Tag: manhattan

Spirit Airlines Must Face ‘Gotcha’ Carry-on Bag Fee Lawsuit

September 12, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit by Spirit Airlines passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them by imposing unexpected carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through Cheapoair, Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said 22 passengers could sue for breach of contract because there was no evidence that Spirit promptly notified them about the fees, and there were “ambiguities” in the prices they would pay.

Spirit and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Compared with many carriers, Spirit relies more on ancillary fees to offset the financial drag from lower base fares.

The plaintiffs accused the Miramar, Florida-based carrier of knowing that its online travel agents hid the “gotcha” bag fees they would have to pay at the airport.

They said these fees often exceeded the cost of their tickets, and totaled millions of dollars a year.

Spirit countered that federal law precluded the lawsuit, and that its “contract of carriage” specifically provided that a passenger could take one carry-on bag into the cabin, for a fee.

The appeals court returned the case to U.S. District Judge William Kuntz in Brooklyn, who had dismissed it last November.

“This is a great victory for air travelers nationwide,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer John Hermina said in an interview. He said his clients will pursue their case in the district court.

On Tuesday, Spirit advertised carry-on bag fees for an Oct. 1 flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from New York’s LaGuardia Airport ranging from $28, if booked on its website, to $65, if paid at the gate. Base fares ranged from $26 to $121.99.

The case is Cox et al v Spirit Airlines Inc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 18-3484.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)

JetBlue Sues Walmart for Trademark Infringement

June 24, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp has sued Walmart Inc for trademark infringement, after the world’s largest retailer began using the name Jetblack for its text-based personal shopping service.

In a complaint filed on Friday night in Manhattan federal court, JetBlue called Jetblack a “transparent attempt” by Walmart to capitalize on the goodwill associated with the carrier’s trademarks.

JetBlue also said Jetblack was likely to cause “significant consumer confusion” as Walmart expands the service, and warned that Walmart intends further infringements by using additional “Jet+color” names such as Jetgold and Jetsilver.

Walmart did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment. The lawsuit also names Walmart’s Jet.com unit as a defendant.

Introduced in May 2018, Jetblack calls itself a “personal shopping and concierge service that combines the convenience of e-commerce with the customized attention of a personal assistant.”

Walmart launched Jetblack in part to help the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer expand beyond its brick-and-mortar base and compete with such services as Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Prime, especially among consumers in urban areas.

JetBlue is based in Long Island City, New York.

The case is JetBlue Airways Corp v Jet.com Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 19-05879.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas)

JetBlue sues Walmart for trademark infringement over Jetblack service
FILE PHOTO: A JetBlue aircraft comes in to land at Long Beach Airport in Long Beach

Pilot Dead in Manhattan Skyscraper Helicopter Crash

June 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A helicopter made a crash landing onto the roof of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, killing at least one person and sending a plume of smoke skyward from the top of the building. The person deceased is “presumed” to be the pilot.

The crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on a rainy, foggy day at the 750-foot (229m) AXA Equitable Center at 787 Seventh Avenue. Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the busy area, a few blocks north of Times Square.

The chopper took off from a heliport on Manhattan’s east side and crash-landed on the building 11 minutes later, emergency officials said.

The site is about half a mile from Trump Tower, where U.S. President Donald Trump maintains an apartment. The area has been under a temporary flight restriction since his election in November 2016.

Nathan Hutton, who works in information technology for the French bank BNP Paribas on the 29th floor, said the building shook when the helicopter slammed into the roof.

“It felt like you were just standing there, and someone takes their hand and just shoves you,” he said. “You felt it through the whole building.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft was an Agusta A109E, a twin-engine, lightweight helicopter. The pilot was the only person aboard, and FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight, according to the agency.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, the FAA said.

Melvin Douglas, 50, who was selling umbrellas on the street, said he heard a “rumble” when the helicopter crash landed.

“I didn’t see it, but I felt it,” said Douglas. “Smoke was on top of the building.”

A fire that broke out on the roof was quickly brought under control, the fire department said. The building was evacuated after the crash.

Trump called New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, to offer assistance if needed, the governor’s office said.

“Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene,” Trump said on Twitter after being briefed on the crash. “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.”

The AXA Equitable Center was built in 1985 and includes more than 50 floors. A roof helipad is not listed as one of the building’s amenities on its website.

In addition to BNP Paribas, the building houses offices for a number of other corporate tenants, including law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Sidley Austin and investment manager New Mountain Capital. Le Bernardin, one of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants, is also located in the AXA building.

The skyscraper is managed by the Los Angeles-based CommonWealth Partners. Reached by telephone, LeAnn Holsapple, the office manager for CommonWealth, said the company had “no comment at this time.”

Helicopters are a regular sight in the air around Manhattan, and they have occasionally been involved in crashes.

