Monthly Archives: January 2009

Spirit to Reach New Lows

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Image by skampy via Flickr The Middle Seat Terminal reported that Spirit Airlines, the same people whose customer service agents tried to charge a cancellation fee to a Flight 1549 survivor, wants to plaster ads on its flight attendants. Ads have been found in many places on planes as airlines try to increase revenue. Skybus…

JetBlue News Roundup

JetBlue Opens Its New Terminal 5 at JFK Airport

Image by Getty Images via Daylife We’ve really been trying to get into this Twitter thing, but it is a slow learning curve. JetBlue posted the following tweet: “We’re testing buy-onboard snack boxes and sandwiches in addition to our free snacks and beverages Let us know if you see some on your flight” Now, we…

AirTran Traps Passengers on Frozen Plane

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Image by James Willamor via Flickr AirTran apologized yesterday after delaying a flight from Columbus, OH to Orlando, FL for over 10 hours. Passengers boarded at 8AM and were stuck until changing planes before taking off at 5:46PM. The plane was almost literally frozen to the ground as it sat parked overnight in a snow…

The Legacy of the Flight Attendant

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Welcome to all those people who found us through the recent Middle Seat Terminal blog post. It is always nice when we notice that professional journalists are reading our efforts, and certainly it inspires us to post more. In writing about the early jet days, which admittedly are before our time, there were other aspects…

Post-Inauguration Roundup

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Image by Telstar Logistics via Flickr Ray LaHood is now the US Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Hood is opposed to the slot auctions at New York airports, dedicated to a new generation of air traffic control equipment, and we’ll see how he is for the country’s transportation network. 3M has issued a press release that…

Fiftieth Anniversary of Transcontinental Nonstops

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Introduction to the Jet Age The Census Bureau reminded us that today, January 25th is the 50th anniversary of the first scheduled, nonstop flight from Los Angeles to New York, operated by American Airlines using the Boeing 707 jet aircraft, which was the inauguration of domestic jet service. Many omit the National Airlines usage of…

Gotta Love Spirit

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Image via Wikipedia Spirit Airlines, the same airline whose CEO made the mistake of sending a private inconsiderate email back to a customer tried to charge customers a cancellation fee for surviving an airplane crash. Two passengers, Rob and Jeff Kolodjay were scheduled to fly out to Myrtle Beach for a golf trip. Their flights…

The Glory Days and the Fares Within

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Image via Wikipedia We were catching up on our reading when we discovered a comment made by the Cranky Flier on the subject of an Op-Ed piece from the New York Times about the ‘good old days’ of travel. We have to agree with Ann Hood, the bygone age of air travel does seem glamourous…

The End of the Flight 1549 Saga for Now

Workers Prepare To Lift The US Airways Plane Out Of Hudson River

Image by Getty Images via Daylife We, unlike some elements of the media(if we can call ourselves that), do not like to milk a story until its becomes too old. Until there are more developments, we intend to update you on a few items of interest, and move on to new topics. The cockpit voice…

Continuing Coverage of US Airways Flight

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Image via Wikipedia In a press release, US Airways confirmed the downing of Flight 1549, and advised information requests for those who may have had family members onboard may call 1-800-679-8215. The Middle Seat blog over at the Wall Street Journal reports that if you are going to ditch a disabled plane in a city,…

Breaking News – USAirways plane hits Hudson River

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AP reports that a USAirways plane has crashed into the Hudson River, sending passengers into the icy water. New York City firefighters are responding. The plane is apparently intact. The plane appears to be an Airbus A320, flight 1549, heading from Laguardia Airport to Charlote, NC, and made a controlled landing. The fuselage is intact,…

Dulles to Close Runway for Inaugural Parking

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Image via Wikipedia Washington’s Dulles Airport will be temporarily closing its newest runway to provide parking for a surge in private planes during the Obama Inauguration. The 9400 foot runway known as 1L/19R will be closed from January 16th through the 23rd. The airport is estimating some 500 private aircraft will arrive at Dulles. Three…

Revisited: Arabic Shirted Man Wins Big Money from JetBlue

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Image via Wikipedia Two years ago, we wrote about one Raed Jarrar, who was told to remove his shirt, which stated “We will not be silent” in both Arabic and English. Here is our synopsis of the time. It is reported that on August 12, Raed Jarrar was about to board a Jetblue flight from…

New Thoughts for the New Year

After 60 Years, Aloha Airlines Shuts Down

Image by Getty Images via Daylife To start off the New Year, let’s remember those that are no longer with us…Every year, the Cranky Flier has a summary of airlines we have lost…Here’s his list and our summaries. If you aren’t interested, skip past it. There are more thoughts below. AlpiEagles – Didn’t have much…

Goodbye 2008 – Welcome 2009

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Image via Wikipedia Happy New Year to all! We hope you had an enjoyable holiday season. Those of you who braved the airports during the season, we hope you had a relatively uneventful travel experience. We’ve made some New Year’s resolutions, including our continual resolution to post more. We do have jobs, and lives, and…