aircraft Archives - TravelSkills

Delta’s next narrowbody

December 14, 2017

An A321neo in Delta livery. (Image: Delta)

Delta started taking delivery of single-aisle Airbus A321s early last year, and it must like them, because it just placed a big order for a bunch of the newest version of that plane.

The company said it has come to terms with Airbus to place firm orders for 100 A321neos, with options for another 100 beyond that. Deliveries are due to start in 2020.

According to Delta’s website, it now has 26 A321-200s in its fleet. Those planes carry 192 passengers – 20 in first class, 29 in Comfort+ and 143 in economy, or about the same number as the 757s they are replacing.

The A321neos will have 197 seats, Delta said, including 20 in first, 30 in Comfort+ and 147 in economy. The A321s will replace “smaller, less technically advanced aircraft,” Delta noted. According to FlightGlobal.com, the new jets will replace Delta’s aging A320s, B757s and MD80s.

The higher-tech A321neos will feature high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi and on-demand entertainment, with power ports and streaming video content available at each seat through Delta Studio, the airline said. Cabins’ overhead bins will be 25 percent larger, and cabin lighting will be full-spectrum LED.

Delta reportedly chose the Airbus narrow-bodies over Boeing’s 737MAX-10s. Currently, Delta’s single-aisle fleet includes 148 aircraft from Airbus (A319s, 320s and 321s) and 171 from Boeing’s 737 group (-700s, -800s and -900ERs).

Take a deep dive into a new Delta A321 here.

The interior of Delta’s current Airbus A321. (Image; Delta)

The A321neo (the “neo” stands for “new engine option”) is also popular at other U.S. airlines. For instance, Alaska’s Virgin America unit is currently deploying them on several Hawaii and mainland routes; Hawaiian Airlines is about to start flying them from mainland cities to the islands; and Frontier Airlines recently placed an order for 134 A320neos and A321neos.

According to Airbus, the single-aisle planes in its “neo” group are about 20 percent more fuel-efficient than regular A319/20/21s. Airbus said “typical” seating for an A321neo would be 206 in a two-class layout – although the aircraft could have as many as 240 seats. The A321neo has a range of 7,400 km. (about 4,600 miles or 4,000 nautical miles) vs. 5,900 km. for a regular A321 – or about 25 percent more.

Have you flown on an A321 yet? How’d you like it? How does it compare to your favorite Boeing plane?

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Japan Airlines eyes 5-1/2 hour San Francisco-Tokyo flights

December 5, 2017

Boom’s SST design would be smaller than Concorde. (Image: Boom)

We’ve reported before about a Colorado-based aircraft manufacturer called Boom, which is developing a next-generation supersonic passenger plane. In 2016, it got a big boost from Sir Richard Branson, and now Japan Airlines is officially joining the supersonic party.

Branson’s involvement with Boom included an option to purchase the first 10 airframes it produces, followed late last year by the creation of a technical partnership between Boom and Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceflight company, committing the two firms to work together on engineering, manufacturing and flight tests.

Now Japan Airlines says it has made a strategic $10 million investment in Boom, and has taken a pre-order option to buy up to 20 supersonic aircraft from the manufacturer. JAL added that it will be working with Boom “to refine the aircraft design and help define the passenger experience for supersonic travel.” In fact, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said his company has been working “behind the scenes” with JAL for more than a year.

Rendering of a passenger seat on the planned SST. (Image: Boom)

Boom’s initial design specs envision an aircraft with 45-55 business class-type seats (about half the size of the late Concorde), a cruising speed of Mach 2.2 (2.2 times the speed of sound, or 1,415 mph – a little faster than Concorde’s Mach 2), a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, and the beginning of commercial service by the “mid-2020s,” assuming all goes well.

Scholl said last year that the plane could operate profitably on as many as 500 international routes with sufficient demand for a supersonic product, like Tokyo-San Francisco, New York-London and Los Angeles-Sydney.

JAL currently uses a 777-300 on the SFO-Tokyo route. (Image: Japan Airlines)

Sir Richard Branson has estimated that the new SST could make the New York-London trip in three and a half hours, and operate profitably at fares of about $5,000 roundtrip. The aircraft would have a range of 8,334 kilometers, or 4,500 nautical miles, enough to fly non-stop from Beijing to London — or from San Francisco to Tokyo in five and a half hours.

Bloomberg News said Boom now has commitments for 75 aircraft from five airlines, with some customers already paying significant deposits, and it reported that Boom just hired a former Airbus executive as its new vice president of production.

Readers: How much of a premium over business class fares would you be willing to pay for a supersonic flight that cuts your travel time in half or better?

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Will Southwest Airlines go to Hawaii with its new plane?

October 5, 2017

Southwest had a full load on its inaugural 737 MAX 8 flight. (Image: Southwest)

Two U.S. airlines have started to take delivery of the next generation of Boeing’s iconic 737 jetliner. One of them just started flying it in commercial service, and there is speculation that airline could use the plane to shake up the Hawaii market.

The aircraft is the 737 MAX. The two airlines are Southwest and American.

Southwest, the U.S. launch customer for the aircraft, put its first nine 737 MAX 8s into service this week. It expects to have 14 of them in operation by year’s end, and has placed firm orders for 200 of the new planes, including MAX 7s and MAX 8s.

The new Southwest 737 MAX 8s have 175 seats in a single-class configuration, offering 32 inches of pitch and the Boeing Sky interior with LED lighting sequences. Southwest’s existing 737-800s also have 175 seats and 31-32 inches of pitch, while its 737-700s have 143 seats and 31-inch pitch.

If the seat count is the same, what’s the difference between Southwest’s 737-800s and its new 737 MAX 8s (other than the new-plane smell)? The new aircraft are quieter, 14 percent more fuel-efficient and can fly 500 nautical miles farther than the -800s.

Southwest’s 737 MAX 8. (Image: Southwest)

“Our new seats feature an adjustable headrest; it’s the widest economy seat in the 737 market with a lower-profile arm rest, advanced cushion support, a raised information pocket, and elevated rear seat beam that together allow for additional space for personal devices,” Southwest said.

If you wind up on one of Southwest’s new MAX 8s, it will probably be by chance, because the airline plans to deploy them here and there on scores of routes over the next few months. You can see a full listing here.

The initial scheduled deployment of Southwest’s MAX 8s only mentions domestic routes, but the company’s executives have said they might use the aircraft’s longer range to begin service to Hawaii. They didn’t say when, but the financial publication Seeking Alpha said recently it believes “that Southwest is likely to enter the Hawaiian market by 2018, and a formal announcement could come at any time.”

If that happens, the publication said, it could usher in a major fare war on mainland-Hawaii routes. “We think the only reason that Southwest’s entry (to Hawaii) hasn’t already been announced is due to Hurricane Harvey,” the publication said.

