In a recent podcast, Jeff Hoyt put it best when he asked why it is marketing departments spend all their money to reach customers and call centers spend all their money avoiding customers. We have probably all heard Mr. Hoyt numerous times in his capacity as a voiceover artist, and he admitting to doing voice…
As the Arizona Republic reports, not everyone is pleased with the new USAirways. Sure, it means that passengers in America West Cities have greater services to the Eastern U.S., which is where USAirways is strong, as well as international service to Europe. And passengers in USAirways cities now have better access to the west. However,…
We came across this item from last week on a blog entitled Six Kids and a Full Time Job. The author has noticed ads on the bottom of security bins. Already, we posted on the subject of confiscated items being sold on Ebay and at auction. Now, ad revenue from security checkpoints. As more and…
The Cranky Flier blog focuses on the customer service experience of air travel, among other things. On Sunday, he posted a story about fighting USAirways on a fare downgrade. A fare downgrade is the situation in which, after a fare is purchased, a lower fare becomes available, and you downgrade to that fare on your…
We read through USAToday’s Today in the Sky blog this afternoon and paused with some amusement when we came across this post. Flybe, a low-cost carrier in Europe, could start charging people for checking in at the counter. They believe the cost would be justified since most of the passengers can check in free online.…
Regional Jets currently operate approximately one-third of US domestic flights. The use of these jets has only increased over the last 5 years. While most regional jets in use today, such as the CRJ-100, the aircraft involved in the recent Comair disaster, and the ever popular Embraer 135 and 145 jets, both of which are…
Americablog.com comments here on how American Airlines is portrayed in ABC’s docudrama, The Path to 9/11. Here is what they have to say: Here’s what the “Path to 9/11” claims American Airlines did on the morning of September 11. According to Disney/ABC, American Airlines at Boston Logan had Mohammad Atta at its ticket counter and…
In a twist, thirty former TWA flight attendants picketed outside the Association of Professional Flight Attendants(APFA) headquarters. After American Airlines bought TWA when it was in bankruptcy in 2001, TWA employees were put at the bottom of the seniority list. They carried placards stating, “A real union protects all of its members.” At TWA, the…
The new USAirways still in many ways remains two carriers. It operates flights separately, it still has duplication of staff, and it has not settled various integration issues. In New York, the old USAirways pulled out of JFK to serve LaGuardia exclusively years ago, while America West has always flown to JFK. Technically, the Las…
CBC News reports that on Friday, a passenger on an Air Canada flight from Montreal to New York City was removed from a flight for prayer. Some fellow passengers wonder why the man, an Orthodox Jew, was removed. He was moving back and forth and his prayers were not audible, but apparently they received more…
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported not long ago on a baggage incident on the 23rd at Philadelphia International Airport. By 11PM, the passengers from Flight 30 from Las Vegas had been waiting for their bags for an hour and a half. No information on the delay was available. Robert Ensign of California, one of these passengers,…
The TSA fired one employee and indefinitely suspended two others, the Orlando Sentinel reports, on Friday after an internal investigation into alleged theft from luggage at Orlando International Airport. We’ve questioned the wisdom of the TSA a great deal since we started commenting on the current security situation. Despite the fact that they have a…
In a recent post, we referred to Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, and his lack of interest in whether or not people talked on cell phones as long as it was profitable. On Wednesday, Ryanair issued this press release. Ryanair announced a deal with OnAir to have its entire fleet of 737s equipped with their…
Bruce Schneier, author of several books on security technology, comments on his blog. We must agree with Mr. Schneier and suggest that all click through and read his thoughts on the subject. If terrorists can cause us to hurt ourselves, to panic and suspect everyone of being dangerous, they have succeeded in striking a blow…
The deprecated No Smoking Signs on aircraft may soon be replaced by “No Mobile Signs” on some planes next year, Reuters reports. This is not a new idea. Some planes have replaced these signs with “It is Now Safe to Use Portable Electronics” messages. But this is a small portion of the overall aircraft, despite…
We were amused to note one of Delta’s latest press releases. Delta is sponsoring the new season of Bravo’s “Project Runway” and will appear in two episodes. On select flights between August 23rd and September 6th, Delta flight attendants will award passengers who are “flying in style.” This will complement the new uniforms they unveiled…
Travelocity is one of the most popular of the online travel sites, having been around since the beginning of these types of sites. Travelocity is known for its commercials featuring the Roaming Gnome, enforcer of the Travelocity Guarantee. The provisions of this guarantee are found here. As Gridskipper reports here… the guarantee isn’t so much…
Today we introduce the first of our travel gear recommendations. Look for an extended review and other reviews on our website in the near future. The Lapinator is a portable insulated laptop desk that prevents the heat of the laptop from hurting your legs. A hot laptop can run for hours on this and not…
With the United Kingdom now once again allowing laptops on aircraft, but the entire world banning liquids, we tend to question the decisions of the TSA and related organizations in their prohibited items list Dell’s Battery Recall has brought to mind the danger of bring laptops on board. Battery issues are not limited to Dell’s…
The title of this post is the slogan for our expanded offerings. We are going to take this opportunity to discuss the Flightwisdom.com website, of which this is a part. Flightwisdom is a simple site. Our goal is to provide information and links. We add a little information each week, and in that way, we…
Welcome to flightwisdom.com, a new site for information, advice, and links for those who wish to make the most of their travel experience at the best price. The latest information will be available from this blog before being added to the site.