Airline Reporter » AirTran

Southwest Gives More Details on the AirTran Purchase

David Parker Brown — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:30:49 +0000

AirTran Boeing 737 landing in Atlanta.

As I am sure you know, Southwest is try to purchase AirTran. This is a very interesting process since we are looking at two low cost carriers becoming one and Southwest taking on a new aircraft type: the Boeing 717.

There are still a lot of questions out there about the merger and I was hoping to get some more insight while hanging out with Southwest in Dallas for their yearly media day. Unfortunately at this point there aren’t a heck of a lot more answers, but I at least have a few more pieces of information.

The big thing to remember is that Southwest and AirTran are still separate companies and competitors. Even though it looks like this buy-out should go through with no issue, AirTran is not about to give up all their secrets until the deal is final. This doesn’t mean that Southwest isn’t working hard already, they just don’t have all the answers right now. Southwest currently has 30 different teams in seven different categories to prepare for the new larger company.

The addition of the Boeing 717 to Southwest’s all Boeing 737 fleet is something that definitely piques my curiosity. Southwest stated they feel this will be one of the smoothest transitions. AirTran already has a good system with their 717 and 737 aircraft and they plan to keep AirTran’s current system of organizing the different planes.

When asked about the Boeing 717 and Boeing 737-500, which are designed to serve similar markets, Southwest stated that the 737-500′s will be coming off lease in 2013-2015. At that time, they will want to have a newer small aircraft to replace them. They made it sound like the Boeing 717 would do that perfectly, but I am not so sure. I wonder if the Boeing 717 is the right aircraft type to provide smaller markets. It seems it might be beneficial for Southwest to look at not being an “all Boeing” airline and start looking at Bombardier C-series aircraft.

Another big interest is Southwest being able to start flying out of Atlanta (ATL). They seem very excited to get AirTran’s slots and are already planning to serve at least 24 new destinations from ATL that AirTran doesn’t currently serve. Southwest stated they aren’t looking to directly complete with any airlines in ATL (aka Delta), but am guessing there is more talk of competition behind closed doors. Southwest explained they hope they could offer airfares as much as 40% lower to ATL than the competition (aka Delta). Now that sounds like competitive talk to me. It looks like ATL will become quite important to Southwest. They stated that Atlanta might quickly become the largest city in their network, flying up to 2,000,000 passengers to the airport.

Some media voiced their concern about loyal AirTran passengers who are used to Business Class, Wi-Fi on all their flights and assigned seats. This is a big change to transition to all economy, Wi-Fi on some aircraft (will be all by mid-2013) and open seating. Southwest didn’t seem too concerned. They stated they know there are quite a few loyal Southwest passengers who would love to fly them into ATL, but just can’t do it right now. They also plan to educate fliers to promote Southwest’s unique brand of service.

Southwest stated that they aren’t looking to eliminate AirTran with the buy out, but that they hope to learn from them in every way they can to make a bigger and better airline. With Southwest announcing they will be flying into larger airports like Newark on top of buying out AirTran, it is anyone’s guess what Southwest might do next. There was talk of flying longer distances possibly Hawaii (which was mentioned half a dozen times), South America and more. I say… game on.

What’s the Difference Between Airline Merger and Buy-Out?

David Parker Brown — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:00:14 +0000

Northwest Airlines Boeing 757

There has been a lot in the news about airline mergers and buy outs. Delta & Northwest, United & Continental and most recently AirTran & Southwest. Some in the media throw around “merger” and “takeover” interchangeably, but they are very different. When two airlines come together, there are two types of sale agreements: the merger and the takeover.

I got an email from a reader (thanks Jay) asking about the difference between an airline merger and take over. I am not a financial professional, but I want to try my best to point out the major differences. If you have any more to add, please feel free to leave a comment!

MERGER:
This is when two companies come together blending their assets, staff, facilities, and so on. After a merger, the original companies cease to exist, and a new company arises instead. Sometimes the new entity will take the name and brand from one of the airlines, but sometimes an entirely new brand can be created.

Delta and Northwest merged, leaving the Delta brand. United and Continental merged, which will leave the United brand. In mergers like these, management needs to work hard to come to certain agreements, figure what/who will be cut and how the new airline will operate. Of course, this can be a very complex process for both airlines to undertake.

