The World According to Mandy

Macomb Daily staff writer Amanda Lee gives her take on movies, music, television, technology, games, sports and even soap operas.

WTVO/WQRF – Delta airlines says it will not allow phone calls during its flights.

A company spokesman said the decision is based on feedback from frequent flyers who said in-flight calls would be disruptive.  Last week, the FCC said it was considering lifting its ban on in-flight cell phone use.

Following the announcement, several government officials, including members of Congress and the U.S. Transportation Secretary, said they would work to prevent allowing calls during flights.

Delta Airlines has decided it won’t be allowing passengers to make voice calls from its planes even if the Federal Aviation Administration says it’s okay.

CEO Richard Anderson says the airline’s frequent fliers believe that voice calls in the cabin would disrupt the travel experience.

Delta says a majority of customers in a survey last year said the ability to make voice calls would make their experience worse, not better.

Anderson also says Delta employees, particularly in-flight crews, are against allowing calls during flights.

Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe is expected to announce two more Cabinet appointments today (Dec. 19.)

He has a news conference planned to name his choices for Secretary of Natural Resources and Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry.

Yesterday, he reappointed Bill Hazel as Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

There are still three more Cabinet positions to fill.

Would you make a phone call during a flight if the airline allowed it?

Text YES or NO to 29000. Results on First at 4. Comment on our Facebook page.

(WFLX) – Delta Airlines has just announced it will not allow passengers to make voice calls from its planes.

The airline says its frequent fliers believe the calls in the cabin would disrupt the travel experience.

The Federal Communications Commission is thinking about lifting its ban on voice calls on planes; however, the Transportation Department is thinking about instituting a ban of its own.

Meantime, British Airways has become the first airline in Europe to allow passengers to keep phones, tablets and computers turned on throughout their flight.

Copyright 2013 WFLX. All Rights Reserved.

Delta Airlines is apologizing after issuing a boarding pass with the confirmation code “hate gays.”

Jeff White, a student at the University of West Florida, discovered the code after checking in for his flight earlier this month.

Delta Air Lines apologized for any “concern or misunderstanding,” but insisted that the confirmation codes “are computer-generated and are completely random.Delta Airlines “Hates Gays”

With a strong consumer, rising business confidence and
stable oil prices, it should come as no surprise that the
airline sector has been performing extremely well this year. In
fact, many companies in this segment have more than tripled the
market’s return from a YTD look, with gains in excess of 80%
not uncommon.

The surge has been pretty widespread too, with both so-called
legacy carriers and discount airlines seeing strong
performances. One company in the legacy space that has been
especially impressive and a great example of this incredible
trend is undoubtedly
Delta Airlines (

DAL

)

.

Delta in Focus

Delta is, following the merger between American and US Airways,
the second biggest airline in the world. The firm is probably
most famous for its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson airport in
Atlanta, though it has a big presence in Detroit, Minneapolis,
and New York City as well.

The stock was cleared for takeoff at the start of 2013, and it
really hasn’t looked back besides some minor turbulence in
April. DAL has actually more than doubled so far this year,
putting up a 130% gain YTD, including a 50% move higher in the
past six months alone.

This is obviously a huge move, and especially so for a company
in a pretty cutthroat industry, but there is plenty of reason
to believe that this can continue as we head into 2014 if you
look at the company’s profit and growth outlook for the coming
year.

Delta Earnings Outlook

Thanks to the strong industry outlook and the pressure that is
currently on oil prices, many analysts are looking for DAL to
continue to grow earnings in the months ahead. Current
estimates peg this quarter’s earnings growth (yoy) at 121%,
while current year growth is expected to be in the high double
digits, hitting 70% year-over-year.

These figures also represent how bullish analysts have become
on DAL’s earnings prospects in just the past few months.
Estimates for the current quarter have surged from 50 cents a
share 90 days ago to 62 cents a share today, while current year
estimates have jumped by 11% over the same time period.

While this increased expectation might be troubling to some,
DAL does have a pretty good track record in earnings season.
This includes a pretty solid history of earnings beats-three
straight beats and only one miss in the last eight reports-so
there is plenty of reason to believe that DAL will have no
trouble matching estimates once again next year.

Thanks to these factors and the impressive trend in the
economy, DAL has earned itself a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
And since DAL was just added to the #1 Rank group on Friday
December 13
^th

, investors shouldn’t worry that they have missed their flight
to profits with this impressive stock.

Bottom Line

The economy is humming along and cyclical sectors have been a
prime beneficiary from this surge in sentiment. One segment
that has really been a winner from a stock perspective is the
airline industry.

And with some of the other factors at play in the economy-such
as surging consumer confidence and lower oil prices-a play in
this sector seems like a no-brainer. This is particularly true
when you consider that the
Zacks Industry Rank for the airlines

is 27 out of 260, putting it within the top 10%.

