I’m scratching my head as I sit in the Philadelphia Red Carpet Club this morning. I’ve got a meeting in Boston today and am traveling from PHL-IAD-BOS. Last night, I got a text message from United that my upgrade...
One-Way Star Alliance Awards Coming Tomorrow on United Airlines
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, United is on the brink of an announcement introducing one-way Star Alliance (and perhaps partner) awards. It is still not clear whether stopovers will remain on round-trip awards, Star and partner flights...
America’s Meanest Airlines (and why my list is different)
Hamooda Shami over at Yahoo! Travel put together a list of the five worst major airlines and the four worst regional airlines. To formulate his scores, he took a look at the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report and a "number of other sources"...
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against United by Blind Passengers
Three California blind residents, frequent travelers on United Airlines, have filed a class action lawsuit against the airline. The suit centers on UA’s EZ Check-In Machines (aka Mr. Chickens) and whether the touchscreen interface unfairly prohibits blind passengers from taking...
1,000 Miles for Enrolling in US Airways Dividend Miles
If you haven’t already joined US Airways’ Dividend Miles program, take advantage of a new 1,000 bonus mile offer for signing up. Simply join by December 31 using promo code NMCB. You can also earn 2,000 additional miles if you...
United VP Hints that Economy Plus Will Remain
We still don’t have official confirmation that Economy Plus will remain on the post-merger United, but at an aviation summit in New Orleans yesterday, United’s vice president of operations planning and international operations, Cindy Szadokierski provided this glimmer of hope:...
Hypoglycemic United FA Picks and Eats Warm Nuts as She Serves Them
Have you ever had a FA sample your food–in front of you? From Flyertalk: I was on a [United Airlines’] mid-con 757 on row 3 in F. As the FA was bringing out the warm nuts, She was picking...
Delta Not Worried About Southwest’s Arrival in Atlanta
When news broke that Southwest and AirTran would be merging, I opined that the long-term ramifications would not be beneficial to consumers. I stand by that analysis and it seems that Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson agrees. At Delta’s third-quarter earnings...
Humor: The Trials and Tricks of Traveling While Fat
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...
