First ever Friday News Roundup
Neon signs, Mansfield, Ohio – City News and Coney Island by Brian Butko on Flickr
I’ve decided to start providing a summary each Friday of news items that are related to American Airlines, the oneworld Alliance, the airline industry, or travel, but not specifically related to AAdvantage miles. So here you go:
American Airlines may discontinue selling tickets through Orbitz (from Bloomberg):
Orbitz Worldwide Inc fell the most since February after American Airlines said it would stop providing fare data to the online travel agency, blocking it from selling tickets after Dec. 1 unless a new contract is reached.
For now, customers may continue to buy the airline’s tickets on Orbitz and Orbitz-powered sites, Mary Sanderson, a spokeswoman for American, said in an e-mail. Orbitz disclosed the plan by American, the third-biggest U.S. airline, in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Qantas (American Airlines partner and oneworld Alliance member) in the news when an engine explodes on an Airbus A380 super jumbo over Singapore. No one was injurned, but Qantas has grounded their A380 fleet temporarily. (From Reuters via Yahoo! News)
A faulty part or design issue may have caused the explosion in an engine on a Qantas Airways Airbus A380 that forced an emergency landing in Singapore, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said on Friday.
Separately, a European Union air safety body confirmed it told airlines in August to check for “wear, beyond engine manual limits” on the type of Rolls-Royce engines fitted to the Qantas jet and other A380s.
The engine failure on Thursday, which scattered debris over an Indonesian island, marked the biggest incident to date for the world’s largest passenger plane, in service only since 2007.
The incident saw Qantas ground its fleet of six A380s pending safety checks which will take 24-48 hours, and led other airlines to check their own A380s.
American Airlines announces codeshare flights with new partner airberlin (from Airline Route Updates)
airberlin and American Airlines this week launched codeshare service on selected Trans-Atlantic service as well as Domestic US and intra-European service.
Planned codeshare routes and flight numbers below. Note some codeshare service will be in effect towards the first half of 2011.
Cathay Pacific and JAL, both oneworld partners, announce new codeshare flights. (from Travel Blackboard)
From November 1, 2010, JAL will begin to codeshare on flights operated by Cathay Pacific between Hong Kong and Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Penang, Surabaya and Ho Chi Minh City in Asia, as well as Johannesburg, Brisbane, Rome and Milan. From South East Asia, Cathay Pacific also operates on the routes Bangkok=Mumbai, Bangkok=New Delhi and Singapore=Colombo which JAL will begin placing its “JL” flight indicator on the same day. This new agreement expands JAL’s network further by 11 destinations and 13 routes.
American’s home hub, otherwise known as Fortress DFW, is set for a much needed upgrade. (from WFAA in Dallas)
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is about to undergo a huge makeover — from the ground up.
The project to restore the sprawling facility, which opened in 1973, is targeting everything from the terminals to the entrance and exit booths.
D/FW is the world third-busiest airport, but it’s also beginning to show its age.
And lastly, the cheapest taxi rates in the world. (from Marginal Revolution)
The ten cheapest are:
$0.90 – $1.58 Delhi, India
$0.97 – $1.28 Mumbai, India
$1.04 – $1.73 Cairo, Egypt
$1.14 – $1.71 La Paz, Bolivia
$1.17 – $1.87 Manila, Philippines
$1.22 – $2.03 Mexico City, Mexico
$1.23 – $2.94 Panama City, Panama
$1.23 – $1.68 Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
$1.24 – $1.86 Fez, Morocco
$1.29 – $1.94 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia