Image via Wikipedia Last week, Ryanair announced it was eliminating check-in desks, and we oddly enough, thought it would end at that for a bit. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, told BBC Television that they are considering pay toilets. “One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility…
B.net has an interesting report on Delta taking over a Northwest route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, reducing the plane operated from 148 to 76 seats and breaking the flight’s connection to Tokyo service, the original reason for putting the flight on in the first place. The new Delta Connection service connects with service…
View Larger Map A Boeing 737-800 crashed into a field on approach to Amsterdam today, killing at least nine people and injuring fifty. The plane did not catch fire, but broke into three pieces. Flight TK1951 left Istanbul 8:22AM Wednesday with 128 passengers and 7 crew onboard. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport was the focus of an…
Image via Wikipedia Looking for things to rid themselves of, European low-cost carrier Ryanair, which we never had a particularly high opinion of, is planning to eliminate all its check-in desks by year’s end. Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said the airline saw the move as the “logical next step” in its effort to slash costs.…
Image by James Willamor via Flickr Our friend, Chris Elliott announced the news, to be reported by press release tomorrow, that it will bring back complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to its flights starting next month. Charging for water especially, considering the dry atmosphere onboard airplanes and the liquid restrictions, seemed especially unfair.…
The people at JetBlue sent us a lovely message yesterday… We understand it’s not easy being a high flyer these days. The CFO is picking apart your expense reports. Congress is mad about your bonus. And you can’t even hop on a private jet to the Cayman Islands without freaking out the shareholders. But even…
Image by Jim Frazier via Flickr The Boston Globe reports that low cost carrier Southwest Airlines will be serving Boston’s Logan Airport beginning sometime in the fall. The launch will apparently be somewhat conservative, with 8 to 12 daily departures to just a few destinations to start. The airline will be unveiling details sometime in…
Allegiant Airlines, known for its service from various smaller markets to leisure destinations on a bi or tri weekly basis has announced new service from Los Angeles International Airport beginning May 1st. The news comes as no surprise, as rumors of it have been floating around for almost a week now. We chose to wait…
View Larger Map A state delegate has introduced a bill to place slot machines inside BWI Airport. Voters would have to approve it as an amendment to the Maryland Constitution. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Delegate Eric Bromwell of Baltimore County. It has 10 co-sponsors, all of but one from Baltimore County. The airport…
Delta Air Lines has announced plans to consolidate some of the functions of the regional airlines it owns. Comair, Mesaba, and Compass Airlines will have their customer service and ramp workers merged into one company called Regional Handling Services(RHS). The other parts of the airlines will continue to operate independently, but this may be the…
Image via Wikipedia We held off a few days on this to see what developments came up, so we could do a proper review of the situation. We tend to agree with the Cranky Flier that there is a standard story everyone writes about this sort of issue. Like him, we have nothing of specific…
Happy Valentine’s Day to all those who celebrated it yesterday. Now, let’s give a little love to a few airlines. Israel’s El Al Airlines will add its first new destination in 10 years. On May 2nd, it will begin nonstop service between Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo, Brazil, operating three nonstop flights a week using…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife United Airlines is dropping a call center that took compliments or complaints after a flight, instructing passengers to send a letter or email instead. It will stop publishing its customer relations number. It will be training its call centers in Chicago and Honolulu to respond to written customer comments,…
The Middle Seat Terminal reports that Delta Air Lines, undisputed king of travel at Cincinnati, which is one of their hubs, has announced the cutting of fares from between 5 and 60% on both business and leisure tickets. The airport has long been, statistically, the most expensive airport in the country to fly out of.…
US Airways has announced it will charge $7 for a pillow and blanket beginning February 16th. The service will not be offered on US Airways Express flights, but can be purchased immediately on their website. In a recent BNET article, Barbara Hernandez commented on the subject. She incorrectly identifies US Airways charging for this service…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Best Western International has partnered with Southwest Airlines as a loyalty partner. Beginning February 15th, members of their reward program will be able to earn Rapid Reward credits. Portland-based SeaPort Airlines will serve the Oregon communities of Astoria and Newport beginning March 15th with service to Portland International Airport…