TheAirlineBlog.com is now AirlineReporter.com
Thursday the 23rd will mark this blog’s first year and it has been a VERY exciting year. I have been able to participate in great adventures and meet some wonderful people. I have gone from family and friends reading a year ago to thousands of people reading from 111 different countries from around the world (still no readers from Azerbaijan, but 5 from Albania!).
One issue I have run into with creating this blog is name-confusion. There are other websites out there with similar names and it has caused confusion for readers and others in the industry. Even though I will lose time and money with this transfer, I feel it is the best move to do now before the blog grows any more since I wouldn’t want readers to confuse my blog with others.
I am VERY excited with the blog’s new name. I surveyed over 50 people I trust and spent hours looking at different possibilities. AirlineReporter.com has everything I wanted in a new domain name (and I get to keep my cool wing-A logo). A lot has changed in the last year, and I’m planning more changes, but still keeping the core of what this blog is about. I already have one additional blogger and editor, Amy Franklin, and I hope to grow in the number of bloggers in the near future.
Even with growth and change, I want to keep the basic concept of the blog the same: being able to share what is going on in the airline business in a way that anyone from industry experts to airline hobbyists can read and enjoy. And of course there has to be a little humor thrown in there too (Crazier Than Ryanair medal anyone?).
I will slowly transition to the new name, still posting on here to remind people to change over their bookmarks, RSS feeds, etc for a while. Thanks everyone for all your support and I look forward to bringing you the same great blog, under a new, better name: AirlineReporter.com.
Boeing 757 VQ-BCn special livery "Northern lights"
Yakutia Airlines is based in Yakutsk Russia and was founded in 2002. It has fleet of about 40, made up of mostly Russian built aircraft. This one shown in the photo is one of three Boeing 757’s currently being leased from Icelandair.
Three videos that teach you Wi-Fi do's and don'ts
A while back I was able to fly to Baltimore and be a part of AirTran’s wifi unveiling. I was excited to see the new technology first hand, but was disappointed when my AirTran flight back to Seattle didn’t have WiFi. Well, now there is no more wondering! 100% of AirTran’s planes now have WiFi. The beauty of all aircraft on a single airline having WiFi, is you no longer have to wonder. You know by flying on AirTran or Virgin American you will be able to enjoy WiFi.
To assist with folks getting use to having the internet in close proximity of other people, AirTran has created a website to teach you about Internetiquette (awesome word). It has three funny videos and an online brochure. Bonus points for anyone who can take a picture while looking at these on an AirTran flight!
RIP JetAmerica
I am not normally one to gloat and say “I told you so” but JetAmerica kind of asked for it. After Jaunted and CrankyFlier pointed out that JetAmerica was going to be delayed, I jumped on the “blogger bandwagon” and came out to say “I might eat my words, but I am guessing the airline won’t fly on July 13th and it might never fly at all.”
Brian Burling, JetAmerica’s vice president of operations countered all the negativity with, “People should not be so quick to jump to negative conclusions about JetAmerica. I am particularly referring to internet bloggers and naysayers who are predicting the worst.”
Today JetAmerica announced it just isn’t happening, they are throwing in the towel. Honestly, I wish I was wrong. Really I do. I think all of us airline bloggers love it when new airlines start up – they give us something to blog about. But this one just didn’t feel right.
Bryan Glazer, spokesperson for JetAmerica stated, “Don’t be surprised if JetAmerica comes back with new routes and new destinations.”
I won’t hold my breath…
The days when the airline would help you light up.
The Gadling is reporting that entrepreneur Alexander Schoppmann is hoping to start a smoking-only airline. Schoppmann is currently looking for capital to start Smintair (which stands for Smoker’s International Airways).
The new airline is not looking to cater to the average working Joe, but to people with some extra cash. The airline will only have First and Business class. The airline is planning to have two Boeing 747’s flying from Europe to Japan. The concept is to have no seats on the upper deck and for it to be a lounge. New ventilation systems would be installed on the aircraft allowing for better fresh air recirculation on the smoke-filled flights. Schoppmann is hoping to have the airline up and running by next summer.
Can this concept work? Maybe. There is a much larger smoking population in Germany and Japan than in the US. Also, with the economic crunch a lot of companies are cutting out their business jets and this might provide a cheaper alternative. It would be like an exclusive country club in the air and probably big business deals could take place in mid-flight. It will be interesting to see if Smintair will ever take off — other sites were reporting the first flight was supposed to be December 2007, so we will have to wait and see!
Image: theage.com.au