Analysts noted that the new planes’ greater range could also allow Southwest to fly deeper into Latin America and even from the East Coast to northern Europe, a market where Norwegian has introduced the planes.

A 737 MAX 8 in American livery. (Image: Boeing)

American, meanwhile, took delivery of its first 737 MAX 8 from Boeing last week. It should receive four of the planes by year’s end, followed by 16 more next year and 20 in 2019. American will put the first aircraft into service on November 29 between Miami and New York LaGuardia. It has ordered a total of 100 737 MAX models from Boeing.

American’s version of the MAX 8 has 172 seats, but with three seating categories – 16 in first class, 30 in Main Cabin Extra and 126 in regular economy. By comparison, American has two versions of the 737-800, one with 160 seats in three classes and one with 154.

Earlier this year, American caused a stir when it said a few rows of economy on the new aircraft would have 29-inch pitch, a new low in legroom for a major U.S. carrier, and the rest would have 30-inch pitch. But after negative feedback from customers, the airline changed its mind and said all economy seats would offer 30-inch pitch, causing it to ditch one row of Main Cabin Extra in the planes. (That compares with 31-inch pitch on AA’s 737-800s.)

Neither American nor Southwest will offer seatback video monitors on the new planes, citing a growing passenger trend toward streaming entertainment via personal electronic devices.

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Routes: Southwest, AA, Delta, Alaska, + a new 787 route

June 5, 2017

Southwest just added several new California routes. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route developments, Southwest adds Cincinnati to its route map and adds service in several new California markets; American adds some regional routes and will put a wide-body on a SFO transcon; Delta adds more Comfort+ seats to regional aircraft; Alaska starts up its latest East Coast route; Spirit grows at Oakland; Frontier comes to Providence; and Air Canada pits a Dreamliner on a key SFO route.

Southwest Airlines this week added Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to its route map with an initial schedule of eight flights a day – five to Chicago Midway and three to Baltimore/Washington. At the same time, the airline’s route map eliminated Dayton, where Southwest had been running a few flights a day to Midway.

As the airline’s summer schedule kicks in this week, Southwest also inaugurated new non-stop service in several California markets, including San Francisco-Portland, San Jose-Reno, San Diego-Boise and San Diego-Salt Lake City. New seasonal summer routes active as of this week include Oakland-Newark, San Diego-Newark, San Diego-Spokane and San Diego-Indianapolis. Elsewhere, Southwest started daily service between Denver and Charleston, S.C.; weekend flights between Denver-Pensacola; and seasonal flights between Denver and Norfolk. At Nashville, Southwest kicked off new daily flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul and seasonal service to Seattle.

After all the hubbub about airlines putting flat-bed seating into the front cabins on more domestic routes – notably Boston-San Francisco – readers of Flyertalk discovered another entry into the fully-reclining transcon competition: An American Airlines listing for A330-200 service between San Francisco and its Philadelphia hub starting in early October. Could this be just a seasonal redeployment of excess transatlantic aircraft, or a permanent thing?

American has new Eagle service at Billings and Medford. (Image: American Airlines)

Meanwhile, American just added some new regional service, including daily flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Billings, Montana using a 76-seat American Eagle E175; and new Eagle service from Medford, Oregon to both Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Delta continues to roll out its Comfort+ extra-legroom economy seating to more regional aircraft. Earlier this year, it finished installing the seats on its CRJ-200s, and now it has started selling Comfort+ on its E-175s and CRJ-900s. The extra-legroom seats are also now on sale for travel starting June 15 on Delta’s E-170 and CRJ-700 aircraft. “Delta remains engaged with distribution partners to allow Delta Comfort+ to be purchased through travel agents and in consumer direct shopping displays,” the airline said.

Alaska Airlines has started flying its newest transcontinental route. The carrier is offering daily seasonal non-stop service from Portland to Philadelphia, using a 737. The Portland-PHL flights will continue through August 26. It’s Alaska’s 58^th destination from Portland.

Air Canada has deployed a new 787 Dreamliner between SFO and Toronto (Image: Air Canada)

There’s something new in the skies between San Francisco and Toronto : Air Canada has just put a 787-9 Dreamliner into service on one of its six daily flights in the market. It’s scheduled on the airline’s 11:55 a.m. departure from SFO and its 8:15 a.m. westbound flight from Toronto. See more about this beautiful bird here.

Spirit Airlines introduced a number of new domestic markets. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

Spirit Airlines has kicked off new seasonal service from Oakland International to Baltimore/Washington and to Detroit, along with seasonal flights between Detroit and Seattle. New year-round markets just introduced by the low-cost carrier include San Diego-Baltimore/Washington, Seattle-BWI, New Orleans-BWI, New Orleans-Cleveland and New Orleans-Orlando. Spirit has also added Pittsburgh to its route map, launching new daily flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Orlando, Las Vegas, Houston Bush Intercontinental and Los Angeles, along with three flights a week to Ft. Lauderdale and daily seasonal service to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Low-cost Frontier Airlines has announced some new routes starting in mid-August. The carrier will start flying out of Providence’s T.F. Green Airport on August 14 with daily flights to Denver and Orlando, and out of Islip, Long Island’s MacArthur Airport August 16 with daily service to Orlando.

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Routes: Alaska, Southwest, Finnair, United, American, Air India, Avianca

May 22, 2017

Alaska Airlines will start Mexico City nonstops from SFO and LAX in August. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

In international route developments, Alaska unveils plans for its new California-Mexico City flights; Southwest will add more international service from Ft. Lauderdale; Finnair is about to launch San Francisco flights; United schedules aircraft changes for some transpacific markets from SFO and launches more seasonal Europe service; American puts its code on new flights from the West Coast to Barcelona; Air India adds two U.S. gateways; and Avianca Brasil adds a U.S. route.

Alaska Airlines has won Transportation Department approval for Mexico City routes thanks to slots at MEX that Delta and joint venture partner Aeromexico had to give up, and now Alaska has released schedule plans for its new service. On August 8, Alaska will start flying one daily roundtrip from both San Francisco and Los Angeles to Mexico City; on November 6, it will add a second daily LAX-MEX flight, plus one a day from San Diego to Mexico City. The SFO flight and the first LAX flight will use 737s; the second LAX flight and the San Diego service will use E175s.

Southwest Airlines is due to cut the ribbon in a couple of weeks on a new international concourse at its Ft. Lauderdale base, when it will also add service from FLL to new international destinations including Montego Bay, Cancun, Belize and Grand Cayman. Now Southwest has announced two more international destinations from Ft. Lauderdale. In early November, it will begin daily flights from FLL to San Jose, Costa Rica and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. And on November 11, the carrier will also start Saturday-only service to Cancun from Nashville and St. Louis.

