Crazy Picture From McKinney Gas Explosion
May 22, 2008 at 9:44 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: McKinney Gas Explosion Photo
It’s been a busy week. I took this picture on Tuesday at the site of the McKinney natural gas explosion that destroyed three homes, and I didn’t get around to downloading it until today.
The picture was taken standing on top of a pile of rubble at the first house that exploded – looking down the block at the next two that went up in flames. The car you see was one of the only items we could even recognize. A lawn mower and an air conditioning unit were about the only other items I could identify. Can you imagine what it would have been like if you’d been inside those homes or standing on the block when the blast happened?
Which Airline Fees Do You Hate Most?
May 22, 2008 at 12:21 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: American Airlines bag fee
A couple of the passengers we talked to at DFW airport yesterday made a good point about American Airlines decision to charge $15 for a single checked bag.
The passengers said – instead of making us feel like we’re being nickel-ed and dimed at every turn – why not just call the fee a “fuel surcharge” and add it to the ticket price up front? Their point was they’re sick of getting to the airport and opening their wallet at every turn, for baggage, for food, for ticket change fees, etc. Some airlines are even charging more now for aisle and window seats!
On the baggage fee, I think American’s response would be that they’re giving customers choice. If you want to pay a little less you can cram everything in that one carry-on bag and then fight it out with your fellow passengers for that overhead bin space. Maybe they’ll put coin machines on the overhead bins next.
The truth is the baggage fees help the airlines make money two ways: not just collecting the fee but also creating a dis-incentive for people to travel with bags that weigh down planes – burning more fuel.
So which fees anger you most? Paying to check bags? Paying for a lousy snack on board? Paying to change a ticket? Fuel surcharges? Paying for extra legroom or a better seat? I’d love to hear from you as we continue to cover this story.
Flying Just Got More Expensive
May 21, 2008 at 12:50 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: American Airlines Raises Bag Fees
$15 for your first checked bag! That’s the announcement from American Airlines today. At least that’s the announcement that will probably draw the most immediate anger from passengers.
But the other major announcement American made will also have a real impact on travel across the country. The airline plans to cut the number of flights it offers and that will mean cut jobs as well. No word yet on how many cuts or where – but CEO Gerard Arpey told me today that the job cuts will probably be across all of the airline’s work groups. Obviously, bad news for employees, and potentially bad for the DFW economy if a significant number of those cuts happen here.
So why is the airline doing this? The answer is oil. They need to drive up ticket prices and extra fees to offset the rising cost of oil (which touched $130 a barrel earlier today.
To explain it better, here are some figures Arpey threw out at the company’s shareholder’s meeting today:
in 2000 the company’s average price per segment was $163. Today’s it $149. So the company is taking in less today than it was eight years ago. Meanwhile fuel cost per segment has gone from $24 to $64 today. There’s no way the carrier can make money on many flights unless it figures out ways to charge more. Not a way to make customers happy – but then more cuts in flights won’t make customers happy either. Glad you’re not an airline CEO these days?
Breaking News: American Airlines Workers Reject Contract Offer
May 17, 2008 at 10:32 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: American Airlines Workers Reject contract offer mechani
We had this breaking story in the last half hour of the program this morning on NBC5 Today. American Airlines mechanics, baggage handlers, and other employees represented by the Transport Workers Union rejected a contract offer late last night.
This will come as a big disappointment to the company which hoped to secure a deal with the TWU, which has generally been the most agreeable union of the bunch in recent years.
According to details posted on the company’s negotiations website….
http://www.aanegotiations.com/twuTimelineUpd.asp
…the company says it was offering a two year contract with lump sum pay increases to workers. A 5% lump sum payment on the date of signing and a 3.5% payment one year after the signing date. The company also says it agreed to adopt a new profit sharing plan which would have been paid in 2009. The deal also included increases in vacation days and holidays, according to the company’s description of the offer.
In recent weeks I had been hearing that negotiations were speeding along toward an agreement, maybe in the next month or so. Obviously, the two sides were getting closer but some of the work-groups within the TWU apparently rejected the offer. We’ve had no official comment yet from the union on the deal.
