Earlier this month, Janice Hough at Consumer Traveler wrotethat coming anti-consumer “interline” baggage rules were worse than baggage fees. With all respect to Ms. Hough, who is a travel agent, in this regard, we believe she is wrong, although we can understand her point of view. Let’s go over the issue. Interline baggage refers...
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It is always sad when we lose another airline. Delta will shut down its subsidiary Comair as of September 30th. The writing has been on the wall for a long while. Comair primarily operates 50-seat regional jets, an aircraft type that many carriers are scaling down. Comair was founded in 1977. It...
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Airline food has a deservedly bad reputation, though as meals are decreasingly available, some travelers may be pining for the old lump of mystery meat in bland sauce. Passengers on Delta flights out of Amsterdam are to be forgiven for wishing that Delta had eliminated meal service prior to their flights. Two passengers,...
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As we mentioned previously, Theophilius Maranga a lawyer from Fishkill, NY, is suing Delta Airlines and Air France-KLM for ten million dollars in damages for not properly compensating him after they let a man onboard who intended on blowing up the aircraft. Maranga tried to get compensation through a federal program, but only got...
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We just can’t believe this… A New York man has named Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM in a suit that also names Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Underwear Bomber, as a co-defendant. The man, Theophilius Maranga of Wappinger Falls, is asking for ten million dollars in damages for injuries who incurred in subduing Abdulmutallab....
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In August of 2009, US Airways announced it would be selling LaGuardia out to Delta Air Lines in exchange for greater power at Washington-National Airport. Two years later, after selling off some of the slots, it is finally time for Delta to announce its expansion out of LaGuardia. Delta will be taking over many...
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Scott McCartney over at the Wall Street Journal's Middle Seat column reported that Delta is sending 11,000 customer service agents to 'charm school'. Some of the key points that they seem to be teaching agents are:
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It was over ten years ago that online ticket purchases were in their infancy. We remember ordering tickets from these new online travel agents and having the tickets mailed to us, even a few years into the e-ticket revolution, when it was still advised that paper was safer. Now, it is starting to look...
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On Thursday, Delta announced they were increasing first class seating by thirteen percent as part of its program to retrofit and upgrade aircraft interiors. This follows their adding of first class amenities to their regional jet fleet. They are not the only airline looking into this.
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Last week, Delta, the most expansive installer of wi-fi enabled planes in the United States, announced it would add onboard wi-fi to 223 Regional Jets configured in a two class configuration. This includes Embraer 175, Bombardier CRJ700 and Bombardier CRJ900 planes. Installations will begin in January and will be complete by the end of...
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We've never been particularly fond of fifty seater regional jets. They don't have the comfort that we desire in an airline experience. It is not that we object to a smaller aircraft, but merely the idea that a smaller aircraft has to be a significantly less pleasant experience than a larger one.
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We talked not long ago about the end of the Worldport at JFK. But it appears that American is set to counter Delta's new expansion with its own. Even though it completed a multi-year megaterminal project at JFK which consolidated its operations from two terminals to one and was completed in 2007. American is...
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has approved demolition of Terminal 3 at JFK and the overhaul of Terminal 4. Terminal 4 will be expanded with nine additional gates, which Delta will move into, occupying 16 out of 25 total gates, after which Terminal 3 will be demolished to provide 16...
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Delta Air Lines will be selling two of its regional airline subsidiaries, Mesaba and Compass.
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While the Port Authority makes plans to demolish Terminal 6, Delta is looking to upgrade its facility. The Wall Street Journal reports that Delta might announce a definitive plan for its future at JFK airport.
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Welcome back. Our editor has been a bit behind with other things, but we're trying to get back on track and back in the saddle. Stay tuned for more guests, and more information. For today, more from previous guest Dan Webb.
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Monrovia is back in Delta's sights, with once weekly service planned from its Atlanta hub, via Accra, Ghana. Apparently, Roberts International Airport implemented measures to ensure its compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. We hope this means the TSA is satisfied with the security arrangements.
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Our editor is back from his trip. Check out his review on the Auto Train. Meanwhile, back into the swing of things. Lots of business to take care of.
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Our editor will be going on the road for a few days, as a roving reporter for our sister project, Transit Wisdom, reviewing Amtrak's Autotrain. Until then, here's all the news that fit to podcast.
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Senator Charles Schumer, who publicly criticized Spirit Airlines for their announcement that they would begin charging for carry-on bags, has secured the commitment of five airlines that they will NOT follow Spirit in this practice.
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Our parent, the Weneca Media Group, unveiled its own custom URL shortener for our blogs, n9n.us. All of our posts will now feature n9n.us URLs. We are looking for bloggers wishing to do editorials on the briefing. If you are interested, please contact us.
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This week, Flight Wisdom and the entire Weneca Media Group family are celebrating National Library Week. Support your local library.
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There is a lot here to go over. JetBlue Airways and American Airlines have signed an interline deal, and American is ramping up in New York at both LaGuardia and JFK. So, let's summarize the developments before we analyze them.
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Greetings from the Flight Wisdom Summer Palace. Today's briefing is hosted by the Infrequent Flier. If you enjoyed his presentation of the news, please drop him a line on Twitter @Infrequentflier.
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After this Briefing, our editor will be heading on the road for a few days. Lots of interesting things going on, but we're bringing along our portable recording equipment to report on it.
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