Trivia question

2 comments April 17th, 2008 09:31am Thomas V. Bona

My wife and I do a weekly pub quiz in Loves Park. Good times. Last night, one of the questions should have been in my wheelhouse, but stumped me. See if you can get it.

What colorful airline was the first major U.S. carrier to declare bankruptcy, in 1982?

No looking it up online!

One more funny for the day

Add comment April 16th, 2008 05:06pm Thomas V. Bona

Southwest Airlines Now Taking Passengers To Destinations By Shuttle Bus

My favorite part:

In addition to the added convenience, the shuttle buses offer improved dining and meal service, with passengers getting a choice between Arby’s, Roy Rogers and Dunkin’ Donuts, at more than 500 rest areas across the country. Complimentary snacks and beverages are also be distributed to all travelers, depending on when and where the shuttle bus stops for gas.

The buses are capable of making emergency breaks by the side of the highway if required—a feature Southwest officials say passengers will prefer to cramped airplane toilets. According to Miller, exciting new entertainment options—such as asking the shuttle’s captain to change the radio station—will replace in-flight films.

Delta/Northwest merger explained … sort of

Add comment April 16th, 2008 04:50pm Thomas V. Bona

I have nothing to add to all the talk about the Delta/Northwest merger other than:

• I’m glad my meager Northwest miles will still count.
• We’ll no longer have “Northwest” to come to RFD and leave suddenly. Maybe Delta will keep up the tradition in a few years.
• Airfare will probably go up as consolidation continues.
• Well at least neither closed down.

Here are three interesting takes on the news (warning: the first two have … colorful … language):

23/6 takes a humorous stab at “explaining” things

The Cranky Flier weighs in with typical insight

The AP takes a “nuts and bolts” look on the effect on travelers

Allegiant Air expands again - but out west

4 comments April 16th, 2008 02:34pm Thomas V. Bona

It’s been a few weeks of surprises in the airline industry, but chalk this up as a pleasant surprise. Allegiant Air announced today it’ll start offering seasonal flights from Bellingham, Wash., to both San Francisco and San Diego. It’s a rare announcement of growth from an airline. Then again, Allegiant is pretty rare in that it’s still turning a profit amid high fuel prices.

This doesn’t directly benefit Chicago Rockford International Airport and I wouldn’t expect us to gain that California service, at least not in the foreseeable future. Allegiant is trying to keep its routes shorter, and recently expanded its Bellingham operation to base aircraft there. Bellingham already is the only Allegiant city to fly to Reno, and used to be the only one to go to Lake Tahoe, Nev., so there’s precedent.

It’s good for us in that Allegiant continues to exhibit a solid business and growth model, which stabilizes its existing routes. Also, it shows a willingness to do special routes not involving “focus cities”, so perhaps there’s hope of future routes from RFD to cities that are less than 1,000 miles away…

Today’s fuel price musings - no record yet

Add comment April 16th, 2008 09:20am Thomas V. Bona

Well, despite a number of local gas stations reaching near $3.55 a gallon yesterday we didn’t reach a record for the entire metro area. But we’re real close (Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford increased two cents to $3.45 a gallon today, only one cent from our record set back in May. Every single metro area in Illinois increased on news of record crude oil prices. East St. Louis is at a record of almost $3.59 a gallon, while a couple other metro areas set records in past days. The state average increased almost two cents to a record $3.52 today. Rockford has the fourth-highest prices in the state. The national average has set records for about all of the past week, and increased more than a cent to an unheard-of $3.40 a gallon today. Illinois has the sixth-highest gas prices in the nation.

Diesel: More records here. Rockford increased more than a cent to a record $4.17 a gallon today. Some other metro areas increased, some decreased and some stood pat. The state average increased half a cent to $4.21 a gallon, just shy of the record set Monday. We have the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The nation increased its record average a cent to $4.13 a gallon. Illinois is tied for the 14th-highest prices in the country.

Today’s fuel price musings - everybody up but us!

Add comment April 11th, 2008 04:56pm Thomas V. Bona

A (brief?) reprieve in Rockford (Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped less than a cent and stands at $3.43 a gallon today, while most of the state and nation increased. The state average jumped a cent to $3.48 today, four cents from its record. Rockford has the fourth-highest prices in the state (Springfield just passed us and is also around $3.43 a gallon). The national average continued to set records, increasing a cent to $3.37 a gallon. Illinois has the sixth-highest gas prices in the nation. Perhaps Rockford already saw its spike earlier in the week? Or is our spike yet to come?

Diesel: Rockford dropped more than two cents to $4.10 a gallon today , while most of the state increased. The state average increased almost two cents to tie a record at almost $4.16 a gallon. We have the third -highest diesel prices in the state. The nation jumped two cents to a record $4.07 a gallon. Illinois is tied for the 13th-highest prices in the country.

