Mobissimo

Sometimes things are very important and you can't be bothered by hanging up the phone just because a plane needs to take off.  The ubiquitous mobile phone is indeed a boon ... and a curse.  Here's more about one guy who didn't take no for an answer.

 An Austin businessman was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly refused to stop using his mobile phone on a flight Monday from Austin to Dallas Love Field.

Dallas police met the plane after the pilot radioed ahead to the Love Field tower. They cited Joe David Jones, 50, president of an Austin-based environmental start-up company called Skyonic Corp., with the Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Virgin Airlines seems to like dwelling on the sexy theme.  From the youngish models in their ads, to the omnipresent 'fun and irreverent' attitude the airline wants to convey, Virgin espouses the swashbuckling persona of its leader Sir Richard Branson.  As part of its message to hook up and fly, Virgin is offering inflight texting capability.  More here via Budget Travel.

If its ad campaigns are any indication, Virgin America has big plans for its in-flight instant messaging service. The airline is apparently convinced that passengers will while away the hours gossiping, discussing breaking news, sharing musical recommendations—and, of course, finding true love only a few (previously inaccessible) aisles away.

Flying first class is expensive, no doubt. I've flown Lufthansa and Thai and can attest to their special service. On a connection from Geneva to the states via Frankfurt, a Benz was waiting for me on the tarmac to take me to my LH flight back to the states in Frankfurt. Small touch, but so, as Ron Burgundy would say, 'classy.' Regardless of the service, airline food, at least to me remains horrible. It's not really cooked, it's just reheated, and those cookies you smell are just heated as well. I would rather see Inga back the in the galley making them from scratch, but whatever, I always bring my own food anyway. Food is also getting an upgrade as top flight chefs and sommeliers are making the airlines the new battle ground. More here via CNN.

(AP) -- First-class airline passengers can say goodbye to mystery meat.

Prepared airplane meals are on display at the Delta Air Lines Gate Gourmet facility in Erlanger, Kentucky.

While complimentary meals have all but disappeared for most coach flights, there's a whole new culinary landscape for first class. In the latest effort to lure customers and create buzz, airlines are serving up gourmet menus cooked up by celebrity chefs.

Travelers flying to South America or Japan on United Airlines can feast on award-winning chef Charlie Trotter's appetizer of sauteed prawns and crispy short rib wontons with organic Thai barbecue sauce and chilled sweet-and-sour cucumber relish. Going to Europe on American Airlines? Try the rosemary-scented shrimp drizzled with garlic sauce and served with lemon rice and artichokes.

Don't know if it is really possible.  After all, sitting in a metal tube at 35k feet and eating food that's been cooked 2 weeks ago is not natural.  Sitting in a chair, any chair for over 2 hours is not natural either.  But alas, designers are looking out for your lumbar, more here via Wired.

Some refer to it as economy class syndrome. To others it's know as a coach class clot. But whatever you call it, sitting squeezed into an airplane seat until you develop deep vein thrombosis is no way to die. And that's why this strange new seat is worth checking out.

The Cozy Suite (sort of a cheesy name, we know) is a staggered seat configuration designed to give passengers a better shot at getting some shut-eye during their flight. Delta just put in a big order for the seats, and surprisingly, plans to install them in the often overlooked coach class cabin.

This is a tough one, first MaxJet, now EOS.  The remaining business class only airlines out there have a chance, but it looks grim.  With the economic turn, fuel prices at an all-time high, and severe inherent competition from the majors, the business class only model really can only be sustained in a bull market.  More here Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eos Airlines, which offers business class flights between New York and London, said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the latest carrier to fail in the face of record fuel prices and a softening economy.

Eos said it would stop operations entirely on April 27, cutting most of its work force.

Eos joins a number of other carriers to shut down in recent weeks, including Aloha Airlines, Champion Air, ATA Airlines, Skybus Airlines.

Ja, I've heard it all. Does a premium seat equal a premium flight? I don't think so, while booze may pass the time and more legroom is, well, negligible, you're still on the same airplane with everyone else, that never changes. However, some of you may find that this is worth an extra spend. More here via Travelrants.com and the inner workings of each premium economy offering via SeatGuru.com.

One question I get asked a lot is what are the advantages of booking a premium economy seat and my reply is that it depends on which airline you are flying with. All of the airlines offering premium economy give you extra leg room, and more reclining space but some offer a number of extra benefits.

Advantages of booking a premium economy seat

Virgin give you a pre-flight drink, dedicated boarding and luggage reclaim, compare this with BMI who offer free alcoholic and soft drinks plus advance seat selection at time of booking. Personally, I don’t think that the extra cost is worth the money, but that’s my personal opinion.

We could add to the woes of American Airlines and their cancelled flights, but we won't 1) because we really like American Airlines and 2) fixing potentially unsafe airplanes is the main priority.  China.  What can you really say?  The torch relay problems, Tibet, recalls - China needs to hire Paris Hilton's Elliot Mintz to handle their PR.  Here's one that I really like though.  China has no unions, obviously since there is no need in a communist country.  A recent act by several pilots to protest labour policies is indeed a major occurence for China.  Expect these upstarts to be 'vanished' shortly.  More here via The International Herald Tribune.

SHANGHAI, China: China Eastern Airlines has suspended two executives and some pilots who allegedly disrupted flights to express grievances over labor policies.

