Northwest reached an agreement with its pilots union Aug. 1 under which it will reinstate a premium payment to pilots for flying more than 80 hours in a month and reward them with incentive pay for perfect attendance from Aug. 4 to Sept. 3.

The agreement is another part of Northwest's attempt to prevent the flight cancellation spikes that have plagued the carrier and its customers in late June and late July.

Northwest previously announced a 4% reduction in capacity in August so that, under the reduced schedule, fewer pilots will be pushed close to or all the way to the maximum 90 flying hours they can be required to provide under their contracts. Pilots could volunteer to fly more, up to the 100-hour federal limit, but most are averse to doing so.

Northwest also is increasing its pilot reserve and modifying the way pilots' trips are scheduled so they'll spend less time away from home.

Northwest has blamed the cancellation problems in part on pilot absenteeism, even more so in late June, although it still is not disclosing how many pilots have been calling in sick or not showing up for other reasons.

The pilots union, having predicted summer crew shortage problems months ago, have put the blame on Northwest for understaffing and for overworking pilots to the point of fatigue by pushing them to the limits of their new, longer work hours.

Northwest canceled 9% of its flights July 27, 13% July 28, 16% July 29 and 9% July 30, according to data from Flightstats.com. But by Aug. 1, according to Flightstats, the rate had dropped back down to 2%. In late June, the cancellation rates were as high as 17% (on June 27).

NWA Announces Bid for U.S.- China Nonstop Service

Northwest in July, filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for new rights to operate Detroit and Shanghai as well as Detroit and Beijing nonstop service. Northwest’s application is in response to the DOT's invitation to carriers interested in using the rights that are available under the landmark new aviation agreement with China.

NWA invites its customers to register their support for Northwest’s new China service by visiting www.nwatochina.com.

DOT plans to award six new routes that become available to China between 2007 and 2009.

“Northwest wants to begin new service to China just as soon as possible,” said Doug Steenland, president and chief executive officer. “Northwest’s WorldGateway hub at Detroit offers an unmatched combination of broad network coverage of the entire Eastern half of the United States, convenient direct routings, and a new, state-of-the art terminal facility.”

“Northwest would provide attractive connecting service to China from more than 100 U.S. cities. If the DOT wants to benefit the most U.S. passengers and the most U.S. cities, Northwest is the clear first choice,” added Steenland.

The DOT plans to award the routes in an expedited fashion. DOT has indicated a preference for a new entrant carrier in 2007, but remains open to other options. “Northwest is ready to start flying right away,” said Neal Cohen, executive vice president – strategy and international. Northwest would use Boeing 747-400 aircraft for Detroit to Shanghai service, if selected for a 2007 award. “We’re prepared to respect the DOT’s wishes, but we think the public and the DOT should have a choice. Northwest would accept China frequencies in either or both years.”

If selected for 2009 service, Northwest plans to use the Boeing 787 for both routes. Northwest is the North American service launch customer for the 787, a fuel-efficient aircraft that will usher in a new era of customer comfort and convenience. The 787 will be one of the most environmentally-friendly planes in the sky.

NW Airlines At Detroit Metro To Be First In U.S. With New Dreamliner Jet
Source: detroitnews.com

Boeing Co. rolled out its long-awaited 787 Dreamliner on July 8, 2007, a state-of-the-art passenger jet that will improve the flying experience for millions and allow Metro Detroiters to fly nonstop to far-flung destinations.

Northwest Airlines, Detroit Metropolitan Airport's largest passenger carrier, will be the first North American airline to receive and fly the 220-passenger long-haul jet. The airline's first flights with the new jet will be out of Metro Airport. Northwest signed a $4 billion order in 2005 for 18 of the new jets that promise to burn less fuel and offer more passenger comforts than comparable planes.

Boeing unveiled the Dreamliner -- its first new jetliner since 1995 -- at ceremonies outside its Everett factory, with thousands of dignitaries, airline executives and media members in attendance.

Boeing expects to make its first delivery in summer 2008, a deadline that could prove challenging.

Fitted with more efficient engines and built with lightweight composite materials, the 787 is appealing to airlines such as Northwest that are looking to hold down fuel costs.

The first of Northwest's 18 Dreamliners is expected to arrive in August 2008, and the Eagan, Minn.-based airline hopes to begin flying passengers later that year.

Northwest initially intends to fly the planes from Detroit to Asian destinations, promising comforts never seen before on its trans-Pacific flights. The 787 features wider seats and aisles, better lighting, electronically dimmed windows and improved air quality.

Boeing is offering three models of the 787 with seating for 200 to 330 passengers. Northwest has opted for the 787-8 model with a seating capacity of 220.

Besides improving the passenger experience, the 787's longer range could open up numerous new destinations for the airline and Detroit Metropolitan Airport, said Doug Steenland, president and CEO of Northwest.