Nearly a month ago, a chopper crashed into the Hudson River in New York City shortly after taking off from Manhattan, injuring two people. A sightseeing helicopter went down in New York City’s East River in March 2018, killing five passengers.

Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Alexander and Bill Rigby

Tesla Shares Skid After First-Quarter Deliveries Disappoint

April 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla logo is seen at a groundbreaking ceremony of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc shares fell more than 8 percent on Thursday after a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter deliveries, led by waning demand for its luxury Model S and X vehicles, added to worries about the electric carmaker’s finances.

At least four Wall Street brokerages cut their price targets on the company’s stock, citing concerns about profitability and revenue after deliveries of the higher-priced luxury cars more than halved compared to the fourth quarter.

RBC analysts called Model S/X deliveries “very disappointing” and estimated the numbers would translate to a more than $1 billion shortfall in revenue compared to previous estimates.

The company had already flagged in February that it expected to post a first-quarter loss as it launched its cheaper $35,000 version of the Model 3 sedan.

In the quarter, Tesla delivered 50,900 Model 3s, the linchpin of its growth strategy, falling short of analysts’ estimates of 58,900, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Tesla also pinned the blame for the first-quarter delivery drop to longer transit times, which analysts said could impact cash flow, even though the company claimed it had sufficient cash on hand.

The company said it had delivered only half of the quarter’s numbers by March 21, with 10,600 vehicles still in transit at the end of the quarter. By comparison, only 1,900 vehicles were in transit at the end of the fourth quarter.

Cowen and Co analysts said that the delivery and transit details suggested “cash was likely dangerously low” after Tesla paid off a $920 million convertible bond obligation in cash in the beginning of March.

Still, there were no new downgrades by brokerages on Tesla shares. The company is currently rated “buy” or higher by 12 of the 30 brokerages covering the company, 7 “hold” and 11 “sell” or lower.

The carmaker reaffirmed its forecast to deliver between 360,000 and 400,000 vehicles this year, and said U.S. orders for the new Model 3 outpaced what the company was able to fulfill in the quarter.

Nord LB analyst Frank Schwope called the numbers “more shocking than disappointing” and said there remain doubts whether Tesla could deliver 400,000 cars this year.

Lawyers for Tesla chief Elon Musk will argue on Thursday that he did not violate a fraud settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and should not be held in contempt, the latest twist in a high-profile battle between the billionaire and the government.

Musk’s fight with the SEC, to play out in a Manhattan federal court hearing, has raised investor worries that it could lead to restrictions on his activities or even his removal from Tesla, while distracting him at a pivotal point in the company’s expansion.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

United Airlines Offers Helicopter Transfers to Newark

June 11, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

United Airlines wants to help its most affluent travelers get to Newark International Airport a whole lot quicker.

The Chicago-based airline (NYSE: UAL) launched a helicopter service in mid-May as a transfer of sorts, charging $2,099 for up to three travelers who are looking for speedy route from Manhattan to Newark, New Jersey and vice versa.

Click the link below for the full story!

United Offers Helicopter Transfers to Newark

Cape Air service from Boston Logan Airport

June 14, 2016 / WIL BALDWIN

Spotting Cape Air at Boston Logan Airport (from July 27, 2015). As my wife and I waited to catch our first ever Jetblue flight in Boston a few weeks ago, we came across the gate space for commuter airline Cape Air. Since it was very late on a Sunday, there were some planes parked just outside the windows of the gate. The airline was started in 1988 by pilots Craig Stewart and Dan Wolf, and financier Grant Wilson fling between Provincetown and Boston. The airline expanded in the early 90’s with new routes across southeastern New England. Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines merged In 1994, offering hourly flights between Nantucket and Hyannis. The airline also operates commuter flights for United Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue. The airline also operates special painted “Art In Flight” Cessna 402 aircraft paying homage to the regions and communities they serve with “A Whale Of A Plane”, “Fantasy Flyer”, “Where It All Began”, and “Green Machine”.

Cape Air from Boston Harbor to Manhattan?

June 14, 2016. Getting quickly to Manhattan from downtown Boston can be tough task for the business traveler. No matter if you drive, fly commercial from Logan, or take the Amtrak train, the commute will most likely take you more than three hours. A faster solution may be on the horizon, however. Following two years of preparations, both Cape Air and Tailwind are testing seaplane flights using a nine passenger Cessna Caravan. The plan is to use the Boston Harbor for takeoff and landing. If FAA approval is received, the two companies could launch service by the end of the year. The two competing airlines both claim that the demand is there for the new service. In order for the FAA to make an educated decision, they must coordinate with both city officials and the local Coast Guard. Fares for the seaplane service are expected to run around $1,000 for a round trip ticket. Be sure to visit www.capeair.com to book your flights today!

cape air