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.”
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
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.
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 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 each way sale. The offer ends September 9, 11:59 p.m. MDT and is for travel…
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.
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 get work done. The simple answer, of course, is that they can. Many business travelers…
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 Rochester due to smoke in the cabin, and Flight 1781, which made a landing with…
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 benefits of the Visa Waiver program. Such programs allow tourists to visit for less than…
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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.
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 engine, and the plane made an emergency landing at its destination of Nassau, Bahamas. The plane taxied under its own power…
Image by nsub1 via Flickr The Boston Globe reports that a state representative has suggested renaming Logan Airport after the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It would be called Logan-Kennedy Airport. This is a bad idea. For one, there is already a Kennedy Airport in New York. Admittedly named after the late President, John F. Kennedy,…
Image by drewgstephens via Flickr This morning, Southwest Airlines announced it would offer an early check-in option for a $10 fee. For years, the Southwest Cattle Call offered a first-come/first-served option. Plastic cards were offered at the counter in order of check-in, and people lined up and boarded in check-in order. Then, when online check-in…
Southwest Airlines has just arrived in Boston to a great fanfare, and is already expanding service. On January 9th, they will add two daily nonstops to St. Louis. The same day, they will also add St. Louis service to another of their newest destination…Minneapolis/St. Paul. Elsewhere, they are redistributing capacity by reducing frequencies by one…
Image by dyobmit via Flickr The FAA admitted last week that airlines whose flight attendants had been telling passengers to keep their items out of the seatback pocket were ‘following their guidance’. However, several carriers have never heard of this regulation and have no plans to enforce it. Even the FAA spokesman did not initially.…
[caption id="attachment_1737" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="JetBlue International Check-In - Terminal 5"][/caption] JetBlue and Lufthansa have signed a codeshare agreement which would place Lufthansa flight numbers on 12 destinations in the U.S. to Boston and New York. The agreement is pending DOT approval. JetBlue’s experience with interline and codeshare has been limited. It has put its flight…
Image via Wikipedia More than 30,000 fewer flights were canceled in the first half of 2009 than in the same period last year. Fewer planes were delayed more than fifteen minutes as well. But, instead of applauding the air traffic controllers, or the airline operations people for their coup, the real reason is that there…
Image via Wikipedia The Flight Data and Voice Recorders from the Yemenia flight that crashed off the Comoros islands have been recovered. Only one person survived the crash of the Airbus aircraft, and hopefully, the information gained from them will determine the cause of the crash. We will report more on this as it becomes…
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Boeing expects to fly the 787 Dreamliner by the end of this year, and deliver the first one in the last quarter of next year. Once the last bugs are worked out, and the process is finalized, they estimate they will be able to produce ten 787s per month…
Anil Polat, who runs foXnoMad, which is a travel blog for “people who love the journey as much as they enjoy the destination. foXnoMad is a resting point to gather information on the best ways and gadgets vagabonds can use to stay in touch, save money, and make the most out of any vacation,” has…
With all of the love we gave Virgin America on our flight back to Flight Wisdom HQ, we were afraid the two airlines that hold a special place in our hearts, Southwest Airlnes and JetBlue Airways, would be jealous. With that in mind, we offer video of Southwest’s triumphant arrival into Boston, in the event…
[caption id="attachment_1715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Passengers Deplaning JetBlue A320"][/caption] JetBlue announced earlier this week an increase of its service to Jamaica.And we don’t mean Jamaica, Queens. JetBlue has applied to add two new Montego Bay routes, to both Boston and Orlando. The airline will also add service on its existing route from New York-JFK to Montego…
[caption id="attachment_1711" align="alignright" width="225" caption="In Flight Service - Virgin America"][/caption] A lot happened while we were away. As we said in our Virgin America trip report, Every Plane should have In-Flight Wi-Fi. But, we felt there were a few things we didn’t mention during the trip report. There was actually a lot we didn’t mention.…
[caption id="attachment_1703" align="alignleft" width="135"] Interior of Virgin America A320[/caption] We have always wanted to try Virgin America. And yesterday, we finally got the chance, flying from LAX to JFK. And we have to say, Virgin America’s technology is something every airline should be aspiring toward, although it is by no means perfect. Every airline we…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-UoERHaSQg Dave Carroll is back with his promised second United Song, included the promised tuba. It is a much slower tempo than United Song #1, but the video goes a bit farther, and incorporates many more volunteers. The song incorporates some of the same amusing elements. In lieu of three guys in sombreros, this time…