Holiday Travel Tips from US Airways

In a press release today, the employees of US Airways provided their tips for Thanksgiving holiday travel. We summarize them below with some of our elaborations. Do not bring your turkey or other dishes to the airport. You can make them there. Travel lightly…overhead space is limited. Do not wrap your gifts prior to travel…

Feel Squeezed? Well…squeeze back.

We were honored when Jeff Hoyt commented on our post directing people to his podcasts. We hope he continues to entertain us with podcasts relevant to our subject matter(we’ve already referred to him twice). He inquired about the Knee Defender, a device designed to stop the seatback in front of you from reclining. It retails…

Freshly Squeezed at 30,000 Feet

In one of our posts on Customer Service issues, we mentioned the blog of Jeff Hoyt. He does podcasts every few months that are few amusing. We decided on a whim to see what he was up to, and it turns out he has a new podcast about the travel experience. To hear Mr. Hoyt…

How to: Capture the Armrest

With legroom in coach at a premium, fighting with your neighbor in the adjoining seat for the area you are meant to share may be something you’d opt to do. Wired provided this advice on how to capture the armrest from the person who, due to his or her proximity and the amount of space…

EU Matches US on Liquids

Effective today, for all flights originating in airports in the European Union, liquids will be allo wed in limited quantities. The rules match very closely the the US rules. To reiterate the new rules and best practiceseffective both there and in the US: Liquids and gels are permitted in 3oz/100mL bottles. No more will be…

Plans to Modernize at New York’s LaGuardia

The New York Daily News reports that officials at the Port Authority, which runs the three New York area airports, are considering a billion dollar rebuild of LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal Building. The building is the second oldest of the terminals, surpassed only by the airport’s original terminal, now known as the Marine Air Terminal.…

JetBlue Lists in all Major Global Distribution Systems

As BTOnline reports, last week Jetblue signed an agreement with Amadeus, which gives it representation in all of the major Global Distribution Systems(GDS), including Sabre, Worldspan, and Galileo. Jetblue had left the GDS world and been somewhat successful with 100% direct booking. But, as Jetblue has concluded, opening itself up to GDS bookings has gotten…

Designs to Be Submitted for A350 XWB

Bloomburg reports that Airbus plans to increase spending to $12 billion, a 20% increase to develop the A350 jet. The current design is its sixth attempt to come up with serious competition for the 787 Dreamliner. Airbus is seriously behind in the A350 project, partially due to the problems with its A380 project. With the…

Jetblue Eliminates Trans-Fat

New York City has recently been involved in a controversy over the possibility of banning trans-fat from restaurants, among other things. Jetblue, New York’s hometown airline, has gotten into the act. Today, Jetblue announced that effective December 15th, Jetblue will offer a 100% trans-fat free selection of snacks and beverages with the addition of Chocobilly…

TSA Continues to Try and Turn Profit

As Upgrade: Travel Better reported last week, the TSA reserves the rights to fine you in the event you have prohibited stuff in your carry-on luggage. The agency collected over 1.5 million dollars in fines last year, and considering the increasing security measures implemented at airports and proposed, they may opt to levy more fines.…

Airbus: A Review

Not long ago, a fellow blogger accused us of having a singular point of view in regards to Boeing vs. Airbus. Now, it was not long ago Boeing had its problems, and it has succeeded in turning them around for the most part. Right now, Airbus is in the midst of serious problems, and the…

Cleanliness in the Air

The New York Times reported the other day on the cleanliness of airplanes, focusing on Delta. Delta had let its schedule for deep cleaning its aircraft go to every 15 to 18 months. Essentially, planes are used as many hours of the day as are practical, which means thousands of hours in flight. In a…

More Fuel Surcharge Reductions

A few days ago, we reported El Al had reduced fuel surcharges. Cheapflights.com reports that two additional airlines have reduced the cost of fuel surcharges. It shows that two more airlines are willing to keep fuel surcharges linked to fuel increases and decreases. We salute them in that regard and reiterate…it is not a fuel…

Why can’t the airline keep my seat reservations?

We noted with interest the Upgrade: Travel Better blog response to a reader email on seat assignments. Speaking from our experience, we agree that booking your seats any way but directly with the carrier does not guarantee your seating will be confirmed by them. If your seat request comes back unable to confirm…they won’t usually…

Where Do You Want Airtran to Go Next?

In a press release today, Airtran asked its customers to voice their input on where they’d like to see the airline fly next. The list of possible cities includes: Albany, N.Y. Albuquerque, N.M. Allentown, Pa. Austin, Texas Baton Rouge, La. Boise, Idaho Burlington, VT Charleston, S.C. Charleston, W.Va. Chattanooga, Tenn. Chicago (O’Hare), Ill. Cincinnati, Ohio…

Airbus 350 Delay could affect USAirways

Reuters reports that a delay in the launch of the A350 could affect USAirways in its long-term expansion plans for international service. Airbus invested in USAirways in exchange for a commitment to purchase 20 A350s. Since Airbus has no firm delivery dates for the A350, this commitment may not bear fruit in line with the…

El Al Reduces Fuel Surcharge

In an inspiring note, an airline has actually reduced its fuel surcharge for all US flights. Usually, even though airlines raise their surcharges as fuel prices rise, they don’t give passengers the courtesy of reversing that when prices lower. El Al Israel Airlines announced it is lowering its prices due to a decrease in the…

New Developments at Jetblue

The New York Times reports that Jetblue is expected to announce service between Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY in about two months. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that Senator Charles Schumer(Dem-NY) confirmed this, and that he is expected to be at Stewart Wednesday morning to announce this, with a daily roundtrip flight to Ft. Lauderdale and…

Porter Airlines Inaugurates Service

Not long ago, we reported on Porter Airlines and its unique philosophy of service. This morning, the inaugural flight of Porter Airlines left Toronto’s City Centre Airport just after 7AM EST. Despite issues with its base at City Centre, due to the airport’s location, Porter wants to expand over the next few months to more…

In Flight Ads

As the Detroit Free Press reports, Spirit Airlines is planning to sell advertising inside its new Airbus planes. We reported on our thoughts on this practice with European discounter Ryanair. Spirit’s Chief Marketing Officer said that customers should expect ads from travel-oriented businesses, like rental cars, or high-end brands aimed at fliers with disposable income. …

More A380 Woes

We were recently reading the 24/7 Wall Street blog, and discovered their take on the Boeing 747 refit. Since the 787 has been such a success in orders due to its fuel-saving design, the 747-8 has incorporated those new designe elements. It is 11% lighter than the A380, comparing the total weight to the number…

Halloween Disaster

As reported elsewhere, a man in California has set up a Halloween display in his front yard simulating the crash of a G3 Gulfsteam. Steve Chambers, a 25-year old aviation mechanic, got the spare parts from his place of business and plans on trying a crashed 747 for next year. The tableau was apparently realistic…

Music for Flight

We were quite amused when someone showed us a link to MusicAirport.com. The site is an airport themed internet radio station that chooses music based on the atmosphere of “those beautiful airport lounges.” The musical selection looks reasonably good if you need some generic background music. Just click…and imagine you are at the airport in…