Ryanair To Stop Accepting Amex For PaymentCiting "excessive charges levied by American Express," Ryanair last week announced that effective June 30 it no longer will accept the card for payment. "These charges are substantially higher than those of the other major credit card issuers," the European low-cost carrier stated, adding that it will continue accepting all other major charge cards. "Customers want the choice to use their cards to earn cash back or Membership Rewards points, and Ryanair has now taken this choice away from them," an Amex spokesperson said. "We think Ryanair should let their customers decide which method of payment they use and not restrict their options. We hope Ryanair will reconsider its decision." Ryanair is the latest carrier to take action on payment costs, following Qantas' decision as of April to add a 1 percent surcharge for all charge card transactions in Australia
(BTN, March 10). British Airways, which in June stopped absorbing credit card merchant fees on U.K. corporate net fares, is in the midst of a legal battle with American Express in the U.S. District Court of Southern New York. Although Ryanair's usage by corporate accounts pales in comparison to BA, its limited presence in traditional distribution channels means corporate buyers must rely on a payment system to track spending on the fast-growing Irish carrier. For corporate buyers, Amex remains the dominant card provider. Cyndi Perper, global commodity manager for U.K.-based Invensys, said that although her company does not book a significant amount of fares on Ryanair, "when travelers use low-cost carriers, we need that spend to come through on the Amex card."
Congress Fine-Tuning FAA ReauthorizationWhile both the U.S. House and Senate this month voted overwhelmingly to appropriate $59 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration's programs and capital improvements during the next four years, it still may be weeks before the bill lands on President Bush's desk. A joint congressional conference committee has been assembled to iron out a handful of the fine points within the Senate and House versions of The Flight 100–Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. "The conference committee most likely will not meet until after the July 4th recess," said a spokesperson for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. "The senators want their staff to sort out many of the differences in the bill before they meet as a committee." The FAA reauthorization bill includes funding for air capacity and safety projects, as well as improvements to the air traffic control system and provisions to improve air security and the overall passenger experience.
United Rolling Out Inflight E-mail, Continental To FollowUnited Airlines last week became the first U.S. carrier to offer two-way e-mail capabilities on domestic flights and plans to make the service available across its entire domestic fleet by year-end. E-mail functionality, furnished by Verizon Airfone JetConnect, is an expansion of previously introduced JetConnect service aboard United's domestic Boeing 767 fleet that offered one-way messaging and Internet access. Continental Airlines, which also has been offering the earlier version of JetConnect, by the end of the month will begin installing on its fleet of Boeing 757s JetConnect's two-way e-mail capability. It expects to complete the upgrade on all narrow-body aircraft by the fall. United, which already offers two-way e-mail capabilities on 18 planes, said JetConnect service with two-way e-mail costs $15.98 per flight and $0.10 for each additional kilobyte over two kilobytes of data transfer.
Delta Pilots To Enter Negotiations With ManagementThe Master Executive Council of the Delta Air Line Pilots Association last week agreed to enter contract negotiations with management. Delta's leadership has said it must reduce labor costs in a challenging industry. The carrier's current pilots contract, negotiated in a much stronger economy, is among the most costly in the industry. No negotiating schedule has been set. Pilots unions at American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways already have agreed to concessions as part of far less costly contracts.
Major Carriers Adding More FlightsAmerican, United and Continental airlines each recently announced further service expansions
(BTN, June 9). American added 96 nonstop frequencies in more than 50 markets. United, which boosted its June schedule by 10 percent, is tacking another 54 flights to its July schedule, including restored service to the Asia/Pacific. Continental, through a new partnership with SkyWest, this summer will reinstate four intra-Texas routes from Houston and "provide competition for flights to Dallas Ft. Worth." Continental on Aug. 1 also will resume nonstop service between Newark and Hong Kong.