'Knee defender' gadget causes in-flight tussle NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A passenger scuffle at 35,000 feet is keeping a Washington, D.C., entrepreneur busy.
Ira Goldman, the inventor of a pair of clips called "Knee Defender," says the website that sells the product has been overwhelmed since reports of the fight on the Newark-Denver flight surfaced. The Knee Defender clips block passengers from reclining an airline seat.
"We had 500 times the normal traffic," said Goldman. "Maybe Amazon can handle that, but I can't."
The site is back up, and Goldman believes he has enough of the clips in inventory to handle the surge in orders. The Knee Defenders sell for $21.95 a pair, plus shipping and handling.
Allegiant Travel Company, incorporated on April 4, 2006, is a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of small, underserved cities in the United States. The Company operates a passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in small cities, allowing it to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, it provides air transportation under fixed fee flying arrangements. The Company provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2013, its operating fleet consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft providing service on 191 routes to 85 cities including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities and including cities served seasonally. In January 2012, the Company took ownership of two MD-80 aircraft. In October 2012, the Company announced the formation of Allegiant Systems, a joint venture with AvIntel and Lixar IT.
The Company provides unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include use of its Website for purchases, use of its call center for purchases, advance seat assignment, baggage fees, priority boarding, its own travel protection product, change fees, food and beverage purchases on board and other air-related services. The Company offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show tickets) bundled with the purchase of its air transportation.
The Company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis for other customers. As of February 1, 2013, its operating aircraft consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft. D! uring the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has entered into purchase agreements to acquire seven Airbus A320 aircraft and operating lease agreements for an additional nine Airbus A319 aircraft.
The Company competes with AirTran, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta, Xtra, United and American.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
LM Otero/AP DALLAS -- The federal government is suing Southwest Airlines (LUV) after failing to reach a settlement with the carrier over allegations that repairs to dozens of planes didn't meet safety standards. The Justice Department sued Southwest on Monday in federal district court in Washington state. The lawsuit seeks to enforce $12 million in civil penalties that the Federal Aviation Administration announced in late July. The government says that starting in 2006 Southwest hired a contractor to make extensive repairs on 44 planes to prevent the aluminum skin from cracking. The FAA says the contractor, Aviation Technical Services Inc. of Everett, Washington, failed to follow proper procedures. "We dispute the FAA's allegations and look forward to the opportunity to vigorously defend Southwest's record in a court of law," Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said Monday night. The Southwest case is the second-largest penalty that the FAA has ever sought against an airline, behind only a $24.2 million case against American Airlines. Typically, airlines negotiate with the FAA to reduce the penalties. The FAA hit Southwest with $10.2 million in penalties in 2008, and that case was settled a year later for $7.5 million. The government's decision to sue Southwest barely three months after announcing the most recent penalty indicated the wide gap between the two sides. The most serious allegation in the current case involves replacement of parts of the fuselages on 44 planes. The FAA said Aviation Technical Services workers under Southwest's supervision put sealant under the new skin panels but didn't install all the rivets fast enough for the sealant to be most effective, which could create gaps for moisture to penetrate and cause corrosion. Dallas-based Southwest returned the planes to service in 2009 and kept flying some of them for months after the FAA warned the airline of the improper repairs, the FAA said. Regulators approved later repairs. Pass
- [By Chris Dieterich]
Airlines consume a huge amount of fuel, so much in fact that fuel accounts for roughly one-third of the industry’s operating expenses. Most airlines hedge the price of fuel to reduce price volatility. Not American Airlines (AAL) or Allegiant Travel (ALGT), Morgan Stanley says, making them the two clearest beneficiaries of lower oil prices.
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (NAS)
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA is a Norway-based company active in the low-cost airline industry. It operates scheduled services with additional charter services. It has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East, as well as Thailand and the US. The Company operates approximately 400 routes and over 120 destinations. It has a fleet of over 80 jet aircrafts, including Boeings 737-800, Boeings 787-8 Dreamliners, Boeings 737 MAX8 and Airbuses A320neo. It is the parent company of the Norwegian Group and operates through subsidiaries, including Norwegian Air Shuttle Polska Sp z o o, Norwegian Air Shuttle Sweden AB, Call Norwegian AS, NAS Asset Management Norway AS, among others.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By GURUFOCUS]
EMC�� products ��both hardware and software - are litearlly a geek�� wonderland alphabet soup, which include Storage Area Network (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), Direct Attached Storage (DAS), Virtual SAN, All-Flash XtremIO, Atmos, Avamar, �Data Domain, Isilon, Pivotal, ViPR Software Defined Storgae, VMAX, VNX, VNXe, VPLEX, VSPEX (none of these are typos).� Information storage makes up 70% of revenues and virtualization 23% of revenues.� Products generate 55% of revenues.� Services generate 45% of revenues.� The Company�� gross profit split is approximaltey 67% data storage and 31% virtualization.