TAKE OVER / BUY OUT / ACQUISITIONS
In a takeover, a company is purchased by another company. The purchasing company owns all of the target company’s assets including company aircraft, trademarks, routes and so forth. The original company may be entirely swallowed up, or may operate semi-independently under the umbrella of the acquiring company.

In the case of Southwest buying out AirTran, the AirTran brand will disappear and be absorbed by Southwest. It is not a merger and Southwest will own the assets of AirTran and have complete control. This process is easier than a merger, since management at Southwest has the final say, but they need to successfully share their culture with the employees at AirTran and make sure they feel welcome.

Alright, I hope that helps some!

Image: fiveholer

Hey Did You Hear? Southwest to Buy AirTran

David Parker Brown — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:04:51 +0000

I am sure by now you have heard the news that Southwest Airlines is buying AirTran. For me, it was bad timing, since this week has been insane and I haven’t been able to read and absorb this huge news until today. Better late than never right? The benefit, is I get to share some great thoughts from other people as well.

Not that long ago I was questioning if Southwest was eying to buy Sun Country. Ha…I will a little off. Southwest was planning something a little bigger. Yes, the new and bigger Southwest still can’t compare in size with the new Delta and soon to be new United, but Southwest is king of US low cost carriers and this transaction makes them the undisputed champ.

This buy out is huge since AirTran is not a small airline. AirTran has over 8,000 employees and 138 aircraft. To compare Southwest has almost 35,000 employees and 547 aircraft. Southwest is obviously larger, but this will be a huge under taking, since both airlines are quite different.

Here are some of the “big” questions that I keep seeing about the buy out:

* What about the new aircraft type? Southwest previously has only flown Boeing 737′s. AirTran flies both Boeing 737′s and Boeing 717′s. Southwest has stated they will continue to fly the Boeing 717 on shorter routes. Seeing the Southwest livery on a Boeing 717 is quite exciting for most airline nerds and I very much look forward to it.

* Will Southwest start international flying? There has been talk about Southwest flying internationally before this buy out, but they can quickly transition since AirTran already has a few international flights. Southwest confirmed they will be updating their reservation system and move forward with additional international flights.

* Will business class stick around? AirTran has business class, Southwest does not. Southwest will be removing the Business Class seats from the AirTran aircraft and go all economy.

* Is open seating going to stick around? Yes. Like it or not, the open seating will continue to be a unique Southwest trait.

* Southwest won’t start fees will they? No. Southwest is well known for no baggage fees, no ticket changing fees, etc. That will continue to stay the same (at least for now).

* Getting access to Atlanta for Southwest is big right? Very much so. Access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), which is the busiest airport in the world, is a biggie. AirTran build a strong presence at ATL and now Southwest will have instant access to compete directly with Delta.

This just goes to show who the heck knows what Southwest will do in the future. They are now flying to larger airports, going internationally and have multiple aircraft types. It used to be pretty easy to predict what Southwest would do, but now they have gone rogue. I don’t think that is a bad thing and it for sure makes things a bit more interesting.

There has already been so much said about this buy out and I want to share some of the best opinions out there:

* Brett Snyder via his blog CrankyFlier and on BNET has done a great job looking at this merger from a number of different angels:
- First look at the merger
- Frontier and other airlines will benefit from this merger
- 6 Reasons why this merger is a good idea
- 4 Reasons why this merger is a bad idea

* Dan Webb on Things in the Sky has a few quick thoughts on the buy out
* Steven Frischling thoughts on his blog Flying with Fish
* PDF file comparing the two airlines

RUMOR MILL: Will Southwest Airlines Buy Out Sun Country?

David Parker Brown — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:00:43 +0000

Sun Country Boeing 737-800 (N807SY) taken at SEA.

The rumors surrounding Sun Country’s buy-out have been circulating for quite sometime. I have heard that Delta, AirTran or Southwest might be good candidates for a take over. Out of those three, Southwest seems the most likely.

I spoke with representatives from all three rumored buyers and they each had their own unique way of telling me, “no comment.” That was totally expected, since either they honestly have no interest or this is a hot topic and one of them is not ready to let the cat out of the bag. I have spent the last few days trying to get a hold of someone at Sun Country, but with no success. Either this is a topic they want to avoid or they aren’t so keen talking to bloggers.

