Our friends at the Coalition for Luggage Security are always good for a bit of amusement. On Thursday, they commented on the security breach at Orlando, where airline employees were able to travel with drugs and weapons to San Juan. They are calling for Congressional Hearings. We don’t necessarilly disagree with them that the situation…
We keep an eye on David Neeleman’s blog to see what he has to say about things. He acknowledged that people have some issues with the term Controllable Irregularity and clarified them himself… What are some examples of Controllable Irregularities? “Controllable” means “within JetBlue’s control.” Some examples include: gate unavailability upon arrival; flight delay or…
Spirit Airlines, along with its new bag policy, has opted to go a step further with its pay for everything platform. You can join the $9 Fare Club…which gives you… Guaranteed Exclusive Member-Only Low Fares(at least once every six weeks) On-site and e-mail access to deals Automatic enrollment in the “innovative” FREE SPIRIT frequent flyer…
US Airways had agreed to buy the Airbus 350 as part of an agreement for financial assistance during its merger. However, with it behind schedule, Today in the Sky reports that they are looking at the possibility of going with Boeing. Also from Today in the Sky, on June 3rd, Alitalia will add three flights…
We’re very much in favor of Open Skies between the United States and the European Union. Despite the shortcomings of the plan, the overall benefits are distinctive. The Guardian reported that the United Kingdom would approve the deal despite the “American advantage.” Their concern now is that the valuable slots as London Heathrow might be…
TAM will start operating service from Sao Paulo to Cordoba, Argentina effective March 29th. Midwest Airlines will launch service from Milwaukee to Raleigh/Durham beginning June 1st. Also on that day, it will upgrade Milwaukee to BWI from 32 to 50 seat regional jets, and from Milwaukee to Des Moines…all service will now be on 32-seat…
Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours overnight, the Associated Press reports, due to bad weather in the New York area. Pilots and officials blamed some of the problems on a shortage of deicing fluid and a new federal regulation giving pilots a narrow window to get their planes in the air once the chemicals…
We are not surprised that the Imams thrown off a flight last November are now suing for discrimination. While US Airways told them that they were banned, forcing them to take another airline home, they now claim that was a miscommunication and they are welcome back on the carrier. US Airways, however, stands behind its…
Boeing has started negotiations with airlines around the world over the future design of the popular 737 as it prepares to dominate that market. Boeing is already dominating the market for larger jets, exceeding rival Airbus’s orders. Airline input is essential in producing a new product that sells. Over six thousand 737s have been sold…
We received the following travel horror story. Nothing we can say will fix the situation. But we do have a few thoughts.
The Associated Press reports that thousands of US Airways passengers are on their third day waiting to reach their destinations. Many passengers were diverted to the airlines’ hub in Charlotte and they were still, as of this evening, trying to find spaces for 100,000 passengers systemwide whose flights were grounded on Friday. Flights today were…
A passenger on a regional flight to Auckland, New Zealand from New Plymouth managed to bring a rifle onboard the flight. As reported, he was pulled aside only before he boarded another flight to Kerikeri. Skywest Airlines has apologized for forcing him to urinate into an air sickness bag on a flight from Boise to…
The United States debut of the Airbus A380 Superjumbo jet was today, with two planes touching down on opposing sides of the country. New York won the title of the first city to receive an A380 by twenty minutes. Frankfurt to New York – operated by Lufthansa as Flight 8940, carrying around 500 Airbus and…
Courtesy of Business Week, a list of airports that meet FAA standards for the A380. Anchorage Denver Dallas-Fort Worth New York-JFK Los Angeles(LAX) Orlando(MCO) Miami San Francisco Washington-Dulles Memphis(Cargo Only) Louisville(Cargo Only) Ontario, CA(Cargo Only)
For those of you who want to feel like you were there…which alas we here at Flight Wisdom could not be….The Cranky Flier was present for the arrival of the LAX A380 earlier today. Click here to catch a look at his report… “It’s definitely not the best looking plane around, but man is it…
A Jetblue plane departing West Palm Beach for JFK returned to Palm Beach International after a piece of its engine cover fell off. Flight 830 took off around 6AM, and the pilot felt the plane vibrate and requested a return to the airport. Jetblue procedures require the pilot to return to the airport if he…
Last month, we ran a post summarizing Carl Howe’s thoughts on “The Difference Between Good and Bad Airlines” Howe thought that the defining characteristic of a good airline, or…to generalize, a good company is one whose employees are empowered and respond to problems. Today we received a comment from ‘Steve’ stating simply that…”Whoever wrote this…
Reuters reported yesterday that Virgin America will be able to win government approval to operate if they replace their chief executive and increase its independence from the Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. In December, the DOT ruled that Virgin America’s “close relationship with the U.K.-based Virgin Group indicates that the carrier is not under the actual…
The Star Alliance has launched a Visit South Africa campaign to “promote travel to Southern Africa and underscore the wide choice of flight connections to the African continent provided by the Star Alliance member carriers to US and Canadian traveler.” They want to highlight how easy it is to plan your dream trip to Africa.…
The European Union Transport Ministers have unanimously, as required, backed the Open Skies pact with the United States. At Britain’s request, however, there will be a five month delay beyond what was previously advised, with full implementation taking effect March 30, 2008 instead of Ocotber 28, 2007. The EU may withdraw the agreement by 2010…
The Associated Press reports that a United flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon was diverted to Salt Lake City on Friday after Kenneth R. Bullard of Jacksonville, FL attacked his son during an argument about the son’s girlfriend. Bullard had been drinking before and during the flight, and the flight attendants had to restrain him.…
ABX Air today announced that it agreed to buy a 767-223 aircraft formerly operated by American, which it will convert to freight operation. ABX has 35 767 aircraft in its fleet. Reuters reported earlier this week that Boeing may increase production rates for the 787 to accomodate demand. The company expects to build 112 in…
intends to connect to more of upstate New York. Delta will be adding 22 Delta Connection flights, operated by Big Sky Airlines using 19-seater Beechcraft 1900D aircraft, effective April 8th. The flights will connect customers in Albany, Massena, Ogdensburg, and Watertown to Boston, with additional nonstop service between Albany and Watertown with continuing service to…
Master Lock, the world’s largest maker of padlocks, issued a press release last week. Since it introduced them in 2004, sales of its Travel Sentry-approved locks have jumped 50 percent annually. As they put it… Increased security threats and recent, well-publicized reports of baggage pilferage at airports have fueled growing demand for locks that let…
USA Today reports that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending the agency drop its plan to lift the ban on cellphone use on aircraft. We went on record as against it, cellphones being disruptive to the environment of the aircraft. Cellphones are disruptive enough when everyone uses their normal voice to talk on them in…