Finnair will use an A330 on its San Francisco route. (Image: Finnair)

June 1 is the launch date for seasonal Finnair service from San Francisco to Helsinki, operating three days a week through the end of September with an Airbus A330-300. Finnair is a member of the American/British Airways Oneworld alliance, and Alaska Airlines this week announced a frequent flyer partnership with Finnair as well. “Members of Alaska Mileage Plan can begin earning miles on Finnair starting today,” the airline said. “Award redemption will commence later this year. Finnair Plus members can begin earning and redeeming points on Alaska Airlines starting today.”

United Airlines is planning some equipment changes on transpacific routes from San Francisco this winter, according to Routesonline.com. On August 1, United will pull the 747-400 from its daily SFO-Taipei flight, replacing it with a 777-300ER. Starting October 28, one of United’s two daily SFO-Shanghai Pudong flights will use a three-class 777-200ER instead of the previously planned 787-9; the other will use a 787-9. On December 16, United will boost SFO-Auckland schedules from seven to 10 a week as previously announced, but will use a 787-9 instead of a 787-8 for the winter season. And starting December 20, United’s daily 787-9 service from SFO to Tokyo Haneda will switch to a 777-200ER.

Meanwhile, United on May 24 is due to kick off its next round of seasonal transatlantic service, including flights from Newark to Athens continuing through October 4; Washington Dulles to Barcelona through October 27; and San Francisco to Munich through September 3. On May 25, United adds Chicago O’Hare-Shannon service continuing through September 5, and Chicago-Edinburgh flights through October 4.

Level will fly A330s from Oakland and Los Angeles. (Image: IAG)

Remember that new low-fare service from the West Coast to Barcelona that we told you about in March on a carrier called Level? That’s a new low-cost operation from International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, and it’s due to get off the ground next week, with twice-weekly Los Angeles-Barcelona flights beginning June 1 and three flights a week from Oakland to Barcelona starting June 2, both using two-class A330s. And now Routesonline.com reports that BA/Iberia’s joint venture partner American Airlines will put its AA code onto the Level flights.

Air India’s SFO-Delhi flight proving very popular (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Air India is said to be doing so well with its San Francisco-Delhi service that it plans to add two new U.S. gateways later this year, according to The Times of India. The carrier has already announced plans to start flying to Washington Dulles in July, and the newspaper said Air India now expects to begin non-stop Los Angeles-Delhi service September 1, followed by Dallas/Ft. Worth service sometime later this year. The report said Air India is seeing a surge in passenger demand for U.S. service now that travelers cannot take their laptops into the cabins of the big Middle Eastern airlines on non-stop flights to the U.S. Besides its SFO service, Air India also flies to Delhi from New York and Chicago, and to Mumbai from Newark.

Avianca Brasil is due to kick off new daily flights between Miami and Sao Paulo June 23, with red-eye service in both directions.

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United beefs up by the Bay to counter Alaska/Virgin

May 8, 2017

United is adding more flights and larger aircraft like this Boeing 737 on many domestic San Francisco routes. (Image: United)

Faced with increasing competition at its San Francisco hub from Alaska Airlines/Virgin America, United Airlines just announced another growth spurt for its domestic SFO schedules this summer, focusing not on new destinations but on increased capacity in existing markets.

The escalating battle at SFO will mean more choice of flights for local travelers. Whether it will also mean lower fares remains to be seen.

It’s the second round of SFO expansion to be announced by United this year. In February, the company said it would add seven new domestic destinations from SFO in June and July. Less than two weeks later, Alaska/Virgin unveiled plans to start 13 new routes from SFO and San Jose in late summer.

And now United says it will schedule additional frequencies from SFO in eight domestic markets, and switch from regional jets to larger mainline planes in 10 others.

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United beefing up by the Bay (Image: United)

On August 1, the carrier will boost San Francisco-Seattle frequencies to 10 a day, and on August 15 will increase schedules to nine flights a day to Portland, three a day to Philadelphia and Kansas City, and two a day to Albuquerque, Baltimore/Washington, Indianapolis and Nashville. United flies E175s to Albuquerque and Kansas City; the other routes use A319/320s.

Effective June 8, United said, it will switch from regional jets to 737s for service from San Francisco to Burbank and Palm Springs, and to A320s on routes from SFO to Dallas/Ft. Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul, as well as SFO-Calgary and SFO-Kansas City for the summer. On July 1, United switches to 737s for SFO-Sacramento flights, and for seasonal SFO-Bozeman service. And on August 15 it shifts to 737s for SFO-Fresno service.

Alaska Airlines/Virgin America are also planning significant growth at SFO. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Some of those same routes are being added by Alaska/Virgin, including mainline service from SFO to Philadelphia (starting August 31), Nashville (September 5), Indianapolis (September 26) and Baltimore/Washington (October 16); and new E175 service from SFO to Albuquerque and Kansas City effective September 18.

Earlier, United announced new year-round daily service beginning June 8 from SFO to Cincinnati, Detroit, Santa Rosa and Spokane, along with new seasonal service from SFO to Hartford and Kalispell, Montana. It also said it would add summer service and expand to year-round daily flights from SFO to New Orleans, a market that Alaska/Virgin will enter on September 21 with daily mainline flights.

Starting May 24, United will launch nonstop, seasonal service between San Francisco and Munich (MUC) using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

As we asked when Alaska made its big announcement, Where are all those new flights going to fit at SFO’s limited number of gates? That remains to be seen and I wonder if we’ll be faced with more frustrating waits on the tarmac waiting… hmmm

So whaddya think? Do more flights on bigger planes make you less likely to stray to the emerging Alaska/Virgin beast which has stated is desire to be the west coast’s preferred carrier? Please leave your comments below.

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3 ways United plans to win back business travelers

April 20, 2017

United plans some changes to its operations to win back domestic business travelers. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Executives at United Airlines have been making a lot of noise in recent months about becoming tougher competitors in domestic markets, especially in the business travel realm, and President Scott Kirby this week spelled out some specific tactics for achieving that goal.

Regrettably, that does not mean lower fares (as we learned in this TravelSkills post) — instead, United says it is going to work on making flying United easier.

In a conference call about the airline’s quarterly earnings, Kirby mentioned three strategies to bring more business travelers back to the carrier – all of them aimed at “restoring the domestic network to its natural share in our hubs,” as he put it. (In other words, winning back market share that United has lost to competitors.)

Business travelers should find more short-notice seats available on United. But how much will they cost? (Image: Jim Glab)

Those strategies are:

1- Making it easier for us to find seats when we need them. Business travelers are notorious for not booking too far in advance, and Kirby said United has been selling off its inventory too early. “If your goal is to keep bookings high, the easiest way to do that is to lower the prices, and that’s exactly what United was doing,” he said, relying heavily on sales of advance-purchase discount fares.

The problem with that was “we sold out too soon…we forced many of our best customers to fly on our competitors because we were sold out.” But now the airline is “willing to take much more risk that high-yield business customers are going to choose United if we just keep seats available for them.” That has worked in the first quarter, he said, with higher-revenue “close-in bookings” showing a 12 percent increase year-over-year. See what we mean about not lowering fares?

