July 2nd, 2009 08:36pm
Thomas V. Bona
According to Today in the Sky, JetAmerica is saying it has to delay its launch by a month because the Federal Aviation Administration reneged on its original assurance that the airline didn’t need to obtain slots to operate at Newark. According to Brian Burling, the airline’s VP of operations:
“However, at about the same time JetAmerica started making national news with its $9 non-stop fares; when JetAmerica announced 60,000 website visitors; and sales in excess of 20,000 the FAA re-clarified its policy telling JetAmerica we would need to obtain slots.”
It seems weird that the FAA would care about whether an airline had strong early sales. Maybe this was a case of miscommunication … it’ll be interesting to see what response, if any, the FAA has.
July 2nd, 2009 06:02pm
Thomas V. Bona
Cranky Flier confirms that JetAmerica is delaying its launch another month. It has sent a letter to its customers saying it will refund tickets sold before Aug. 14 (check the bottom of the post and the comments section for the letter):
Unfortunately, however, you are receiving this notice to inform you that due to landing slot issues in Newark, that we are going to have to delay our first flights 30 days until August 14th. When we started planning your flight months ago, we were not required as an Indirect Air Carrier to have landing and takeoff slots at Newark’s Liberty International Airport; however, due to recent policy clarifications, even Indirect Air Carriers now have to have slots into and out of Newark. We just found out about this on May 30th and have been working hard to acquire the slots from the FAA and other airlines.
“Policy clarifications”? Is that like when my boss “clarifies” that I have to get a story done on time? Weird stuff.
July 2nd, 2009 11:29am
Thomas V. Bona
It’s always fun when, a few weeks before your new airline launches, your reservation system decides to stop booking flights for the first month of service. That’s Jaunted’s report on JetAmerica’s latest problem with its beleaguered launch.
A tipster emailed us to say that it looks like JetAmerica cancelled all of their July flights. Sure enough, when we went to search for a flight on July 15 we were shown the next available date was August 14. Then when we tried again, the next available date was suddenly August 16. What is happening here?
Since we actually have a reservation on Jet America in July, we dialed their odd 727 area code reservations number hoping for answers. While we were on hold for over 10 minutes we were repeatedly prompted to email Michelle for “marketing inquiries”, odd for a reservation number, right? Oh, and at the 11 minute mark we got our answers.
JetAmerica: There is a problem with our server, it is only booking flights for August and September, IT says all should be fixed by end of day tomorrow.
Jaunted: So flights in July are still wheels up?
JetAmerica: As far as I know, yeah.
Meanwhile, Cranky Flier continues to be none too confident in the Airline Formerly Known as Air Azul’s chances of success:
I wouldn’t think about spending a penny until I see an airplane in the air on an actual flight with passengers. Something tells me that the chances of that actually happening has just dropped dramatically.
Maybe Rockford didn’t miss out on much…
July 2nd, 2009 08:49am
Thomas V. Bona
Allegiant Air - the biggest airline at RFD - had three incidents in recent months elsewhere involving engine troubles, and while nobody was hurt, the events understandably freaked out passengers.
In an article today, the Las Vegas Review Journal notes that in the age of Twitter and email, “even an airline with a safe and profitable system can have trouble keeping pace with the spread of information, particularly if the information is dramatic, like a first-hand account of a troubled commercial jet flight.”
According to the article, Allegiant isn’t considered to blame for the engine troubles - it’s kind of dumb luck, apparently. It has a lower cancelation rate - for mechanical reasons or otherwise - than the average at the nation’s biggest airports. And the engines it uses have a very low number of accident/incident reports in the past two decades.
Allegiant, for its part, says it’s reviewing how it communicates with passengers in such incidents.
July 1st, 2009 05:48pm
Thomas V. Bona
Traded emails today with Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, to see how long the recent drop in gas prices will continue.Basically, he said maybe/maybe not. He thinks the prices from earlier this month will be close to the peak for the year…
Generally, I wouldn’t call it long term relief.  I’m pretty sure that you’ll see very high prices again in this decade, perhaps even in the $3-$4 gal range.
But not yet. The big sprints in the last year (lower in the last half of 2008, and higher in the first half of 2009) are over, and we’ll see gasoline prices jog slightly lower (probable) or higher (less probable) for the next 60 days.
More in Monday’s paper and on BusinessRockford.com as I write about where prices are headed. What questions do you have for local and national experts?
Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):
Gasoline: Rockford dropped slightly but remains at $2.68 a gallon today. We’re third in the state and tied at 87th of the nation’s 280 metro areas. The Illinois average dropped almost a cent to $2.74 a gallon. The national average dropped slightly but stayed at $2.63 a gallon. Illinois has the eighth-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia.
