Image via Wikipedia Looking for things to rid themselves of, European low-cost carrier Ryanair, which we never had a particularly high opinion of, is planning to eliminate all its check-in desks by year’s end. Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said the airline saw the move as the “logical next step” in its effort to slash costs.…
Image by James Willamor via Flickr Our friend, Chris Elliott announced the news, to be reported by press release tomorrow, that it will bring back complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to its flights starting next month. Charging for water especially, considering the dry atmosphere onboard airplanes and the liquid restrictions, seemed especially unfair.…
Image by Jim Frazier via Flickr The Boston Globe reports that low cost carrier Southwest Airlines will be serving Boston’s Logan Airport beginning sometime in the fall. The launch will apparently be somewhat conservative, with 8 to 12 daily departures to just a few destinations to start. The airline will be unveiling details sometime in…
Allegiant Airlines, known for its service from various smaller markets to leisure destinations on a bi or tri weekly basis has announced new service from Los Angeles International Airport beginning May 1st. The news comes as no surprise, as rumors of it have been floating around for almost a week now. We chose to wait…
View Larger Map A state delegate has introduced a bill to place slot machines inside BWI Airport. Voters would have to approve it as an amendment to the Maryland Constitution. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Delegate Eric Bromwell of Baltimore County. It has 10 co-sponsors, all of but one from Baltimore County. The airport…
Delta Air Lines has announced plans to consolidate some of the functions of the regional airlines it owns. Comair, Mesaba, and Compass Airlines will have their customer service and ramp workers merged into one company called Regional Handling Services(RHS). The other parts of the airlines will continue to operate independently, but this may be the…
Image via Wikipedia We held off a few days on this to see what developments came up, so we could do a proper review of the situation. We tend to agree with the Cranky Flier that there is a standard story everyone writes about this sort of issue. Like him, we have nothing of specific…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife United Airlines is dropping a call center that took compliments or complaints after a flight, instructing passengers to send a letter or email instead. It will stop publishing its customer relations number. It will be training its call centers in Chicago and Honolulu to respond to written customer comments,…
The Middle Seat Terminal reports that Delta Air Lines, undisputed king of travel at Cincinnati, which is one of their hubs, has announced the cutting of fares from between 5 and 60% on both business and leisure tickets. The airport has long been, statistically, the most expensive airport in the country to fly out of.…
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="US Airways New Gimmick"][/caption] US Airways has announced it will charge $7 for a pillow and blanket beginning February 16th. The service will not be offered on US Airways Express flights, but can be purchased immediately on their website. In a recent BNET article, Barbara Hernandez commented on the subject. She…
Image by skampy via Flickr The Middle Seat Terminal reported that Spirit Airlines, the same people whose customer service agents tried to charge a cancellation fee to a Flight 1549 survivor, wants to plaster ads on its flight attendants. Ads have been found in many places on planes as airlines try to increase revenue. Skybus…
Image by James Willamor via Flickr AirTran apologized yesterday after delaying a flight from Columbus, OH to Orlando, FL for over 10 hours. Passengers boarded at 8AM and were stuck until changing planes before taking off at 5:46PM. The plane was almost literally frozen to the ground as it sat parked overnight in a snow…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKqQgNZylLw Introduction to the Jet Age The Census Bureau reminded us that today, January 25th is the 50th anniversary of the first scheduled, nonstop flight from Los Angeles to New York, operated by American Airlines using the Boeing 707 jet aircraft, which was the inauguration of domestic jet service. Many omit the National Airlines usage…
Image via Wikipedia Spirit Airlines, the same airline whose CEO made the mistake of sending a private inconsiderate email back to a customer tried to charge customers a cancellation fee for surviving an airplane crash. Two passengers, Rob and Jeff Kolodjay were scheduled to fly out to Myrtle Beach for a golf trip. Their flights…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife We, unlike some elements of the media(if we can call ourselves that), do not like to milk a story until its becomes too old. Until there are more developments, we intend to update you on a few items of interest, and move on to new topics. The cockpit voice…
Image via Wikipedia In a press release, US Airways confirmed the downing of Flight 1549, and advised information requests for those who may have had family members onboard may call 1-800-679-8215. The Middle Seat blog over at the Wall Street Journal reports that if you are going to ditch a disabled plane in a city,…
[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignleft" width="224"] USAirways Jet in Hudson River[/caption] AP reports that a USAirways plane has crashed into the Hudson River, sending passengers into the icy water. New York City firefighters are responding. The plane is apparently intact. The plane appears to be an Airbus A320, flight 1549, heading from Laguardia Airport to Charlote, NC,…
Image via Wikipedia Washington’s Dulles Airport will be temporarily closing its newest runway to provide parking for a surge in private planes during the Obama Inauguration. The 9400 foot runway known as 1L/19R will be closed from January 16th through the 23rd. The airport is estimating some 500 private aircraft will arrive at Dulles. Three…
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago, we wrote about one Raed Jarrar, who was told to remove his shirt, which stated “We will not be silent” in both Arabic and English. Here is our synopsis of the time. It is reported that on August 12, Raed Jarrar was about to board a Jetblue flight from…
Image via Wikipedia Delta announced it would be phasing out full-sized jets on its shuttle routes between New York-Laguardia Airport and Washington-National Airport in March. It will replace 148-seat MD-88 aircraft with 76-seat Embraer regional jets operated by Shuttle America, configured with 12 first class seats. Delta insists that otherwise, the product will remain the…
Image via Wikipedia In a recent post, we discussed Southwest’s desired expansion into New York’s LaGuardia Airport and its current New York City Area service into Long Island MacArthur Airport, aka Islip. Here’s what we said…. As for Long Island’s Macarthur Airport(Islip), we hope that Southwest maintains its commitment there and considers adding additional capacity,…
Image via Wikipedia A husband and wife are suing United Airlines for negligence, saying the drinks served them on a flight from Osaka, Japan to San Francisco fueled their subsequent actions. “Fortified with Burgundy wine allegedly supplied at 20-minute intervals by United crew members during the December 2006 trip, Yoichi Shimamoto became so inebriated “that…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Ryanair has made another bid for Irish competitor, Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus is preparing its defense plan and wishes to remain independent. Continental announced it has completed installation of an Audio/Video on demand system on its fleet of 757-200s aircraft, with the last two reentering service by December 23rd.…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption] For the first time in the United States, an airport is being built for commercial service completely without government funding. This new airport will be in Branson, Missouri, which receives 8.4 million visitors a year for its shows and conventions. The nearest airport is over…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by Eric E Johnson via Flickr"][/caption] For years, Southwest Airlines has been known for going outside the box. They flew to secondary airports, provided service where other carriers could not sustain a turboprop with sheer volume, and did not work with other carriers. Southwest has made moves away from that…