakland flights

According to a spokesman from Oakland International Airport, American Airlines will be cancelling all flights from the airport beginning September 3rd. According to the spokesperson, eliminating Oakland flights is part of a larger plan to reduce the airlines domestic flying by 5 percent.

American Airlines represented only 1 percent of Oakland International's total aviation revenue. But, American's move to withdraw from Oakland follows on the heels of ATA, Aloha and Skybus Airlines who abruptly ended operations last month, affecting thousands of Oakland flyers.

American says it will accommodate affected passengers by using flights currently operated through San Francisco or San Jose Airports, where a broader network of American flights is available.

Some content obtained from the San Jose Mercury News

SkyBus Airlines Cancels Flights, Calls it Quits

Does this sound familiar? Last week it was Aloha and ATA, this week Skybus. All three airlines abruptly shut down, leaving passengers across the country scrambling looking for alternate flights.

After less than a year of operations, including flights out of Oakland, Skybus Airlines announced a halt to all passenger operations effective April 5th. The airline, which prided itself on offering seats from $10 each way, simply could not stand in the face of record high oil prices, taking a toll on the entire airline industry.

450 Skybus employees have been laid off, and passengers with confirmed reservations are on their own to find flight alternatives.

Skybus to leave San Francisco Bay Area

By Mike Grasso
After months of speculation, Skybus has decided to drop some of their longer-haul flights, including to the San Francisco Bay Area. Known for offering seats for as low as $10 on all flights, the airline is having difficulty operating certain routes in the midst of skyrocketing jet fuel prices.
From Oakland, the carrier operates a daily flight to its Columbus, Ohio hub.

"The decision to discontinue service to Oakland was a difficult one for us, but it was brought on by a situation that was beyond our control and needed to be addressed,"an airline spokesperson told inFLIGHTout. It was not immediately known what other cities were impacted by the decision.

Service to Oakland began last June and will end May 31st.

See more articles on Skybus here

ManyBag and LapChildren Fees from Spirit Airlines

By Mike Grasso

Spirit Airlines currently permits checked bags on their flights for a $5-$10 fee (the lower reflects bag payment made online versus the airport). Effective February 20th, that fee doubles; $10-$20 per bag. More than 3 bags will cost an additional $100 bucks each. You may haul a free carry-on and one personal item onboard the plane free of charge.

While other airlines charge excess baggage fees, Spirit takes it to a higher level. American and United for example charge $80 and $85 respectively, for a 3rd checked bag. Southwest, even with the introduction of charging a fee for the 3rd bag (effective January 29), it will set you back only 25 bucks. Spirit is truly leading the way in higher baggage fees.

Want to bring a LapChild along during your Spirit flight? (They don't count as the free carry-on). Children under the age of 2 are not required to purchase their own seat, but come May 1st if they're going to sit in your lap, those little people incur a LapChildren fee of $25 bucks each way on Spirit Airlines.

To compare LapChild fees, SkyBus, often referred to as the lowest of low cost carriers operating in the U.S, charges $10 for each segment a child is parked on your lap, but they also charge as little as $10 bucks for a flight; the added fee seems reasonable there. Otherwise, this type of fee doesn't really exist with other airlines in the United States. So in sum, that infant of yours will soon pay for his/her share of onboard oxygen and fuel costs when flying Spirit Airlines.

In defense of these fees, the airlines are struggling to cut costs, and a few pounds of infancy do add a few bucks to operating costs. It's possible then, in the larger airline world, we might expect other airlines to follow Spirits move on similar LapChildren fees, and modify their existing ManyBag fees.

Background on Spirit Airlines:
Spirit Airlines inaugurated flights from San Francisco Airport in 2006, but does not currently offer routes from the Bay Area; it's unknown whether the airline pulled out completely, or seasonally. Spirit offers a huge network of routes throughout the East Coast and the Caribbean.

Oakland - Columbus, Ohio $40.16 round-trip!

Skybus, the ultimate in low-cost-carriers within the United States is selling seats on many routes for $20.08, just in time for the new year. Oakland-Columbus is the only route Skybus operates from the Bay Area, though many other routings throughout the U.S are included in the promotion.

The price of $20.08 is each way + tax, so it will run you about $60 dollars for a round-trip ticket to Columbus, and checking their website this morning, it seems there are plenty of seats left.

Visit SkyBus for more information. Book soon, these prices won't last.

Also consider: Top 10 things to do in Columbus (From TripAdvisor)

Northwest & Southwest Slash fares to/from Colombus Ohio

Likely in response to SkyBus' low price model, NW & SW airlines have slashed prices to amazingly new lows. NW is offering fares to/from Oakland, San Jose & Sacramento to Colombus for $98+ tax roundtrip...and SW offering DING fares for $30 each way. You must download DING from the Southwest website in order to see these fares. Most flights are for August and September.

New Routes and Added Service.

San Jose Airport NONSTOP to:
Los Angeles Delta (Express Jet) July 1st
Chicago (midway) Southwest May 13th

San Francisco Airport NONSTOP to:

Chicago (Midway) Southwest August 2007
San Diego Southwest August 2007
Las Vegas Southwest August 2007
Salt Lake City Jet Blue July 27th
Columbus, Ohio SkyBus June 12th

Oakland Airport NONSTOP to:

Kona, Hawai'i ATA June 14th
Lihue, Hawai'i ATA June 15th
Honolulu, Hawai'i ATA June 15th
Denver Southwest June 17th

Sacramento Airport NONSTOP to:

Vancouver, BC Air Canada June 15th

SkyBus Starts OAK Service June 12

Skybus, a big time budget carrier begins OAK service next month. The carrier is based out of CMH - Columbus, Ohio and is offering $10 seats on 10 seats of each flight anywhere they fly those birds.

Of course, just like Consumer Reports magazine might do, we put it to the test. Yupp. It seems to be true.

This airline has brother and sister airlines all around the world - RyanAir, Air Asia, etc who offer low frills (or perhaps NO frills) at low fares. The greyhound buses of the sky. They take you from point A to point B, and you C your way off the plane. Want something more? No problem, for a small fee, you to can enjoy your favorite beverage, movie, or the die-cast model airplane.

A true test in "you get what you pay for". They have an interesting business model. If nothing else, a test to other carriers who were previously hailed "budget carriers" such as Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue.

More information about Skybus can be found here