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: AMR Corp (AAMRQ)
AMR Corporation (AMR), incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company�� principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle - American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American�� passenger fleet.
To improve access to each other�� markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airl! ines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products and services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.
The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
The proposed merger between AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ ) and US Airways (NYSE: LCC ) is reaching the final stages of the antitrust review process. The Department of Justice has been taking depositions recently, in an effort to gather testimony that will inform its decision of whether or not to approve the merger.
- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
The move away from fuel hedging has worked out well for US Airways -- despite the fact that oil prices have risen dramatically from 2009 to today. Since 2010, US Airways has paid a lower average fuel price compared to each of the four largest airlines in the country -- AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ ) , Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) , Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV ) , and United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) -- all of which use fuel hedges extensively.
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: United Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL)
United Continental Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo air transportation services. As of February 24, 2011, it operated a total of approximately 5,675 flights a day to 372 airports on 6 continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, as well as in Washington, D.C. The company was formerly known as UAL Corporation and changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. on October 1, 2010. United Continental Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Burke Speaker, Investorplace Writer United Airlines (UAL]
United Airlines (UAL) announced that it will honor the airline tickets it accidentally sold online Thursday to customers for free or for between $5 and $10.
- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) and American Airlines (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ ) could be affected the most. The two carriers were already at the bottom of last year's Airline Quality Rating survey. Furthermore, both airlines have a strategy of building hubs in the top business markets. These cities ��such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles ��tend to have the most crowded airspace. As a result, these carriers are likely to have multiple hubs hit with significant delays on peak travel days, which could snarl operations across their systems. JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU ) could also see a disproportionate effect because its main base of operations is at New York's busy JFK Airport.
- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
The move away from fuel hedging has worked out well for US Airways -- despite the fact that oil prices have risen dramatically from 2009 to today. Since 2010, US Airways has paid a lower average fuel price compared to each of the four largest airlines in the country -- AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ ) , Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) , Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV ) , and United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) -- all of which use fuel hedges extensively.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Hero Images Inc./Alamy Using a credit card to earn frequent flier miles is a popular way to get free travel. For example, I am flying to California this Thanksgiving. I was able to book my $650 roundtrip with 25,000 miles and a fee of $11.20. That means my miles were worth 2.6 cents each. Or, to put it a different way, I earned a 2.6 percent return on my credit card spending. However, which frequent flier strategy will be best for you is not always obvious. To make the smartest decision, you should ask yourself: On which airline should I earn my miles? For my chosen airline, which credit card should I use? Airline Choice If you are a frequent flier, then the answers may be obvious. For example, if you fly 30,000 miles a year on Delta (DAL) for work, then topping up your air miles with credit card miles makes a lot of sense. But if you don't travel a lot for business, then you should let the numbers guide your airline choice. And you really shouldn't think about a lifetime loyalty strategy. Instead, you should think about your immediate travel goal. A free trip to Hawaii? Or Europe? Or do you just want to fly home for Thanksgiving, like I did? Your answer impacts the airline that you should chose. When redeeming miles for a free trip, airlines offer multiple redemption tiers. For example, if you want a free trip in the continental United States, American Airlines (AAL) offers MileSAAver awards (25,000 miles for a round-trip ticket), but they are only available some of the time. AAnytime Awards cost 40,000 miles. That is a huge difference. A MileCard.com study showed big differences among airlines on how many miles are required, on average, to redeem for a free ticket. For example, if you want to fly to Hawaii, the average number of miles required was 65,463 at Delta vs. 82,246 at American. Here is a summary of the best airlines, and the miles required, by region. Remember, these are averages based upon historic data, and your mileage requirement may diff
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: Singapore Airlines Ltd (SINGY)
Singapore Airlines Limited is a passenger air transportation company. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in passenger and cargo air transportation, engineering services, training of pilots, air charters and tour wholesaling and related activities. The Company consists of 101 aircrafts. The Company operates in four segments: airline operations, cargo operations, engineering services and others. The Company's subsidiaries are SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC), SIA Cargo and SilkAir (Singapore) Private Limited (SilkAir). Effective December 24, 2013, Singapore Airlines Ltd, a unit of Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, raised its interest to 40.004% from 32.67% by acquiring a 7.334% interest in Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd from Dahlia Investments Ptye Ltd and Aranda Investments Pte Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Bruce Kennedy]
Business travel columnist Joe Brancatelli reports the world's longest non-stop commercial route, the Singapore Airlines (OTC: SINGY) 18-hour, business class-only flight between Newark, N.J. and Singapore, will end on Saturday. The airline also retired the world's second-longest non-stop flight, Los Angeles-to-Singapore, last month.
