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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Spirit Airlines boosts fee for booking domestic flights online

Florida-based Spirit Airlines, the only airline in the nation to charge passengers for carry-on luggage, now charges nearly $34 to book a round-trip flight online.

Spirit has long promoted itself as the ultra low-budget airline that offers fares as low as $9 each way. But the airline also boasts one of the most extensive lists of extra fees in the industry.

Earlier this month, Spirit raised the "passenger usage fee" from $8.99 for one-way domestic flights to $16.99. The fee for international flights dropped from $18.99 to $16.99.

The only way to avoid the fee is to buy a ticket at an airport counter. But as of Jan. 24, 2012, the airline will charge passengers $5 to print out a ticket at the airport counter.

The airline announced in August 2010 new fees to stow a bag in the on-board overhead compartment, in addition to charges to check luggage in the cargo area.

The carry-on fees range from $20 to $40, depending on whether passengers pay online or at the airport counter. The lowest luggage fee is charged to members of the airline's $9 fare club. But it costs about $60 a year to join.

A few months after announcing the carry-on fees, Spirit said it planned to install "pre-reclined" seats that do not adjust.

The airline says the new slim leather seats are 30% lighter, cutting down on fuel costs and offering 20% more space under the seat. By eliminating a steeper recline, the airline can also fit more seats into the plane.

Spirit Airlines launches $45 carry-on fee

Spirit Airlines' carry-on fee prompts backlash

-- Hugo Martin

Photo: Passengers speak with a Spirit Airlines worker at Detroit International Airport. Credit: Reuters

Consumer Confidential: Retail sales, reliable cars, Whole Foods

Here's your takin'-it-to-the-streets Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--We're shopping, and that's good for the economy, but we're in danger of living beyond our means. Retail sales rose in October, suggesting the economy started the fourth quarter with some zip to its stride. Another report showed wholesale prices fell during October as gas prices dropped, signaling a cooling of fuel-driven inflation pressures that have hit consumers' pocketbooks. But analysts say Europe's debt crisis could push the United States back into recession early next year. Moreover, consumer spending is rising faster than incomes, which can't be sustained. What do we need? Jobs. Lot of them. (Reuters)

--Getting a great deal on a set of wheels is one thing. Keeping those wheels running is another. So which cars are cheapest to maintain? Toyota gets the top spot for reliability, followed by Hyundai. The rankings were compiled by auto diagnostic and repair website CarMD, which collects repair data from its network of 3,000 U.S. mechanics. Rounding out the top 5 were Honda, Ford and General Motors, followed by Mitsubishi, Nissan, Kia, Volkswagen and Chrysler. Now you know. (MoneyWatch)

--Whole Foods wants to protect your little fingers while also doing some good for people abroad. The company's new initiative with Comfort the Children and Allegro Coffee allows shoppers to make a direct, positive influence on Kenyan women and special needs children through products called LIFE Jackets. LIFE (Livelihood, Investment, Financials and Empowerment) Jackets are reusable canvas cup sleeves that protect the environment as well as your hands from hot beverages. The total 99-cent cost of each cup sleeve goes straight to Comfort the Children, a nonprofit that helps poor Kenyan mothers with special needs children. Nice. (DailyFinance)

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Shoppers are coming out in force as the holidays approach. Credit: Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times

Ask Laz: Giving back a bonus [Video]

If your employer erroneously pays you some bonus money before you quit, are you required to give it back? L.A. Times consumer columnist David Lazarus offers his advice.

Wal-Mart reports disappointing third-quarter results

Despite a bump in sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported third-quarter profits that fell below Wall Street expectations, reflecting continued financial worries among its core low-income shoppers.

For the three months ended Oct. 31, the nation's largest retailer reported a profit of $3.3 billion, or 96 cents a share, down 2.9% from $3.4 billion, or 95 cents, a year earlier. The results were 2 cents below analysts' expectations.

Wal-Mart executives said Tuesday that the retailer was focusing on keeping prices low to attract customers who remain thrifty and pessimistic about the U.S. economy.

Our shoppers "want to save money. They're juggling credit cards, using coupons and skipping restaurants and vacations," said Wal-Mart Chief Executive Michael Duke in a conference call. "There is a real sense that that the economic strain is taking its toll."

The company's low-price strategy did boost sales by 1.3% at U.S. Wal-Mart stores open at least a year, breaking a nine-quarter streak of sales declines for the chain's American stores. Same-store sales are an important measure of a retailer's health because they exclude the effect of store openings and closings.

The Bentonville, Ark., company stumbled in the last few years by removing thousands of products from its shelves in an attempt to de-clutter its stores. In April, the retailer reversed its decision and announced plans to expand its offerings by 8,500 items, or 11%, for an average store.

Looking forward to the holiday, Duke said the company would continue to emphasize competitive prices with a price match guarantee, a layaway program and free online shipping options.

Wal-Mart forecast that fourth-quarter earnings would range from $1.42 to $1.48 a share, while its guidance for the full year would be between $4.45 to $4.51 a share.

Wal-Mart shares had dipped more than 2% in trading Tuesday.

