Monthly Archives: September 2009

Speedbird One Arrives in New York

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Image via Wikipedia British Airways Flight 001, service from London City to New York-JFK via Shannon(where passenger’s pre-clear US Immigration and Customs), which was operated using an all-business class A318, arrived 10 minutes ago into Kennedy Airport. The service features…

Roundup: End of September Edition

This is a busy month for us, and it is often hard to keep up on things. So we want to try to catch up on some route developments over the last few days we may have missed. Matching competitor…

New Flight Attendant TV Show Coming

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Here is the news: The CW announced today that its new docu-series Fly Girls, which gives a glimpse into the lives of five “beautiful Virgin America flight attendants,” is set to debut midseason. The network describes the series as being…

U.S. Helicopter Halts Service

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Image by widybrad via Flickr U.S. Helicopter terminated its service on Friday between Manhattan heliports and JFK Airport. While they hope to resume it after new financing is secured, it may not be the best time for such a luxury…

Rant: How Can Airlines Handle Conflicts

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Yesterday, we were reading Chris Elliott’s Travel Troubleshooter blog. He posted excerpts from letters sent and received by a regular flier and US Airways. And we started contemplating the issue of how airlines might handle things when the airline and the passenger cannot see eye to eye.

Passengers Being Bumped at Highest Rate in 14 Years

Thousands Of Holiday Makers Stranded As XL Goes Into Administration

The Middle Seat Terminal blog reports that the rate at which passengers were bumped in the second quarter of this year increased forty percent compared with the same period a year ago. As carriers have slashed capacity to the bone, and with overbooking a common practice, there are too many people crammed onto flights.

TWA Gone, But Not Forgotten

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Trans World Airlines was one of the great U.S. legacy airlines. In fact, until the 1970s, it and Pan Am(also now defunct), were the only U.S. airlines to serve Europe. For their flight attendants, however, the airline still lives, which prompted our reminiscence.

St. Louis loses Hub Status

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American Airlines has given up on St. Louis’s Lambert Airport. Back in the day, TWA had an extensive hub operation at the airport. American has gradually reduced service and now after these cuts, the airport will have only 36 flights…

Southwest Considering International Service

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Lee Lipton, Southwest’s Director of Network Strategic Planning sees a future in low cost long haul in addition to its existing shorthaul products, but emphasizes there is no timetable for the move. Their chairman, Gary Kelly, said that the carrier is seriously considering operating flights to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean as soon as 2011.

September 11th, 2001

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Saying something about 9/11 is almost obligatory, especially for a commercial aviation blogger. The scope of the tragedy was nearly unimaginable at the time…that such a thing could happen. Our hearts continue to go out to those who lost loved ones that day and we will never forget the sacrifice of those who rushed to assist. The two biggest security developments that came in a post-9/11 world were…

Roundup in Service – New Routes and Developments

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We haven’t done a service roundup in a while. Mostly because there hasn’t been as much news in this area as there once was. Airlines don’t announce discontinuance as much as they do inauguration. But this week had some interesting developments.

Senate Approves Fee to Visit United States

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We reported on this last week. But the “Travel Promotion Act” was approved by the Senate yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(NV) praised the job-creation of increased tourism to the U.S., calling it a “win-win-win.”

Followup: Spotlight on AeroMexico Hijacking

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As we said yesterday, the age of traditional hijacking in North America is gone. Aside from 9/11, which ushered in a new age of hijacking for the purpose of using a plane as a weapon, the traditional hijacking, which involved individuals taking over a plane and holding the passengers hostage for a political agenda, is almost dead

Proposed Rail Link to Providence Airport

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Our spin-off blog, Transit Wisdom, reported today on a vote on a proposed commuter rail extension to T.F. Green Airport. Once approved and completed, passengers would be able to travel from South Station in Boston to the airport in approximately one hour and fifteen minutes.

Aeromexico Jet Hijacked

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An Aeromexico flight carrying 104 passengers was hijacked on the tarmac at Mexico City Airport. At least three hijackers, who may be Bolivian or Columbian, are threatening to blow it up if they do not speak to President Felipe Calderon, who happened to already be at the airport, preparing to depart.

JetBlue Launches Service from BWI. $9 Fares Today Only

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JetBlue inaugurated service today from its focus city at Boston’s General Edward Logan Airport to Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport. In honor of this inauguration, which is in direct competition with Southwest Airlines, JetBlue is offering a one-day only $9…

JetBlue After Labor Day Sale

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JetBlue announced today a fare sale. Book by 9/10/09 for travel between 9/15 and 12/16/09. Click on the banner above to purchase and support our blog. Fares start at $29 each way on some routes.

Hotel Wi-Fi: Don’t Pay – Stay Elsewhere

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Image by maddox via Flickr We’ve never been able to understand why the more expensive hotels charge for wi-fi and the less expensive offer it free, especially when those same hotels are trying to attract business travelers, who want to…

Another JetBlue E190 Smokes

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Image via Wikipedia On Friday, we posted about two JetBlue Embraer 190s that made emergency landings due to smoke and fire situations. In addition to Flight 654, which last Monday made an emergency landing at Kennedy after taking off for…

United States Wants to Charge People to Visit

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A fee under consideration in Congress is getting strong criticism from the European Union. A $10 fee would apply to some visitors to the United States to secure a tourist visa. Visitors from most European countries have long enjoyed the…

Comments Needed: The Flight Wisdom Test Podcast

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We recorded a test podcast last week and spent some days soliciting commentary. It is a bit rough, and includes several elements.

Two JetBlue Flights Make Emergency Landing

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Image by E-Mans av8pix.com via Flickr We waited for JetBlue‘s response to this incident, which occurred yesterday. Flight 1781, with 89 passengers onboard, departed Orlando at 12:34, scheduled to arrive at 1:35. A fire broke out in the left-hand side…