Delta Quits Airline Lobbying Group

Delta Air Lines announced yesterday that it is quitting the lobbying outfit calling itself "Airlines for America".  This move comes after a disagreement over strategy about FAA air traffic control privatization.  By doing so, Delta would save itself the annual fee of $5 million.
Billing itself as an industry group "fighting higher taxes" and "unnecessary regulation", Airlines for America (a.k.a, A4A) has mainly focused recently on an aggressive protectionist campaign against three gulf carriers claiming that they are being "unfairly" subsidized by their governments and attempting to lobby U.S. Congress and Government to intervene to stop their expansion in the U.S.
This effort has suffered setbacks as other carriers and the vast majority of travelers disagree with A4A position despite a huge dollar budget on lobbying and advertising.

More Airline and DHS Computer Glitches on Horizon

The Department of Homeland Security's computer systems joined Southwest, American and United by adding misery to travelers' experience dogged by technical glitches to their computer systems. United had experienced multiple failures in the past few years, and Southwest was the latest to have issues last Sunday and Monday.  Fasten your seat belts as American will complete its merger of  with USAirways this weekend, consolidating two computer systems into one.  The puzzling failure of DHS Customs and Border Protection computers are the most troubling yet as the cause remains unknown.  The frequency and randomness of these outages have now become the new normal.

Spirit Airlines Consistent Track Record Continues...

The latest rankings of airlines on-time performance for August have been released, and there is no surprise who was at the bottom of the pile.  Once again Spirit Airlines took the honors for the worst performer (#13) and they are most probably proud of it and and of the most complaints per 1000 passengers.  Spirit thinks that no publicity is bad publicity, so we just provided them with a free service here at Premieretravel.com

Apology Tour Continues for United's New CEO

On the fifth anniversary of United Airlines merger with Continental, new CEO Oscar Munoz issued an apology stating that the merger was poorly managed and the integration was "rocky".
The CEO is on a tour to speak to United's rank and file and to lift the sagging morale of 85,000 employees, who were "allowed to be disengaged, disenchanted, disenfranchised-the three nasty D's".
Add another D or D- for the performance of the airline in the past year and CEO Munoz is dealing with quite many D's.  Passengers can think of another letters, like "F" for performance,especially in how the most loyal customers were disenfranchised, and the grade that most have given to United's service. It is notable that CEO Munoz has been a board director at United since its inception and has suddenly realized that United has issues that must be dealt with.  The sooner he can act, not an easy task, the better.

October 20, 2015
Brett Hart becomes interim CEO of United after Oscar Munoz was hospitalized with a heart attack.
We wish Mr. Munoz a speedy recovery

Car Rental Taxes and Fees Going Haywire

Socking travelers with exorbitant taxes and fees has become a sport.  Airlines, hotels and car rental companies are now cash cows for cities, states, municipalities, airports for revenue generation.  Travelers do not vote in the places they visit, so they have become easy targets. For international airline tickets, taxes and fees are often higher than the "base fare" of a ticket.  Airlines have added their own surcharges since they only pay taxes on base fares.
Car rental companies taxes and fees are approaching parity with the "base" rental rates.  On a recent example, we requested a quote for a passenger needing a car in Austin, Texas, one of the lower jurisdictions for taxes and fees in the country, and were quite surprised to see this breakdown:

Taxes & Fees

Here is a breakdown of the estimated taxes, fees, and surcharges that apply to your reservation when you pick-up your rental car:
Weekly Rate (2 x $144.90)          $289.80

Airport Concession Fee	35.97
Local Tax	66.46
CUSTOMER FAC FEE	83.30
VEH LICENSE FEE	28.00
ENERGY RECOVERY FEE	6.00
Total Taxes, Fees and Surcharges	219.73

Grand Total: $509.53

"Vehicle License Fee"?, "Energy Recovery Fee"?, "Customer FAC Fee"? These names actually make the airlines look good!  How about a "Steering Wheel Fee"? or "Tire Tread Fee"?

www.premieretravel.com

The 3 Gulf Carriers Nobody Talks About

Emirates, Qatar and Etihad  (AKA: EQE) have been the three carriers making the headlines lately.  Expanding aggressively worldwide with new fleet of planes, state of the arts facilities and excellent amenities and on board services, these carriers have taken the lead in opening up new markets and giving passengers attractive choices.

In the same geographical area, well endowed, but keeping low profiles, three other gulf carriers are only there to serve limited markets and without the fanfare and the frills of the EQE.
Kuwait Airways is not known for great on board service and they have not attempted to bring their brand to the 21st century as evidenced by their logo.  Gulf Air had the opportunity to shine in the eighties but chose not to expand even though they were the largest "gulf" carrier then.  Finally Saudia is the most serious of all. No fun, no alcohol served, and ultra conservative in the way they operate.  All 3 carriers are averse in having connecting passengers through their airports, a key point in the success of the EQE. www.premieretravel.com

FAA Software "Upgrade" Grounds over 1200 Flights

The FAA, notorious for shooting itself in the foot, claimed another act over the weekend.  While the FAA did not disclose the nature of the problem that grounded hundred of flights Saturday and Sunday,  the likelihood of a software upgrade glitch remains the probable cause.
The FAA's seemingly endless string of glitches continues as the NEXTGEN satellite upgrade, well behind schedule, inches on with costs of over $40 Billion.
www.premieretravel.com