Sun Country is based at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), which Southwest has recently started to fly into. This being a new market, presumably Southwest would want to be able to grow rapidly. With the recent merger of Delta and Northwest (which was based at MSP), there could be Northwest loyalists who aren’t wanting to start flying Delta and looking for a new airline to LUV.

There is also fleet similarities between Sun Country and Southwest. Sun Country flies Boeing 737-700 and -800′s, while Southwest is just steps away from starting to fly the larger -800 among other versions of the 737. Southwest has been looking at flying internationally and taking over Sun Country would allow them to quickly start. Since Southwest is installing satellite based ROW 44 internet, they would have an advantage over other low cost carriers that fly internationally.

Sun Country recently came out of bankruptcy by creating a viable business plan. Although the airline publicly states they feel confident with their future, this would be a good time for another airline to take them over. Sun Country has announced they will be purchasing new aircraft, expanding routes and hiring 100 new employees. That confidence is good for Sun Country’s future and should make them a better value for possible buyers.

Southwest might also want Sun Country to make their books look better. Since Sun Country flies mostly to leisure travel destinations from the very cold MSP, the first quarter is their best. However, the first quarter is Southwest’s weakest. Combining the two is like completing a financial puzzle.

So most things look like a great match. However, there are always two sides to a story and I spoke with Steven Frischling, who writes the blog Flying With Fish, and he sees some issue with this match up. First, purchasing Sun Country wouldn’t mean that Southwest would be getting their aircraft, “While many look at Sun Country’s fleet as compatible with Southwest Airlines, especially with Southwest announcing that they are exploring the 737-800, Sun Country does not own its fleet. All of its 737-700s & -800s appear to be leased. So a purchase of Sun Country would not include aircraft,” he explained.

He also points out that one of the major reasons airlines will buy out another airline is to get slots at a particular airport. However, slots are not that difficult to get at MSP and Southwest wouldn’t need to buy an airline to increase flights. “Sometimes buying an airline for landing slots, fleet, routes or gates makes sense,” Frischling stated. “While Southwest Airlines is changing how it does business, Sun Country offers Southwest Airlines nothing. The airline is not even a competitor.”

So, this might only be a rumor and nothing will come of it, but it is always fun to think about. The old Southwest probably wouldn’t have any interest in Sun Country, but things have been changing over at the Dallas based airline. Will the new Southwest look to take over Sun Country and expand internationally? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

MORE OPINIONS:
* Ben Mutzabaugh with USA Today
* Terry Maxton with Airline Biz Blog
* Reuters

Image: Drewski2112

AirTran and Frontier Split Ways

David Parker Brown — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:10:30 +0000

AirTran Boeing 717 taking off while Midwest sits in the background

Dan Webb over at Things in the Sky take a look at AirTran and Frontier deciding to end their mutual relationship. Yesterday Webb looked at AirTran announcing they would give you 32 A+ credits (that will get you two round trip tickets) if you donated 50,000 Midwest miles (also good for two round trip tickets) to charity.

This creates a problem. Last year Republic Airlines bought Midwest and Frontier. Recently they announced they would change the name to “Frontier Airlines.” AirTran and Frontier had an agreement to share customers (not a codeshare however) since 2006. AirTran is playing hardball (I think it is pretty genius) to get Midwest customers, yet were still trying to play nice with Frontier.

Webb guessed this probably couldn’t last for long and he was right. Today he posted that AirTran and Frontier have announced the ending to their partnership. Both airlines are competing in Milwaukee and AirTran is trying to steal customers from Midwest during Frontier’s brand transition just didn’t sit well with Frontier (surprise, surprise right?).

It seems AirTran is making a pretty smart move here. Loyal Midwest customers are now looking where they want to place their loyalties. If you remove your miles from the equation, now you have a new Frontier which will be taking a while to create brand consistency (ie: will your flight have DirecTV? Internet? On an Airbus or Regional Jet?), where AirTran has the consistency of having Wi-Fi and XFM radio on all flights.

Either way, the people of Milwaukee should reap the benefit of two airlines competing for their business. Game on!

Image: md11forver

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Final Thoughts About AirTran’s Flight Attendant Training – PART5

David Parker Brown — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:55:29 +0000

Yay! The graduation photo of the newbie class I sat in on!

Have I bored you all with my flight attendant training blogs yet? I hope not. I have enjoyed writing them and I hope you have enjoyed reading them. I know I learned quite a bit and have changed my perspective on what flight attendants do. They frek’n rock!