United wants to take regional jets off key business routes . (Image: United)

2- Offering flights between major cities on larger, more comfortable aircraft. Kirby took a jab at United’s previous management for putting smaller jets on the wrong routes, and said that is changing. “United never should have been flying regional jets in markets like Chicago to Washington National or Newark to Atlanta,” he said. The company is changing that pattern by using larger aircraft, “mostly in places where we historically did fly larger planes,” he noted. Smaller jets will be used mainly on “smaller markets that drive better connectivity to our hubs, places like Champaign, Illinois and Rochester, Minnesota.” Sounds like a good idea, but we’ve heard from plenty of TravelSkills readers who’ve grown to love United’s new 2-class Embraer aircraft with comfortable 2×2 seating in the back and big square windows…

3- Shorter layovers at its hubs. Later this year, Kirby said, United will begin “re-banking” flight schedules at its hub airports. That refers to the common industry practice of scheduling “banks” or clusters of inbound and outbound flights in specific time windows to maximize the number of quick connections without long layovers. The airline will reportedly begin the process at Chicago O’Hare, Houston Bush Intercontinental and Washington Dulles. Shorter layovers sound great, but when summer thunderstorms hit Chicago or Houston, better watch out… those tighter turnarounds tend to fall apart.

What else can United do to win you back…or keep you from fleeing to competitors? Would you pay more for United if its operations improve? Please leave your comments below.

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Next wave of airport technology: facial recognition

April 6, 2017

British Airways has opened self-service boarding gates at London Heathrow. (Image: British Airways)

Three of Europe’s largest airports – London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG —have started testing or using facial recognition technology as a way of speeding up passenger processing and boarding.

British Airways said this week that it has opened three self-service boarding gates at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, relying on digital facial scans as part of the process. The three domestic gates allow passengers to scan their own boarding passes at the gate and just walk onto the aircraft without the intervention of human gate agents.

BA said the process involves taking a digital facial scan of the passenger when he or she travels through the security checkpoint; when the traveler arrives at the departure gate, another digital image of their face taken there is checked against the earlier one. If the two match, the passenger is allowed through the gate and onto the aircraft.

The airline said it will extend the technology to three more domestic gates at LHR by mid-June, “with a view to rollout the scheme on international flights in the future.”

A facial recognition kiosk at an Amsterdam Schiphol boarding gate. (Image: KLM)

At Amsterdam Schiphol, the airport and KLM are conducting a three-month test of similar technology at one departure gate. Passengers who have registered in advance go to a special kiosk near the gate where they scan their boarding passes, passports and faces as part of the boarding process. Participants then board the aircraft through a special door that uses digital technology to recognize their faces.

“Schiphol and KLM want to study the technology of facial recognition – the system’s speed, reliability, and user-friendliness,” the airline said. “They will also examine the boarding process and the passenger experience. The ultimate aim is to make the boarding process as quick and easy as possible for our passengers.” The airline said that all data and images collected from passengers will be quickly erased.

At Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airports authority has started testing facial recognition software as a way to speed up passenger processing after terrorist attacks in the past two years prompted the French government to tighten security requirements for travelers. The tougher requirements led to big increases in waiting time at border control, with many travelers waiting an extra hour to get through.

The CDG test involves the use of new software from a vendor called Vision-Box, and is used for clearing immigration rather than for aircraft boarding. The software compares passengers’ passport photos with their faces, and it can be used for travelers from the 28 European Union member nations. If the tests work well and the government gives a nod to the technology, it could be used to speed up clearance for up to 20 percent of the airport’s passengers.

In the U.S., the CLEAR trusted traveler program uses biometrics but not facial recognition. (Image: CLEAR)

In the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security a few months ago issued a solicitation for vendors who can provide mounted facial recognition cameras to be used in airports. However, the purpose of that project is not to speed up boarding or passenger processing, but rather to help Customs and Border Protection catch persons who are not in the U.S. legally.

Currently, the biggest user of biometric technology in U.S. airports is probably Clear, which relies on iris and fingerprint scans rather than facial recognition to speed its members into the security checkpoints.

Readers: Would you trust facial recognition technology if it is used to speed up the boarding process? How about if it is collected by government authorities for immigration and security purposes?

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JetBlue-backed startup eyes short-haul aircraft revolution

April 5, 2017

A start-up is working on 10- to 50-passenger hybrid electric aircraft. (Image: Zunum Aero)

There are hybrid electric cars, so why not hybrid electric passenger aircraft? A start-up company backed by JetBlue says new technology could revolutionize travel to smaller airports.

The company is Zunum Aero, which has funding from both Boeing and JetBlue Technology Ventures, the airline’s subsidiary that invests in travel-related innovation. The company is working on new 10- to 50-passenger aircraft using hybrid electric technology that could have planes in the sky within a few years, serving routes of up to 700 miles.

“These aircraft, as part of new regional electric air networks, will offer a fast, flexible and affordable alternative to highways and high-speed rail, operating point-to-point and as feeders to hub airports,” the company said.

Zunum envisions an air travel system that shifts traffic from the bottlenecks of giant hubs to one that takes advantage of under-utilized regional airports, eliminating the need for connections and/or long drives for many travelers. The company said the aircraft it is developing could serve markets of up to 700 miles by the early 2020s, and more than 1,000 miles by 2030.

Zunum says its planes could be flying by the early 2020s. (Image: Zunum Aero)

“Designing aircraft for walk-on, walk-off travel from nearby airports addresses the major pain points of modern air transit while filling a vast regional transport gap,” Zunum said. “For example, passengers can expect to travel from regional airports in the Boston area to Washington, DC for half the fare and in half the time it takes today door-to-door. For those on the West Coast, Silicon Valley to the LA area drops to two and a half hours door-to-door, from over five hours today, or to Lake Tahoe in just two hours at a fraction of today’s cost.”

Besides cutting door-to-door travel times by 40 to 80 percent, the company said, its technology would reduce operating costs enough to permit a 40 to 80 percent cut in fares. It would also greatly reduce aircraft emissions and noise.

“As a company that is also deeply committed to innovation in sustainable travel, we believe that Zunum and its quiet, environmentally-friendly aircraft will light up a vast network of underutilized airports and reinvent regional travel,” said Bonny Simi, president of JetBlue Technology Ventures.

Wright Electric and EasyJet are considering a 150-passenger electric-powered plane. (Image: Wright Electric)

Zunum and JetBlue aren’t the only ones exploring new ways to power aircraft. Another U.S. start-up, Wright Electric, is in discussions with U.K.-based low-cost carrier EasyJet about the development of a battery-powered or hybrid plane that could carry 150 passengers on flights of up to 300 miles.

