Alaska Air’s ‘Space Bins’ come amid broader cabin upgrades
The first airline in America to install the new 787-type bins on a 737 is Alaska Airlines. These bins will take roll aboards in a sideways configuration that allows three bags to be placed above every row of three seats.
On Friday, the carrier will become the first in the world to take a plane with Boeing’s new “Space Bins,” which will boost carry-on capacity by about 50 percent. On Alaska Airlines’ 737-900 version of the 737, the bins will increase carry-on capacity from 117 to 174 bags on the 181-seat jet.
“Virtually everyone can carry on a bag, which is fantastic,” Woerner. “This is kind of another notch in that rung in terms of trying to deliver what’s right for the customer.”
Airports create hotel complexes aiming to become destinations
The TWA JFK terminal is slated to be turned into a “505-room hotel, with 40,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants and a spa, and a 10,000-square-foot observation deck.” This is one of the big construction projects that will create destination and meeting hotels at airports.
As airports become more competitive, vying for tourists and business travelers, they are getting into the hotel business. Within the last 16 months, San Francisco International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Kennedy announced intentions to build on-site airport hotels. The Westin Denver International Airport is scheduled to open in November.
Etihad Airways partnerships increase consumer choice globally
The President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways stated that airlines need to differentiate themselves and find ways to link with other established airlines to create a joint, growing revenue base.
Speaking in Milan at the 45th World Congress of the International Association of Financial Executives Institutions, Mr Hogan [President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways] said the combined strength of Etihad Airways, its seven equity partners and its codeshare partners created a network of almost 600 destinations – five times the core network operated by Etihad Airways.
But he said the equity strategy also delivered benefits to the partner airlines and their combined customers which otherwise would only be available through a merger or takeover.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.