On this final post I just wanted to talk about some thoughts I had about the experience that didn’t fit into one of the other blogs.

I was originally set up to sit in on two classes for the first day, but the trainers did a great job of moving me around to a bunch of different sessions. The cool part was most students didn’t know who I was until the second day, which meant they weren’t behaving just for me.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to slide down their practice slide during my visit!

The classes and personnel there were all very professional, but also fun. There were some very serious topics discussed, but everyone was able to have a good time and laugh. I personally think building a positive relationship with your co-workers and the company you work for is very vital in the training process. By the end of the second day I really felt part of the AirTran flight attendant team.

During my life, I have had to sit through way too many boring PowerPoint presentations, but luckily the ones at the training were far from boring. I flew a red-eye from Seattle to Atlanta, got three hours of sleep and went right to the training facility, but I didn’t yawn once since it was interactive (I was yawning the second day, not from lack of interest, but lack of sleep catching up with me).

AirTran's training center in Atlanta, GA.

As I showed you, on earlier blogs, the training is very hands on. You aren’t just sitting in the classroom, but out in the mock setups where flight attendants learn how to open/close doors, use evacuation slides, practice safety procedures, try out their in-flight service and much more.

Something I never thought about were the different aircraft types airlines have. Unlike a pilot, a flight attendant is not assigned to a certain aircraft type. This means that flight attendants must know how every plane in the field works. Even though AirTran has an “All Boeing Fleet,” The Boeing 717 started its life as a McDonald Douglas MD-95 and is not very similar to the Boeing 737-700. It can’t be easy being a flight attendants on larger airlines like Delta or American that have to know the systems of many different aircraft types.

That's me. Telling the passengers to sit down and shuddup because we are leaving!

The overall training for new flight attendants lasts about four weeks and is quite intense. About five of the new students that I met were flight attendants from other airlines and wanted to change employers since they heard good things about AirTran. One of the trainees, Alan (Hi Alan!), said this was the best training he had since PanAm. That is a huge compliment since PanAm was known for their amazing training.

Last Friday, April 16th, all the newbie flight attendants I met graduated and will start completing test flights to hone their skills before being released into the wild. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU! Now they will ride on some flights to be tested and then end up on the bottom of the seniority list for which flights they have.

A nice AirTran Boeing 737-700 drawing in the trainer's break room.

Seniority seems to be a pretty big deal in the airline business. The higher up you are, the more benefits you get. Flight attendants will be flying 20 days of the month and off for ten. Those at the bottom of the food chain (ie newbie hires) get last dibs on what days and flights they will fly on. It was interesting that to determine seniority for those in the class, BINGO balls were used.

I went into the training, not quite sure what I was going to get out of it. I think there are a lot of misconceptions of what flight attendants do and the glamor of traveling the world and just serving drinks. I hope this blog series has let you see how complex and important the flight attendant’s job really is. Almost every flight attendant I spoke with says it is the best job in the world and they couldn’t imagine doing anything else. To me, that is pretty cool.

A special thanks to AirTran and all the wonderful people that made this blog series possible!

I have updated my Flickr account with some additional photos taken with my iPhone and the flight attendant’s graduation picture.

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Putting AirTran’s Flight Attendant Training to the Test (Flying from ATL-MKE-SEA) – PART 4

David Parker Brown — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:05:26 +0000

AirTran Boeing 737-700 that I flew from ATL to MKE

What better way to test out the things I learned than flying home via AirTran?

After my second day sitting in on classes, I left the AirTran training center and headed straight to Atlanta International Airport (ATL) for my AirTran flight to Milwaukee (MKE), then back home to Seattle (SEA).

Yesterday I looked at how some airlines provide very little space for passengers, but on this trip, I was lucky enough to test out AirTran’s business class (which has a seat pitch of 37″ — ah yeah!). In Business Class, the seats are bigger, you have more room, free drinks and premium snacks. Being up front also gave me the opportunity to watch what the flight attendants were doing and see if they were doing everything I just learned about earlier that week.

On the flight home, I had a totally different perspective than I had on my previous flights. Like most frequent fliers, I feel like I know how everything works and I don’t need to pay attention. This time, I couldn’t help but notice how the flight attendants did the safety announcements and prepped for the flight.