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United’s new Polaris cabin: More than just window dressing

January 12, 2017

United stuffed a plane into Saks’ windows to promote its Polaris cabin. (Image: United)

Why does New York City’s Saks Fifth Avenue have a United aircraft inside its windows?

The airline has teamed up with the famous retailer to promote its new Polaris Business Class by installing a mock-up of the cabin – along with part of a fuselage – in the windows of Saks’ flagship store facing Fifth Avenue between 49^th and 50^th streets.

Besides offering a public showcase for United’s new international business class cabin, Saks also provided custom-designed bedding for passengers.

The display features cutaways of the Polaris cabin. (Image: United)

The unusual window displays – titled “Now Arriving” — will remain in place through January 22, United said. The total display takes up 14 windows, with the six center windows showing the interior of a new business class cabin, with full-size seats (and the Saks bedding, of course).

United is beginning to roll out the new Polaris cabins on its 777-300ERs during the first quarter, and will eventually install it on other widebodies. The airline has also opened its first dedicated Polaris lounge at Chicago O’Hare, with additional lounges to follow at eight other key international airports.

United has set up a website with details on its new business cabin at www.united.com/Polaris. Here are a few more photos:

Saks is 15 blocks from the Empire State Building, seen in the distance. (Image: United)

Polaris cabins have plenty of overhead storage space. (Image: United)

Polaris cabins have plenty of overhead storage space. Note the trendy footwear! (Image: United)

Saks is at Fifth Avenue and 49th Street. (Image: United)

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Is a boom in supersonic travel coming?

January 4, 2017

Boom’s SST design would be smaller than Concorde. (Image: Boom)

An executive at a company developing the next generation of SST airliners says more orders are coming in, and sees 500 global routes where the service could work.

Colorado-based Boom, which is developing a 45-seat supersonic passenger plane, already has a commitment from Virgin Group chief Sir Richard Branson for 10 aircraft, and last fall Virgin agreed to work with the manufacturer on technical aspects and flight testing of the plane.

And now an “unnamed European carrier” has optioned 15 aircraft from the manufacturer, Boom CEO Blake Scholl said in an interview with Routesonline.com.

Scholl said the initial interest in the new aircraft is likely to keep building among international carriers. He cited a recent independent analysis by The Boyd Group that projects a global demand for more than 1,300 passenger SSTs from 2023 to 2032.

He also said that more than 500 routes worldwide have the traffic potential to support faster-than-sound air travel and the time savings it brings.

The prototype of Boom’s XB-1, a smaller aircraft designed to test the company’s technology, is expected to make its first flight later this year.

Rendering of a passenger seat on the planned SST. (Image: Boom)

The difference between Boom and the discontinued Concorde technology, he said, is that the new plane’s fuel economy is substantially better – allowing it to operate profitably at much lower fares. Boom is projecting a business class type of experience, both in the cabin and the fares that will be possible.

As for the time savings, he noted that Boom’s projected airspeed is 10 percent faster than Concorde’s Mach 2.0, making it possible to fly from San Francisco to Tokyo in 5.5 hours instead of 11, or from Los Angeles to Sydney in 6 hours and 45 minutes instead of 15 hours.

Readers: How much of a premium over business class fares would you be willing to pay for a supersonic flight that cuts your travel time in half or better?

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No Dreamliners for Delta

December 28, 2016

Delta’s canceled 787 order was originally placed by Northwest. (Image: Boeing)

Delta Air Lines has finally given up on a longstanding order for Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Delta has plenty of Boeing wide-bodies in its fleet, including a handful of remaining 747s as well as dozens of 767s and 777s. But this week it canceled an order it had on the Boeing books for 18 787 Dreamliners.

That order dated back to 2005 – a couple of years before the first 787 was even produced — when it was placed by Northwest Airlines. Delta inherited the order when it merged with Northwest in 2008.

Delta had been hedging on the Dreamliner order for quite a while. Six years ago, it deferred deliveries on the order to at least 2020. And now it has decided it doesn’t want the 787s at all.

The airline said it still has a good relationship with Boeing, noting that it is continuing to take delivery of 120 737-900ERs from the manufacturer through 2019.

Besides A350s, Delta also has ordered A330neos from Airbus. (Image: Airbus)

But Delta’s long-term plans for long-haul aircraft have shifted to Airbus. It has orders in place for a total of 50 new wide-bodies from the European manufacturer, including 25 A350-900s and 25 A330-900neos. Delta will use some of the A350s to replace its aging 747s on transpacific routes.

When Delta puts the first A350s onto international routes sometime next year, it will introduce a new premium economy class of service, with seats offering 19 inches of width and up to 38 inches of pitch. It will be marketed as Delta Premium. The A350s will also feature a new Delta One business cabin.

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New aircraft coming on key global routes: LAX, Boston, SFO, Chicago, Houston

December 27, 2016

Qantas’ first 787-9 will enter service to LAX next year. (Image: Qantas)

Several airlines have scheduled the introduction of brand-new planes on key international routes to the U.S., including Qantas, Lufthansa, Swiss International and Singapore.

Qantas announced that its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will enter service on December 15, 2017, flying the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. The new 236-passenger, three-class Dreamliner will fly the route six days a week, replacing a 364-seat 747, and will supplement Qantas’ daily A380 flight on the route. That will give Qantas 13 flights a week on the route, up from nine today. Even though the 787 is smaller than the 747 it will replace, the larger plane is only flying twice a week, so that’s a net capacity increase on the route of 1,400 seats a week. The Dreamliner will have business class, economy class, and a new premium economy section that the airline will introduce early next year.

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first A350 from Airbus. (Image: Lufthansa)

Lufthansa recently took delivery of its first brand-new Airbus A350-900 which will begin regular commercial service February 10 between Munich and New Delhi. But the carrier announced last week that its second new A350 will start flying in March 2017 on the Boston-Munich route. Lufthansa said its first 10 A350s will all be based at its Munich hub. The aircraft will have 48 business class seats, 21 in premium economy and 224 in regular economy. The airline will introduce a new in-flight service for A350 business class flyers: a self-service area offering snacks and cold drinks. The new aircraft will also have larger video screens and “the latest FlyNet technology and improved web surfing,” Lufthansa said. The plane will offer a variety of lighting schemes and improved cabin pressure so travelers will arrive “feeling more rested,” the airline said.

Economy class on Swiss’s new 777-300ER. (Image: Swiss International)

Swiss International, a Lufthansa subsidiary, has been rolling out new 340-seat Boeing 777-300ERs as the flagships of its long-haul network. It has six already, with three more coming online in 2017. This year, it started flying them to Los Angeles in June and Miami in October. And they’ll soon be coming to San Francisco and Chicago. According to the Swiss website, The 777-300ER will begin flying between Zurich and San Francisco three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) starting February 16. And the airline will reportedly boost that 777 schedule to seven flights a week starting April 17. Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that Swiss will put the new 777-300ER into service between Chicago O’Hare-Zurich beginning June 1, flying that route six times a week. The new 777s carry 340 passengers, with eight seats in first class, 62 in business and 270 in economy (in a 3-4-3 configuration). Check out a photo tour of the Swiss 777-300ERs that we ran last year.