Diesel: Rockford dropped almost a cent to $2.66 a gallon. We have the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average dropped slightly to $2.68. The national average increased slightly but stayed at $2.63. Illinois has the 14th-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia.
July 1st, 2009 02:54pm
Thomas V. Bona
I don’t usually write about logistics and distribution centers on this blog because it’s probably the driest thing I cover (even more than fuel prices!) even if it’s oh so important to the local economy.
But today, at the groundbreaking for another expansion of the Sara Lee distribution center in Rochelle, there was this funny little nugget I couldn’t pass up.
It was under 60 degrees, prompting folks to show up in jackets and hats in July. Sara Lee VP Larry Rogers quipped, “I actually saw someone with hand warmers. That’s for the freezer inside, though, that’s not for out here. It’s not that cold.”
July 1st, 2009 01:20pm
Thomas V. Bona
Sitting here at the Culver’s in Rochelle because of their advertised free wifi. Too bad that, for the second time in the past month, it’s not working for me. I guess nothing is free!
Instead, I logged into the for-pay wireless connection from the Petro truck stop across the street. I’m fascinated by the proliferation of wifi here - it appears Road Ranger also has a connection, and perhaps when Rochelle opens its utility office nearby it’ll have one too.
I’ve toyed with getting a laptop card that can connect me to the Web anywhere, but I don’t really travel enough to justify the monthly cost. I usually will pay the per-hour or per-day rate at airports, hotels and rest stops. I’m intrigued by Comcast’s wireless rollout that may eventually come to Chicago (though the company doesn’t know yet if that will include Rockford).
So what do you folks do for wireless connection when on the road?
June 30th, 2009 02:25pm
Thomas V. Bona
There’s a forwarded email going around suggesting that the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Tollway will start photo enforcement of speeding laws in construction zones tomorrow. It’s true, except for the timing - the program started in 2005. But since the Internet is all excited about it again, the highway agencies sent an update out this month. Here’s the key info:
The law states that first-time work zone speeders, including those caught on camera, will be hit with a fine of $375, with $125 of that sum going to pay off-duty State Troopers to provide added enforcement in construction or maintenance zones. Two-time offenders are subject to a $1,000 fine, including a $250 surcharge to hire Troopers, and the loss of their license for 90 days. Tickets received in a work zone require a mandatory court appearance
So don’t think you can speed through a construction zone just because you don’t see a cop. He could be sitting in a van taking your picture, and you won’t know until you get the ticket in the mail. There have been 8,000 issued statewide since 2005.
State officials say it’s one of the reasons construction zone accidents are down so much. “In 2003, there were 44 work zone traffic related fatalities with 5 workers killed. 2007 showed a consistent decrease resulting in 21 traffic related work zone fatalities with 2 workers killed.”
(Credit to the always helpful Snopes.com for being all over this)
EDIT: I started writing this last week and got sidetracked. In the interim, our wonderful editorial page did a better job clarifying the matter Monday. Sorry I missed it, Wally!)
June 30th, 2009 10:57am
Thomas V. Bona
Slightly fewer people are this year, according to AAA Chicago. Even though gas prices are down nearly $1.50 a gallon, AAA projects travel being down 1.9 percent from last year and 12.3 percent from 2007. Basically, people are still struggling with the economy and thinking twice about discretionary spending - including travel.
I’m writing a story about this for tomorrow - and about what travelers should expect. Anyone going anywhere 50 miles or more for the weekend? Why or why not?
June 29th, 2009 05:28pm
Thomas V. Bona
Gas prices have now dropped 24 cents a gallon since June 9 in the Rockford region, and many places have it in the $2.60s. So much for the theory that it only goes up. This is a welcome break before July 4, but with $70 a barrel oil, I wonder if it will last.
Working on a story for the weekend about where prices seem to be headed. Any questions out there?
Here are the prices from this morning (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):
Gasoline: Rockford dropped almost two cents to $2.69 a gallon today. We’re third in the state and 81st of the nation’s 280 metro areas. The Illinois average dropped slightly but stayed at $2.76 a gallon. The national average dropped slightly but stayed at $2.64 a gallon. Illinois has the eighth-highest gas prices in the nation, including the District of Columbia.
Diesel: Diesel prices had slipped ahead of gas prices over the weekend, but dropped back. Rockford dropped more than a cent to $2.68 a gallon. We have the third-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average stayed at $2.69. The national average remained at $2.63. Illinois has the 14th-highest diesel prices in the country, including the District of Columbia.
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