Mobissimo

It's always a tough time for airlines, low cost airlines even more so.  Fuel costs, passenger occupancy, labor costs, it all adds up.  However, some are wildly successful, others are having some issues.  easyjet, one of the pioneers has had some problems.

Budget airline Easyjet has reported a big fall in full-year profits to the end of September, after the rising price of oil pushed up fuel costs.

Pre-tax profits were £54.7m ($92.2m), half of the £110.2m the airline made a year earlier.

This came despite a 13% rise in sales from £2.36bn a year ago to £2.67bn.

Easyjet said the results were "extremely resilient", adding it was one of the "very few" European airlines to make a profit in the past 12 months.

A legitimate concern, after all, recycled air for hours on end can be unhealthy, watch this video from CNN to increase your worry level.

United Airlines broke a passenger's guitar a while back and he took matters into his own hands, singing about it YouTube, causing a PR fiasco for United.  He was en route to talk about customer service when United lost his luggage.

After famously breaking his guitar, United Airlines has managed to cause further trouble for David Carroll by losing his luggage — just as the Canadian singer-songwriter was en route to deliver a speech about customer service.

RightNow Technologies, a company that creates customer service software, had hired Carroll to deliver a keynote speech this week at its conference in Colorado Springs, about 100 kilometres southeast of Denver.

Airplanes really haven't changed much in the past 50 years.  The Boeing 737 is one of the first of the modern passenger jets, now, on its last legs as a viable commercial jet.

United was an early customer of the 737, taking delivery of its first one in 1968. The plane that flew on Wednesday was delivered in 1988.

United began phasing out the decades-old planes last year as fuel prices spiked. Fuel prices have come back down somewhat since then, but United is still shrinking its fleet because demand is lower.

Upon deplaning in London Heathrow, you are subject to the endless line at customs.  Upon leaving Heathrow, you are subject to massive lines in security.  Are there any good things about Heathrow?  Apparently not, as it was voted the worst airport in the world.

BAA owned London Heathrow Airport has been voted the worst in the world by a poll of 14,500 frequent travellers.

The survey - which was carried out among members of Priority Pass airport lounge programme - included responses from travellers in 160 countries.

It’s a repeat of last year’s result in the same survey, when Heathrow was still reeling from the "debacle" of the T5 opening, and it appears that the airport has failed to shrug off its global reputation as the one to avoid.

While the economic downturn has everyone watching budgets, apparently the need to get there outweighs the need to stay in a nice place.  Read more here.

American Express Business Travel expects the average cost of a North American domestic business trip, which includes air, ground transportation and hotel accommodations, to remain nearly the same as in 2009, with just a $5 decrease in cost per trip to $1,108, according to the company's 2010 Global Business Travel Forecast, released late last month. It projects North America-originating international trips to increase by an average of 3.5 percent to $3,413.

Can't have it both ways I guess, bad economy means higher fares, good economy means lower fares and more people.  Read more here.

The study from the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, said the downturn in travel has a "silver lining of freeing up airport capacity and improved on-time arrival rates. But these silver linings will disappear...in 2010."

A huge concern here, apparently there was a physical altercation onboard an Air India flight recently, read more here.

Passengers on an Air India flight apparently were treated to quite a scene over the weekend, according to a variety of media reports. Two pilots and two flight attendants apparently came to blows during an international flight on Saturday night. Reuters says the incident "began as a heated exchange on a charge of sexual harassment against the pilots by a crew member. Blows were also exchanged in the scuffle that spilled into the cabin late on Saturday night, according to media reports."

As internet takes to the skies, so does Mobissimo with Wifi Search for flights.  We have added a Wifi icon to flights that currently offer Wifi on air flights (*fees may apply).  Always the leader in giving travelers the best products to search and decide on travel options, Wifi search makes finding internet during your flight as easy as a click.  While we are doing our best to verify internet on the flights, please check with the provider for the last word on availability.  Check it out today on Mobissimo Air Search.

Once the leader among airlines, United Airlines has become a distant contender.  Some reasons are obvious, others are not, read more here.

United is beginning to dispel the nagging perception it has lousy customer service, they say. It's doing a better job getting passengers to destinations on schedule. And its operations are starting to improve, despite a recession-induced drop in travel that's the worst since after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Instead of touting that progress, Tilton and his team have spent the last eight weeks trying to convince skeptical analysts, skittish investors and the flying public that United is not as financially bad off as Baker had warned.

They've tamped down the brush fire. United's stock price roughly doubled in August from $3.36 on July 22, two days after Baker's critical report landed. Then, in the last 10 trading days, as all airline stocks have risen, shares of United parent UAL have risen another $3 to close at $9.09 on Wednesday.

FlightCaster is a new program that uses technicals to tell you whether your flight will be delayed, read more here.

We exist to aid the frequent traveler. Everything we do is to serve you.

As heavy travelers ourselves, we were sick of being at the mercy of the airlines to give us information. FlightCaster empowers travelers to proactively avoid delay situations rather than waiting until it is too late. Information is power in travel, providing travelers more options and solutions to flight delays and cancellations.

In a sign of the times, WiFi is everywhere and that last refuge, the airplane, will now be bombarded with people chatting, emailing, YouTubing, etc.  Read more here.

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines Co. says it's finished testing Wi-Fi Internet access on four aircraft and plans to expand the service to all its planes beginning early next year.

The airline said Friday that the test has generated raves among passengers.

Southwest said it would continue testing prices for the service through the end of the year.

Yes, travel traffic is down this summer, but that can be a bonus for those traveling.  This travel season has seen a marked decrease in delays - the shorter lines are the results of less traffic, read more here.

A marked decrease in airline travel has made this summer the smoothest in years for fliers accustomed to lengthy delays and snarled traffic.

The aviation system is suffering significantly fewer delays than the past two years, according to government data and aviation experts. The lengthiest delays — which cause people to miss connecting flights and trigger the most havoc — are down even more steeply. In May, June and July, delays longer than two hours dropped by more than 25% compared with 2008 and 2007, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

While 3.5% less may not seem like much, think of it this way, it's the difference between ... well, we could go on and on about this.  Regardless, flights are cheap, why not fly?

CHICAGO (Reuters) — The number of passengers on U.S. airlines during the Labor Day holiday will likely decline this year as the recession erodes budgets, but planes will be full and fares are inching higher, experts said Monday.

The Labor Day travel forecast from the Air Transport Association (ATA), an industry trade group, said about 3.5% fewer travelers are expected to fly during the eight-day Labor Day holiday period.

This was a long time in the planning, but Continental Airlines will be joining the Star Alliance, mileage program of airlines like United, Lufthansa, and Lot.  Read more here to see what you can and should do.

HOUSTON (AP) — Continental Airlines said Monday that it will officially join the Star Alliance that includes United Airlines and Lufthansa on Oct. 27.

The Transportation Department approved antitrust immunity for Continental last month to work closely with its new partners in setting prices and schedules on international service.

Continental's transition from SkyTeam to Star Alliance was originally announced in June 2008.