"The decision we made in the spring of 2005 to purchase the 787 is looking better and better," Steenland said. "It's really going to be a game-changer. Detroit is going to be the first beneficiary of this aircraft. We will use it for Detroit-to-Asia flights, and we want to use it to open more Detroit-to-China markets."

Boeing has firm orders for 677 planes from 47 customers around the world, including Continental, Qantas Airways and Air China.

The Dreamliner represents many firsts in the airline industry, including the first large passenger jet to have more than half of its structure made of composite materials instead of aluminum sheets. The lighter weight -- a reduction of up to 40,000 pounds -- makes the aircraft 20 percent more fuel efficient.

"It's a carbon fiber with an epoxy resin that holds it all together," Bair said. "We've been slowly laying the groundwork in order to be ready to build an entire airplane out of this material."

Steenland and others said the plane is so efficient to operate that Northwest, which emerged from bankruptcy in May, can realize the same profit from a loaded 787 as it can from a 430-seat Boeing 747. The aircraft also will require less maintenance.

The new material also means improvements for passengers. Because the composite material doesn't corrode, Boeing can add humidity inside the cabin to make the flight more comfortable.

And the composite material is so strong that the airline can reduce the equivalent altitude inside the aircraft to 6,000 feet above sea level, a drop of 2,000 feet from where it's at now. This means less air sickness.

Among the other highlights of the new aircraft:

Boeing's specially developed system will automatically reduce rough rides when flying through turbulence.

More room inside the cabin with wider seats, even in coach.

Restrooms in all classes will be significantly larger with wheelchair accessibility and room for passengers to move around.

Unlike most new airplanes, the 787 is not being built from the ground up at Boeing's Everett factory. For the first time, various components, such as the wings and the fuselage, are being built at companies around the world and shipped to the final assembly location at Boeing.

Boeing officials said the system is so advanced, they ultimately hope to have final assembly down to three days. "It nothing more than fitting the pieces of the puzzle together for us," one Boeing official said.

TSA Questions Private Registered Traveler Tech
Source: Business Travel News online

Transportation Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley today during congressional testimony said technologies that would enable Registered Traveler program members to pass through security without removing their shoes, coats and laptops still need further work before TSA will grant approval.

"The technology is not yet there to provide significant screening benefits to members," Hawley said today before the House Committee on Homeland Security, adding that providers need to tweak such systems before TSA grants full approval. He did not specify the modifications TSA seeks.

Verified Identity Pass CEO Steven Brill today during testimony said TSA this week notified General Electric—Verified's provider of shoe scanners and other technology to speed checkpoint clearance—of improvements it would have to make to gain approval for such devices. Brill said GE is moving forward "as fast as they can."

According to a survey released today by the Business Travel Coalition and Registered Traveler provider FLO Corp, business travelers and corporate travel managers want a widespread, functional Registered Traveler program that allows travelers to whisk through airport security checkpoints without removing shoes, laptops or coats.

Of 211 corporate travel manager and traveler respondents, 80 percent said they would pay $99 for a membership that guarantees "expeditious security checkpoint processing, without any other in-lane benefits such as not having to remove shoes, laptops and coats," according to survey results. Many respondents qualified their responses, saying program desirability hinges upon which airports roll it out, whether companies would reimburse the expense and whether programs truly deliver on promises of speedy flow through airport security.

With the program rolled out at a handful of U.S. airports, several respondents said they are awaiting critical mass—or at least checkpoint lanes at frequently traveled airports—before membership becomes worthwhile.

Among the most coveted benefits to expedited security for survey respondents, 55 percent said keeping shoes on through security would be the first priority, while 42 percent leaving laptops in bags while passing through checkpoints is the single most desired benefit when passing through lanes.

Corporate travel buyers have sought to formulate policies around the program, including whether the company or traveler pays the bill for membership. Rick Wakida, global travel manager at Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences, last week said his travelers have yet to ask for reimbursement for the program, which would only become applicable to corporate travelers when company's home airport in San Francisco launches lanes. The company has yet to devise a policy around Registered Traveler membership.

However, one travel manager respondent said, "This is going to be very hard to justify when companies have 500 travelers," noting it could add an additional $50,000 annually to the travel budget. Another said, "Our company plans to only pay for this benefit for those travelers who take over 15 trips per year or hold an executive position within the company."

TSA Lifting Ban On 'Common' Lighters In August
Source: travelweekly.com

Airport security screeners are still confiscating about 22,000 lighters each day, but soon they won't have to take them -- and travelers won't have to give them up.

The Transportation Security Administration, in what it called a "common sense, risk-based security decision," is lifting its ban on "common" lighters in carry-on luggage as of Aug. 4.

The TSA will still ban the "torch lighters" that people often use for pipes and cigars. Those lighters have a consistent stream of air-propelled fire with a thin, needle-like flame that is hotter and more intense than the flame on common lighters, and have long been banned as a hazardous material.