Once all the passengers boarded, I could see the flight attendants close the front door and arm the slides. When I heard the call, “cross check, all call,” this time I finally knew what it meant. Each flight attendant double checks to make sure both doors in the front and back have the slides armed and then call back, “cross check complete.” This is also done after reaching the gate to make sure the slides are dis-armed.

Once we hit that 10,000 foot mark, it was time to get on to the internet. AirTran and GoGo In-flight were offering WiFi for 20% off, so how could I refuse? Cost me less than $10 and let me have access to the internet on both legs of my flight.

Every AirTran flight has WiFi, which is awesome!

The flight from ATL and MKE went very fast. I caught up on some blogging (what better way to be inspired than blogging at altitude). The leg was uneventful and I enjoyed my free adult beverage and premium snacks. I ended up not having a talkative neighbor and that was ok with me.

When leaving ATL we were told that those of us continuing on to SEA would stay on the same aircraft. Fine by me, I could just surf the internet while waiting. Once we landed, I sat on the plane while others de-boarded around me. One of the flight attendants was standing in front of me thanking the passengers and I started talking to her about how many flights she had left. She told me this was her last flight for her and the plane. I thought she might have just been messing around with me. Turns out, she wasn’t.

With the extra room, my netbook easily bit on the tray and in Business Class you get free drinks!

While in flight AirTran changed plans and now people flying to Seattle would have to change planes. Between that decision being made and us landing at MKE, no one had informed the passengers. Not a big deal, this just meant I got to watch a totally different AirTran crew at work.

In my hurry to get to my next plane, I accidentally left my carry-on bag in the overhead bin. While waiting in the jetway an AirTran pilot who was dead-heading (not flying but commuting from one place to another) asked if I needed help and went to get my bag (since he had the spiffy uniform on, people got out of his way). That was very nice of him, since it was not expected.

There were probably about ten of us who had to change planes who were on our way to Seattle. Most of the others were upset that we weren’t told and found this to be a huge inconvenience. One guy even mentioned that AirTran was definitely going to hear from him about this incident. Really? I mean this stuff happens. The airline business is very complex and planes have to be moved around all the time. We all got our same seats, and left right on time and got to stretch our legs. Not a big deal to me.

I spent two days training with AirTran flight attendants, I flew two flights with two different flight crews from ATL to SEA…how did they do, you ask? Well it depends. Did they do every little thing they were originally trained to do? No, but that seems okay. How many of us do everything exactly the same way we are trained at our job? If I was just a normal passenger, not knowing all the specifics, I would be very impressed.

For example, in Business Class, trash is supposed to be taken away on a tray (vs the economy class uses bags) and bags were used on one of the flights. Do you think anyone came close to noticing that? No. Did passengers get less for their money because their trash was picked up in a bag? I surely hope not.

One of the things I enjoy most about flying on AirTran is that I know that on every plane, every flight will have internet and XFM radio. That is something that’s important to me. AirTran believes consistency is important on every flight; not just with the amenities available, but the type of service that passengers receive. On a flight that takes me 10 hours to get from one side of the country to another, I sure am willing to pay more knowing I will have Wi-Fi: something you can’t always get with others airlines.

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Learning How to Do In-Flight Service with AirTran Flight Attendants – PART 3

David Parker Brown — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:00:45 +0000

That's me, trying out the service cart. Not as easy to handle as it looks and I really should have a second person helping me.

The last two days I have talked about how flight attendants at AirTran learn a lot about safety. Luckily most passengers will never see the safety training in action, but they will see in-flight training in action on every flight.

Flight attendants provide a welcoming environment for passengers and can be the only contact a person has with an airline. Nowadays, with being able to buy tickets and check in online then go right to the gate, passengers don’t interact with other airline employees that often. This means a smile and a positive attitude can go a long way. Sometimes it can be difficult to smile after having a long day and dealing with difficult passengers.

Being a server at a restaurant can be a challenging job. You should try it at 30,000 feet, locked in a rocking cylinder with over 150 customers. It might just look like flight attendants come down the aisle and give you a drink and some peanuts, but it is a bit more complex than that. The process of getting passengers their drinks and snacks starts when the airplane pulls up to the gate.

Practicing pushing the cart in the classroom.

While passengers prepare to board, the catering company will load stocked service carts on the plane. Even though catering companies do a great job of properly loading the carts, it is important for flight attendants to double check. Could you imagine what would happen if there wasn’t any ice on the cart? Passengers would start a riot.