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: Air France KLM SA (AFLYY.PK)
Air France-KLM SA (Air France-KLM), incorporated on April 23, 1947, is an airline engaged in the business of passenger transportation. It has four segments: Passenger, Cargo, Maintenance and Other. The Company�� primary business is to hold direct or indirect interests in the capital of air transport companies and, more generally, in any companies in France or elsewhere whose purpose is related to the air transport business. Air France-KLM activities also include cargo, aeronautics maintenance and other air-transport related activities including, principally, catering and charter services. At March 31, 2011, the Air France-KLM group fleet consists of 609 aircraft, of which 593 were operational. At March 31, 2011, 274 aircraft were fully owned (45% of the fleet), 117 aircraft were under finance lease representing 19% of the fleet and 218 under operating lease representing 36% of the fleet.
Passenger
Passenger operating revenues primarily come from passenger transportation services on scheduled flights with the Company�� airline code, including flights operated by other airlines under code-sharing agreements. They also include commissions paid by SkyTeam alliance partners, code-sharing revenues, revenues from excess baggage and airport services supplied by the Company�� to third party airlines and services linked to information technology (IT) systems.
Cargo
Cargo operating revenues come from freight transport on flights under the companies��codes, including flights operated by other partner airlines under code-sharing agreements. Other cargo revenues are derived principally from sales of cargo capacity to third parties. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, the Company transported more than 1.5 million tons of cargo, of which 66% in the bellies of passenger aircraft and 33% in the cargo fleet, to a network of approximately 254 destinations in approximately 111 countries. Air France-KLM Cargo has a product range organized around four prod! uct families, Equation, Cohesion, Variation and Dimension.
Maintenance
Maintenance operating revenues are generated through maintenance services provided to other airlines and customers globally. The Company�� two engine shops are located in Amsterdam and Paris. CFM56 engine shops support the fleet of CFM56-5 power plants in the world, with nearly 400 engines operated by numerous airlines. CF6-80E1 provides full-service maintenance. KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) provides an alternative to the manufacturer�� services in terms of overhaul and services on this engine with its offering supported by technological infrastructure.
Other
The revenues from this segment come primarily from catering supplied by the Company to third-party airlines and to charter flights operated primarily by Transavia. The catering business is regrouped around Servair, an Air France subsidiary which generates more than 90% of the revenues of this activity, and KLM Catering Services, a subsidiary of KLM.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By El Torero]
The airline will undoubtedly pounce on the likely failings of rival companies, though this is also an area where easyJet will be eager to move in. Spanair is gone as is Malev Zrt, two former Ryanair rivals. Air France-KLM (AFLYY.PK) and Iberia are in trouble, among other European airlines. Ryanair will take advantage of such weaknesses in its aim of becoming Europe's out-and-out dominant short-haul carrier. As other airlines cut routes, airports are now looking to Ryanair to take up the newly available airport space. As a result of this, with "opportunities opening up in Germany, Scandinavia and Central Europe" in particular, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, Howard Millar sees the Irish company increase its market share from 15 percent to 20 percent before the end of the decade.
Hot Airline Stocks To Own For 2015: Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK)
Alaska Air Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, Alaska Airlines, Inc. and Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operates as an airline company serving destinations in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company provides passenger air services; and freight and mail services primarily to and within the state of Alaska and on the West Coast. As of December 31, 2009, it operated a fleet of 110 jet aircraft; and Horizon Air Industries operated a fleet of 18 jets and 40 turboprop aircraft. The company was founded in 1932 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Paul R. La Monica]
Smaller airlines Alaska Air (ALK), JetBlue (JBLU) and Spirit (SAVE) have also fallen, but not as much as the big four national carriers.
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Delta Air Lines (DAL) is leading the pack after reporting traffic figures for the past month; its shares are down 5.5%.�American Airlines�(AAL) also is off 5%, and United Continental Holdings (UAL) is off 6.4%. Domestically-oriented airlines fared better, but shares also are in the red:�JetBlue Airways (JBLU) �and Alaska Holdings (ALK) are each down roughly 2%, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) is down nearly 1%.
- [By Teresa Rivas]
Earlier this week, they cut their rating on budget carrier Spirit Airlines (SAVE), and upgraded JetBlue (JBLU) to Buy in late August. �Today, they reiterated their Outperform rating and $58 price target on Alaska Air Group (ALK), writing that the company continues to post solid results despite a difficult macro environment�� fact that the market isn�� fully valuing.
- [By Michael Lewis]
Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK ) may be the best airline available to investors. It's been incredibly successful in its slow, steady expansion plan that not only increases routes but increases revenue per seat along the way. It's no secret either, as the stock has gone up north of 80% in the last 12 months. Yet, even with its tremendous run-up in stock price, the company still trades under 10 times forward earnings. Let's take a look at the first quarter and see if it's time to back up the truck for Alaska Air.
“I think 2008 crystallized this idea that you need to be diversified,” Sundt (left) said in a recent interview with ThinkAdvisor. “The people who didn’t have diversified portfolios to this day are still suffering. It’s a stark reminder that you had better build a portfolio that can survive bad unforeseen outcomes.”