Yet, while a broad play on the airline space could be a very
interesting idea, a look to DAL could be even better. This has
been one of the best performing airlines so far in 2013, and
with its strong competitive position and huge scale, this could
be a big winner-and top pick-for 2014 too.

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FLINT TWP, MI – Delta Airlines has eliminated its Flint-to-Detroit
route departing from Bishop International Airport effective Jan. 14, Bishop
Spokesperson Pat Corfman said.

“It just makes more financial sense,” she said. “That
leg between Flint and Detroit has always been unprofitable.”

The airport stopped selling tickets for the 47-minute, 56-mile
flight from Flint to Detroit on Delta Airlines Nov. 9.

“It’s been our longest-running, most consistent flight out
of Flint,” she said, adding that the flight ran three times per day.

The elimination means more seating on flights leaving from
Flint to Atlanta and to Minneapolis. Starting March 2014, the airport
anticipates 21 flights to leave weekly from Flint to Atlanta, boasting 946 more
seats per week — a 46 percent increase from 2013. Seats for flights to Minneapolis will increase nearly 54
percent, from 650 seats available weekly in 2013 to 1,000 for 2014, Corfman said.

Factoring in the elimination of Delta’s Flint-to-Detroit route, the airline is
offering an additional 10 percent in seating for flights out of Flint to
Atlanta and Minneapolis, she said.

“It’s actually a gain as far as seat availability,” Corfman
said. “We feel fantastic that Delta has continued to support us and continued
their commitment to our community. Overall, we’re pleased and relieved.”

For the month of August 2013, a total of 3,532 passengers left
from Flint en route to Detroit. During that same time, passengers going from Flint to
Atlanta totaled 8,540.

Delta’s 50-seat, Canadair Regional Jet will continue to take
passengers from Flint to Detroit until Jan. 14. The same plane is used to
carry passengers to Minneapolis. Delta uses its 149-seat, MD88 plane for
flights leaving from Flint to Atlanta.

Delta was Bishop’s top airline in 2012, accounting for about
44 percent of all departing passengers from Flint.

Oh, Delta Airlines. You are the most beloved airlines in the world…or wait, no. Scratch that. You’re one of the least-respected brands in the world, because of, as Yahoo! Finance reported back in August, the sizable gap between how well you’re known and how you’re perceived. This item in the news is not going to help you win the hearts of Americans.

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Last week The Washington Post reported on passenger Jeff White. He had booked a flight from Pensacola, Florida to Albany, New York via Atlanta. All seemed normal until he noticed the glaring confirmation code: H8GAYS. Whoops.

The University of West Florida student told The Post, “At first I didn’t think I read it right. I was worried that another customer might think I somehow picked that code. If I were a gay male, I might have thought that a Delta worker purposely gave me that code, and that would have made me extremely uncomfortable.”

(Steve Grayson/WireImage)

Delta has apologized for the incident. Spokesman Russell Cason told the Washington Post, “These confirmation codes are computer-generated and are completely random. We will make every effort to ensure that a similar combination does not occur in the future.”

(f8 Imaging/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

It’s funny he should mention the computer-generated thing, because Mr. White happens to be an IT major and knows a thing or two about computers,“….what surprises me is that they didn’t block [his confirmation code] as a possibility of the string of random numbers and letters in the software they use to…I’m sure they removed many four-letter words that would be seen as offensive. I’m surprised that ‘gays’ and ‘H8’ weren’t blocked as well.”

It’s been a rough week for the airline company. As WMTV NBC 15 News reports, yesterday one of their jets slid off a taxiway at Dane County Regional Airport in Wisconsin. Fortunately, nobody was injured.

More info: The Washington Post

• Delta Airlines
• Jeff White

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A Boeing 737-800 jet operated by Delta Airlines slid off a snow-covered runway Monday afternoon at the Dane County Regional Airport, authorities said.

Delta Airlines Flight 385 ran off the runway as it taxied toward the terminal upon arrival from Minneapolis, according to a statement from the airline.

The flight carried 60 passengers and a crew of six. There were no injuries reported and the passengers were being bused to the terminal, the statement said.

Crews from the Madison Fire Department were at the airport to assist the airline, fire department spokeswoman Lori Wirth said.

She added that the plane was upright in the snow.

Delta Flight 385 was due to arrive at the airport at 3:58 p.m. after leaving Minneapolis at 3:20 p.m, according to online flight data.

It landed at approximately 4:00 p.m., airport spokesman Brent McHenry said.

The National Weather Service said between 1 and 2 inches of light snow was expected to fall in the storm that began Monday afternoon.