For those of us who love the airline industry, sometimes we wish to show our interest by buying airline-related merchandise. For those of you with children, who wouldn’t be tempted to send their youngster to school with an airplane bookbag(seen left)? “This completely custom backpack features an airplane shape, US Airway colors and logos, with…
View Larger Map US Airways flight 4423 was scheduled to leave Lynchburg, VA for Charlotte Airport at around 2:30PM yesterday, but was delayed due to an Act of God. God in this case was a 23-year old man who was overheard talking on his cell phone(we wonder what service provider He uses) commenting that the…
British Airways will be adding nonstop service from London Heathrow to Las Vegas on October 25th. The service will be operated with Boeing 777 aircraft. Virgin Atlantic currently operates service from London Gatwick to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is launching service from San Juan, Puerto Rico from London’s Gatwick airport via Antigua. The service…
The Boston Globe theorized last week that JetBlue would soon match other airlines in charging for a first checked bag. Southwest and JetBlue are the only major carriers who do not charge for the first bag. Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue advised that no decision had been made and that he was “wary of being…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXrMRf25U8 Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenburger , the pilot who landed a US Airways plane on the Hudson River, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the new Yankee Stadium. Last month, it was announced that he was writing two books, one on his life up until the events of flight 1549, in a deal worth…
AirTran Airways announced new nonstop service from Milwaukee to Washington’s National Airport. Beginning June 11th, they will offer two daily nonstops between the two airports. This continues AirTran’s buildup in Milwaukee after their failed attempt to merge with Milwaukee carrier Midwest Airlines. AirTran also announced service from its Atlanta hub to Atlantic City, NJ. Service…
Mr. T, we’re sure, would say, “I pity the fool airline who mistreats their passengers.” Once again, here are some recent tales we’ve noticed of travel experiences. When a man tried to check in for his flight on Spirit, he was told the flight was oversold. When he tried to fly the next day, Spirit…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife A Yale student is suing US Airways, claiming that they stole an Xbox 360 from his luggage. He is requesting $1 million in compensation. Jesse Maiman claims that when he took a Dec. 17, 2008, flight from New Haven, Conn., to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, he checked his Xbox…
Image by James Willamor via Flickr Our friend, Chris Elliott announced the news, to be reported by press release tomorrow, that it will bring back complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to its flights starting next month. Charging for water especially, considering the dry atmosphere onboard airplanes and the liquid restrictions, seemed especially unfair.…
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="US Airways New Gimmick"][/caption] US Airways has announced it will charge $7 for a pillow and blanket beginning February 16th. The service will not be offered on US Airways Express flights, but can be purchased immediately on their website. In a recent BNET article, Barbara Hernandez commented on the subject. She…
Welcome to all those people who found us through the recent Middle Seat Terminal blog post. It is always nice when we notice that professional journalists are reading our efforts, and certainly it inspires us to post more. In writing about the early jet days, which admittedly are before our time, there were other aspects…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife We, unlike some elements of the media(if we can call ourselves that), do not like to milk a story until its becomes too old. Until there are more developments, we intend to update you on a few items of interest, and move on to new topics. The cockpit voice…
Image via Wikipedia In a press release, US Airways confirmed the downing of Flight 1549, and advised information requests for those who may have had family members onboard may call 1-800-679-8215. The Middle Seat blog over at the Wall Street Journal reports that if you are going to ditch a disabled plane in a city,…
[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignleft" width="224"] USAirways Jet in Hudson River[/caption] AP reports that a USAirways plane has crashed into the Hudson River, sending passengers into the icy water. New York City firefighters are responding. The plane is apparently intact. The plane appears to be an Airbus A320, flight 1549, heading from Laguardia Airport to Charlote, NC,…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption] There is a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, despite the economic downturn. Here are some tales of people who haven’t done too well of late, and here’s hoping travel experiences improve in the new year. Thanks to Chris Elliott and the Consumerist…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption] For the first time in the United States, an airport is being built for commercial service completely without government funding. This new airport will be in Branson, Missouri, which receives 8.4 million visitors a year for its shows and conventions. The nearest airport is over…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="202" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Time to update all of you on some service updates and enhancements that have been happening. Delta Air Lines announced it would inaugurate service from Paris to Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham. The new transatlantic route out of Pittsburgh will be the only transatlantic service offered out of that city,…
A while back, we commented on bereavement fares. Despite the popularity of this subject, as it comes upon people urgently, we haven’t revisited it since. USA Today’s Bill McGee recently did, and we decided it was good to update our rundown. Many airlines are not forthcoming about their policies, and require a call and specifics…
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption] We stole the title for this post from Chris Elliott, whom we admire as the champion of fair disclosure and fees, although we admit to disagreeing with him at times. USA Today reported that while jet fuel is down, fuel surcharges have stuck. And this…
In light of the news that US Airways would not longer provide even water on aircraft to passengers, we have been looking for ways to get around this. You can’t bring water from home because you are limited to 3oz or less of liquid. We began to think about some of the travel gear we’d…
Virgin America and HBO today launched the airline’s new nonstop service from New York’s JFK airport to Las Vegas, Nevada and will unveil “Entourage Class” on the airline as well as the advance screening in flight of Season 5 of the HBO original series Entourage. Virgin America flies to seven cities, including: SFO to LAX,…
With the announcement that Northwest would be charging for the first checked bag for all flights purchased on or after July 10th for travel on or after August 28th, it brings the total to four legacy carriers who charge for anything you put under the plane. The others are American, United, and US Airways(but they…
United Airlines matched American Airlines’ $15 fee to check a single bag today. US Airways announced the same on all reservations booked on or after July 9th. US Airways will be charging $2 per nonalcoholic drink beginning August 1st. They’ve already rid themselves of free snacks in economy as of June 1st. In addition, US…
Airline passengers think that their ticket gives them the right to have themselves and their luggage transported to their destination. They are wrong on both counts. Most recently, the legacy carriers have now imposed a twenty-five dollar charge for the checking of a second bag. Chris Elliott, in his blog, commented that United’s chief revenue…
Effective May 5th, US Airways will charge a $25 service fee for checking a second bag. The fee is waived for qualifying frequent fliers and those who booked prior to today. US Airways becomes the second legacy carrier to implement such a fee. United introduced such a fee on February 4th, referring to it as…