The San Francisco Chronicle predicts that while airlines are upgrading seats and in-flight services…higher fares, hotel rates, and car rental rates will mark the year ahead in travel. The Travel Industry of America predicts only a half a percent of growth in domestic airline passenger traffic, and 5.5 percent growth for international traffic. U.S. Airlines,…
Today in the Sky reports that Air France is being sued by a passenger who says he was “shocked” and “humiliated” after the airline told him he was too big to fit in one seat and would have to purchase another. Many airlines have policies for overweight passengers that require the purchase of such a…
Denver International Airport was closed Wednesday night due to severe winter conditions, forcing a thousand travellers to stay there overnight, USA Today reports. Airport officials provided several hundred cots and blankets as airport hotels were booked and the main road to downtown Denver was closed. Most airlines canceled their flights in and out of Denver.…
The BBC reports that a Pakistani judge has ruled there is not enough evidence to try a key suspect in an alleged airline bomb plot. The arrest of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan triggered the arrests of subjects in the United Kingdom and set off the liquid terror scare this past August. His lawyer says police…
Jetblue announced in a press release today that, in honor of the holidays, from December 21 through January 3, it will waive excess bag fees for bags weighing up to sixty pounds, an additional ten pounds per bag for no additional charge. In addition, TrueBlue members will get two extra points through the 4th checking…
A passenger at Los Angeles International Airport sent her month-old grandson through the X-ray machine. We are unsure of what the woman was thinking…she apparently didn’t understand English. The TSA commented that they do not have enough workers to coach passengers on what to do at security checkpoints. The baby was not exposed to dangerous…
We have blasted Travelocity in the past, along with their online competitors over customer service issues. Travelocity now has its own blog…The Window Seat. We appreciate the name. There is much one can see from the window seat of an airplane…So have a look at their blog…we’ll certainly check it to see if there is…
This year is the first year of menorahs in the common areas of Hawaii’s airports, the Associated Press comments. Six-foot menorahs can be found in each major island, except Oahu where there are two. Unlike Seattle, there has been no complaint or outcry over the display of religious symbols. The display of Christmas decorations are…
Last week, Boeing delivered its 600th 777 aircraft. The 777 aircraft has been in production for eleven years, and Boeing has produced these planes faster than any previous twin aisle aircraft production. Singapore Airlines took delivery of the aircraft, adding to the sixty it already had, with an additional sixteen due to be delivered.
As the Times Herald Record reports, at 7:30 Tuesday morning, the first Jetblue flight will depart Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, NY. The first inbound flight, at 1:45PM, there will be speeches, coffee, and a ribbon cutting…even a traditional water cannon salute. Self-service kiosks are in full working order and Jetblue has twelve employees at…
The Associated Press reports that a subsidiary of Shanghai based Spring Airlines, the Jinan Spring Holiday Travel Agency sold 400 tickets on flights between Shanghai and Jinan for 1 yuan…about 13 cents. A regular one-way ticket on that flight costs 910 yuan…$116. Chinese airlines are barred from offering discounts of more than forty-five percent of…
American announced today that it would inaugurate once daily service between Austin, Texas and Seattle, WA on an MD80 aircraft with 16 First Class seats and 120 Coach seats. The route will begin April 10, 2007 and adds to American’s west coast offerings out of Austin, TX. They currently offer Austin to Los Angeles and…
South African Airways issued a press release today offering a winter fare of $1350 for two people traveling in between New York-JFK or Washington Dulles to Johannesburg or Capetown. Taxes and fuel surcharges are additional on both tickets(Which is illegal in the US…fuel surcharges must be quoted as an add-on to the fare in any…
Reuters reported the other day that airlines and airports send more of their trash to the dump than the country as a whole. Airlines and airports sent 80 percent of their garbage to dumps or incinerators rather than recycling…the national average of 70 percent. The thirty largest airports in the United States generated as much…
As the Cranky Flier reports, Jetblue has ‘started dating’. Jetblue previously announced it would seek arrangements with international airlines. What they have so far isn’t exactly what we would expect. AeroSvit, the National Airline of the Ukraine, offers JFK to Kiev flights and will give you $100 back if you connect to Jetblue. Just submit…
Spirit Airlines, following its application to serve Caracas, Venezuela, has filed an application to serve Port-au-Prince, Haiti from its Ft.Lauderdale hub…hoping to start service April 1st. With these two routes, Spirit will be taking on American’s Caribbean and South American service, and bringing low-cost carriers where they have never gone before.
Jetblue announced in a press release today that it would be removing a row of seats from its Airbus 320 aircraft, reducing the total number of seats on this aircraft from 156 to 150. This will have the effect of increasing the seat pitch from 32 inches in rows 1-11 to 36 inches, while the…
Is merging a good thing? In some cases, yes, some cases no. But now everyone is on the merger bandwagon. When one thinks about the Ma Bell breakup, and the fact that Ma Bell seems to be rising from the grave…one wonders about the future and megacorporations. For airlines, the experts say that the airlines…
Breitbart.com reports that the trees removed from the airport will be restored. Airport officials emphasized that the rabbi in question, and his organization, Chabad of Greater Seattle, never, as previously reported, request their removal. The lawyer for Rabbi Bogomilsky stated that he has received all kinds of calls and emails, many of which apparently were…
The Airbus 380 received certification from European and U.S. aviation authorities today, signing airworthiness certificates for the much delayed airliner. The testing for this certification took it 70,000 nautical miles of route proving, including takeoffs and landings in a variety of conditions. USAToday reports that as this happens as an investigation into EADS and its…
American Airlines has amended its bid for Dallas-Beijing service because the westbound flights are 15 minutes longer than allowed under the current pilot’s contract. To get around it, the flights would fly from Dallas to Chicago and change flight crews before continuing to Beijing. On the return, they would go nonstop to Dallas. Most industry…
The Human Rights Commission of New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald reported, highlighted recently a case of a Muslim religious leader known only as Mr. Adam who was removed from a flight. Mr. Adam was dressed in religious attire and had planned to read religious texts on the plane, and gone to the toilet to…
King-5 News reports that all of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have been removed in response to a complaint by a local rabbi. The rabbi in question wanted to install an eight-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up and…
The Herald reports that John Wilkie, a lecturer teaching stage management at the Royal Scottish Academy of Drama and Music in Glasgow, was arrested on the orders of Ryanair for trying to disembark an aircraft. The plane from Paris Beauvois to Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport was diverted to Edinburgh after a terror alert. Mr. Wilkie and…
The Associated Press reports that a 42-year old woman gave birth to a girl late Wednesday night on a Mexicana Airlines flight from Guadalajara to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. An obstetrician-gynecologist happened to be on board and the baby was born nearly an hour before landing. We continue to wonder…in this case…which country would this girl…