Roundup – New Service, Air Passes, new planes and more..

Air Canada will introduce daily nonstop service from Vancouver to Yellowknife with seasonal service from December 1st through April with a 50-seat CRJ. Flights are timed to connect with service to Tokyo, Osaka, and points within British Columbia. Airtran launched service today from Portland, Maine to BWI. The first flight from BWI brought a delegation…

Roundup – Podcasts and All

Friday marked the inauguration of seasonal service from Montreal to Rome on Air Canada…with connecting flights on Air One out of Rome to onward destinations. Air Canada Jazz launched two nonstops on Friday from Calgary to Prince George, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington, operating both with 50-seat CRJs… American Eagle has added a weekly flight…

Let’s Talk about Tuberculosis

A Georgia man was infected with XDR-TB, which is a form of turberculosis that is resistant to almost all antibiotics was able to leave the United States, travel around Europe, fly to Montreal, then drive back to the United States unimpeded. Andrew Speaker, the man, was held in Atlanta under federal isolation order and transferred…

Skybus – Day One

We’ve never hid our disdain for Skybus…but since they launched the other day…we thought it was time to review… Perhaps ABC News’s Scott Mayerowitz has it the best…with his article…”The Greyhound Bus of the Skies – Skybus Airlines: where Lunch Costs More Than a Plane Ticket.” To compare Skybus to Greyhound is to insult Greyhound.…

Contract of Carriage – ExpressJet

This begins the first of our continuing series…dissection of a Contract of Carriage and general rules. We previously reviewed Jetblue’s Contract after its Bill of Rights amendment. We will revisit that in a later installment. Today we tackle ExpressJet. Their contract of carriage can be found here. Here are some interesting notes. The change fee…

US Airways to Downgrade Pittsburgh Further

US Airways plans to eliminate more than 20 daily flights out of Pittsburgh this summer. US Airways has been Pittsburgh’s dominant carrier for many years. It downgraded Pittsburgh’s hub status after Southwest went into its fortress hub at Philadelphia. The airline will cancel service to: Baltimore Altoona Seattle San Diego. It will reduce to one…

Southwest Signs with Galileo

Southwest, which has long been a holdout on working with global distribution systems(GDS), and only maintained the most limited participation in them…today announced a 10-year content distribution agreement with Galileo. Kevin Krone, Southwest’s VP of Sales, Marketing, and Distribution, commented that the GDS environment has evolved to the point where it has become cost effective…

Roundup

American Airlines will increase its service to Colombia effective December 13th. This includes new daily service between Miami and Barranquilla. In addition, American would add a second daily flight from Miami to Medellin on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. American will also add service from JFK to St. Lucia three times weekly beginning November 15th. American…

Weekend Roundup

Southwest has announced its schedule for the return of service at San Francisco International Airport. It will begin service August 26th, with 18 nonstop daily departures. Service will begin with three daily flights to Chicago Midway, eight to San Diego, and seven to Las Vegas. Through these flights, it will offer connecting or direct service…

Neeleman Steps Down as Jetblue CEO

Jetblue announced today that David Neeleman…Jetblue’s founder and CEO, will step down as Chief Executive immediately, a position he has held since he founded the airline. He will remain as non-executive Chairman of the Board and plans to focus on issues like developing JetBlue’s Live TV unit, alternative sources of jet fuel, new forms of…

Roundup

American Airlines announced service from New York’s JFK Airport to St Kitts and Nevins..which they describe as a twin island paradise. Service will start Wednesdays and Sundays effective November 18th…with a Boeing 757 aircraft. American is also recalling 200 flight attendants it furloughed. Former TWA flight attendants, who were the first to be furloughed due…

American Airlines Takes Prisoners Again

On April 24th, American Airlines suffered diversions and cancellations as thunderstorms hit the Dallas Area. American and American Eagle diverted 129 flights. The most they have ever diverted were 133…on September 11, 2001. Of the 13 flights diverted that sat at various airports for more than four hours, only the passengers of Flight 556, from…

Cinco de Mayo News

Yesterday, Continental, American and Delta raised fares systemwise in the continental US by $5 each way. Northwest matched…although United and US Airways did not. Continental, which initiated the increase, said it was due to fuel increases. Airlines has warned of sluggish revenue and bookings for the summer. Frontier launched once daily service between Denver and…

US Airline CEO’s Contact Numbers

The Consumerist pointed us to this list of contact information for the CEOs of US Airlines. Good place to direct complaints…Try to use them as a last resort. We hope lower-level staff will help you long before this becomes needful. The List

First May Roundup

American Airlines is insisting it needs gynecological records, as well as psychological records of the daughter a woman killed on American Airlines 587, which crashed on November 12, 2001 in Queens. A hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow. Only six passenger cases from the crash are left unsettled and there seems to be no reason…

Greyhound…please object

We hope Greyhound and other bus companies are prepared to object to the bad name Skybus is giving to bus travel in this country. It has never been luxurious…but it’ll get you there. Upgrade Travel has some things of interest about this airline. For one, be careful if you try booking a vacation package on…

Mailbag: Customer Service

Our recent Customer Service Stories from other blogs netted this comment from Joanne. I arrived in Newark airport Sunday, April 17 at 6:45 from Paris to take a connecting flight on USAir from Newark to Rochester, NY. I had booked the ticket on Cheap Tickets back in December. When I and my 2 traveling companions…