Airline News

Airguide Online, April 23, 2004

Southwest Airlines Chairman Herb Kelleher told the World Affairs Council there that the airline will add 14 more daily nonstops to its previously announced schedule, effective July 6 2004. By mid-summer, it will be operating 28 daily nonstops from Philadelphia. Just the day before, US Airways CEO David Siegel told employees in an Internet broadcast that the airline must drastically reduce costs because "Southwest is trying to kill us." He also revealed Southwest's plans to add flights in July to West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Houston Hobby, Los Angeles, and Raleigh-Durham.

US Airways will paint 10 aircraft in a new Dot-Com livery to remind customers that they can book their flights from Usairways.com. The aircraft will also have the logo "No booking fees. No brainer" as part of an advertising campaign that will proceed this month. Ben Baldanza, senior VP of marketing and planning, said, "We want to significantly raise awareness of the consumer benefits of buying at usairways.com, including the fact that we do not charge service fees like many other sources."

US Airways said Expedia customers now can purchase its tickets through all Expedia points of sale. Last December the airline said it no longer would sell its tickets through Expedia following the online travel website's decision to raise the booking fee it charges customers to purchase US Airways tickets from $5 to $8.99.

Virgin Atlantic Airways intends to launch new routes from London to Australia, Cuba and the Bahamas while increasing existing service to the U.S., Caribbean, Asia and the Far East in the next two years. And it will be adding an additional 1,400 employees over the next year. Chairman Richard Branson said the New York-London route for business travel has been "incredibly strong in recent weeks," while its London- Gatwick flights to the Caribbean and Florida are popular with leisure travelers. He said in the next year the carrier will begin to serve Sydney, Havana and Nassau. In the next two years, it will take delivery of six A340-600s.

Virgin Atlantic Airways will operate additional seasonal service to London from Boston, Washington and Newark June 1-Oct. 30 2004. It will add three flights per week between London and both Boston and Washington as well as one weekly Newark service.