Business

American Airlines Debuts New Jet Aimed for Long Flights

Published

9 years ago

May 8, 2015

An American Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes off for Chicago O’Hare International Airport on its debut flight, Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas. American joins United as the only U.S. airlines using the plane, which American hopes will appeal to passengers and open new, profitable international routes. (Ron Jenkins/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram via AP)

DAVID KOENIG, AP Airlines Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — After years of delay, the world’s biggest airline is finally using one of the newest passenger jets.

American Airlines began flying the Boeing 787 between Dallas and Chicago on Thursday — a warm-up for the jet’s real role on long international flights. By August, American will be flying 787s from the U.S. to Beijing, Buenos Aires, Shanghai and Tokyo. More routes are in the works, company officials say.

The plane, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, is starting to live up to its promise of giving more travelers the chance to fly nonstop to distant places. Among the new Dreamliner routes:

— Austin, Texas, to London on British Airways.

— Boston to Tokyo on Japan Airlines.

— Denver to Tokyo on United Airlines.

— San Francisco to Chengdu, China, also on United.

Before, those trips likely would have required a connecting flight.

“For the passenger, it means one less stop and a lot of hours in time savings,” said Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst at Leeham Cos. Boeing said airlines around the world have added about 50 routes that didn’t exist before the 787.

The 787 is made with lots of lightweight carbon material and other advances to improve fuel efficiency by up to 20 percent. That cuts costs.

And since the Dreamliner has fewer seats than jumbo jets, airlines feel less pressure to slash fares to fill them up. That boosts revenue per passenger.

“The economics are so much better than with the (Boeing) 777-200,” Hamilton said, referring to a plane that American uses on many international flights.

American will use the 787 on U.S.-to-Asia routes that it launched using bigger, less efficient planes.

Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines Group Inc., said it would be an overstatement to say that his airline would have ignored destinations like Beijing without the Dreamliner — they are strategic, important markets, he said.

“But the aircraft makes them much more viable and makes expansion into other routes much more likely,” Parker said.

Before Thursday, United Airlines was the only U.S. carrier with Dreamliners. Delta Air Lines has ordered some but isn’t scheduled to get them until 2020.

Boeing has delivered more than 250 Dreamliners and has more than 800 orders on backlog. A competitor is on the way — Airbus has taken 780 orders for the A350 but only two are in commercial service.

Design problems, labor strikes and other issues delayed the Dreamliner’s debut. Then there were the overheating batteries that caused regulators to ground the worldwide fleet in 2013 until Boeing came up with a fix. Just last week, U.S. officials directed airlines to shut down the planes’ electrical systems every few months to prevent a total loss of power. And Boeing’s accumulated costs to build the plane have ballooned to $27 billion.

“Boeing underestimated how complicated all the improvements would be,” said Adam Pilarski, an aviation analyst with Avitas. But now, he said, there are enough Dreamliners flying to assure airlines that the fuel savings are real.

The late-2014 collapse in oil prices reduced the savings from more efficient planes. But still, Pilarski expects that the Dreamliner will remain in demand, for now.

“It’s a modern product,” he said. “In a few years, we’ll want the next new plane.”

___

David Koenig can be reached at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

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State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”