No–this is not a post where I pick on "passengers of size." I do have my fair share of XXL seatmate stories, but they are not nearly as funny as this self-deprecating travelogue by NY Times columnist Rob Goldstone. Here’s a few excerpts: Discreetly, I point...
New JetBlue TV Ad Pokes Fun at Checked Bag Fees
Southwest was on to something when it started mercilessly attacking its legacy rivals for charging for checked bags. WN’s simple message that its passengers would not be nickeled and dimed seems to have resonated with travelers, even noting that leisure and other...
Airport Carpeting: Don’t be "Floored" by this Niche Website
I generally groan at puns, but I thought my title above (lifted from LA Times) was appropriate for this rather nifty website. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to airport flooring. Usually, my sole concern at the airport...
United/Continental Add 19 New Routes
Now merged with Continental, United announced on Thursday that it would add a total of 19 new routes from seven of its eight mainland hubs in 2011. Here’s the list: Chicago O’Hare: No new routes. Cleveland: Cincinnati. Denver: Amarillo,...
Aerolineas Argentinas to Join SkyTeam
SkyTeam flyers will finally have an airline based in South America after Aerolineas Argentinas announced its intention to begin the process of joining the alliance by the end of the month, with full integration by mid-2012. While Star Alliance and...
Continental’s "Generous" Compensation Offer for my EWR-BRU Fiasco: Zilch
Last weekend, Continental Airlines did not meet my expectations at Newark. I rarely take the time to write to an airline (I haven’t written to United in years), but felt what happened was egregious enough to bring to CO’s...
Jet Engines to Blame for the Poor Taste of Airline Meals!
While I personally have never found airline meals all that bad, they are stigmatized in popular culture as inedibly horrible. Researchers have been busy at work trying to figure out why. I would think artificial flavorings, preservatives, and cheap...
Special Meals on United Redeyes
If you’ve got a redeye flight coming up in United First, do yourself a favor: avoid the sandwich and order yourself a special meal. Since UA enhanced their meal service earlier this year, gone is the fruit and cheese...
Emirates Airlines Dispute Costs Canada a Seat on the UN Security Council?
Canadians are up in arms today that Portugal edged out Canada for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council. Politics was no doubt at play, and it seems that a dispute between Canadian and UAE authorities over landing...
Rumor: United will Introduce One-Way Star Alliance Awards on November 1st
According to this thread on FT, multiple United Airlines’ reservations agents have shared that one-way Star Alliance awards will be available for booking at the end of the month. Not taking their word for it, I called UA reservations...
No Jail Time for Ex-JetBlue FA Steven Slater
He got off easy. After ex-JetBlue FA Steven Slater pleaded guilty to two charges of attempted criminal mischief, one a felony and one a misdemeanor, he was released in New York earlier today and will avoid jail if he complies with...
Airlines Want Air Marshals Out of First Class
A couple weeks ago, Scott McCartney of the Wall Street Journal wrote a great column on the recent push by airlines to move Federal Air Marshals out of first class and back to economy. Today, USA Today followed up with an article of their own, further...
Airplane Paint Jobs Gone Bad
In a feature entitled "12 Awesome Airplane Paint Jobs," Autopia magazine brings us what they consider to be prime examples of airlines "deck[ing] out their planes with cool paint jobs." After examining their choices, however, I have only this to...
ExpressJet Pilot Faces Job Termination for Refusing to Walk Through TSA Nude-O-Scope
First, you’ve got to read Michael Roberts’ account of the incident. Roberts is a Houston-based ExpressJet pilot who recently refused to walk through the TSA’s Advanced Imaging Technology (a clever Orwellian term for machines colloquially known as Nude-O-Scopes) at...
US Airways Tells Man He is too Disabled to Fly Alone
To sum up the story: a 47 year old man with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair to get around was told by US Airways that he was "too disabled to fly alone" on a PBI-MCI flight last month. In a statement issued...
Contrasting United and Lufthansa: Accommodation vs. Competence
I’m back from my short trip to Frankfurt and I want to share the results of a little experiment I conducted yesterday and today with the good folks at Lufthansa. Bottom line: they all play by the rules. Whether this is a virtue or...
There’s a Continental Airlines’ Mechanic in My Seat!
Last night I blogged about my seat assignment on a Newark-Brussels Continental flight that "magically" changed from 17D (an aisle in the second row of economy class with in-seat power) to 35E (a middle seat near the back of the...
Skirmish Over Seat Assignment at EWR
Involving me… I don’t take kindly to being moved from 17D (front of the economy cabin with in-seat power) to 35E (middle seat near the back of the aircraft with no power) with no explanation offered. More importantly, I...
Earn Double Rapid Rewards on Southwest Airlines’ Philadelphia Flights
For all the fun we have ribbing Southwest Airlines, I’m truly a WN fan. That doesn’t mean I’d ever choose them over any of the other airlines that serve Philadelphia (especially when their leisure fares are often the most expensive),...
Southwest Slips to Cellar in On-Time Arrival Performance
United has again captured the on-time arrival award for the month of September (88.9% of flights arrived on time), with US Airways (86.6%) and Continental (85.6%) close behind. Surprisingly, at least on first glance, Southwest Airlines finished last (75.8%) among major...
