Lufthansa’s First-Class Makeover Aims to Out-Ritz BA

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG will seek to out-Ritz British Airways Plc by evoking London hotel luxury in a makeover of its first-class cabins.

The revamp, to be unveiled when the German carrier gets its first A380 superjumbo on May 19, features high-gloss wood veneers and brown and beige leather, said Michael Oakey of Heath Tecna Inc., which is supplying seat components. The in-flight service will include wines chosen in tastings by frequent flyers, airline spokesman Jan Baerwalde said.

Alliance for Retired Americans - Friday Alert, April 23, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

(Alliance for Retired Americans)

Alliance Seeks Open Government as Fiscal Commission Holds Its First Meeting

Two important summit meetings will be held in Washington next week to discuss ways of reducing the federal deficit. The first will be President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which holds its first meeting on Tuesday, April 27. In advance of the meeting, the Alliance sent a letter on Thursday to Bruce Reed, Executive Director of the Commission. The joint letter - from Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance, Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance, and Edward F. Coyle, the Alliance's Executive Director - stated that while retirees fully support President Obama on the critical need to reduce our nation's budget deficit, many have been troubled by statements by commission members suggesting that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be a primary focus to meet deficit reduction goals.

European Airlines Press to Get Everyone Home

AP – Condensation trails of aircraft are seen over Frankfurt, central Germany, Thursday, April 22, 2010, as

By SLOBODAN LEKIC and CARLO PIOVANO, Associated Press Writers Slobodan Lekic And Carlo Piovano, Associated Press Writers – Thu Apr 22, 10:04 am ET

BRUSSELS – European airports sent thousands of planes into the sky Thursday after a week of unprecedented disruptions, with airlines piling on more flights and bigger planes to try to get as many people home as possible.

Nearly all of the continent's 28,000 scheduled flights, including more than 300 trans-Atlantic routes, were going ahead. Every plane was packed, however, as airlines squeezed in some of the hundreds of thousands who had been stranded for days among passengers with regular Thursday tickets.

Former Continental CEO's 2009 Pay Worth $3.3M

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 23, 2010

Filed at 8:27 p.m. ET

DALLAS (AP) -- The former CEO of Continental Airlines Inc. got a compensation package valued at $3.3 million in his final year leading the nation's fourth-largest carrier, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing made Friday.

The airline's new CEO has vowed to reject his $730,000 salary and any bonuses until Continental earns a full-year profit. It lost money the last two years, but analysts predict it will post a profit in 2010.

Ash Cloud Likely to be Just a Blip for US Airlines

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2010 file photo, a Delta airplane is de-iced at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. Heavy winter storms hurt Delta Air Lines' results as the world's largest carrier said Tuesday, April 20, 2010, it lost $256 million in the first quarter.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, file)

Harry R. Weber, AP Airlines Writer, On Tuesday April 20, 2010, 4:32 pm EDT

ATLANTA (AP) -- The volcanic ash cloud hovering over Europe shouldn't give Delta Air Lines Inc. anything worse than a migraine, as long as flight disruptions don't re-ignite. That's welcome news for a U.S. airline industry hoping for a big boost from summer travelers.

Delta said Tuesday that it lost $256 million in the first three months of the year, before the eruption of an Icelandic volcano shut down a large portion of air travel in Europe. The carrier expects to be solidly profitable in the current period, the second quarter. Analysts forecast a profit of about $559 million.

Spirit Airlines Chief Defends Carry-On Baggage Fee

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 21, 2010

Filed at 7:37 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The president of Spirit Airlines says there's been no significant fallout his new charge for carry-on bags.

Ben Baldanza defends his business model in a nationally broadcast interview while acknowledging it didn't sit well in some quarters. He joked that he'd never consider charging for bathroom use.

Jacksonville, Unions at Impasse but Still Talking

Posted: April 19, 2010 - 5:45pm

By Matt Galnor

Jacksonville is at impasse with four of its six unions and is looking at dates for hearings with magistrates to hear the disputes.

Yet city negotiators continue to hold bargaining sessions with those same unions, as they did Monday with the Fraternal Order of Police, to continue to work on a new contract.

Problem is, there's still no movement on the big three issues that drove the two sides to impasse: wages, pensions and health insurance.