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy is a good option for those who can’t bear the thought of 17 hours in economy (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Airlines continues add new Airbus A350s to its long-haul feet, and the next deployment of the aircraft will be on its Houston-Manchester (UK)-Singapore route starting January 17, according to Routesonline.com. The Singapore A350s have 42 business class seats, 24 in premium economy, and 187 in regular economy (in a 3-3-3 configuration). Two months ago, Singapore put one of the new A350s into service on its Singapore-San Francisco route. Chris was on board for one of the first flights, and you can read his comprehensive report here about seating and in-flight service aboard the Singapore A350.

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Supersonic: 3.5 hour JFK-London flights for $2,500

November 17, 2016

Boom’s SST design would be smaller than Concorde. (Image: Boom)

Roundtrip from New York to London for $5,000, with a 3-1/2 hour flight time in each direction? That’s the goal Sir Richard Branson has in mind for his new partnership with a U.S.-based company working on a supersonic passenger jet.

Branson, the founder of Virgin Group and Virgin Atlantic Airways, this week said his Virgin Galactic subsidiary —which hopes to sell space flights – is entering into a partnership with the Colorado start-up Boom to bring about the next generation of SSTs.

He said the Spaceship Company – the technical division of Virgin Galactic – will work with Boom by providing help with engineering, manufacturing expertise and flight tests. Branson and Boom CEO Blake Scholl said they hope to launch commercial flights with the new aircraft by 2023.

Don’t miss! Chris’s Trip Report from BA Concorde JFK-LHR

Rendering of a passenger seat on the planned SST. (Image: Boom)

The proposed new aircraft would have only 45 to 50 seats – about half as many as the Concorde, which stopped flying 20 years ago. Scholl said the aircraft could be economical on hundreds of routes, but would initially focus on New York-London, Tokyo-San Francisco and Los Angeles-Sydney.

The new partnership between Virgin Galactic and Boom represents an increased commitment to the project from Branson, who earlier this year signed an option to buy the first 10 airframes produced by the manufacturer. Branson cast his lot with Boom rather than Boeing or Lockheed-Martin, which are also working on SST prototypes, because Boom plans to use existing technology that won’t require any additional regulatory approval and thus could start operating sooner.

The proposed aircraft would reach a velocity of 2.2 times the speed of sound and would cruise at 60,000 feet – high enough to see the curvature of the planet.

Would you fly it? Please leave your comments below.

Don’t miss! Chris’s Trip Report from BA Concorde JFK-LHR

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Really bad news for Samsung smartphone owners

October 14, 2016

Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 is formally banned from U.S. aircraft. (Image: Samsung)

Are you still holding onto a Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone that you haven’t returned yet despite Samsung’s recent request that you do so?

If you plan to keep using it because you think the odds of it catching fire are too small to worry about, don’t plan on taking it on an airplane.

Earlier, the FAA had advised flyers not to put those phones into checked luggage, or to power them up or charge them during flight. But given the continuing problems with the device, the government has now issued an unprecedented, full-fledged ban– now you cannot even bring it on the plane.

The Transportation Department said Friday that effective at midday on Saturday (October 15), the Galaxy Note7 is banned from all U.S. aircraft, even if it is turned off. Anyone found with one could have it confiscated and could be fined, DOT said. If you try to hide it in checked luggage, you could face criminal prosecution, DOT noted.

If airline staff see a passenger carrying a Galaxy Note7 before boarding, they are required to keep that person off the plane.

“Passengers currently traveling with Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones should contact Samsung or their wireless carrier immediately to obtain information about how to return their phones and arrange for a refund or a replacement phone,” DOT said. “Samsung has provided guidance for customers about refund and replacement options, as well as how to contact wireless carriers, at http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall. Samsung is also answering customers’ questions at 1-844-365-6197.”

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Kicking “support animals” off the plane

September 21, 2016

A great dane “service dog” riding in first class on the Delta California shuttle between SFO & LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Frequent travelers have no doubt seen some strange things in passenger cabins, including a surprising variety of so-called “emotional support animals” (ESAs) – critters that are allowed to fly with human companions who say they just can’t travel without their furry friends close at hand. But now some airlines want to kick the menagerie off the plane.

According to Aviation Daily, carriers including United, JetBlue and Delta are asking the Transportation Department to amend its rules to ban emotional support animals from passenger cabins.

What kind of animals are we talking about? The most common, of course, are dogs – and there are plenty of stories about passengers falsely claiming their canines are support animals so that they can fly with them in the cabin instead of the cargo hold, or just to gain access to an up-front seat. Or they are simply trying to avoid the additional cost or burden of shipping the animal in the cargo hold?

Is this cute pup really necessary for emotional support? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Why are they allowed in the first place? Aviation Daily notes that the laws aren’t in sync on the issue – The Americans with Disabilities Act recognizes “service animals” like dogs trained to assist with the blind, but not “emotional support animals (ESAs).” The Air Carrier Access Act, however, does recognize ESAs and thus requires airlines to accommodate them, unless they are creepy things like snakes, rodents and spiders.

Check out United’s rules here, which distinguish between “service” and “support” animals. Service animals are allowed with few questions. However, “support” animals require a form/note from a doctor attesting to the patient’s need to travel with the animal. And an online cottage industry has sprung up to help pet owners do just that. Here’s a video that explains how:

According to pet behaviorist Cesar Millan’s website, Cesar’s Way, “Recently, some people have been abusing the system. They pass their dog off as a service dog even though they don’t have a disability and the dog hasn’t been trained for a specific task. Not only is this wrong and an abuse of the system, but it can also be disruptive and dangerous for legitimate service dogs.Some states are taking fake service dogs so seriously that they’ve enacted laws making it a crime. In California and Florida, it is a misdemeanor to fraudulently misrepresent a service animal. In California, the penalty can include both a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Florida’s punishment is a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail plus 30 hours of community service, preferably for an organization serving people with disabilities.”

Nonetheless, there are all kinds of other creatures that are sharing the passenger cabin these days. Travel + Leisure magazine found instances of weird ESAs including turkeys, pigs, tortoises, miniature horses and kangaroos. If you think they’re kidding, just Google the term “service animal on plane” and click on “Images,” and you’ll find photos of these and more.

What do you think, readers? Is the system being abused? Should there be tighter rules around which animals are allowed onboard planes? Please leave your comments below.

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Would you fly a 737 transatlantic for $69?

September 16, 2016

A Boeing 737 MAX in Norwegian livery. (Image: Boeing)

Odds are you haven’t flown a small single-aisle aircraft like a 737 or an Airbus A320 across the Atlantic. But you could get your chance in the next couple of years – and one airline is promising one-way fares as low as $69 on the new planes.

