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Because of a United employee misrepresenting cat carrier policies, this man endured a big hassle and is no longer flying United. [United Really Sucks]
travel
By 10.17.07
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Chris Case at The Huffington Post gets threatened with “the police” by an airline employee during a calm disagreement. [Huffington Post] (Thanks, Mike!)
Delta CEO On The Prowl For Some Hot Merger Action
By 10.17.07
Delta’s CEO Richard “Anybody Wanna Buy An Airline?” Anderson, formerly the CEO of Northwest, has finally started shopping Delta around for a merger buddy like we all knew he would.
By 10.17.07
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Freakonomics asks insiders Clifford Winston, Richard Branson, Gary Topping, Patrick Smith and Josh Marks about the state of the airline industry. [Freakonomics]
Next Summer: Fewer Flight Delays, But Higher Prices
By 10.16.07
Here are the results of those secret meetings we told you about last week: flight delays may be cut by as much as 25% by next summer, but the consequence will be fewer flight times to choose from, and higher ticket prices. The airlines are suggesting cutting the number of flights out of the three hubs most responsible for the nation’s delays—JFK, La Guardia, and Newark. “About three-fourths of chronic delays around the country can be traced back to congestion at these three airports,” reports Kiplinger’s.
AirlineMeals.Net Takes The Guesswork Out Of In-Flight Food Service
By 10.14.07
AirlineMeals.net has thousands of pictures of in-flight meals categorized by airline to help you decide whether or not to pack a snack for your next flight. Really, thousands of pictures of airline trays covered with whatever passes for a meal. Thanks to the site, we now know that a flight on Yangon Air from Rangoon to Mandalay came with two rolls and cup of coffee, and that Hindu meals don’t stack up well against their vegetarian counterparts.
By 10.13.07
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You’re more likely to get sick in an office building than in an airplane. [Rick Seaney]
Task Force Assembled To Hold Secret Meetings About NYC Airport Gridlock
By 10.12.07
A so-called “federal task force” comprised of airline executives, government officials and aviation industry groups has been assembled.
Southwest Gate Agent Entertains Passengers With Ukelele
By 10.12.07
Plug in your work headphones and get ready to rock out classic-easy-listening-style.
ATA Tries To Have You Arrested For Using Your iPhone In "Airplane Mode"
By 10.10.07
The iPhone has a setting that makes it safe to use on an airplane. So-called “airplane mode” disables cell phone, radio, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth signals, thus allowing you to watch movies staring Jennifer Love Hewitt while flying through the air.
FlightStats.com Trumps Other Flight Status Services
By 10.9.07
FlightStats.com is the best flight status service, WSJ reports. In a test of several different sites and services, WSJ gave “excellent” marks to FlightStats for giving out lots of different updates and for telling when flights actually arrive and depart. Sites FlightView, FlyteComm, FlightArrivals, FlightAware, and FlightExplorer all missed crucial pieces of information in the test, while the airline’s services often gave too few updates (though Delta was rated “very good.”) If you, understandably, don’t trust the airline and need to know where an airplane really is, advertising-supported FlightStats.com is the place to go.
US Airways Rewards Customers By Threatening To Charge Them $25 For Inactivity
By 10.9.07
A reader has forwarded us an obnoxious notice from US Airways that explains how they “reward” their frequent flyer program members: by charging them $25 if they’re not active enough. So what are the best ways to remain active without spending $25 or making an unnecessary ticket purchase?
Delta Downgrades Frequent Flyer Miles
By 10.6.07
Upgrade: Travel Better informs us that ever so lightly, Delta adjusted its frequent-flyer redemption policy to make it worse for travelers:
Effective December 1, 2007, SkyChoice Award Ticket Reservations will no longer be available on every Delta flight in which a seat is available for sale. SkyChoice Award Ticket Reservations will continue to be available on most Delta flights, but seats will be limited and possibly unavailable on some flights.
Nudge. Nudge. Nudge. At this rate, some day you’ll actually have to pay a fine for accumulating frequent flyer miles.
Holiday Airfare Prices Needn't Drain Holiday Cheer
By 10.5.07
It may not cost as much to to fly to family and friends for the holidays as much as some doom and gloomers might have you think. Airfarewatchdog sniffed around and turned up itineraries no more pricier than they would be any other time of the year:
Cubic Telecom Lied About Its "Cheap International Calling" SIM Card
By 10.5.07
Last Friday, we published a post about Cubic Telecom, an Irish start-up that sells a SIM card that’s supposed to enable international calling for “50-90%” less than standard carrier rates. The post was in reference to columnist David Pogue’s review of the product, and he was quoting rates that were provided to him directly by Cubic’s CEO. Turns out the CEO was “misleading” him—he provided numbers that were substantially lower than the actual rates, and has been stringing Pogue along with assurances that they’d “update the site” ever since. As of Thursday, October 4th, they still hadn’t.
By 10.4.07
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Federal employees wasted over $145 million in taxpayer dollars by bumping themselves up to first-class seats. [NYT via Rick Seaney]
Look For Travel Bargains On Country-Specific Websites
By 10.4.07
When you’re looking online for flights or car rentals, consider trying the country-specific versions of popular travel websites, suggests the New York Times. In at least some cases, the price difference can be more than 50%.