Here’s an excerpt from the company’s statement today:
“American sought to address the key areas of interest identified by the TWU, including pay, holidays, sick leave and vacation; and at the same time recognize the economic realities facing the industry and our company.
American Airlines, along with the entire airline industry, is facing unprecedented challenges. In addition, American’s labor costs are the highest in the industry. While we could not address structural increases at this time, the tentative agreement did include improvements in pay and paid time off for TWU-represented employees.”
American Airlines Towed Un-lit Planes Across Runways: Airline Responds
May 15, 2008 at 4:25 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: American Airlines Ch5 story
On Wednesday’s edition of NBC5 News at 10, we aired a story showing how American Airlines has been towing planes across runways, in the dark, without turning on any of the planes’ lights. Air traffic controllers tell us that’s been creating a potentially dangerous situation on runways at DFW. Airport officials at DFW have been asking the airline to light the planes for several months. You can see our complete story here :
http://www.nbc5i.com/travelgetaways/16267619/detail.html?dl=headlineclick
After the story aired, and the Star-Telegram blogged about it this morning, a spokesman for the airline sent an e-mail a to the Star-Telegram calling our story “misleading’.
Actually, it’s his response that’s misleading.
He claims we “mislinked” two issues: the fact that the planes have not been lit while being towed at night – and the fact that there was a recent daytime incident where a plane was towed into the path of another plane coming in for landing.
In our story we made it clear that, “if the incident had happened at night” air traffic controllers tell us the pilot may not have seen the other plane until it was too late. In other words, the daytime incident highlights the importance – in the eyes of the controllers - of lighting the planes so they can be seen if the same thing were to happen at night.
After that daytime incident in April, DFW airport asked the airline to park the tugs while the FAA investigates. So, the airline is not using them at DFW right now – but they are using them at other airports across the country. We also learned that, for months, DFW airport has been asking the airline to light the planes during night time towing. The airline has said that is working with the airport and the FAA to find a way to light the planes at night. American did not want to run the lights because that would require running the plane’s engines or the back up generators to power the lights – and that would burn fuel.
Incidentally, the spokesman who wrote the note to the Star-Telegram was offered an opportunity to appear in our story before it aired but declined. To see his note to the paper go to:
http://startelegram.typepad.com/sky_talk/
In his blog, Dallas/Ft. Worth TV critic Ed Bark describes our story as a, “balanced account”:
http://www.unclebarky.com/dfw_files/7f224ef10a23684615e47172f5752559-687.html
Guy Found Walking on Runway at DFW Airport
May 13, 2008 at 8:01 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Man Found On Runway DFW Airport
The pilot of an American Eagle plane coming in for landing over the weekend must have been a little surprised to see this guy walking on the runway.
When DFW airport police asked Nathan Grant how he got there he reportedly told them, “Air Force One dropped me off”.
Police quickly realized they had seen Grant before. In fact, he spent the previous night in the airport police department’s jail after being arrested for public intoxication inside one of the airport terminals. Grant is from San Antonio and was apparently waiting for a flight when he was arrested the first time.
Police figure when he got out of jail in the morning he was looking for the quickest route back to the terminal. And, of course, on the sprawling DFW airport property the shortest line is straight across the runways.
The FBI says it will not bring federal charges against Grant because they don’t think he had any intent to hurt anyone. But obviously the breach makes you wonder – if this guy can get onto the airfield who else can get out there? A DFW spokesman told me last night that they’ll be studying how Grant got in. They also point out that that Grant was quickly spotted and arrested.
Al Roker on NBC5 Today Saturday
May 10, 2008 at 10:16 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Al Roker Trains NBC5 Dallas
Where does Al get the energy? He was all fired up at 6:20am when he joined us from Washington to talk about National Train Day. Talking faster than a bullet train and even making the sound of the “Texas Eagle”, still he told our producer Reginald Hardwick that he didn’t have a single cup of coffee this morning.
