We’re catching up on our backlog of exciting news…While we do that…why don’t you head over to our new spinoff, Infrequent Flier, for a bit of sage advice…namely Don’t Book with Cheapoair. Cathay Pacific announced a third daily flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Hong Kong to begin November 15th. Currently, they operate one…
Monthly Archives: July 2007
Roundup – Ocho Loco vs Terra Blue Chips
American Eagle will add nonstop service from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and Raleigh-Durham beginning November 4th with six day a week service operated by 37-seat ERJ-135 jets. American Eagle will also add service between Santa Fe, New Mexico and both Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles. Service will be operated with 44-seat Embraer 140 regional jets.…
Infrequentflier.com launched
We are proud to announce the launch of our new sister blog, Infrequent Flier(www.infrequentflier.com), where we will be presenting information and advice for the less experienced traveler seeking to keep current. Here at Flight Wisdom, we will remain committed to the best in airline information for a more involved traveler…with new route news, safety and…
Lighters no Longer Banned
Effective August 4th, cigarette lighters will no longer be banned from aircraft. The change, which applies to disposable butane lighters, and refillable lighters, has been advocated by the TSA, which hopes to devote more time to looking for actual security threats…like bottled water. People in TSA security lines are already tense, due to the confusing…
Are you Safe in our Skies and Airports? Tales of Security and Tragedy
It is a question we often ask ourselves…Perhaps a few bits of info should give you pause… The body of an Asian male in his 50s was found in the nose gear wheel well of a United 747 yesterday at San Francisco International Airport. Counting the most recent victim, the FAA has tallied 75 stowaway…
New Slogan Time
When we first launched this blog last year, we began with the slogan: Thoughts on improving your flight experience and Saving you Money Then…as time went by…we amended it to read: News, Advice and Thoughts on improving your flight experience and Saving you Money Now… News, Thoughts, and Advice on Air Travel and the Travel…
Roundup – The Latest in Airline Commentary
Qatar Airways touched down at Washington-Dulles Airport last night in its maiden flight on the route from Doha. The Airbus 340 was greeted by a water salute. Horizon Air has slashed fares from Idaho Falls to Seattle and Portland. Fares on the routes that were $183-$364 are now $139-$189 each way. All flights to the…
Roundup – Less Love at Love, Panama, and new Service
We’ve been away for a few days and there is a lot more than Virgin America that has gone on…Let’s catch up… Continental Airlines has announced it will begin nonstop service from Newark to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. The carrier will operate one daily round-trip flight, except between Jan. 8 and Feb. 13, when it not fly…
Virgin America is Open for Business…if the FAA Says So
Virgin America….the airline that has faced numerous hurdles in its certification due to foreign control concerns…began selling tickets today. Tickets are available for sale at 1-877-FLY-VIRGIN(877-359-8474) and at the Virgin America website. Tickets are on sale from August 8th through February 12th. From its hub at San Francisco International Airport, Virgin America will inaugurate: Twice…
Airport Scales may be Inaccurate
The Consumerist, which we follow, has an article pointing out how while baggage fees are being more stringently enforced…when a news crew accompanied an official from the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures to inspect United Airlines scales, they found all but one to be off. Airport scales, subject to a lot of use, are…
Virgin America Certified for Service
Virgin America has been certified for service in the United States and has been authorized to begin selling tickets. Despite the fact it is already July, Virgin plans to start flying in August from its hub in San Francisco. Virgin America also announced it has signed with NBC Universal, to feature its TV and film…
A Most Unique Trip
Last weekend, a 47-year old gas station owner named Kent Couch flew from Bend, Oregon to Union…a distance of 193 miles. The unique thing is that Mr. Couch did so without benefit of plane. He flew on a lawn chair tied to 105 helium balloons. Couch carried a GPS in his pocket, five gallons of…
Roundup – Loss of Old Service, Adding of New Service…
