The Southwest Blog has a post up on upcoming changes to their website, which will improve the experience. “As Customers are directed to the new booking area, they will experience an updated user-friendly design. Plus, on direct flights (with stops but no change of planes), we will now show you the city location where your…
Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr We’re continually testing new features to add to the Flight Wisdom blog. If something looks new, feel free to comment on it. The easiest way is via Twitter @FlightWisdom, but we do read as many comments as we can. We will shortly have a contact us page up to allow…
Image via Wikipedia On Saturday morning, an emotionally disturbed man named Scott McGann showed up at LaGuardia Airport with a ticket on United to Chicago and onward to Oakland, purchased by family. He also showed up with a duffel bag contained an item that was not, but appeared to be a bomb. The Central Terminal,…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife We previously reported that Republic Airways had put down a bid to buy out Frontier Airlines. Today, another airline put down a bid, Southwest Airlines. Southwest announced it was preparing a bid to compete with the Republic bid, which had been given tentative approval. If it is successful, Southwest…
On July 29th, 2006, the Flight Wisdom Blog launched. When we launched, we thought the blog would be a small part of a larger site. We still have that dream, but maintaining everything and doing all the other things we have to do does force us to prioritize. Two years ago this week, on July…
For those of us who love the airline industry, sometimes we wish to show our interest by buying airline-related merchandise. For those of you with children, who wouldn’t be tempted to send their youngster to school with an airplane bookbag(seen left)? “This completely custom backpack features an airplane shape, US Airway colors and logos, with…
We enjoyed Dave Carroll’s unique approach to speaking out against customer service. Apparently we were not alone in this. It seems a lot of people did. It struck a chord with Westjet, the Canadian discount airline, which invited Dave not only to jam with them, but to fly with them next time. While we were…
Throughout last evening, those of you visiting the blog may have seen some changes happening. For the first time since our launch on July 26th, 2006, we have a new theme. We promised some changes, and this is the first one. The new theme, which we had been field testing at Transit Wisdom. We’ve simplified…
Image by Eric Bégin via Flickr We haven’t said anything about the JetAmerica situation, and we think the title says it all. JetAmerica began taking bookings in May. At the time, the Cranky Flier commented, “Something tells me that the chance of this working is very, very slim. And that’s being kind.” We can’t say…
Image by ATIS547 via Flickr The longest runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York will be closed for about four months next year as part of a renovation, and airlines have been asked to revise their schedules. The runway, 13R-31L is more than 2.75 miles long, is the second longest in North…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay7hFIYQFnw Artist Dave Carroll(appears above) thanked the Internet community for its support of United Song #1(remember there are two more). United has offered compensation to Carroll, but he has declined, asking them to donate the money to a charity of their choice, and share that news with the public. We hope they take him up…
Image via Wikipedia Yesterday, we reported on one musician’s unique way of dealing with poor customer service. The L.A. Times travel blog reports there has been a quick response to his song. United Airlines has made contact with the musician, Dave Carroll. We’re not surprised, with a video that has had over 100,000 views and…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo We love any excuse for a musical interlude, or a classic Youtube video. In this latest one, musician Dave Carroll comes up with a creative way to protest United’s refusal to take responsibility for the guitar they broke. Carroll spent nine months trying to get United to do so. They admitted they had broken…
In the final installment of our series on our time on Southwest, we explore the process onboard. Southwest is known for its friendly and enthusiastic in-flight crew. The flight crew was very cooperative with our obsessive picture taking. The flight itself was uneventful. We had a free seat next to us, which allowed us to…
Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr This weekend, Americans take to the skies, cars, buses, etc to join in celebrating July 4th. In fact, as any holiday requires a three-day weekend, today is Independence Day(Observed). People have already taken to the skies to visit their families. For those of you concerned with flying…
Flight #614 was scheduled to depart New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Chicago-Midway Airport at 8:45AM with an arrival time of 10:40AM. Customers lined up in typical Southwest fashion, by boarding letter and number in front of spaced steel columns. The first passenger, holding Boarding Group A, Position 01, was Darrell Johnson, who had purchased a…
One of the things we’ve always loved about Southwest is the spirit. In fact, Southwest’s mascot, we understand, is even named Spirit. Pictured right, two happy Southwest employees in Spirit costumes. Southwest was ready when we arrived to offer us bagels and a goody bag for being on the inaugural flight. The bag, an insulated…
In Part I, we discussed the new Southwest Airlines check-in counters at New York – LaGuardia, and their unique(for LaGuardia at least). We had a lot of fun in Chicago. Southwest has taken over Gate B4 at LaGuardia. We use the word take over because of the modifications necessary to operate a gate as Southwest.…
We arrived at LaGuardia two hours before our flight. We wanted to see off the Baltimore flight as well. Southwest had generously awarded us a free roundtrip flight to Chicago and an overnight at a downtown hotel. Everything at LaGuardia airport from Southwest is different than what we see from any other airline using the…
Image by ficusrock via Flickr We’ve discussed this before, but a recent article in Gadling prompted us to revisit the issue of the Fasten Seatbelt sign. Flight Attendants are not required to force passengers into seats when . They are required to make them aware of this. Passengers should be up to go to the…
Image via Wikipedia Ryanair is running out of things to eliminate. Now they want to eliminate checked baggage. ‘The Airline Blog’ actually felt this was a good thing, We tend to disagree. Ryanair has already eliminated ticket counters, and charges an insane amount if you can’t check in online, and a charge if you do.…
Image by SP8254 via Flickr Today, we are happy to announce we have spun off our limited reporting on issues involving Amtrak, buses, light rail, and all things transit-y to a new blog, Transit Wisdom. Unfortunately, our first story on the new blog was the latest thoughts on the DC Metro crash of yesterday. We…
Earlier, we were commenting on the lack of pride in customer service as a part of business, specifically referencing United Airlines, among others, and discovered this, a 1989 United commercial on the very same subject. It so perfectly illustrated some of our thoughts. We wonder if someone at United should see it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ6Z8kcoi-E
Image by Jennifer Pickens via Flickr “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!” In one of our earlier posts, we commented on the issues of customer service. Three years later, there are much to revisit. Why it is marketing departments…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DagVklB4VHQ For those of you starting to feel concerned about the possibility of upcoming air travel, we have already addressed that issue. While searching for something appropriate for that post, we came upon the following Youtube clip of the late comedian George Carlin on airlines. Whatever you can say about him, amidst the occasional bit…