Airlines Are Increasing Fees on Baggage, Cutting Down Jobs and Laying Off Workers

Cash-strapped Airlines Are Increasing Fees, Laying Off Pilots, Workers and Cutting Hundreds of Flights at Most Airports

From FYI to LAX, San Francisco International Aiport, San Jose airport and elsewhere, the high fuel prices bring bad news to the CEOs of most airlines companies. At the same time, travelers without extra cash are being asked to pay higher fees on local and international flights for extra luggage. Many airlines have resulted to cutting down a number of flights at the local airports. The cuts announced thus far will be felt at the Los Angeles International Airport. According to Airline industry database company Innovata, the number of flights scheduled out of LAX has been reduced.

In front of the new economic reality, American Airlines and other companies are cutting down flights. American Airlines plans to eliminate 86 arrivals and departures at the LAX per week in November. Delta plans to eliminate 68. United Airlines plans to cut the flights down to 266 flights. LAX can no longer count on the landing fees to fund its expansion. The cuts will be felt down at the local regional airports too.

In-flight Entertainment Offered by Delta Airlines

Domestic
We offer the AVOD product to customers on most flights 4+hours to and from New York City, Boston, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Atlanta.

Flights between Los Angeles and Honolulu or Maui also feature Delta on Demand.

International
We offer Delta on Demand to all customers traveling in the BusinessElite cabin, regardless of destination.

It’s also available to customers in the Economy cabin traveling between Atlanta* and Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Moscow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bogotá, Quito, Guayaquil, Paris/CDG, Copenhagen, Dakar, Dublin, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London/LGW, Madrid, Munich and Milan.

And if you’re traveling in Economy between New York/JFK* and Antigua, Shannon, Guatemala City, Edinburgh, Manchester, Malaga, Mexico City, Lyon, London/LGW, Paris/CDG, Punta Cana, Puerto Vallarta, Santo Domingo, Santiago (STI), Frankfurt, Georgetown, Brussels and Mumbai…you’ll also be on aircraft with Delta on Demand.

It’s available to all customers traveling between Cincinnati* and Amsterdam…to all customers traveling between Los Angeles* and Cancun and to all customers traveling between Hartford* and Cancun.

*And here’s the fine print…Routes and Aircraft subject to change

Fast Facts

Delta on Demand offers each customer their own personal, 7” wide-screen display and a choice of up to 28 new and classic films, 60 hours of HBO on Demand, more than 3,000 mp3s across 14 music categories, a suite of 12 video games and a real-time moving map;

The system features 18 channels of live satellite television on 97 Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft flying domestic routes (usually on flights of 4 hours or more), while customers flying on transoceanic routes on Delta’s Boeing 757, 767 and 777 fleet enjoy up to 25 hours of on-demand television across a broad range of genres.

Our new 777-200LR ultra-long range aircraft feature larger 9” screens in Economy and 10.6” screens in BusinessElite. 200 movie choices are offered across a broad range of genres. The 777LR fleet also features 100 hours of HBO on Demand; more than 150 TV and short subject programs; more than 4,000 mp3s; 40 music videos, including 20 from Bollywood artists; a dedicated children’s area called “FlyKids;” and a suite of 12 video games and language tools. Additionally, BusinessElite customers have access to exclusive games not available in the Economy cabin.

News in Brief: USAirways Cut in Flight Movies to Lighten Planes

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Hollywood studios will take a revenue hit when US Airways does away with in-flight movies, but executives don't expect other airlines to follow suit.

Recently, rising global aviation oil prices have led to increases in airline operation costs. After adjusting the fuel surcharge on domestic flights, airlines have also adjusted the aircraft fuel prices on international flights, according to Guangzhou

In yet another attempt to offset rising fuel costs, US Airways will yank in-flight movie and music systems from all domestic flights in November - a move the airline says will save about $10 million a year. What's a beleaguered passenger to do? First airlines slapped on fees for checked bags. They took away free snacks, added extra charges ..

Northwest Airlines is Laying Off Employees and increasing Fees

The signs of the current times are that airlines are cutting services, laying off employees and increasing fees.

Northwest is the latest airlines that has announced that it is going to increase passengers' fees. At the same time, less flights will be available. Layover will eat away more of your time. Passengers may have to spend more time at airports.

These days, passengers are mad at the numer of hours they have to spend in airports. With all the cuts and the grounding of airplanes due the high gas prices, the coming holiday season is not going to help that much either.

Northwest joins many other airlines in cutting services and increasing fees. What sense does it make to pay $100 for an extra bag on American Airlines?

All airlines are increasing fees.

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Unfriendly Skies: Passengers Are Being Charged More; American Airlines to Cut Jobs

For one extra bag, you may end up paying $100. Now passengers have to deal with paying more money. American Airlines is ready to cut pilots' jobs. It is laying off many steawardesses. What's next? In a bad economy, many people are hanging on to their purse. If they have to travel for business and family issues, passengers have to pay a lot.

"American Airlines, the largest carrier in the world and the busiest at Los Angeles International Airport, said Wednesday that it expected to slash nearly 7,000 workers, or about 8% of its workforce, as it grounds planes and flights to cope with rising fuel costs.

The cuts, expected by the end of the year, are the largest among the major airlines and come as fuel costs, now reaching nearly half of total expenses, are threatening the financial viability of even the largest airlines.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, American's parent company, AMR Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, also said that it would write off nearly $1.2 billion on its books to reflect the reduced value of its older, fuel-guzzling aircraft that the airline plans to stop flying.

Grounding the planes would significantly reduce the value of the mostly MD-80 and RJ-135 aircraft, according to Wednesday's filing.

The cutting of 6,840 workers would be in line with American's plans to shed about 8% of its flights by year's end and would entail the airline's taking a $70-million charge against second-quarter earnings for expenses related to the workforce reductions, the carrier said in a memo to employees. The airline has a worldwide workforce of about 85,500."

Please read the rest of the story at www.latimes.com

Passengers Should Consult with the Carrier for Flight Status

Passengers who are booked on American Airlines flights should contact the carrier directly for flight status information. The airline is booking displaced passengers on other airlines.

As of 4-10-2008, AA is canceling hundreds more flights today as the scrambling carrier continues with FAA-mandated safety inspections of its planes.

Today, 900 flights were canceled in order to fix faulty wiring in hundreds of jets, marking the third straight day of mass groundings as company executives offered lots of apologies and travel vouchers to calm angry customers. At San Jose Airport, passengers got very frustrated and angry.

American Airlines was not the only airline to cancel flights to fix or inspect its nine MD-80 jets. Alaska Airlines canceled 11 more flights. Midwest Airlines canceled at least 10 flights after it grounded all of its MD-80 airplanes to fix faulty issues. Operating more than 117 MD-80 series planes, Delta Airlines did not expect to have just a few cancellations.

Flight Cancelations: American Airlines Cancel Thousands of Flights

Flight cancelations by American Airlines have been causing a lot of headache. The company is trying to comply with FAA regulations. The FAA has been under fire for letting Southwest slide through the test. Congress held hearings to find out more about this cover up. Travelers are getting angry about being stuck at airports, far from home. So far, thousands of flights have been canceled, stranding the public.

The company grounds its planes for inspections. They want to make sure the planes are safe to fly. The compliance rate must increase.