New Developments in the Air France Investigation

Air France will pay about $24,500 in initial compensation to the families of each victim of the crash of Air France Flight 447 this month and is providing them with counseling. So far, salvage operations have found around fifty bodies and dozens of pieces of debris, indicating they have pinned down the likely area where…

Just Landed – Twitter

For those of you interested, an artist in Vancouver has created animations showing the flight paths of Twitter users, using the search term “Just Landed in…” and the home location of the Twitter user, creating the first map of the migration patterns of the traveling Twitterer. Certainly fun. 36 Hours of Twitter Migration [vimeo 4587178]…

Retromercial: United Customer Service – 1989

Earlier, we were commenting on the lack of pride in customer service as a part of business, specifically referencing United Airlines, among others, and discovered this, a 1989 United commercial on the very same subject. It so perfectly illustrated some of our thoughts. We wonder if someone at United should see it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ6Z8kcoi-E

Jabberwocky Revisited

Image by Jennifer Pickens via Flickr “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” In one of our earlier posts, we commented on the issues of customer service. Three years later, there are much to revisit. Why it is marketing departments…

George Carlin on Airlines

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DagVklB4VHQ For those of you starting to feel concerned about the possibility of upcoming air travel, we have already addressed that issue.  While searching for something appropriate for that post, we came upon the following Youtube clip of the late comedian George Carlin on airlines. Whatever you can say about him, amidst the occasional bit…

More Details about the Deceased Pilot

Image via Wikipedia The pilot of Continental Flight 61 has been identified at Craig Lenell by several news outlets. Lenell, age 60, lived on a farm outside Houston with his wife and more than 32 years of flying experience. A third pilot is required onboard all flights in excess of eight hours, and was certainly…

UMNRs – Unaccompanied Minors

Image by caribb via Flickr (Updated 06/19 with corrections courtesy of Mr. Kamens) The issue of unaccompanied minors has come into the news lately, courtesy of Jonathan Kamens. Kamens put his daughter Miriam on a flight to Cleveland out of Boston on Sunday to visit her grandparents. He paid the unaccompanied minor fee. The fact…

Breaking News: Pilot Dies In-Flight – Co-Pilots land Plane

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Continental Flight 61 was en route from Brussels, Belgium to Newark Liberty Airport landed safely at 11:49AM local time today, after the 61-year old pilot died at the controls, apparently of natural causes. The flight included a relief pilot, who, with the co-pilot, landed the plane. To avoid panic,…

Roundup – Service Changes

New service is proudly announced, but cancellations are usually not. One day, we discover that a flight we recall is no longer on the books. Of late, many flights are being cancelled, airlines are slashing capacity. Air Canada launched its Portland, Oregon to Calgary, Alberta service yesterday. The service, operated by 50-seater CRJs, operates once…

The Flight Wisdom Cranky-Inspired Challenge

Image by Ivan Makarov via Flickr We’ve been on a trip out to Northern California the last few days, which you may have noticed if you follow our Twitter account. We’ll have more on some new observations of JetBlue later. We have another trip cross-country planned for August, and we’re going to try to take…

Delta to Cut More Capacity

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Delta Air Lines, in a memo issued to its employees and released as a press release on their site, announced it would be making additional cuts due to the current global environment and oil prices once again rising. Delta will initiate the following cuts, reducing international capacity from 15%,…

More From the Air France Recovery Effort

The search for the wreckage of Air France 447 continues. Search teams found a large section of the plane’s tail section and additional large amounts of wreckage. The Brazilian military doesn’t have the means of locating debris underwater, however. “Brazilian military officials reduced the number of recovered bodies from the 17 announced Sunday, saying there…

Wreckage from Air France Flight Finally Found

Image via Wikipedia Yesterday, the Brazilian navy discovered the bodies of two passengers from the Air France flight, and three additional bodies today, as well as a number of items associated with the plane, including a ticket for the flight. Items recovered include sections of wing, seats, and luggage. The Brazilian officials said their first…

Why Bother With Travel Agents?

Image by randomcuriosity via Flickr Why bother with Travel Agents? That is the big question. We recall the experience, from long ago, of going to the travel agency. Sitting at a desk, paper tickets were brought out, a check given, and the transaction was complete. Nowadays, we have electronic ticketing, a myriad of travel agency…

Roundup: Packing Your Suitcase

Image by puregin via Flickr We spun off Infrequent Flier to provide basic travel tips and advice, allowing Flight Wisdom to be, as its tagline says, “News, Thoughts, and Advice on Air Travel and the Travel Experience.” Today, we’re testing out a new theme at Infrequent Flier. We like to mix things up every so…