Yesterday was a great day for New York City.
If you want proof, watch this video of the press conference announcing Delta’s expansion of Terminal 4. You’ll see one mayor, one governor, one congressman, three state legislators, one city council speaker, one borough president, one Port Authority executive director, one company president, one head of the tourism board, one CEO, and the Dutch minister of transport, public works, and water management.
And they all agree that, as far as days for New York City go, yesterday was pretty swell. Read more
August 12th, 2010 \ Posted in News \ No Comments »
An investor group announced in March that it has acquired the trademarks for Eastern Airlines and plans to launch a new carrier with that name.
But before they do, they may want to consider what happened to Pan Am. Because after 64 years, the storied Pan Am brand ended up not in the skies but on the rails.
The brand was sold off after the original Pan Am’s bankruptcy in 1991. In 1996, the blue Pan Am globe was flying once again on a single A300 christened the Clipper Fair Wind. But the second Pan Am didn’t last long; after a star-crossed merger with Carnival Air Lines, another Pan Am followed the first into bankruptcy. Read more
August 1st, 2010 \ Posted in History, News \ No Comments »
“Airlines are an ego-driven business,” according to airline analyst Robert Mann. “I joke, but only partly, that the three biggest issues in airline consolidation are: What are we going to call it? Where is it going to be based? And who is going to run it?”
It makes sense. If not for ego, why would anyone go into the airline business? To make money? You’d be better off stuffing your money under a mattress. And then setting the mattress on fire.
In any event, the parties to the merger of United and Continental have been careful to treat egos on both sides of the deal equitably. The combined company will be based in Chicago, United’s hometown, but will be led by Continental’s CEO. And it will pair the United name with Continental’s logo, livery, and colours.
You have to wonder how close we were to an airline with Continental’s name and United’s logo. Did they flip a coin? Surely there were no high-priced brand consultants involved. The decision was made in a board room. Then they sent one of the lawyers out to mock up a picture of the new plane in Photoshop.
It remains to be seen how long this arrangement will last. The Continental identity is already nearly twenty years old and looking a bit dated—there may be a redesign in the combined airline’s future.
May 30th, 2010 \ Posted in News \ 259 Comments »
