To celebrate United Airlines’ 85th Anniversary next year, FAs (just the UA ones) will have a chance to vote on a classic livery that will be featured on a 757. The retro-schemed aircraft will survive the new UA “bingo container” paint jobs...
$5 Drinks During "Happy Hour" on American Airlines
If you find yourself behind the curtain next month on American Airlines’ during the five o’clock hour, you’ll have a chance to take advantage of AA’s "5@5" happy hour promotion. Currently, if you want an adult beverage on AA you’ve...
A Rundown of my Weekend Mileage Run: Snack, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner on Continental Airlines
Last weekend I did a mileage run from Los Angeles to Denver and back via Cleveland on Continental. The fare was something like $160 r/t including taxes and gave me a chance to get some work done in the...
My Solution to the Full Body Scanner Dilemma: TSA Explosives Detection Canine Team
Whenever I discuss the TSA’s obtrusive screening procedures, I can usually get people to sympathize with my point of view or at least understand where I am coming from. The inevitable response, however, is “Yes, I see this as...
Picture of the Week #11: The Terrorists Have Won
I know, I know. The “terrorists” can dress up as nuns. Or children. Or seniors. But pictures like the one below just make me sad (even if it is a few years old). photo courtesy: Flicker user Morning in...
Why the 2011 United/Continental Elite Program Isn’t the End of the World
Reading some of the responses on Flyertalk today after United announced changes to the Mileage Plus program for 2011, you would think the world was coming to an end. Relax. I’m not happy about the changes either, but we may...
Why I Won’t Arrive 15 Minutes Before Departure Next Time I Fly Out of Burbank
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California is a handy little United Express station. Less 20 minutes from my house, it is always my airport of choice when I travel to and from Southern California. When mainline pulled out over a...
United Plays Bait and Switch with VDBs
I noticed yesterday morning that my afternoon SFO-PHL flight was zeroed out. I haven’t had a bump since February, so just the thought of picking up $400 in travel credits perked me up. I arrived in San Francisco about...
Full Body Scanning from the Eyes of the TSA
While Gary does a tremendous job summing up my thoughts on the matter while offering pithy commentary, I too want to review a Mom vs. The World blog post, which claims to offer insight on the full body scanner...
Watch Your Manners at Dubai International Airport
A 34-year-old British man has been arrested and sent to jail for giving "the finger" to an airport worker at Dubai International Airport. He got into a row with a female airport employee when she refused to let him use...
Why don’t passengers follow crew member instructions on regional jets?
I suppose a more apt question may be why don’t passengers follow crew members instructions on most flights, but I really felt sorry for the SkyWest FA working my SFO-BUR flight yesterday. After the aircraft door closed, she asked passengers...
United Airlines’ Unscheduled Stop in Iceland
When Delta announced they would begin serving Iceland from New York Kennedy, I secretly hoped that United or Continental might jump into the fray. Iceland’s economy may still be in doldrums, but why not have one flight to London...
SFO’s Best Gate Agent
Sometimes, a gate agent can just make your day. Due to favorable wind conditions and UA’s generous schedule padding (gotta retain that #1 in on-time arrivals status), I arrived in San Francisco one hour early this morning, leaving me...
United Integrates Check-In at O’Hare…Sort of
Starting Tuesday, if you’re flying Continental out of Chicago O’Hare, you will check in with United at Terminal 1 rather than at CO’s traditional check-in and ticketing desks in Terminal 2. But there’s one small problem: Continental customers will...
Air Canada, WestJet to Levy Second Checked Bag Fee
Frankly, I was surprised to hear that Air Canada and WestJet held out so long. Fees have been such a cash cow for the airline industry the last few years that it comes as a shock, albeit a pleasant...
UA’s Smisek: Cleveland must "earn its hub status every day"
With a mega-hub in nearby Chicago, word on the street is that Continental’s Cleveland hub will be a casualty of the merger with United. CLE is only 314 miles from ORD. While San Francisco and Los Angeles (UA’s West...
United, Continental Pilots Butting Heads Over Seniority
The dust of the merger hasn’t even settled yet and already Continental and United pilots are quarreling. Let’s hope this sibling rivalry is ironed out faster than America West and US Airways pilots have worked out their differences (we’re still waiting on that)… On...
My Thoughts on Avianca-TACA and Copa Joining Star Alliance
As Fozz reported, in a ceremony in Miami earlier today, Star Alliance announced that Avianca-TACA and Copa will join Star Alliance by mid-2012. Avianca and TACA merged last year, though the two airlines still operate separately and are not formally...
$25 Gift from American Express for Supporting Small Business
From Lucky: American Express is offering the first 100,000 people who register here a $25 statement credit if they spend at least $25 at a small business the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 27th. Here’s how AMEX defines a small business: Eligible merchants...
More Backlash Over TSA’s Body Scanners
More pilots and now a group of university scientists are protesting a TSA security directive that will soon make full body scanners the primary method of passenger screening at airports across the United States. If my constant haranguing about civil liberties...