After it is confirmed the carts are properly stocked, it is time to start taking care of the Business Class passengers. The folks up in the front of the plane pay a premium and get the benefit of being offered a drink before the flight takes off. They also receive a higher level of service.

During boarding, it can be a juggle for flight attendants. They welcome people boarding the plane, take orders from Business Class, fill those orders, keep up with the announcements, help passengers find their seats, and work with the overhead bins. There are three flight attendants, but it is a lot to get done before the plane is ready to leave.

Game time! Newbie flight attendants try out their new skills in the mock Boeing 717.

The flight attendant working the front of the plane also needs to make sure they keep tending to the Business Class passengers and pick up any trash before take off. This can be a challenge weaving through boarding passengers.

After trash is picked up, a flight attendant’s job turns back to making sure the passengers take off and reach cruising altitude safely.

Once the plane hits 10,000 feet on AirTran, you can hear the pilot say, “Flight Attendants, departure check.” It is time for the flight attendants to prepare for the flight service. At this time they will also announce that electronic devices can be used. Getting the cart safely out of its housing and preparing it can be quite a challenge, since the aircraft is only at 10,000 feet and still rapidly climbing to around 30,000.

AirTran’s drink selection is quite vast, which means drink orders can get a little more complicated than just “Diet Coke please. ” Since there are so many alcoholic options, the flight attendant also becomes a mini-bartender.

The Newbie Flight Attendants wait outside the mock Boeing 717 to be boarded for their fake flight to no where.

In the training, the flight attendants learn some of the most commonly ordered alcoholic drinks. Luckily they don’t have to make anything too complex, but they want to know what a screw driver is when a passenger asks.

Most AirTran flights have two alcohol kits which holds 70 small alcohol bottles each. Flights to Las Vegas will have three kits, since more alcohol is consumed on those flights on average (and probably need more aspirin for flight from Las Vegas).

Even though there is plenty of alcohol aboard the plane, flight attendants are trained how to respectfully tell a customer that they have had enough to drink. We often hear or read about some passenger getting unruly and it being directly related to alcohol. The high altitude and dry air of the airplane can make passengers feel the affect of alcohol much quicker than on the ground. If a passenger has too much to drink, flight attendants don’t want to create a situation with a drunk and angry passenger by bluntly stating a passenger is too drunk to drink more. Instead, they are trained to politely suggest another type of (non-alcoholic) drink or hint that it might seem the altitude has affected them a little hard.

Getting cups with ice ready and opening drinks you know will be popular (ie Diet Coke) can save time!

There are also specific rules on how to ask passengers if they want a drink. Ladies in a row will be asked first, then passengers in the window seat, middle, and aisle seat last. The plane will be served from the rear of the aircraft to the front. These are things that most people would never notice, but it is something every flight attendant must be aware of (probably the “magic” of in-flight service will be ruined a little since I will now notice all of these little things).

The inside of the mock Boeing 717 with new flight attendants waiting to be served.

Flight attendants must also be aware what time the flight was scheduled to depart. If the flight was scheduled to depart before 10am, that means they are to give out AM snacks and after 10am means passengers will get PM snacks. That seems easy enough, but when you are traveling all over the country or even the world, it can get a bit more complicated.

If the flight is short, there will only be one service, but if the flight is longer, there can be a few services performed in the main cabin. Once the first is done, flight attendants must start to prep for the next. It can be tedious work, but it keeps them busy and out there connecting with passengers.

Learning all of this in the classroom was helpful, but trying it first hand is much more important (and more fun). After a few hours in class, we all headed down the hall to the mock Boeing 717. Being in the mock aircraft seemed to be every one’s favorite (I know I liked it and I got to play with all the buttons). The newbie flight attendants got to practice all their speeches and in-flight service procedures. They actually served real drinks to other classmates (no alcoholic ones), but I was too busy running around getting photos (something that would most likely get me in trouble in a “real” plane) I didn’t get to be served a drink.

I was impressed with how complex just one day of in-flight training was and have a new respect for flight attendants. From what I saw, it looks like AirTran will have a great batch of new flight attendants who should be taking to the skies in the next few weeks, as well as be ready to greet you with a smile!

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VIDEO: Flight Attendants Practice Water Ditch Landing – PART 2

David Parker Brown — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:00:27 +0000

AirTran Flight Attendant Training – Ditching the plane in water from David Brown on Vimeo.

