American, Continental, Northwest, and United Airlines submitted briefs today to the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of their bid for the one China route to be awarded this year. The DOT, charged with choosing the best route to serve the public interest, has to decide which of the four cities: Dallas-Fort Worth, Newark, Detroit,…
USAToday reported on Houston Intercontinental Airport’s effort to increase non-aviation revenue by cutting and bailing grass on airport land and selling it as hay to cattle ranchers. Sales generated $30,000 and the airport will be sowing 2,000 acres of a more popular grass later this year. Airports across the US are investing this way. With…
The Daily Telegraph reports that last weekend, supermodel Naomi Campbell, already infamous for her temper tantrums around the world, was heard to say, “I am never flying Qantas again,” after her arrival in Sydney. There is no evidence that the airline mistreated her or did anything improper. In fact, from Miss Campbell’s track record, we’d…
On Friday, the United Kingdom relaxed their restrictive baggage rules that limited the size of carry-on luggage. The new policy brings them back in line with the standard policy, a standard-sized roller bag. The dimensions as per the BAA Hearthrow website are 56cm by 45cm by 25cm(9.85 by 17.85 by 22 inches). Musical instruments may…
A travel company to have a look at is cFares, which offers some services that are rather unique to the online travel market. We found a review of it on GigaOM. We have in the past commented about our issues with online travel agents because we believe that there is a lack of good customer…
TSA Screeners at Baltimore-Washington International Airport discovered a gun in a carry-on bag Friday morning. While officials held onto the carryon, the owner continued through the checkpoint and disappeared. He could not be located. Concourses A and B were closed for ninety minutes and all passengers were required to be rescreened. It makes us feel…
Reuters reported the other day that aircraft manufacturer Boeing is weighing options for replacing the best-selling 737. Seating on the 737 is anywhere from 110 to 220 seats and is the most popular commercial plane ever. More than 5000 have been produced in the last forty years. Boeing is studying how to meet expectations for…
Last Friday, the Association of Flight Attendants(AFA) appealed the decision that blocked their threatened strike. The Judge said that the union had not exhausted all options for coming to an agreement with the airline. Reuters reported today that the AFA has asked to be released from formal mediation. If the National Mediation Board ceases to…
Aviation Daily reports that after a ninth-month review, the US Department of Transportation decided not to make any changes in airfare advertising rules. The current rules require airlines to list the full fare in advertisements, with several defined exceptions, allowing government taxes and fees to be broken out and put into the fine print. The…
The British Department for Transport, Reuters says, still hopes to announce changes to their stricter rules on carry-on luggage this week. However, other sources indicate that this is not likely as they are likely to do anything until later in the month. On September 27th, aviation experts are set to review European Union proposals for…
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…
The Associated Press reports an Air India flight from Toronto back to India via Birmingham, England returned to Toronto an hour into its flight after a passenger found a suspicious package was found in one of the lavatories. Packages on Air India flights are of particular concern. A bomb exploded on an Air India flight…
Ben Murtzabaugh at Today in the Sky reported earlier today that a passenger named Mark Coshever was able to board a London to Amsterdam flight using his two-year old daughter’s passport for ID. Despite going through two passport checks at Luton Airport in London, he boarded Easyjet and was in Amsterdam before he noticed the…
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,…
In a post last week, the Upgrade Travel Blog, a guide to living the first class life at coach prices, posted on two useful directories. First is Travelpost.com, which has compiled this directory of wireless airport hotspots and their pricing. The second is the Air Power Wiki, dedicated to helping people find power outlets at…
On Saturday, the Cranky Flier posted some advice on delays, misconnections, and cancellations. We thought we would add our two cents on the subject. Delays are not anything you can do anything about. Most of the time it is weather causing delay of the inbound aircraft or weather causing a ground delay out to your…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Delta will terminate its interline agreement with Airtran. The two airlines, who both maintain a hub at Atlanta, have had an agreement since 2001. Interline agreements usually cover the transfer of baggage in between carriers, as well as allowing each carrier to ticket flights on the other. Less commonly noticed…
The US Travel Insurance Association issued a press release reporting the results of a new consumer survey. This survey reveals that people who buy travel insurance tend to be more well-educated, travel more frequently and have higher household incomes than those who don’t. Travellers going overseas are three times more likely to buy insurance than…
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…
Last month, we questioned why we could take a laptop with a potentially dangerous battery on a plane but not a simple bottle of water. Obviously, the airlines have been following our blog, Techfreep reports that yesterday, Virgin Atlantic announced that passengers with any Dell or Apple laptops will not be allowed to use the…
Compass Airlines, a new subsidiary of Northwest, plans to launch service in October by flying a 50-seat regional jet from Minnaeapolis to Washington Dulles Airport, as the Star Tribune reports. That plane and route was previously operated by Mesaba Airlines. While Compass is a subsidiary, it will be paid in the same manner as Mesaba…
Jetblue announced Thursday that they have been granted DOT approval to operate service from New York to Cancun, Mexico beginning November 30th. With this expansion, Jetblue operates service on many of the high-demand winter routes out of the Northeast to warmer climates, and complements their Aruba, Bermuda, and multiple Floridean routes for getting passengers from…
The New York Daily News reports that during last month’s terror alert in the United Kingdom, author J.K. Rowling was not forced to check all of her belongings as her fellow passengers were. They were only allowed to carry their essential ID, medications, and keys. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series of books,…
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…
Recently, Mary Jo Manzaneres of Fly Away Cafe, caught our attention while commenting on our post on a United Flight Diversion. She is a Flight Attendant and her blog is not just about air travel, our focus, but places to go on the ground as well. In a post earlier, she reports on Miami International…