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June 20, 2012
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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Although airline passengers are paying higher fares and being charged to haul bags, they're apparently happier with the airline experience than they were a couple of years ago, according to a new
consumer satisfaction survey. The Michigan-based American Consumer Satisfaction Index reported this week that at 67 on a scale of 100, customer satisfaction with the airline industry is as high as
it's been for decades. In 2012 alone, the industry gained 3.1 percent in approval points, this despite higher fares, more crowded flights and fewer scheduling options. What's going on here? "I think
in part it's because customers are becoming cleverer when they fly at avoiding the various fees. We're finding that while passengers aren't terribly satisfied with checked baggage fees, fewer of them
are checking baggage," says ASCI director David VanAmburg.
And perhaps with no bags to get lost or charged, passengers breeze through the airport more seamlessly. If they also pack lighter as a result, airlines benefit through reduced fuel consumption.
Ironically, the deep discounters such as Spirit Airlines, have the best satisfaction ratings because customers go into the deal knowing what to expect. Traditional mainstream carriers such as Delta,
United and American are at the bottom of the satisfaction scale, according to ASCI. In the most recent survey, JetBlue displaced Southwest as the satisfaction leader, perhaps, says VanAmberg, because
Southwest is merging with AirTran, which may be causing some service ripples. Although the airlines are doing better than a year ago, as an industry, they lag other segments and remain in the bottom
three among 47 industries ASCI surveys, including hotels, fast food and full-service restaurants. For more on ASCI's airline survey, check out
AVweb's podcast with David VanAmburg.
File Size 9.7 MB / Running Time 10:22
Podcast Index
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How to Listen
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Subscribe Via RSS
Amid numerous changes for the airlines in recent years is one you might not expect: Customer satisfaction is up. Paul Bertorelli asked David VanAmburg from the American Customer
Satisfaction Index to explain.
Click here to listen. (9.7 MB, 10:22)
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The Aviators: Watch Us on TV, on DVD and Online ... Now!
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3 coming this fall ... and premiering at AirVenture 2012!
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A constellation of 66 new satellites that will be launched starting in 2015 will make it possible for operators to track their aircraft anywhere in the world, even across oceans and remote regions
where coverage is not currently available, the project partners announced on Tuesday. Iridium Communications is providing the technology, and NavCanada is the launch customer. For routes that operate
in oceanic airspace, the new Aireon satellites will provide a "quantum improvement" in efficiency, said NavCanada CEO John Crichton. For example, NavCanada said, flights across the North Atlantic
should save $100 million per year thanks to more efficient routing. The satellites, which are scheduled to be online by 2017, will communicate with the ADS-B devices on airplanes.
The FAA is also working with Iridium, and is expected to be the second customer for the technology, according to Reuters. "Because the insight and control of air traffic management through
space-based ADS-B is unparalleled, the FAA will be engaged with Iridium and its Aireon partners in setting the specifications and configuration of space-based ADS-B surveillance," said Chris Metts,
vice president of FAA's air traffic program. The new technology "will enable commercial airline operations to be more efficient, safer and more environmentally friendly," according to Iridium's news
release.
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NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman has criticized some of the actions of Gulfstream staffers during an investigation into a fatal crash during a flight test of a G650 in New Mexico last year. In a letter dated April 4, 2012, that was recently posted to the NTSB's public docket,
Hersman says that while interacting with Gulfstream, NTSB investigators "encountered a variety of situations that are not typical when dealing with parties to investigations." She goes
on to list her concerns, including "noncompliance with instructions from the NTSB investigator-in-charge relating to quarantine of accident-related telemetry data … unexplained missing
evidence, including a computer hard drive containing accident-related telemetry data… [and] general conduct and dilatory tactics prejudicial to the investigation." Gulfstream President
Larry Flynn defended the company's actions in a letter, also posted to the docket,
stating that "Gulfstream has responded to each and every request for information from the NTSB as promptly as possible."
The missing hard drive was accidentally thrown away by an employee, who was later fired, Flynn said. He expressed concerns over the NTSB's use of proprietary data. "Because the accident occurred
during a developmental flight test, Gulfstream has provided an enormous amount of trade secret and proprietary information to the NTSB -- much more than would be required for an accident involving
an in-service model," he wrote. The NTSB was not clear about which redaction requests had been granted and which documents would be published, he said. "Gulfstream has fully supported the NTSB
investigation, has behaved with the highest ethical standards, and has at all times made the safety of its flight test and flight operations its highest priority," Flynn wrote. The investigation is
ongoing, and is expected to be completed later this year.
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Embraer's first manufacturing plant in the U.S. earned its production certificate this week. The Melbourne, Fla., facility has been shipping Phenom 100s since last December but the aircraft were
certified under the type certificate for Brazilian-made Phenoms. The aircraft are assembled using assemblies made in Brazil. The plant was opened a little more than a year ago.
Embraer says the Melbourne facility is its first "paperless" line, meaning all reference and documentation materials are electronic. "We are justly proud of this facility in which we combined
highly educated, high-tech people with advanced production techniques that are on the leading edge of modern aircraft production," said Phil Krul, managing director of the plant. The plant is geared
to make up to about 100 Phenoms a year.
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The Eclipse 550 Twin-Engine Jet: Delivering in 2013
The first Eclipse 550 Jet, currently being constructed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will be ready for delivery in 2013. What does this mean for you? It means you can fly up to 375 KTAs above
the weather at 41,000 feet while sipping a mere 59 gallons of fuel per hour. And you can do it next year. Compare the Eclipse Jet, the most technologically advanced, fuel-efficient jet on the
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Bombardier says its CSeries single-aisle airliner is on schedule and will fly by the end of the year. Marc Arcomone, president of commercial aircraft, also says first deliveries will be made by the
end of 2013. "Yes, the CSeries program is on track," he told analysts ahead of the all-important Farnborough Air Show in a few weeks. He said that from a technical standpoint, there are no major
issues in the way of the current timeline and he also said he's satisfied with the modest (by clean-sheet airliner standards) order book to date for the 110 and 130-seat aircraft. "We are exactly
where we want to be with 11 customers and 317 orders," he said. Central to the efficiency claims being made about the CSeries (20 percent on fuel burn) and much of that is due to the PurePower geared
turbofans being developed by Pratt & Whitney Canada.
At the conference, P&WC spokesman Bob Saia said that when Bombardier has an airframe, his company will have the engines ready. "We are well on track to certify our engine later this year, and
deliver our first engine, so we're very well pleased with our overall results," Saia was quoted by the the Montreal Gazette as saying at the conference. He also said the fuel efficiency is a little better than predicted.
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Do you push the throttle up to max, nudge the pitch and worry about the trim later? Or do you prefer to modulate the power to see if you can handle the pitch change forces? On the AVweb
Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli discusses the pros and cons of each approach.
Read more and join the conversation.
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Fly More for Less
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The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is
You! |
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If you're operating a light sport aircraft -- either a legacy or late-model new airplane, our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, would like to know what it costs.
Click on this link to take the survey and leave comments.
We're interested in all kinds of light sports, but we especially want to know what costs are like when the airplanes are in partnerships.
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Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part.
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| Rick Larsen |
Rick Larsen is the new associate vice president of marketing, corporate and alumni relations at Embry-Riddle. He was most recently VP of Marketing and Communications at EAA. He is an ERAU alumnus.
Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff
appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference,
too.
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AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.
The AVwebBiz team is:
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Tom Bliss
Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli
Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles
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Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West
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