The few 737s and A320s currently going over the pond either have a sharply reduced number of seats so they can exceed their normal range, or they’re between two points as close as you can get over the Atlantic, like WestJet’s flights between far eastern Canada and Scotland/Ireland. But the new generation of these aircraft will make longer flights possible with a full load.

Boeing’s 737 MAX and Airbus’ A320neo can fly about 500 miles farther than earlier versions, and use 15 percent less fuel. That will permit flights up to 3,000 miles between the eastern U.S. and western Europe. The initial operators of the planes will include Norwegian Air, JetBlue, and TAP of Portugal.

And a Norwegian Air executive this week told Business Insider UK that his airline plans to use the new aircraft to offer $69 transatlantic fares – about half the level of its current lowest fares. Norwegian has ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and it should start to take delivery sometime next year.

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The Airbus A320neo. (Image: Airbus)

“I can promise you that you will see trans-Atlantic flights on the 737 MAX next year,” Norwegian’s chief commercial officer Thomas Ramdahl told the publication in an interview, “and that’s when you will see the $69 fares.” The airline has also ordered 30 A320neo LRs for delivery starting in 2018 – a plane with slightly more capacity and longer range than the new 737s. He did not say which routes might offer the super-cheap fares.

Norwegian currently relies on Boeing 787 Dreamliners for its fast-growing transatlantic network, like its recently announced new service to Barcelona from Oakland, Los Angeles, Newark and Ft. Lauderdale.

JetBlue has ordered 30 A321neos, some of them likely to be the long-range version, prompting a lot of speculation about the carrier’s transatlantic intentions, although JetBlue has not said definitively that it will fly to Europe.

How would you feel about flying a 737 across the ocean? Please leave your comments below!

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Are double-decker jumbo jets doomed?

September 14, 2016

An Airbus A380 an an air show with an A350 approaching. (Image: Airbus)

Effective this month, Boeing has cut back production of its iconic 747 to just six planes a year, as we noted several months ago when we speculated that the big plane might be on its way out of the aviation scene altogether in the months and years ahead. And now there is talk that the 747’s only double-decker rival, the Airbus A380, might be nearing a similar fate.

The latest blow to the A380 came from Singapore Airlines, which has decided not to renew a lease for one of its A380 after it expires about a year from now. The airline operates 19 of the planes.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the rejection of a single leased plane isn’t a huge blow to Airbus, but represents “a symbolic hit” for the A380, for which it said Airbus has been struggling to find customers.

The manufacturer said recently that its A380 production will be reduced from 27 planes a year in 2015 to just 12 a year by 2018. “The backlog of A380s to be delivered has eroded during years of no or few orders,” the Journal noted. It said that Airbus was expected to start losing money on the A380 once again under the lower production rate, and suggested that not even the manufacturer’s existing backlog of scheduled production is completely safe since some airlines are canceling their earlier orders.

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Emirates’ new version of the A380 has 617 seats. (Image: Emirates)

A recent article in TheStreet.com cited one aerospace expert who noted that the international aviation market’s interest has shifted from ultra-large passenger jets like the 747 and A380 to somewhat smaller, newer twin-aisle jets like the 787 and A350 that are more fuel-efficient and can be deployed more profitably on longer non-stop routes. He said the sweet spot now is for planes that carry 300 to 370 passengers.

The Airbus A380s currently in use carry from 400 to 538 passengers in a three-class configuration, although the plane is certified to carry up to 853 in a one-class layout, and Emirates has come out with a 615-passenger version with two classes.

Manufacturers are turning to larger versions of the 787, 777 and A350 for the years ahead, a trend that could siphon even more business away from the double-deckers from airlines that want aircraft with more capacity, the article noted.

Readers: Could you live comfortably in a world without double-decker jumbo jets? What do you think of the A380?

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Test your planespotting skills with our new quiz!

July 30, 2016

A Delta 767 taking off from SFO (InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr)

Did you know that’s a Boeing 767? Take our quiz to hone those planespotting skills! (Photo: InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr)

It’s time for another fun TravelSkills quiz! This time, we are testing your ability to identify the planes you see in the skies or at the airport. Can you tell the difference between a Boeing 757 and Airbus A321? What’s the most distinguishing feature of a Boeing 777? Take our easy 3-minute, 10-question quiz below.

(Scroll down for some help studying for the quiz if you need it. We offer plenty of planespotting tips!) If you can’t see the embedded quiz below, here’s a link to it.

Longtime TravelSkills readers may remember our Planespotting 101 series. If you’d like to bone up on your skills before you take the quiz, here are links to those posts:

Planespotting 101: Boeing 757, 767

Planespotting 101: Boeing 737 vs Airbus A320

Planespotting 101: MD-80/90 & Boeing 717

Planespotting 101: Airbus A320 family differences

Take the quiz and get your score! Based on your performance, you’ll be named Aviation Geek, Aviation Nerd, Aviation Enthusiast, Pretty Good Plane Spotter or Novice Plane Spotter. Which one are you? Share your status and YOUR best planespotting tips with us in the comments below!

If you have fun with this, take our previous quizzes, too!

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BUSINESS CLASS SEAT quiz

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How often do planes get washed?

June 30, 2016

A shiny new British Airways A380. Clean as a whistle! (Photo: British Airways)

A shiny new British Airways A380. BA says that it “takes a lot of muscle” to keep planes clean (Photo: British Airways)

Like a shiny, freshly washed and waxed car, a shiny, clean plane is a thing of beauty. Right?

But have you ever excitedly peered out at the plane you’re about to board and thought, “Hmm, that big bird needs a bath!”

As much as what’s inside the plane is what counts, that first impression of the outside of the aircraft may be even more important. If it’s dull and grimy on the outside, you might raise an eyebrow and wonder what you’ll see inside.

So we asked several airlines about how they keep their planes sparkling clean — or at least try to.

Today’s news: San Francisco’s $2.4 billion new terminal!

“We wash the exterior of our aircraft every fifty days, and that schedule is the same regardless of fleet type,” United Airlines’ Jennifer Dohm tells TravelSkills. “The locations for washing are determined by where the aircraft are laying over at an airport for at least eight hours. As a global airline, United’s wash locations are found throughout the world at fourteen airports including Houston, Newark, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.”

All United aircraft are washed by hand (Photo: United Airlines)

All United aircraft are washed by hand using extension poles (Photo: United Airlines)

“The washing schedule is the same year round; it doesn’t vary by season,” Dohm notes, although “in the winter, we add three additional locations in Florida. A widebody aircraft typically takes about five hours to wash with a crew of three to five people and it’s all done by hand using an extension pole.”

Across the Atlantic, Richard Goodfellow from British Airways explains that the frequency its planes are washed “depends on the aircraft type, but typically every six to eight weeks. We try to wash the short-haul ones more often as they do more take-offs and landings each day than a long-haul jet.”

