Monthly Archives: January 2012

What You Say On Twitter May Keep You Out Of The United States

by The Infrequent Flier • January 30, 2012

We were disturbed by reports today that two British travelers were questioned, detained, and deported by the Department of Homeland Security, allegedly because of two tweets. Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting say they were questioned for hours, detained, placed…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 30, 2012

We’ve long been fans of Kayak.com, though we have to admit that as of late, increased clutter and unreliability or lack of JetBlue results have had us using the site less often. Like most comparison sites, Kayak uses ITA software’s…

by Guru • January 26, 2012

A few weeks ago, we commented on the ban on portable electronics. The truth is, in terms of the FAA’s stated rationale, there is little evidence presented that indicates the majority of electronics have any effect on aircraft systems. But,…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 25, 2012

Having never flown Alaska Airlines, it was news to us that for 30 years, together with their meals, the airline has distributed prayer cards featuring serene color pictures and verses from the Book of Psalms. Now we’ll never have a…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 25, 2012

The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the 22nd busiest in the United States- and it’s about to get busier. On Monday, a ground-breaking ceremony was heldat the airport, marking the beginning of a $791 million runway expansion project. A princely…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 25, 2012

For the second time in a week, the Earth has been hit by a coronal mass ejectionin the most severe solar storm since 2003. The increased radiation from the charged particles of the storm which can interfere with communications is…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 24, 2012

43 year old Adam Blumenkranz of Los Angeles was arrested at Newark’s Liberty Airport Monday after he was discovered smoking marijuana in airport restroom on JetBlue flight 510 from Fort Lauderdale to Newark. Blumenkranz, who was somehow unaware that smoking…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 24, 2012

After his son, Senator Rand Paul, was detained and denied boarding for refusing an invasive pat-down, Representative Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement promising to eliminate the TSA should he be elected President “The police state in this country is…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 23, 2012

All was normal aboard American Airlines Flight 980 from Brazil to Miami. Then, two hours into the eight hour flight, with food service underway, the plane suddenly lurched violently. The unexpected turbulencesent a food cart flying, damaging the ceiling and…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 23, 2012

Angeline O’Grady wants to know what happened to her husband. On November 1, she was traveling through Philadelphia International Airport with the ashes of her late husband, Brian. She was told by TSA agents that she could not bring the…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 23, 2012

A short time ago, we reported that the TSA had detained Senator Rand Paul this morning. The Hill is now reportingthat the TSA is denying that Senator Paul was detained, saying rather that he was escorted from the secure area…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 23, 2012

We don’t agree with most of what Senator Rand Paul stands for, but we agree wholeheartedly with his stand for liberty and personal freedom this morning in Nashville. It is being reported that Paul, the son of Texas congressman and…

by Guru • January 21, 2012

Every time we read or write a story about a customer of size, there are a lot of comments claiming that the onus is on the customer for being of size. We’re not going to go there. If it is…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 21, 2012

The @TSABlogTeam just tweeted a picture of “9 of the 24 loaded firearms found in carry-on bags at TSA checpoints[sic] last week”. We have 3 questions that we hope they will answer for us, but we presume they won’t. 1)…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 19, 2012

Brad Hall “designs systems for improving workforce performance”. Brad Hall has a PhD industrial-organizational psychology. Brad Hall knows that U.S airlines have awful customer service. And Brad Hall knows why- unions. It is a foregone conclusion for Dr. Hall; one…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 18, 2012

Nine endangered whooping cranes, migrating from Wisconsin to Florida, recently spent a month grounded in Alabama, after the FAA decided that their “pilot guides” were operating in violation of a regulation which prohibits them from receiving pay for their services. …

by The Infrequent Flier • January 18, 2012

Out with the new, in with the old. After years of seemingly inevitable decline in the face of competition from jets, turboprops are making a comeback as oil prices remain high. ATR, a turboprop manufacturer partly owned by Airbus parent…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 18, 2012

On August 22, 2007, an AirTran pilot noted an imbalanced wheel on his plane. Over the next two days, he filed 10 reports over this safety issue. AirTran removed the pilot from flying on Aug. 23, 2007, the second day…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 18, 2012

At 3am last night on British Airways Flight 206 from Miami to London’s Heathrow Airport, we imagine most passengers were comfortably sleeping. That changed in a hurry when flight crew inadvertently twice triggered a recorded message declaring that the plane…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 16, 2012

While most airlines have been adding new fees, no American carrier has been more aggressive about doing so than Spirit Airways. Spirit ‘s strategy has been to tease outrageously low fares with obnoxious and vulgar advertisements, but charge exorbitant fees…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 16, 2012

It was a shocking experience for 26 year old Edwin Barton at a TSA checkpoint in Sacramento last week. After disembarking his flight from Connecticut and leaving the secure area, Barton realized he had left a bus ticket on the…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 16, 2012

There’s no health risk from the invasive scanners that the TSA has installed at airports around the country, the TSA has maintained. If you don’t like it, you can be searched in an inappropriately intimate way, or not allowed to…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 16, 2012

Much has been made of Alec Baldwin’s run-in with a flight crew last month resulting in his being removed from a plane for failing to comply with the instructions of the flight crew. Mr. Baldwin, it seems suffers from a…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 16, 2012

Peter and Gabriele Strohmaier of Dusseldorf, Germany were traveling in first class on Delta Flight 414 from Atlanta to Costa Rica this evening. Early in the flight, they demanded food and champagne and refused to sit down, disregarding instructions from…

by The Infrequent Flier • January 15, 2012

It turns out that Rebecca, the TSA Cupcake Lady is, of all things, a Media Studies Professor. In a letter to The Consumerist, she makes an excellent point that we’ve been trying to make, probably less eloquently. After refuting the…