City, Unions Still Talk — Just Not About the Big Stuff

Submitted by Matt Galnor on April 19, 2010 - 1:52pm

Think of it as moving all of the knick-knacks and clothes out of the house by yourself and waiting on the movers for the couches and heavy, clunky furniture.

Jacksonville is at impasse with four of its six unions, including the Fraternal Order of Police, but city negotiators sat down this morning at the police union hall.

Both sides are trying to hash out smaller items now and leave only the heavy lifting for outside arbitrators and, possibly, the City Council.

Jacksonville City Departments Show Potential Cuts

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton

Early proposals include dimming street lights, closing libraries, laying off workers

Posted: April 20, 2010 - 4:24pm

By Matt Galnor

A 5 percent cut in Jacksonville's city budget could mean shuttered libraries, darker streets and about 150 fewer workers on the city payroll.

All are among ideas offered by city department heads, told by Mayor John Peyton to show what cutting 5 percent would look like.

Those ideas started coming into Peyton's office this week and will be taken into consideration as Peyton tries to plug a projected $58 million shortfall largely tied to rising employee costs.

United In 3-Way Deal?

Copyright 2010 Gannett Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

USA TODAY

April 19, 2010 Monday
FIRST EDITION

MONEY; Pg. 6B

601 words


Is United seeking three-way deal with US Airways and Continental?;
Merger would face antitrust obstacles

Dan Reed


United Airlines' talks with US Airways and Continental Airlines could result in more than just a simple merger of two big airlines.

Some analysts suspect that United is trying to put together a complex three-way deal that, in effect, would create a global aviation leader almost 50% larger than current No. 1 Delta.

To pull that off, United -- which is already a Star alliance partner with both airlines -- would have to convince antitrust regulators and Congress that such a large and unprecedented combination of carriers wouldn't reduce flight options and lead to higher fares. They'll also have to win the support of labor unions.

"United's 'Plan A' all along has been to do a merger with US Airways and keep Continental as their alliance partner with antitrust immunity," says independent analyst Hubert Horan. An executive at Northwest Airlines in the 1990s, Horan helped build the first international airline alliance, with KLM.

The current alliance between United and Continental allows them to divvy up international routes to fly and jointly set fares on those routes.

United's alliance with US Airways, because it does not have antitrust immunity, is mainly promotional.

The size of the combined airlines and significant overlap among the markets they serve could make it hard to get any deal approved by antitrust regulators.

United/US Airways would dominate the Washington, D.C., market. And the three airlines together would have unmatched strength in the Northeast -- with hubs in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Charlotte. Over time, the airlines might squeeze out competition and drive up average fares in the region and to and from Europe.

Rivals, including Delta and American, would likely fight such a mega-combination.

But Horan argues that by using "the same legal language and concepts already used to justify all the other (airline) alliances that have been given antitrust immunity, you could justify allowing Continental to continue to have antitrust immunity with a larger, merged United."

A merged United and US Airways would rank as the second-largest U.S. airline, behind Delta, in passenger miles flown. Delta reported 163.7 billion passenger miles flown in 2009 by itself, and 188.9 billion including its regional airline partners.

United and US Airways combined flew 158.4 billion passenger miles last year. And if the miles flown on their regional partners are included, they combined to fly 209.2 billion passenger miles, 20 billion more than Delta and its regional partners.

Meanwhile, Continental flew 79.8 billion passenger miles last year, 89.1 billion counting those flown on its regional partners.

The carriers also would have to persuade unions to accept a deal that some don't appear to favor. Wendy Morse, head of the Air Line Pilots Association at United, said last week that her pilots prefer merging with Continental. Other unions at United also are leery of a US Airways merger.

Analyst Vaughn Cordle at AirlineForecasts.com, says labor's support for a merger can be "bought" by using a combination of big pay raises in the 10% range and shares in the merged airline.

Convincing United's and Continental's shareholders and employees that a United-US Airways merger is the better approach won't be easy. A merger with Continental creates more value, Cordle says.

Horan sees it differently.

"In 2008, Continental decided it was better to get 85% of the benefits of merger by joining in a partnership with United ... (than to) deal with all the labor issues and fleet issues and integration issues that would have come with" a full merger, he says. "Nothing's changed."


April 19, 2010