../../../..//2007/11/21/advice-for-people-now-traveling/
Advice for people now traveling for Thanksgiving: check in online, get to the airport early, try not to check bags, and more. [Today on the James front]
travel
TSA: Pies Are OK, But May Be Subject To Additional Screening
By 11.21.07
The TSA has a holiday food travel guide up on its website and the verdict is in: Pies and cakes are OK, but “be advised that they might be subject to additional screening.”
American Airlines Baggage Chief: "There's A Lot Of Opportunity For Failure"
By 11.21.07
The New York Times is taking a look at American Airlines’ recent effort to improve their checked baggage operation. Who would have thought that dirty printers were causing lost baggage?
Workers at American found that printers that produce adhesive tags for bags were often dirty. That made bar codes hard to read, leading to misdirected bags. Regular wiping of the printer heads helped, but even with a clean printer, the bar code readers are only about 90 to 92 percent accurate, said Denise P. Wilewski, manager of airport services for American here.
39 Million People Are Traveling Today
By 11.21.07
If you’re traveling today, you’ll have some company: 39 million other people, according to USAToday:
Zagat's Top Airline Picks
By 11.21.07
Zagat’s has gotten into the airline rating business. Here’s the best of the tin pushers stack up, with a highest possible score of 30.
Delta Wants Me To Rebook For A Later Flight Because I'm One Minute Late
By 11.20.07
“Sir, if you go inside and to the right, one of our agents will be happy to assist you with rebooking for a later flight.”
10 Annoying Hidden Hotel Fees
By 11.20.07
Forbes Traveler has compiled a list of the top 10 most annoying hidden hotel fees. We’re not exactly jetsetters or anything so a few of them were news to us.
Stupid iPhone "Pilot" Commercial Leads To Possibly Apocryphal Flight Delay Story
By 11.20.07
Some commercials are stupid. The iPhone commercial that shows a pilot telling the tale of the time he saved the day by checking the weather with his iPhone is one of them.
Holiday Travel Season Off To A Rough Start
By 11.19.07
Technical problems, fog, rain and other weather issues are already causing delays at several airports says USAToday.
130 Diverted American Airlines Flights Tracked On A Legal Pad
By 11.17.07
When a storm forced American Airlines to divert 130 planes from Dallas-Fort Worth last year, the airline tracked the diverted planes not with an advanced computer system, but with a legal pad.
Lacking any automated system for keeping track of all those diverted planes, Mr. Dillman and his colleagues furiously scribbled down details of where they had gone, how long they had sat there, and whether pilots had enough time left on their daily work limits to keep flying when the weather cleared.
New TSA Screening: Empty Out All Your Electronics
By 11.16.07
The TSA is testing a new level of security screening at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and it requires you to take every electronic component out of your carry-on luggage and put it in a separate bin, reader John tells us. He writes:
Missing Slip Of Paper Almost Stopped US Airways/America West Merger
By 11.16.07
We always appreciate the oddly forthcoming US Airways emails they’ve been sending to out to customers to keep them apprised of developments during their merger with America West. Turns out the merger almost didn’t happen:
…on September 26th we officially handed over the America West operating certificate to the FAA and formally merged into one airline. Yes, there really was a handover ceremony, and for a few weeks we couldn’t find the original America West certificate. Turns out it was in use as part of a company heritage display. No certificate, no merger. Wouldn’t that have been embarrassing?
Aw, that’s almost cute. Can’t find the operating certificate…passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours….anyone else seeing a correlation?
Bush Announces Plan To Ease Holiday Air Travel Delays
By 11.15.07
President Bush today proposed several measures intended to reduce traffic issues during the busy holiday season as well as shore up some of the most persistent air travel problems consumers face throughout the year. The most significant proposal would open up a “Thanksgiving express lane” through military airspace, and like the other proposed rules, would require the approval of Congress, says the NYT.
Are Delta And United Talking Mergers? Romantic Dinners? Long Walks On The Beach?
By 11.14.07
The New York Times tells us that Pardus Capital Management, a hedge fund, has sent a letter to the management of Delta Air Lines asking it to seek a merger with UAL, the parent of United Airlines.
By 11.13.07
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These airlines all offer special deals exclusively on their official sites: American, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, Virgin America, Frontier, SkyBus, Air New Zealand, AirTransat, Alaska, Allegiant, Cathay Pacific, SAS, Singapore, USA3000, and WestJet. [Airfarewatchdog Blog]
By 11.13.07
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Airlines are supposedly going out of their way to avoid the coming PR debacle that is otherwise known as the holiday travel season. Good luck, boys and girls. [Wall Street Journal]
Skybus Executives' Phone Numbers And Email Addresses
By 11.13.07
Travel troubleshooter Chris Elliot published contact info for five top Skybus executives. Skybus is the new zero frills super cheap airline. One of the ways they save money is by having no phone numbers for customers to call. They want you to just send an email. But by the emails that Elliot is getting, it looks like Skybus isn’t even reading those. We’d be happy to loan out one of our email interns if they’re short of manpower. Barring that, the contact info can help you send you Skybus complaint to a real human being.
Protect Yourself From Being Bumped Off A Flight
By 11.12.07
Kiplinger’s “Win the Bumping Game” offers some advice on how to minimize the chances you’ll get left behind when your airline overbooks a flight. The main thing you can do is arrive early—it’s the last-minute arrivals, or worse, those who buy their tickets a half hour before departure, who are most likely to get bumped. The other thing you can do is avoid Delta, Comair, or Atlantic Southeast, which have the worst records of bumping passengers, and stick with JetBlue, which has the best. And make sure you have a seat assignment if at all possible.