Wal-Mart brings back layaway program for the holidays

Toys R Us expands layaway program, offers special online Bill Me Later option

-- Shan Li

Photo: A Wal-Mart store in Los Angeles. Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

LivingSocial launches online restaurant ordering, delivery service

Daily deals website LivingSocial is starting to offer online restaurant ordering and delivery options, venturing into territory dominated by businesses such as GrubHub and Snapfinger.

The service is rolling out initially as a test in LivingSocial’s Washington, D.C., hometown. Users there will be able to order food from their computer or smartphone and either have it delivered or waiting for pickup at the restaurant without the hassle of a long line.

Users will at first have access to more than 70 restaurants, some of which also offer discounts through LivingSocial.

Mobile food ordering is picking up in the restaurant industry.

New San Francisco Bay Area grilled cheese start-up the Melt, launched by Flip Video founder Jonathan Kaplan, allows customers to order online and then collect their food by scanning a QR code at the counter.

The GrubHub website, founded in 2004, features menus from partner restaurants. Customers can click to order remotely, with prompts for side dishes and topping options.

Snapfinger, also founded in 2004, has a similar format. Real-time menus from chains such as Boston Market and California Pizza Kitchen omit items that the restaurants have run out of; Snapfinger also informs diners of order backlogs and pickup times.

LivingSocial is also offering a new feature called Room Service, which the company says will involve limited “white glove” delivery from higher-end eateries.

Available for now only in downtown D.C. on Thursday and Friday nights, the service will feature a prix fixe menu from one new restaurant each week. LivingSocial staff will handle the deliveries, which includes “high-quality tableware, dining accessories, top-shelf presentation of food and a special after-dinner treat,” the company said.

Some restaurants serve up iPads for customers to place orders

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Menus feature 7% more pork dishes amid sausage craze, cheap prices

Restaurants are pigging out, increasingly offering pork on their menus, according to new research.

Dishes that have gone whole (or part) hog are up 7% over the year, according to the research group Technomic. The meat, which has resisted food price increases better than beef and even chicken, is showing up in appetizers, side dishes and entrees.

Chipotle restaurants use naturally raised pork in their carnitas and Applebee’s now serves red beans and rice with andouille sausage. McDonald’s also brought back its cult-favorite McRib sandwich this fall.

Menus laden with sausage and hot dog items are also spreading across the Southland, spurred on by the growing number of beer gardens and wiener restaurants.

But pork isn’t always the main attraction. Eateries are pairing it with other meats and even shellfish.

And diners aren’t only seeing chunks of ham. Bacon, whose menu appearances have risen 7% annually for the past few years, is also a main driver of pork’s recent popularity.

Perhaps this calls for more restaurants to prepare turbaconducken -- chicken stuffed in duck stuffed in a turkey wrapped in bacon. Or not.

RELATED:

McDonald's McRib pork sandwich returns

Beer gardens growing in Southern California, with a twist

It's a Dog Town: The hot dog enjoys a renaissance in Los Angeles.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images

Bond yields jump in France, Belgium, Austria as crisis spreads

More dominos may be about to fall in Europe.

A new selling wave swamped government bond markets on the continent Tuesday, driving yields sharply higher in France, Belgium, Austria and Spain, among others.

Despite its AAA-credit rating, France’s 10-year bond yield soared to 3.68%, up from 3.42% on Monday and the highest since April. The yield has surged from 2.50% in early September.

Belgian 10-year bond yields rose to 4.91% from 4.59% on Monday.

The jump in interest rates signals a further spreading of the debt-crisis contagion from Italy to other countries, as investors grow increasingly fearful about governments’ abilities to pay their debts.

“The respite from Eurozone issues was ephemeral at best as changes in leadership in Italy and Greece [last week] were not enough to convince markets that the debt issues were any closer to resolution,” George Goncalves, interest rate strategist at Nomura Securities, wrote in a note to clients.

Making matters worse: A new European recession seems increasingly likely, which will only make it more difficult for governments to dig out of their debt holes.

Rocketing yields on Italian bonds over the last two months opened a new and more dangerous chapter in the debt crisis. Italy’s woes led to the departure of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over the weekend.

On Monday Italy paid a yield of 6.29% to issue $4 billion in new five-year bonds. The rate was the highest in 14 years. By contrast, the U.S. Treasury pays just 0.90% on five-year debt.

Financial markets have been looking to the European Central Bank to halt the contagion. In theory, the ECB could commit to buying unlimited quantities of bonds to try to hold rates down. But the ECB has seemed reluctant to act aggressively.

“In the prophetic words of Sting, the market is sending out an SOS to ECB policymakers,” Goncalves said. “However, a good response from the ECB does not seem forthcoming.”

European stock markets ended mostly lower for a second straight session. The Italian market fell 1.1%. French shares slid 1.9%. But stocks remain above their September lows.

The euro currency slipped 0.6% to a one-week low of $1.355.

Spain pays the price for regional borrowing binge

Europe's mess gives U.S. a reprieve on debt comeuppance

-- Tom Petruno

Photo: A six-meter-high depiction of Belgian cartoon hero Tintin and his dog Snowy is seen atop the Lombard Building, backdropped by the Brussels' skyline. Credit: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / Associated Press