Your Weekend Aviation Reading

I started my airline career in 1992, covering regional carriers and aircraft manufacturers. A recurring theme has been the ongoing threat of a pilot shortage, but thanks to a large number of retirements, combined with changes in the number of training hours needed for commercial pilots, it looks like it’s finally here, according to a story in the New York Times. It has led to smaller cities losing their connection to the global air transportation network because airlines can’t find enough pilots to hire.

“After 35 years analyzing and following this industry, I’ve never seen anything like it — and it’s only going to get worse,” said Dan Akins, an aviation economist and consultant who conducts quarterly surveys of both pilots and airlines to identify staffing trends in the story. “Everyone knows the house is on fire and no one can find the hose.”

Photo by Benét J. Wilson

On July 6, 2013, I was in the grocery store doing my weekly shopping when my phone started blowing up with calls and texts. It turned out that Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777, had crashed landed on final approach into San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 187. I’ve always been clear about not offering commentary on airline crashes, so I wrote two blog posts on who media outlets should call, here and here. I also wrote a piece on Medium’s Lift and Drag portal on safety lessons learned after the crash. Now SF Gate reports that the Seoul-based carrier will pay the city of San Francisco $3.45 million to resolve all civil claims against Asiana.

Now that the dust has settled from Alaska Air’s acquisition of Virgin America, JetBlue -- which lost its own bid to buy the San Francisco-based carrier -- is taking the loss in stride. Marty St. George, the New York-based airline’s executive vice president, commercial & planning, told Skift that the $2.6 billion Alaska paid for Virgin America “didn’t really make a lot of sense for us.”

The campaign started with a cheeky tweet to JetBlue “virgins,” urging them to try out its New York-San Francisco flights and win a chance to fly for free, reports Marisa Garcia of Skift. It then threw down the transcon gauntlet by expanding its first class Mint product to 12 new cities. Mint is an experience that must be tried, and here’s my review of it for About.com.

So we go from luxury travel to bargain-basement-get-me-there cheap fares. Back in October 2014, I wrote a story for BusinessJournalism.org about Delta Air Lines’ plan to expand the Basic Economy fares they launched in 2012 from select markets. The highly restrictive fares (no refunds, no seat selection and no itinerary changes) were designed to help the carrier compete with ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. It looks like that gamble paid off, because Skift reports that the Atlanta-based carrier raked in $20 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Photo by Benét J. Wilson 

It was an interesting week for Malaysia Airlines, which is still trying to recover two fatal air disasters in 2014. First, CEO Christoph Mueller, hired in May 2015 on a three-year contract, announced that he was resigning in September, blaming “changing personal circumstances,” reports the Guardian. During his short tenure, he oversaw a $1.5 billion overhaul where he cut 6,000 jobs and got rid of unprofitable routes. The search is on for a new CEO, and Mueller will remain as non-executive director.

Second, regular readers know that I’m a big fan of the Boeing 747, the Queen of the Skies. But airlines are retiring the iconic four-engined jet in favor of more fuel-efficient, twin-engine aircraft. So it was interesting to read in the One Mile At A Time blog that Malaysia Air is bringing back a 747 that it retired back in 2012 after it brought on its Airbus A380 jumbo jet fleet. But as part of its restructuring, it has retired its Boeing 777 fleet, and will use the 747 to fly on A380 routes.

Qatar’s ruling family has put its 37-year-old custom Boeing 747 up for sale, reports Doha News. The jumbo jet features  a gold and blue bathroom, a large dining/meeting room and an opulent double bedroom. The family bought the four-engined jet from United Airlines in 1995 and it was originally part of Pan Am’s fleet. No price was listed.

I wrote a piece for About.com Air Travel on how the airlines handle passengers with food allergies. And now the Runway Girl Network’s Becca Alkema asks the question: as the number of travelers with severe food allergies continues to grow, is air transport doing enough? She looked at the issue as part of her Air Canada flight out of Toronto to Pennsylvania’s Harrisburg International Airport, including finding airport food options for those with allergies and Celiac’s Disease and inflight meals.

Staying inside the plane, regular readers of my “Strange But True Aviation News” column know that many entries are about fights that break out at 38,000 feet. But this CNN story asks a great question: Who's supposed to break up a brawl on an airplane? The question comes after passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight who got into a brawl filed suit, accusing the carrier providing excessive alcohol and failing to protect them from injury.

The third episode of the Runway.VC Podcast is an interview with Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority. He speaks about one of my favorite topics -- the future of airports -- and offers advice on what directors should be doing to better position their airports as the doorway to their cities. They also talk about the adoption of new technology at airports and how airports can build a culture that’s not afraid to fail.

Photo by Benét J. Wilson

And finally, I’m a big fan of all the work that Dutch flag carrier KLM has done in the digital space. Another fan is Marisa Garcia, who wrote about the carrier’s myriad efforts on her blog, FlightChic.com. Among my favorites: photo sliders with gorgeous photos of the airline’s top 50 destinations; its blog that gives readers a peek behind the curtain of the airline’s operations; and taking full advantage of its Dutch whimsy on passenger experience items like inflight food (who doesn’t love Stroopwaffles?).