Most lighters, however, are of the common butane type.

According to the TSA, screeners confiscated more than 11 million lighters last year. But the TSA now says lighters "are not a serious threat," and that removing the ban will free screeners to increase their focus on more important tasks such as finding explosives or components of improvised explosive devices, identifying suspicious behavior and performing extra screening on randomly selected passengers.

The TSA also noted the U.S. is the only country in the world to ban lighters.

The TSA initiated its ban on butane lighters in April 2005 to comply with a mandate from Congress, signed into law by President Bush as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. But last October Congress approved, and the president signed, a Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act that gave the TSA administration the discretion to stop enforcing the ban on lighters.

The TSA also is modifying the rules associated with carrying breast milk through security checkpoints, so that mothers traveling without their infant or toddler will be permitted to bring breast milk in quantities greater than three ounces as long as it is declared for inspection at the security checkpoint.

Previously, the exception was allowed only for mothers traveling with their infant or toddler.

The TSA said the breast milk could be subject to additional screening, but reiterated that it will not ask travelers to taste it as proof.

Midwest Air Group's board, in the first sign it is seriously considering AirTran's buyout offer, revealed July 31 that it has formed a special committee to hold further discussions with the low-cost carrier.

The board said the committee also "intends to hold discussions with other strategic and financial parties that have recently expressed interest in pursuing a transaction with Midwest." But it did not say who those interested parties are.

"By providing AirTran and other interested parties with access to our confidential information and holding discussions with them, the board is pursuing a process to evaluate whether greater value can be delivered to shareholders through a near-term transaction," committee chairman Samuel Skinner said. Skinner is a Midwest board member and former Transportation Dept. secretary.

Midwest said the committee's mandate is to "review and evaluate strategic and financial alternatives and, as appropriate, make a recommendation to the full board of directors with regard to those alternatives."

The board has repeatedly rejected AirTran's offer since it was first made in private last October. AirTran made its offer public Dec. 13 in a hostile bid, and has since increased the offer, but the board had continued to insist Midwest would be better off as a separate carrier implementing its new strategic plan.

AirTran was successful, however, in persuading shareholders to elect three AirTran-nominated merger-friendly directors to Midwest's board at Midwest's annual meeting June 14.

Midwest's chastened leadership said it had gotten the message, and the board scheduled a July 16 meeting to let AirTran make its case. Nothing had happened since then, however, until Midwest's board announced its special committee.

Midwest Connect serves Grand Rapids, Flint, Muskegon, Manistee, Escanaba, Iron Mountain & Marquette connecting to Midwest Airlines in Milwaukee.

AirTran serves Detroit and Flint airports.

The domestic on-time arrival performance of U.S. airlines over the first six months of a year has never been this bad, at least not since the Transportation Dept. began compiling comparable figures in 1995, DOT spokesman Bill Mosley said Aug. 6 after the DOT released this year's January-June data.

The percentage of on-time arrivals dropped to 72.65% for the first half of 2007, the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. The previous worst this decade was 73.58% in 2000.

Also, the rate of flight cancellations for the first six months rose to 2.52%. That's the highest level since 2001.

Carriers' performance in June hasn't helped. The domestic on-time arrival performance fell to 68.1% in June, with 2.7% of flights canceled, according to the DOT monthly Air Travel Consumer Report released Aug. 6.

The DOT listed eight flights that never arrived on time in June, with their average tardiness ranging from 78 minutes to 153 minutes. All told, the DOT listed more than 440 flights that arrived late at least 80% of the time for the month.

Nearly 6% of regularly scheduled flights arrived late at least 70% of the time, including a whopping 23.4% operated by Atlantic Southeast, which flies as Delta Connection.

Another Delta Connection carrier, Comair, had 12.9% of its flights arrive late at least 70% of the time. JetBlue was third worst at 10.4%.

The 20 carriers that provide data to the DOT for its monthly report also posted a mishandled baggage rate of 7.92 reports per 1,000 passengers in June. That's higher than both the June 2006 rate of 6.30 rate and the May 2007 mark of 5.93. Among the major U.S. carriers, Southwest posted the best on-time performance in June at 75.3%, followed by AirTran at 71.9% and Alaska at 70.5%.

American reported the worst on-time performance among major carriers at 57.9%. US Airways ranked second worst at 61.6%, and JetBlue third worst at 63.9%.

Northwest posted the worst cancellation rate among major carriers, at 5.3%, with American and US Airways next worst at 3.7%. But a look at cancellation rate for regional carriers reveals even more misery.

Mesa, which has service that includes operations at Delta Connection, US Airways Express and United Express, canceled 6.4% of its flights. American Eagle canceled 5.9%, and Delta Connection carriers Comair and Atlantic Southeast canceled 5.3% and 5%, respectively.