The Shanghai-based airline issued a statement late Monday confirming that 21 flights in southwestern China's Yunnan province were intentionally disrupted on March 31, a rare show of defiance in a country that bans unauthorized labor organizing.

When Oasis Airlines started out promoting low cost air service from the U.S. to Hong Kong, many jumped at the opportunity to fly this new airline. However, Oasis has been unable to turn the corner and has ceased operations. Airlines right now, hard times, impending recession, high oil prices, ... More here via Reuters.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines said on Wednesday it had halted flights and would go into liquidation after just 17 months in the air as record high fuel prices and stiff competition triggered heavy losses.

Privitization of airports is not a new thing, Heathrow I believe is owned by a Spanish company, someone else can chime in here. American airports are usually owned by the city or state, so this is a new deal. Wonder how TSA/Homeland security fits into this, but read more about Midway in Chicago, could be a harbinger of things to come.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Foreign investors are lining up to bid to operate Chicago's Midway International Airport, the first major US airport to be privatized under a federal initiative launched more than a decade ago.

City officials say six consortiums, which include firms from France, Australia, Germany, Canada and Spain, are vying to run Chicago's secondary airport.

I fly a lot.  1m miles?  Check.  150k a year?  Check.  500k frequent flier miles collecting dust?  Check.  Because I fly quite a bit, I get amenities Joe from Detroit who flew for the first time in his life last year doesn't.  But nothing really much, speedier check in, a nice red carpet to stand on in the boarding line, a lounge that has a cash bar, sometimes the pilot will come out and say hello and thank me for flying.  American airlines have nothing on the international airlines - they have free booze.  While I have tons of coupon books for free drinks, doesn't quite mean the same thing.  Ever want the true star treatment?  Well, you can have it, but for a price that's pretty low, more here via the WSJ.

Elite-level frequent fliers get lots of perks and attention from airlines. But it's nothing like the "star" treatment.

Despite massive cost-cutting and shrinking service, airlines still roll out the red carpet for celebrities. Many carriers have "special service" staffers to speed stars and VIPs through airports and on to planes, or out back doors to limousines. Special rooms, some hidden behind unmarked doors adjacent to gates and some private lounges inside airport clubs, are reserved for politicians, movie stars, sports heroes and other dignitaries.

I don't really understand this one, but we search them and they sell a lot of tickets via Mobissimo, strange, more here about Flybe's latest newsworthy action.

 DUBLIN (Reuters) - Flybe has given the term low-fare airline an entirely new meaning: it is paying 172 people to fly back and forth across England and the Irish Sea to help it meet a target for passenger numbers at Norwich airport.

Flybe was narrowly falling short of a target to deliver at least 15,000 passengers on the Dublin-Norwich route in the 12 months ending on Monday, which meant it would have to forego a 280,000 pound ($550,000) rebate from the airport.

It's not an easy time being a small airline these days.  Fuel is super expensive, the recession is looming, and airlines were always bad choices as an investment or venture - just to many problems:  unions, fuel, consumer pricing, huge maintenance costs.  Aloha Airlines, which we searched here on Mobissimo is gone.  Competition forced them into bankruptcy, more here via Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aloha Airgroup Inc, parent of Aloha Airlines Inc, is shutting down on Monday, days after filing for bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

The company, which employs about 3,500 people, had emerged from bankruptcy protection about two years ago.

According to the Journal, the closely held carrier said marketing partner United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp (UAUA.O: Quote, Profile, Research), and other airlines are "prepared to assist and accommodate Aloha's passengers who have been inconvenienced."

Well, it was a matter of time, mobile phone calls are allowed on a commercial airline.  I don't quite understand how you can get service at 35k, but Emirates is giving it a run.  More here via BBC.

Dubai-based airline Emirates has become the first commercial airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls during flights.

Emirates said the first permitted mobile phone call was made on a flight between Dubai and Casablanca.

The aircraft, an Airbus A340, is fitted with a system which stops mobiles from interfering with a plane's electronics.

Emirates plans to extend the system to more aircraft and later this year add BlackBerry and other data services.

Well, it was a matter of time.  Landing the world's largest passenger airplane at the world's busiest airport.  Imagine customs this much worse, more here via BBC.

The Airbus A380 super-jumbo has completed its first European commercial flight after a plane from Singapore landed at London's Heathrow airport.

Singapore Airlines is the first carrier to operate the new double-decker aircraft on revenue-earning services.

Flight SQ308 arrived at Heathrow 15 minutes before its 1505 GMT schedule.

Well, this one surprises no one, but one would have hoped that the Italians could keep their national airline afloat, but much like Sabena and the Netherlands, Italy takes one on the chin.  This one pretty brutal, the offering price is a mere dime.  More here via the Telegraph.

The sale marks the end of a tortuous process for the carrier that began at the end of 2006 when Romano Prodi, the former Italian prime minister, put it up for sale - declaring it was "out of control". Suitors including Aeroflot and Texas Pacific ran the rule over Alitalia but decided against bidding.

When Air France first announced "exploratory talks" 15 months ago, Alitalia was worth 95.4 cents a share. Yesterday's deal, struck after an 11-hour board meeting, saw the shares valued at just 10 cents against its closing price last Friday of 53 cents.