The Ithaca Journal reports that Delta Airlines is cutting all service to Binghamton, New York. The county was informed that service would end September 6th, surprising airport officials. Boardings are up 43 percent so far this year and Delta had just started service to Kennedy Airport. Flights to Atlanta and Kennedy have been running mostly…
Roundup – Lower Fares, Paypal, and More
On the lighter side of travel…teacher Dave Barclay flew from Toronto, Canada to Cardiff, in Wales to attend a wedding, only to discover that the wedding was scheduled for next July. Barclay, who spent $1015 on his flight, commented that on the bright side, his error has assured him a mention in the speech next…
The 787 – First Bidet in the Air
ANA, set to be the launch customer for the 787 Dreamliner, announced that they will install bidet toilets as a standard feature when it begins flying the aircraft. The toilets, made by Toto…will…and we do not joke, “refresh the parts other airlines cannot reach,” ANA’s chief executive said the launch ceremony… Credit for pointing us…
Boeing 787 Unveiled Sunday
We thought we should address the unveiling of the new 787…Fifteen thousand cheering people showed up to the event, giving crowds at the plant in Everett, Washington the first look at Boeing’s first all-new plane in twelve years. The event, hosted by Tom Brokaw, was watched live by thousands at Qwest Field in Seattle and…
Denied Boarding Compensation to be Reviewed
We have long said, on the blog and elsewhere, that the best thing that the Federal government could do to encourage change would be to review involuntary denied boarding compensation…The number, set at $400 for passengers forced to wait for a new flight over two hours, $200 for less….has been unchanged since deregulation in 1979…means…
Roundup – New Developments
Aeromexico today began offering flights from Austin, Texas to Mexico City daily, increasing from four times weekly. Service will now be operated by an Embraer 145 regional jet. L’Avion, the all business French airline, will be offering a second flight from Newark to Paris Orly using a 757-200 with 90 seats starting for the winter…
Summer Security Funtime
Our ‘friends’ at the Coalition for Luggage Security are trying to scare us into giving their sponsors money to transport our luggage separately from ourselves. In a recent press release, ‘Travel Fears Proving to be True’, they comment that “in the wake of these events our nation’s airports have stepped up security, but the threat…
Roundup – New London Service, Women in Dresses, and More
Continental Airlines and Kingfisher Airlines announced a comprehensive partnership, with frequent flyer and airport lounge access reciprocity to start in October. Continental will place its flight number on Kingfisher flights connecting to Continental’s daily flights between New York and Delhi and new service between New York and Mumbai. American will be switching its daily Raleigh-Durham…
787 Dreamliner to be Unveiled
Boeing will unveil the 787 Dreamliner on Sunday…July 8th, 2007(7/8/7)…in a bit of marketing whimsy. Things have been good for Boeing this year, with 544 orders for the year so far…which puts it on track to be the industry leader…a title it stole back from Airbus last year… For a historical perspective, Reuters has a…
New York has a Passenger Bill of Rights…will the rest of the US?
We realized we had neglected to comment on the subject of the New York Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, passed by the state legislature on June 22nd. The bill is limited…as air travel is federally regulated, but takes effect at the start of the new year. We decided to have a look at the bill…we…
See America….by Rail…
See America…by Rail…But wait…this is an air travel site….Elsewhere in the world…rail is a much more popular service…it is faster, more efficient…Unfortunately, it is an often overlooked part of the US transportation system and there is not enough attention put into it to make it the service it should be. As the Grand Rapids Press…
In-Flight Internet May Be Back
Brandweek reports that Jetblue will unveil onboard Internet access sometime this year, delivered by LiveTV, which is a Jetblue subsidiary company that not only provides IFE to it, but to other airlines. Cell phone calls will be blocked…due to overwhelming customer opposition to the ability…but text messaging is an acceptable alternative in the air for…
Security Scares Affect Independence Travel
London Heathrow reopened Terminal 4 after a security scare due to a suspicious bag led to the cancellation of over 100 flights. British Airways said it had cut 108 flights after cancelling all its European departures from the terminal for the day, as well as all long-haul flights for six hours. At least seven transatlantic…