A fee under consideration in Congress is getting strong criticism from the European Union. A $10 fee would apply to some visitors to the United States to secure a tourist visa. Visitors from most European countries have long enjoyed the benefits of the Visa Waiver program. Such programs allow tourists to visit for less than…
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We recorded a test podcast last week and spent some days soliciting commentary. It is a bit rough, and includes several elements.
We waited for JetBlue’s response to this incident, which occurred yesterday. Flight 1781, with 89 passengers onboard, departed Orlando at 12:34, scheduled to arrive at 1:35. A fire broke out in the left-hand side engine, and the plane made an emergency landing at its destination of Nassau, Bahamas. The plane taxied under its own power…
Image by nsub1 via Flickr The Boston Globe reports that a state representative has suggested renaming Logan Airport after the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It would be called Logan-Kennedy Airport. This is a bad idea. For one, there is already a Kennedy Airport in New York. Admittedly named after the late President, John F. Kennedy,…
Image by drewgstephens via Flickr This morning, Southwest Airlines announced it would offer an early check-in option for a $10 fee. For years, the Southwest Cattle Call offered a first-come/first-served option. Plastic cards were offered at the counter in order of check-in, and people lined up and boarded in check-in order. Then, when online check-in…
Southwest Airlines has just arrived in Boston to a great fanfare, and is already expanding service. On January 9th, they will add two daily nonstops to St. Louis. The same day, they will also add St. Louis service to another of their newest destination…Minneapolis/St. Paul. Elsewhere, they are redistributing capacity by reducing frequencies by one…
Image by dyobmit via Flickr The FAA admitted last week that airlines whose flight attendants had been telling passengers to keep their items out of the seatback pocket were ‘following their guidance’. However, several carriers have never heard of this regulation and have no plans to enforce it. Even the FAA spokesman did not initially.…
[caption id="attachment_1737" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="JetBlue International Check-In - Terminal 5"][/caption] JetBlue and Lufthansa have signed a codeshare agreement which would place Lufthansa flight numbers on 12 destinations in the U.S. to Boston and New York. The agreement is pending DOT approval. JetBlue’s experience with interline and codeshare has been limited. It has put its flight…
Image via Wikipedia More than 30,000 fewer flights were canceled in the first half of 2009 than in the same period last year. Fewer planes were delayed more than fifteen minutes as well. But, instead of applauding the air traffic controllers, or the airline operations people for their coup, the real reason is that there…
Image via Wikipedia The Flight Data and Voice Recorders from the Yemenia flight that crashed off the Comoros islands have been recovered. Only one person survived the crash of the Airbus aircraft, and hopefully, the information gained from them will determine the cause of the crash. We will report more on this as it becomes…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Boeing expects to fly the 787 Dreamliner by the end of this year, and deliver the first one in the last quarter of next year. Once the last bugs are worked out, and the process is finalized, they estimate they will be able to produce ten 787s per month…
Anil Polat, who runs foXnoMad, which is a travel blog for “people who love the journey as much as they enjoy the destination. foXnoMad is a resting point to gather information on the best ways and gadgets vagabonds can use to stay in touch, save money, and make the most out of any vacation,” has…
With all of the love we gave Virgin America on our flight back to Flight Wisdom HQ, we were afraid the two airlines that hold a special place in our hearts, Southwest Airlnes and JetBlue Airways, would be jealous. With that in mind, we offer video of Southwest’s triumphant arrival into Boston, in the event…
[caption id="attachment_1715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Passengers Deplaning JetBlue A320"][/caption] JetBlue announced earlier this week an increase of its service to Jamaica.And we don’t mean Jamaica, Queens. JetBlue has applied to add two new Montego Bay routes, to both Boston and Orlando. The airline will also add service on its existing route from New York-JFK to Montego…
[caption id="attachment_1711" align="alignright" width="225" caption="In Flight Service - Virgin America"][/caption] A lot happened while we were away. As we said in our Virgin America trip report, Every Plane should have In-Flight Wi-Fi. But, we felt there were a few things we didn’t mention during the trip report. There was actually a lot we didn’t mention.…
[caption id="attachment_1703" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Interior of Virgin America A320"][/caption] We have always wanted to try Virgin America. And yesterday, we finally got the chance, flying from LAX to JFK. And we have to say, Virgin America’s technology is something every airline should be aspiring toward, although it is by no means perfect. Every airline we…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-UoERHaSQg Dave Carroll is back with his promised second United Song, included the promised tuba. It is a much slower tempo than United Song #1, but the video goes a bit farther, and incorporates many more volunteers. The song incorporates some of the same amusing elements. In lieu of three guys in sombreros, this time…
Image via Wikipedia The big question for the last few days has been that…Republic Airways now owns Frontier and Midwest, as well as its existing regional airlines. Now what? Certainly reorganization. Republic intends to operate the two airlines under their own brand names, but will be consolidating jobs, airport gates, and real estate. This can…
Southwest Airlines launched yesterday its service to and from Boston’s Logan Airport. The service will offer five daily nonstops to Baltimore-Washington International Airport and five to Chicago-Midway. Connections will be available to forty-eight other destinations. Southwest will be operating from gates E1A and E1B in Terminal E, alongside the international service. [caption id=”attachment_1689″ align=”alignleft” width=”300″…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjHCc6TZhaM Thomson Airways has begun using a new in-flight safety video using children between the ages of five and nine. People are finding the video much more captivating than its predecessor. It isn’t the first time an airline has tried something new to encourage people to pay attention during an in-flight video. Air New Zealand…
Image via Wikipedia As part of our continuing coverage of Slotgate ’09(just kidding), we’re going to review some of what is going on down at National Airport. US Airways is gaining slots for 42 additional daily roundtrips at the airport. They will be adding new service to fifteen destinations, eight of which are new to…
Image via Wikipedia Due to the discontinuance of US Airways Express service(Wilmington, NC excepted) from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the following routes will be discontinued unless Delta picks them up. Albany, NY Hyannis, MA Raleigh / Durham, NC(Served by Delta and American) Baltimore, MD(Still served by Southwest) Indianapolis, IN(Already served by Delta, soon by Airtran)…
Image by mtsofan via Flickr So, now Continental has gotten AirTran out of Newark in exchange for slots at LaGuardia and National, where they are hardly a powerhouse. Delta is taking over US Airways extensive regional slots at LaGuardia, and US Airways is getting international route permissions and greater dominance at Washington National. It allows…
Image via Wikipedia AirTran Airways made a deal with Continental Airlines yesterday to stop flying to and from Newark Liberty Airport in exchange for slots at Washington National and New York’s LaGuardia Airports. AirTran will cease operations at Newark on October 25th. AirTran will give its 10 slots, its single gate, and a jetway at…
[caption id="attachment_1663" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Marine Air Terminal, circa 1940 (Courtesy Library of Congress)"][/caption] The saga of LaGuardia Airport began when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia struck a blow for all proud New Yorkers when he refused to call Newark Airport New York. LaGuardia was flying on a TWA flight which arrived into Newark, and pointing out…