Yesterday I talked about how flight attendants must learn a lot about safety and hopefully never have to use it. Once per year current flight attendants must return to AirTran’s training facility in Atlanta, GA to practice their safety skills. Part of that training involves the proper procedures during a water landing. The recent US Airways ditch in the Hudson River is a reminder that these things can happen and by following the flight attendant’s commands can save lives.

The ditch training was inside a mock Boeing 717 with about seven rows. The flight attendants had no idea that fake smoke would be pumped into the cabin. I knew it was going to be dark (I had night vision on my camera, in reality you could barely see anything). I knew it was a water landing. I knew there was going to be smoke pumped in. I also knew it was all fake. However, once the training started, it was very disorienting and although the flight attendants were yelling to get my life vest, I initially forgot it and had to go back to get it. That could have been the difference between life and death.

In the video you can hear some laughing and we were all having a good time with the practice, but it was taken very seriously. There were only about 15 of us in that small cabin, but it was shocking how long it took us to get out. There obviously was no real panic or rush to save our own lives, I couldn’t imagine the chaos that would occur during a real crash with over 150 passengers trying to evacuate an aircraft.

I wish every passenger could experience something like this, to be prepared to react in a life or death situation, since reading the safety information card, just cannot prepare you.

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Sitting in on AirTran Flight Attendant Training – PART 1

David Parker Brown — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:00:20 +0000

Class of new flight attendants learning how to open and close the main cabin door.

Every time you board an airline you are greeted (at least should be) by a friendly flight attendant. You will also see them serving you drinks, snacks and, if you are lucky, a meal. However, their job is so much more important than the things you see on an average flight. I think each of us frequent fliers feels as though we have a good idea of what a flight attendant’s job duties are. However, I wanted to see what they are taught first hand.

Recently, given the opportunity to see AirTran flight attendants train, I flew down to their flight attendant training program in Atlanta, GA in order to hang out for two days and get to see some of the training each of their flight attendants receive. I was surprised how much I learned in the two days I was down there.

During my visit I was able to see and experience the two main aspects of a flight attendant’s job: taking care of the customers and safety. Luckily airline accidents are rare and most people don’t have to see a flight attendant’s safety training in action, but that training is extremely important.

Current flight attendants putting on full head gear to use while putting out a fire.

There were two classes that I kept bouncing back and forth between. One was a group of new hires (I shall call them “the newbies“) who were about two weeks into their four week training and the other group was current flight attendants (I shall call them “the pros“) who were training just for one day.

The newbies were mostly going through customer service and in-flight service training whereas the pros were practicing different safety procedures. Seeing both sides really let me know how important both aspects are to being a great flight attendant.

Hopefully most people will never have to witness a flight attendant’s safety training kick in, but it could help to save your life someday. During the time I was following the pros around I witnessed them practice putting out fires and providing first aid. They have to know which type of extinguisher to use on specific types of fires, how to make the extinguisher work, when to put on the full head gear and how to properly put out a fire. This stuff is much more complex than just pouring a cup of coffee.

Practicing how to use all the safety equipment and hoping they won't ever have to use it.

While hanging out with the newbies, watching them learn where safety items are located on an aircraft, I asked on Twitter, “Anyone guess the 5 things checked by #AirTranFA [flight attendants] in the [lavatory] during preflight?”

Most people responded with things like, “check the soap level,” or “make sure it is clean.” Although, yes that might be part of their job, no one really answered any safety related questions. Here are the five things they have to check:

1) Make sure the smoke detector is operating.
2) Check the trash lid to make sure it automatically closes. This is because passengers will try to smoke in the lavatories (big no-no) and put their cigarettes out in the trash, which can catch fire.
3) Make sure the fire suppressant system for the trash is full (a bit off topic: I heard a story that some passengers will hover over the toilet and blow smoke down the drain to avoid being detected).
4) Look to see that the “No Smoking” place cards are still there.
5) Make sure the ashtray is functioning. This might seem silly for why there is an ashtray, but in reality passengers will try to smoke on flights and if they do and the alarm goes off, they want them to properly dispose of the cigarette instead of putting it in the trash and possibly starting a fire.

Practicing to make your seat cushion your best friend.

The five items to check in the lavatory are just one example of the many things that flight attendants do, that passengers have no idea about.

