Flight #614 was scheduled to depart New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Chicago-Midway Airport at 8:45AM with an arrival time of 10:40AM. Customers lined up in typical Southwest fashion, by boarding letter and number in front of spaced steel columns. The first passenger, holding Boarding Group A, Position 01, was Darrell Johnson, who had purchased a…
One of the things we’ve always loved about Southwest is the spirit. In fact, Southwest’s mascot, we understand, is even named Spirit. Pictured right, two happy Southwest employees in Spirit costumes. Southwest was ready when we arrived to offer us bagels and a goody bag for being on the inaugural flight. The bag, an insulated…
In Part I, we discussed the new Southwest Airlines check-in counters at New York – LaGuardia, and their unique(for LaGuardia at least). We had a lot of fun in Chicago. Southwest has taken over Gate B4 at LaGuardia. We use the word take over because of the modifications necessary to operate a gate as Southwest.…
We arrived at LaGuardia two hours before our flight. We wanted to see off the Baltimore flight as well. Southwest had generously awarded us a free roundtrip flight to Chicago and an overnight at a downtown hotel. Everything at LaGuardia airport from Southwest is different than what we see from any other airline using the…
Image via Wikipedia Previously announced service by Southwest Airlines out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport will begin June 28th. Southwest’s current gateway to the New York area is Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, where the airline operates 26 flights a day. The airline added a flight there in November, but plans to cut two…
Image by Telstar Logistics via Flickr Ray LaHood is now the US Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Hood is opposed to the slot auctions at New York airports, dedicated to a new generation of air traffic control equipment, and we’ll see how he is for the country’s transportation network. 3M has issued a press release that…
Image via Wikipedia Delta announced it would be phasing out full-sized jets on its shuttle routes between New York-Laguardia Airport and Washington-National Airport in March. It will replace 148-seat MD-88 aircraft with 76-seat Embraer regional jets operated by Shuttle America, configured with 12 first class seats. Delta insists that otherwise, the product will remain the…
Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to fly a plane on biofuel, as it partnered with GE, Boeing, and Imperium Renewables. If babassu and coconut oil is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than jet fuel, then we’re all for it. Alitalia will launch nonstop Rome-Los Angeles service on June 1st. The service, the only nonstop…
Horizon Air announced new nonstop service from Los Angeles to Loreto, Mexico. The flights will be operated by a CRJ-700 and begin January 19th. The flights will supplement Alaska’s existing service on the route. United Airlines inaugurated Los Angeles-Frankfurt on Saturday. American Airlines had a lot of new routes beginning this week Miami to: Barranquilla,…
Airtran has signed a new three year contract with Coca-Cola. Onboard, you can get Coca-Cola Classic®, Diet Coke®, Sprite®, Sprite Zero(TM), Coca-Cola Zero(TM), Minute Maid® Lemonade, Dasani® Water, Cherry Coke(TM), Cherry Coke Zero(TM) and three types of Minute Maid® juices. Poor Pepsi. Has anyone signed with them lately? Air France-KLM announced last week they would…
The FAA has ordered the inspection of all wing slats on newer Boeing 737s based on findings about a fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan last week. Investigators have discovered that a bolt from a right wing slat had pierced the fuel tank. Thus, within 24 days, all US planes must have…
We’re catching up on our backlog of exciting news…While we do that…why don’t you head over to our new spinoff, Infrequent Flier, for a bit of sage advice…namely Don’t Book with Cheapoair. Cathay Pacific announced a third daily flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Hong Kong to begin November 15th. Currently, they operate one…
Easyjet is promoting its vision of a shorthaul aircraft that will generate half as much carbon dioxide and can be delivered by 2015. They are working with aircraft manufacturers to make their dream a reality. US Airways won’t be allowed to serve alcohol once again in New Mexico, after being refused an extension on its…
A man desperate to keep his girlfriend from boarding a flight from Ft. Myers to New York called in a bomb threat for her airplane Wednesday afternoon. Christian G. Mejia, age 23, was arrested after he dropped off his girlfriend and her travelling companion to an airport and drove to a pay phone and called…
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…
United will add a $10 surcharge for all passengers out of LAX to offset a $10 million rent increase imposed by the Los Angeles World Airports effective immediately. United is one of several airlines suing LAWA, which runs LAX, over the increase and has decided to encourage public outrage by making the passenger pay the…
Avianca, the flagship carrier of Colombia, announced an order for 10 787s. Later this week, Air Canada will be picking up its first Boeing 777, which will kick off its wide-body modernization program. Over the next two years, Air Canada will receive 19 777s, as well as 45 100-seat Embraer 190s. Delta announced service from…
Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours overnight, the Associated Press reports, due to bad weather in the New York area. Pilots and officials blamed some of the problems on a shortage of deicing fluid and a new federal regulation giving pilots a narrow window to get their planes in the air once the chemicals…
Reuters reports that airlines can no longer hold but not use takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The FAA released a temporary plan effective in 2007 that continues strict limits until a permanent plan is implemented. Under the temporary plan, the FAA will maintain the hourly limit of seventy-five takeoffs and landings…
Effective February 15, Delta is increasing its service between Chicago and New York. Delta’s domestic routes of late seem to be paralleling their competition. Jetblue expands to Chicago, Delta follows. US Airways makes a bid for Delta, they announce first New York to Phoenix service and then Salt Lake City to Charlotte service. Delta will…
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.…
The Crankyflier, one of the blogs we check in on regularly, had this great article with visuals on the perimeter rules at National Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These are the only two airports with perimeter regulations, limiting the distance a flight can travel to/from there. Love Field, which has its Wright Amendment, is not a…
The Associated Press reports that an Air Canada flight clipped wings with a Shuttle America plane while taxiing to the runway on Saturday, causing a brief traffic delay. Air Canada Flight 723 was bound for Toronto when it impacted a Shuttle America flight bound for Chicago operated on behalf of Delta. LaGuardia Airport traffic was…
Toledo Express Airport has been awarded $400,000 in grants for air service. The Small Community Air Service Development grant will be used to secure non-stop passenger air service to New York City. The federal monies will be used to offset any loss an airline might incur. Toledo was one of 25 airports to receive a…