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British Airways mostly washes its aircraft at the airline’s London Heathrow and Gatwick hubs, using “specialist cleaning detergent, high lifts, aircraft brushes and quite a bit of muscle!” Each aircraft takes up to eight hours to wash.

Does the schedule differ at various times of year, we asked. “Not particularly,” Goodfellow said, but noted that, “Obviously it is not practical to wash aircraft in certain poor weather conditions.”

Video: Watch an Air France A380 get a special kind of bath

Meanwhile, James Boyd at Singapore Airlines tells us, “Our aircraft are washed monthly. This does not include additional washes required if dirty spots are found on the aircraft. Our aircraft are washed at designated bays at Changi Airport in Singapore. It typically ranges from two to five hours, depending on the general condition of the aircraft and the services required.”

Singapore uses “an aircraft cleaning robotic system, scissor lifts, aerial lifts and water tankers,” and its schedule doesn’t differ between its aircraft types (although SQ operates only widebody aircraft so its planes are all in the ‘large’ category) or dependent on the time of year.

Washing the underbelly of a United Airlines jet– it takes a lot of elbow grease! (United Airlines)

Interestingly, no airline would tell us how much it costs to wash an aircraft, citing commercial sensitivity. Nor would any carrier comment on whether they intend to wash their planes more or less frequently than other airlines.

So it seems that “the world’s cleanest airline” isn’t (yet) part of the advertising we’ll see at the airport.

But which airline has the dirtiest planes? Sound off below or, better yet, send your super clean or super filthy aircraft pictures to us via email, and we’ll post them here.

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‘Uber of the Skies’ shot down by regulators, court

December 28, 2015

An Uber-type flight-sharing service for private pilots has been grounded. (Image: Jim Glab)

There are hundreds of thousands of licensed private pilots in the U.S., so why not enlist them to create an on-call air travel ride-sharing service just like Uber does with cars?

Sounds like a great idea, and a Boston company called Flytenow decided to try it. And now it’s going out of business. The concept was blocked by the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year, and that decision has now been upheld by a federal appeals court, effectively putting an end to the experiment.

The problem? The FAA said that because it solicits passengers from the public, such a company would be a common carrier, meaning that participating aviators would have to hold a commercial pilot’s license, just like airline pilots do.

Flytenow had argued that the individuals looking to book flights were “aviation enthusiasts,” and any transaction between them and the pilots would simply be a sharing of expenses, which is allowed for private pilots.

But the FAA and the court didn’t agree. “In the Opinion of the Court, Judge Pillard held that pilots sharing expenses on Flytenow were engaged in common carriage, making them the only common carriers (i.e., commercial airliners) in history to not seek a profit,” Flytenow said on a blog. The company’s website has been taken down.

The company said its lawyers are looking into possible avenues of appeal, but for now “we are left with no choice but to shut down Flytenow.”

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American’s splashy retro colors [photos]

December 3, 2015

Remember Air California (later AirCal), which started flying out of Orange County Airport as an intrastate carrier in 1967? American snapped it up in 1987. (Image: American Airlines)

There’s been so much consolidation in the U.S. airline industry over the past 40 years or so that it’s almost impossible to remember all the players that have left the field due to acquisitions and mergers. But American Airlines has been using paint to stir up some colorful memories of its past.

The carrier has devoted nine aircraft to what it calls its Heritage Fleet, painting them in the liveries of earlier airlines that have all been folded into the American Airlines brand over the decades.

US Airways, the latest merged carrier to lose its identity, is remembered in one of the repainted jets. Other old liveries you might see flying around with American’s name but an earlier airline’s colors include AirCal, Allegheny, America West, PSA (Pacific Southwest), Piedmont, Reno Air and TWA. There’s also a plane with the original American Airlines logo and livery.

PSA (originally Pacific Southwest Airlines), based in San Diego, was acquired by US Air in 1987. (Image: American Airlines)

Phoenix-based America West merger with US Airways in 2005. (Image: American Airlines)

Renowned legacy carrier TWA — or what was left of it — was acquired by American in 2001. (Image: American Airlines)

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Supersonic flights making a comeback

November 18, 2015

Flexjet’s Aerion AS2 will hit Mach 1.5. (Image: Flexjet)

It will be 12 years as of next week since the last Concorde supersonic transport made its final commercial flight, but now it looks like faster-than-sound travel could be making a comeback in a few years — for business travelers who can afford it.

Flexjet, a leading provider of fractional ownership and leasing programs for private jets, said this week it has placed a firm order for 20 supersonic business jets being developed by Aerion Corp. It could be a long wait for potential passengers, though — the aircraft won’t make its first test flight until 2021 and won’t enter commercial service until 2023. At this early stage, there’s no estimate as to what a trip on the plane might cost.

Aerion is working with Airbus to develop the sleek three-engine plane — dubbed the AS2 — which will carry eight to 12 passengers and will hit a top speed of 1.5 times the speed of sound, or two-thirds faster than any business jet currently existing or in development, Flexjet said. (Commercial aircraft are only allowed to exceed the sound barrier over the ocean, so they have to slow down on routes over land.)

First look! Newest United Club and concourse

Artist’s rendering of the AS2 in flight. (Image: Aerion Corp.)

Flexjet said the aircraft will be capable of flying 4,750 nautical miles at supersonic speeds, allowing it to shave three hours off current transatlantic flying times, and six hours off transpacific flights.

Aerion Corp. is a project of Texas billionaire Robert Bass, according to Bloomberg News.

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Mercedes & Lufthansa team up on dreamy VIP plane

May 22, 2015

Mercedes wants to reinvent the private jet cabin. (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

Aircraft cabins tend to be pretty boring, design-wise — basically, windows and seats in a row, whether it’s a commercial airliner or a private jet. But creative stylists at Mercedes-Benz have teamed up with a Lufthansa subsidiary to create a new kind of interior design for the “VIP cabin.”

The designs are for short- and medium-haul aircraft, and they’re clearly talking about private jets; no airline could afford to fly large planes with the wide-open passenger spaces envisioned here.

You won’t find many hard edges or sharp corners here. (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes says its new style will replace “the traditional separation of ceiling, wall and floor” with a “dynamic, spiral layout,” resulting in “new, independent spatial zones without the typical arrangement of seat and wall elements.”

Who needs windows? (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

Cabin windows are concealed by black panels that “appear to float in front of the window like a light corona,” inspired by the screen design in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Those panels can also incorporate displays and touch-screens for information and entertainment.

No worries about seat pitch in this design. (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

No worries about seat pitch or width in this design. (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

And Mercedes-Benz being what it is, the designers also wanted to bring in “the aesthetic appeal of state-of-the-art luxury.”

What’s a luxury jet without an aquarium? (Image: Mercedes-Benz)

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