Yes, they are going to make sure the bathroom is ready for you to use, but they also make sure it will be a safe flight.

Back in the day, flight attendants had to be nurses. In case something happened mid-flight, they could then assist the passengers. Even though being a nurse is no longer a requirement, they must still be trained in proper CPR procedures. In most cases there will be a trained nurse or doctor on a flight that will be able to assist a passenger in trouble, but if not, flight attendants are trained to keep a sick passenger alive until the flight can land.

Another part of training that the pros went through, was practicing how to handle a plane ditching into the water. Tomorrow I will post about this experience. I don’t want to ruin it, but it involves darkness, smoke, and screaming.

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Southwest Reponds to AirTran’s Cattle Video

David Parker Brown — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:00:25 +0000

A place to take a picture at Southwest Airline's chili feed!

YES! I have been hoping that Southwest responds to AirTran’s cattle video. In case you missed out, let me catch you up:

Move #1 Southwest had a TV spot that poked fun at AirTran charging for bags.

Move #2 AirTran responded by doing a fun web video saying that Southwest passengers were just a bunch of cattle.

Move #3 Southwest has a fun little spot to take a photo at their Chili Cook-off they had this weekend that says, “The Only Cattle Here is in our Chili.”

Touche Southwest. I think this puts the ball back in AirTran’s court. To me this sort of friendly banter is fun and can cause some brand loyalty.

Photo in post found via @FlyingPhoto‘s Twitter and here is a second one from @Packedandready.

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In Flight Back to Seattle (Before stopping at Milwaukee)

David Parker Brown — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:29:54 +0000

Taken right now. Glad I got a mini-laptop and yes that is an "adult" drink, but I am sitting up front & it's free! Reading a sweet blog.

Currently flying at 30,000 feet on an AirTran flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee and back home to Seattle. I love flying and I love the internet. Having the internet while flying is awesome.

I have spent the last two days in Atlanta at AirTran’s Atlanta Corporate Center, where flight attendants are trained. Sorry I haven’t had any new blogs (am going to work on a few while flying), but I ended up with a lot less free time than I expected.

However the things I have experienced, and the people I met were amazing. I have always respected the job flight attendants do, but my respect has gone to a whole new level.

I plan to be working on a few blogs about the experience over the weekend and post them next week. Thanks for everyone who was following me on Twitter and a thanks to AirTran for hosting me and being very welcoming.

Ok we are starting our decent into MKE, so I better post the blog!

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Heading to Atlanta!

David Parker Brown — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:10:20 +0000

My custom luggage handles...yes I am a nerd.

I am sitting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport once again (and enjoying their free wi-fi). I am off to Atlanta to do some cool things with AirTran for the next few days. Just in time, I have been getting that desire to get airborne again!

I am going to learn some aspects of being a a flight attendant at AirTran’s training facility, which will kick off a new series on my blog where I explore different airline related jobs. You can expect some blogs on my adventure in the near future and until then follow my Twitter.

Because of scheduling I am actually going to be flying a red-eye on US Airways to Charlotte, then down to Atlanta. It will be a long night, but who needs sleep? US Airways just announced they have started providing GoGo Inflight WiFi on a few of their Airbus A321′s. Just so happens I am flying a A321 to Charlotte. Part of me hopes it doesn’t have WiFi so I can get some sleep.

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AD WARS! AirTran Responds to Southwest’s Commercial

David Parker Brown — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:56:01 +0000

Last week Southwest Airlines had a commercial poking fun that passenger’s bags don’t fly for free on other airlines. The plane used in the ad was an AirTran Boeing 717 (even though the name was blurred out). Well, AirTran fights back with this funny (and creative) ad showing Southwest passengers as cattle and a little “yee-haw” action to boot.

Most people might have not realized that was an AirTran Boeing 717 used in the Southwest ad, but it is quite obvious that it is Southwest Airlines in the AirTran ad.

Man I love a good advertisement war. Southwest, it is your move .

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VIDEO: What’s Wrong With This Southwest Airlines Commerical?

David Parker Brown — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:10:20 +0000

Dan Webb over at Things in the Sky asked today “What’s Wrong With This Southwest Ad?” and I found one of the two things off with it. Can you find both or even more?

For airline livery nerd, you can see the plane shown is an AirTran Boeing 717 (with logos and registration number hidden).

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