Airline industry loose ends

March 27th, 2008 at 01:29pm Thomas V. Bona

OK, loose ends might not be the best choice of words given the recent spate of airplane groundings for safety inspections. I could say “airline industry potpourri”, but that might be a trademarked product hawked by Skybus. Either way, here they go:

• Allegiant Air planes not grounded: Astute local travelers may realize that the planes American Airlines grounded for safety inspections are the same kind of plane flown by Allegiant Air out of Chicago Rockford International Airport. No need to worry, Allegiant spokesperson Tyri Squyres told me: “Though not required, we are proactively inspecting our aircraft. We should have this completed shortly and foresee no disruption to our scheduled service as a result.” As a smaller airline than American, it’s feasible that they can do these inspections without disruptions … on Tuesday, for example, they have few flights. More as I get it.
• Cranky says ‘relax’: The Cranky Flier, one of my favorite airline bloggers out there, puts the safety issues in perspective. The sky is not falling.
• Here’s an interesting idea: Officials at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Ohio recently announced a push for local companies to offer airline tickets to employees as part of incentive programs. It’s a pretty clever way to try to increase business at the airport. Small airports like YNG and RFD really do need to think outside the box to gain and keep service, because the legacy carriers don’t have them on the radar, and the up-and-comers like Allegiant are looking for fertile, not stagnant, markets. Also, take this as a shout out to the Fly Youngstown Blog, a well-designed and informative site tracking that airport.

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