Outsourcing at Frontier confirmed

Frontier Airlines has revealed that the jobs of around 700 of its employees are to be outsourced and that this will affect all of its destinations, save Denver International.

Currently some 60% of Frontier’s stations are staffed by employees from other companies. This latest announcement will have an impact on gate, ticket counter and ramp staff at 28 locations.

“We need to take every reasonable measure to ensure the future stability and viability of our company and to keep our costs low for our customers,” the airline’s spokesperson, Kate O’Malley, said in a statement. The outsourcing initiative is not expected to compromise customer service, and the replacement employees will receive the same Frontier training as current employees. Frontier has said that it will also work with other companies to help their employees apply for jobs with a new employer.

Having been through the bankruptcy process and relocated its headquarters from Indianapolis, the carrier has been looking hard at means whereby it can gain a competitive edge.

Load factors show promise for 2013

WestJet Airlines has revealed that its January load factor was a record 80.9%, which was slightly better than the comparable 2012 figure of 79.9%.

Traffic, as measured by revenue passenger miles, climbed by 7.7% year over year, while capacity, in available seat miles, was up 6.4% on the previous year.

The January load factor was the seventh consecutive monthly record for WestJet.

Similarly, Air Canada reported higher monthly passenger levels for January, as demand for air travel remained strong in the wake of the holiday season. Air Canada said that its load factor rose to 79.4%, again a record for January: this compares with 79.1% that was posted a year earlier.

On time delivery is getting even better

Airlines for America, which is the industry trade organization for the leading US carriers, has said that airlines are continuing to deliver a strong on-time performance. In particular, it notes the second best November on-time results that have ever been recorded. According to the latest Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report, airlines also had the best November on record for baggage handling performance.

The DOT Report records that 85.7% of flights arrived within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time, which was second only to November 2009, which set a record of 88.6%. Encouragingly, these results are up from November 2011, which posted an on-time arrival rate of 85.3%. In addition, 99.7% of all US airline passengers had their bags correctly handled, yet another encouraging result.

As an update, United Airlines has just announced that it exceeded its 80% on-time arrival domestic and international performance goals for the month of January, and that it would be rewarding its eligible employees with a US$100 on-time bonus to recognize this fact. Despite challenging weather conditions across the system, the airline ended the month with an 82.8% domestic on-time arrival rate, and an 80.5% international on-time rate, resulting in the best combined domestic and international performance figures for the month in a decade.

On-time arrival rates are based on flights arriving within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival time.

 

United invests in static assets

Last month United Airlines unveiled its new United Club lounge in Terminal 2 at Chicago O’Hare International airport.

The carrier has said that this lounge will become the first of several new lounges that it will be introducing worldwide. The 13,300 square foot facility has an expansive bar and lounge area, redesigned furniture and additional workstations and power outlets. Members will receive complimentary snacks, beverages and free wi-fi use.

United has added that it plans to spend more than US$50m this year on the renovation of several of its 51 locations. This is in addition to over US$550m that it will be investing in fleet-wide changes.

 

FAA finds simple solution to airport efficiency

The Federal Aviation Administration reports that it has boosted overall efficiency at Memphis airport by more than 15%, all through the expedient of reducing time separation between the majority of FedEx’s aircraft.

These new standards, which were initially rolled out at Memphis late last year, are set to be expanded to other airports which feature concentrations of wide-body aircraft: these include San Francisco, Louisville and Atlanta. The changes will occur over the course of the next two years, says the FAA.

In order to effect the environmentally-friendly changes, minimum spacing between departing aircraft was reduced to 2.5-3 miles; latterly, this gap was typically 4 miles. Wake turbulence is the deciding factor here, for it is important that a following aircraft is not affected by the wake of the one in front. FedEx’s fleet comprises many MD-11, B767 and A300 types and it has managed to cut an average of three minutes off the taxi-ing time by having aircraft proceed directly from the stand to the runway. This translates into a time saving of 30 seconds in the run-up to takeoff clearance. The overall gains are apparent in the areas of fuel consumption, noise levels and emissions.

Perhaps best of all is the fact that this initiative has done away with any requirement for new runway areas or other airfield development. The scheme is just one part of the FAA’s long term plan that will see it overhaul the air traffic system with a combination of new technology, equipment and procedures that is known as NextGen.

 

Looking after one’s assets

On January 18, United Airlines opened the airline’s new employee health clinic at O’Hare International. The clinic, managed by Walgreens, will serve employees’ health needs, such as urgent care for routine illness, travel and other immunizations, including ’flu shots, prepackaged medications, job-related physical training and pre-employment physical check-ups, at no cost to the employee. These, and other health care services, are now available to all United employees, including more than 10,000 co-workers around the Chicago area.

“We’re continuing to make significant investments in United, including investments in our co-workers,” confirmed Jeff Smisek, United’s Chairman, President and CEO. “This clinic will offer convenient health services at no charge to keep our co-workers feeling and performing well.”

The 5,200 square foot facility is located in the airport’s Terminal 2 arrivals area, and is the only one of its kind for any airline at O’Hare.