Do you ever wonder why an 89-mile trip from BWI-PHL on US Airways can cost over $500 but a 2,000-mile PHL-PHX trip can be as cheap as $80? It’s all about competition. Southwest Airlines announced it will be starting service from PHL-BOS this...
More Regional Jets Creeping into United’s Schedule
The regional jet takeover continues! Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc, today launched a new partnership with United Airlines with scheduled service under the United Express code from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and...
American Faces $10MN+ FAA Fine for Safety Violations (Explaining the New Standby Fees?)
Two bits of news regarding American Airlines today, probably unrelated, but who knows? First, AA is looking at a huge fine for MD-80 safety violations. American Airlines could face a fine in the ballpark of $10 million for safety...
Feeling Stupid for Selling my United Airlines Stock
Remember my post two months ago where I meandered about whether to sell my United Airlines stock? The stock had risen three-fold since I had invested in July and although I had an inkling that the stock would continue...
American Airlines to Charge for Blankets on North American Flights
American Airlines will begin charging $8 for a pillow/blanket package on domestic flights more than two hours as well as flights to Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America starting in May. First Class passengers will still get the...
Wi-Fi Coming to All Southwest Airlines Flights
The LA Times reports that Southwest Airlines will begin to install wireless internet on all its aircraft, making Wi-Fi available on every Southwest flight by early 2012. SWA already offers Wi-Fi on four of their planes. Ding! You are now...
Delta Plans to Further Cutback Operations at Cincinnati
Poor Ohio and Kentucky. The hits keep on coming. Delta Air Lines is expected to move more aircraft to the Pacific Northwest to handle service to Asia as it continues to shuffle the departure points for its international flying...
7 Hours to go from JFK to LAX on Delta Air Lines? The Wisdom of Schedule Padding
From the Wall Street Journal: Your airline seat may not have much padding, but the airline’s schedule sure does. Delta Air Lines Flight 715 from New York to Los Angeles now takes more than seven hours to fly across...
United Airlines Reports Mixed 4Q Results
Both good news and bad news for United today. United Airlines is seeing a strong recovery in international passenger traffic, especially on transatlantic routes, executives of the Chicago airline said Wednesday. "Clearly, international strength is playing a disproportionate role"...
Air New Zealand to Offer "Sleeper Seats" to Economy Passengers
Air New Zealand is my preferred Star Alliance carrier if I must fly in Economy and now I have another reason to choose them: In the ongoing game of creative airline seating, Air New Zealand is introducing a welcome...
Los Angeles Times: More Airline Passengers Getting Bumped
Interesting article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday about bumps. But there is a growing trend that spells trouble for travelers: More passengers are getting bumped from flights. In the first nine months of 2009, the rate of ticketed...
United Airlines <3 Continental Airlines: My Take on Glen Tilton’s Merger Prediction
Mike beat to me it, but I too want to address Glen Tilton’s interview with the Chicago Tribune about the “inevitability” of another airline merger in the next two years. Listeners to our podcast know that I believe a...
British Airways to Upgrade First Class Cabin
For all the talk recently about the dire financial straits facing BA and rumors that they were on the verge of axing their First Class cabin, it comes as a surprise–a welcome surprise–that BA has announced it will be...
Maximizing Your Chances to Effectively Use Your Miles
Scott McCartney has a decent Middle Seat column today in the WSJ on how to maximize your chances to redeem frequent flyer miles. A couple sections particularly caught my eye: On the airline side, road warriors suggest checking alliance...
Pickpocket Steals €4,000 on Air France Flight
PARIS – French police are investigating whether a pickpocket stole thousands of euros from passengers as they slept on an Air France flight from Tokyo to Paris. "There is an investigation under way," a spokesman for the border police...
"Explosive" Honey Shuts Down California Airport
A golden substance found in the checked baggage of a man traveling from Bakersfield, CA to Milwaukee, WI that tested positive for TNT and TATP (plane go boom) led to the evacuation and closure of BFL for several hours. Turns out the...
You Might Want to Avoid Connecting in Denver if You are Traveling in United First
I grimaced when I saw this thread on FlyerTalk today: The FDA has changed the classification of LSG Sky Chefs’ Denver facility from “Approved” to “Provisional” based on an inspection that turned up some real stomach turning findings, such...
UPDATE: TSA Serves Subpoenas to Two Bloggers for Disclosing Latest Security Directive
Earlier this week I blogged about the TSA serving subpoenas to Chris Elliott and Steven Frischling, demanding that the two men reveal how they got their hands on the TSA security directive that went into effect after the Christmas Day terrorist...
TSA Serves Subpoenas to Two Bloggers for Disclosing Latest Security Directive
I know, I know: another attack on the TSA. But after reading this, I hope you agree another post was warranted. Chris Elliot, a travel blogger, Washington Post columnist, and MSNBC contributor asked the TSA to clarify its new...
TSA Loosens Security Restrictions
Good news: the TSA has apparently loosened some of the draconian restrictions they imposed earlier this week. After a two-day security clampdown prompted by a thwarted attempt to bomb a jetliner, some airline officials told The Associated Press that...