Allegiant Air growing while others are cutting back

3 comments April 10th, 2008 06:48pm Thomas V. Bona

Allegiant Air, the largest carrier at Chicago Rockford International Airport, has had a good week at a time when many airlines have crash-landed. Today it announced it was buying six more planes to expand its fleet to 41 next year and 43 in 2009. Spokeswoman Tyri Squyres told me the airline was looking at ways to keep growing, even with high fuel prices and a soft economy. Not all the planes will be used for the airline’s regularly scheduled route network; some will be used for its charter program, including its popular flights to Harrah’s Entertainment casinos in Reno and Laughlin, Nev., and in Tunica, Miss. She said they’ll also look at other leisure destinations, but will focus more on filling in the gaps in its existing network.

That probably means the new airplanes won’t directly benefit Rockford with new destinations, at least not in the near future. But it’s good news that the primary airline here is in strong enough financial shape to pay straight cash for six airplanes.

The other good news is that Allegiant is staying in Greensboro, N.C., after Skybus’ announcement that is was going bankrupt. Allegiant officials said the competition from ultra-low-cost Skybus was a reason for its decision last month to pull service from Greensboro.

The change of mind lead to the quote of the day, from Robert Ashcroft, vice president of planning for Allegiant: “We preferred to stay clear of a company acting in ways we did not understand.”

Sound business advice.

Today’s fuel price musings - National records for both gas and diesel

Add comment April 10th, 2008 11:12am Thomas V. Bona

Records fall on both sides. A couple key takeaways from the AP article:

Gasoline prices normally rise during the spring as people travel more. However, the record pump prices have also been supported by high crude prices as shrinking profit margins cause refiners to pull back on production.

and

United Parcel Service, a major shipping company, reduced its first-quarter earnings predictions because of the high price of fuel.

More on UPS later today, but for now, here’s the damage (Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: Rockford dropped two cents to $3.43 a gallon today, perhaps just delaying a record-setting price. The state average increased a cent to $3.47 today, five cents from its record. Rockford maintains the third-highest prices in the state, while Illinois has the sixth-highest gas prices in the country. The national average jumped another cent and then some, hitting a record $3.36 a gallon.

Diesel: Rockford jumped four cents to $4.12 a gallon today and has risen 10 cents this week. The state average increased a fraction of a cent today and remains at $4.14 a gallon, less than two cents shy of its record. We still have the second-highest diesel prices in the state now, behind only Chicago (which stays at $4.25). The nation jumped more than a cent to a record $4.05 a gallon. Illinois has the 14th-highest prices in the country.

Today’s fuel price musings - Faced with a local record in gas prices

1 comment April 9th, 2008 06:22pm Thomas V. Bona

Sorry I was gone yesterday. Here’s today’s bad news(Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):

Gasoline: The Energy Information Administration predicted this week that national gas prices will go as high as $3.60 this summer, which could mean prices close to $4 a gallon in Illinois. On average, the EIA is projecting a 21 percent increase. That’s even taking into account a slight drop in domestic demand year-over-year. Rockford increased a cent to $3.45 a gallon today, just over a cent from our all-time record. The state average increased almost a cent to $3.46 today, about six cents from its record. Rockford maintains the third-highest prices in the state, while Illinois has the sixth-highest gas prices in the country. The national average continues to set records, and stands at $3.34 a gallon.

Diesel: Rockford jumped six cents to $4.08 a gallon Tuesday, and stayed there today. The state average dropped a cent Tuesday but gained it back today (my diet’s the same way). It’s at $4.14 a gallon, two cents shy of its record.We have the second-highest diesel prices in the state now, behind only Chicago ($4.25). The nation is up to $4.03 a gallon, less than a cent from its all-time record. Illinois has the 14th-highest prices in the country.

Today’s fuel price musings - It’s only going to get worse as the days get longer

Add comment April 7th, 2008 08:31pm Thomas V. Bona

(Data courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)

Gasoline: The national average broke another record Monday, increasing to $3.34. Analyst Trilby Lundberg noted that gas prices are high, even though people are driving less than normal this spring, because crude prices are high and because more ethanol is being sold (also at higher prices). That doesn’t bode well, she said, for the spring and summer, when motorists will push demand and prices up further. Rockford jumped from $3.39 a gallon Friday to $3.45 a gallon Monday. We’re less than two cents a gallon from our all-time record. The state average increased from $3.43 Friday to $3.46 Monday, about six and a half cents from its record. Rockford maintains the third-highest prices in the state, while Illinois is up to the fifth-highest gas prices in the country.

Diesel:  Better news here. Rockford dropped four cents Monday to $4.02 a gallon, the lowest it’s been in a couple of weeks. Every metro area in the state decreased today, and three metro areas fell below $4 a gallon. It would be nice if we could join them. We have the fifth-highest diesel prices in the state now. The state average is at $4.14 a gallon, which is actually where it’s been for a few days. The nation dropped to $4.01 a gallon. Illinois has the 10th-highest prices in the country.