If you’re travelling this summer — here are some more reasons to think about taking the train (as if $3.60 gas isn’t enough!)…..
Investigation Into American Plane that Lost Panel In Flight
May 8, 2008 at 12:21 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Investigation American Plane Loses Panel
Talking to a number of pilots union and flight attendants union sources today…several interesting things about the investigation:
This seems to be one of the rare cases where the unions agree with AA management. The union officials who investigated the incident agree that the pilots handled the situation correctly by continuing on with the flight. They tell me that the pilots had no warning lights in the cabin, there was no indication of pressurization problems, and the plane was not even burning any excess fuel. In some cases extra drag created by the torn pieces would show itself in the form of excess fuel burn.
Turning around to land at DFW with a full load of fuel would have created other safety concerns that come with an overweight landing, including the risk that the brakes could overheat or the plane could be structurally damaged.
In some on-line forums some flight attendants and pilots continue to question the captain’s decision:
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/showthread.php?t=25981
But, the union officials I’ve talked with tell me the flight attendants on board did not protest the pilot’s decision to continue the flight until AFTER the plane had landed and they saw the hole. I’m told a reserve pilot was even sitting in the cabin during the flight and he did not hear any ongoing vibrations after the initial noise and did not hear any complaints from the flight attendants, other than when they reported the initial noise. The noise was thought to be cargo shifting in the cargo hold which can make a loud thud.
The unions do want to know what caused this, obviously. The company and the FAA will conduct that part of the investigation.
More Photos of Hole in American Airlines 767
May 8, 2008 at 12:58 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: American Airlines Plane Hole Photos, Hole in American Airlines Plane, More Photos American 767 Hole
Airfare Prices Up Despite Wright Ammedment Compromise
May 7, 2008 at 9:31 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Airfares Higher Wright Ammendement Compromise
The Wright Ammendement compromise was supposed to make travelling cheaper in the DFW area, and initially it did. But as we reported tonight on our 10pm newscast, prices on some popular leisure routes are now back up to their pre-compromise levels or even higher. Much of that due to the dramatic increase in jet fuel costs.
A few more details here on the fare trends we talked about in our story, and then some more info on finding travel deals in spite of the price hikes.
Rick Seaney at Farecompare.com used his historical database of airfares to generate the charts below. Rick looked at American Airlines cheapest 7 day advance fares on the three most popular liesure routes from the Dallas/Ft. Worth market – where AA competes head to head with Southwest. Those routes are DFW-Los Angeles, DFW-Las Vegas, and DFW-Orlando.
As you look at the charts of AA’s fares below keep in mind the Wright Compromise took effect in October of 2006 (the point where you see the big dip in prices). Prices really start to go up last summer when the airlines come under heavier pressure from rising fuel costs. Wish we could provide similar charts of Southwest’s prices but they don’t publicly publish their fares. However, like American, Southwest has announced fare increases since the compromise. On these routes where the two airlines compete head-to-head the graphs probably wouldn’t be too much different.
The occasional dips you see in the charts are fare sales that still happen even though the overall price trends have been upward.
The other thing the charts show is that being flexible in your travel plans can save you money. Right now, it looks like going to Disneyland in CA would be a better deal than Disney World in Orlando. Also notice Las Vegas has stayed cheaper than the other two routes. Rick tells us this is probably because US Airways also has a non-stop from DFW increasing the competition on that route.
Despite rising fuel prices and higher airfares, there are always deals to be found. For more advice on where to look check out some ideas on Rick Seaney’s blog : http://rickseaney.com/2008/04/01/the-right-to-cheap-airline-tickets-plus-7-great-tips/ You may also want to check out Rick’s company’s website www.FareCompare.com
One other thing to note: The Wright Compromise hasn’t taken full effect yet. Southwest still can’t fly non-stop to markets outside of the Wright states. Right now they can only issue single tickets for a direct flight that has to make a stop in another Wright state. In 2014 they’ll be able to fly non-stop from Love to any US city when all of the Wright restrictions are fully lifted.
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