Several airlines are taking small steps to reduce the infuriating delays that have plagued carriers during their no-holds-barred fight to remain profitable. Airlines are still cramming their planes full of paying consumers, but they are hoping that building more ground time into schedules and changing the way flights are diverted will alleviate some complaints.
travel
Like Horses? Don't Ride NYC Carriages
By 9.7.07
The next time you visit the Big Apple, you might want to steer clear of those romantic carriage rides through Central Park if you’re an animal lover. According to WCBS TV, “A New York City report says the horses that take passengers on carriage rides in Central Park and around Manhattan work without enough water, shade or veterinary exams.” The report, the first of its kind by the city, was prompted after a carriage horse collapsed and died last summer in front of onlookers.
United Airlines Says It Will Deliver Your Luggage Within 25 Minutes
By 9.7.07
United is already one of our more entertaining airlines when it comes to stories—they’ve rerouted direct flights without telling ticket holders, given us duct tape heroics, and hire Disney executives to improve customer service (we hope that means pilots dressed up as giant huggable pilots). Now comes news that they’re pledging to reduce waiting times for baggage from nigh-infinity to 25 minutes, as part of a comprehensive new “Customer Commitment” pledge to improve customer service and avoid Federal intervention.
By 9.7.07
../../../..//2007/09/07/american-airlines-announced-that/
American Airlines announced that beginning next week, they will begin testing credit card only flights out of San Francisco. Jet Blue has said that it will stop accepting cash on flights next quarter. Other airlines that already don’t accept cash: AirTran, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Midwest, ATA Airlines, Virgin America and Hawaiian Airlines. [Kansas City Star]
Too Sexy For Southwest Airlines Woman Appears On The Today Show
By 9.7.07
The woman who was too sexy for Southwest Airlines appeared on the Today Show this morning in the outfit she was wearing on the flight.
British Airways Sued For Chronically Losing Luggage
By 9.7.07
Three travelers claim British Airways acted recklessly in losing their luggage, and have filed a class action lawsuit against the airline, Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. [More]
Virgin America Helping Pop Transcontinental Air Fare Prices
By 9.6.07
As we read in their e-newsletter this morning, a top airline analyst told Farecompare.com, “because of the debut of Virgin America, watch for many airlines to lower the air fares on their transcontinental flights for the foreseeable future.” Wow, look at that, increased competition means lower prices for consumer. Who would have ever have thunk it? And yes, that’s a view inside one of their planes.
By 9.6.07
../../../..//2007/09/06/did-you-know-you-dont/
Did you know you don’t have to show your ID to TSA employees when flying? Did you know that refusing to do so can get you bumped to the head of the line? [NewsBlog]
Flight Delays Will Only Get Worse, Say Experts
By 9.4.07
The New York Times looks at the country’s most consistently late airplane—American Airlines Flight 1659, from Newark to Chicago—and asks industry professionals about the rapidly deteriorating quality of air travel in the United States. The short answer: it will take at least a decade to upgrade air traffic control systems to handle the new super-busy runways, so unless airlines stop “maximizing” their profits by scheduling flights so closely together or we build more airports, this is the new modern way to travel.
United Airlines Hires Customer Service Specialist From Disney
By 9.4.07
The San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting article about the strategies that the big US carriers are taking to restore their tarnished (or completely obliterated, depending on how recently you’ve had to fly somewhere) reputation for customer service.
American Airlines Flight Grounded After Passengers Complain About Men Speaking Arabic
By 8.30.07
According to the Associated Press, an American Airlines flight was grounded after passengers complained about 6 men who were speaking Arabic. The men had been hired by a company called Defense Training Systems to train Marines at Camp Pendleton.
Are Airline Lounge Day Passes Worth It?
By 8.30.07
The Wall Street Journal bought day passes for several US airline lounges and reviewed each one to see if the lounges were really worth the hefty price of admission. Here is a summary of the results:
British Airways Leaves Luggage To Rot Outside Heathrow
By 8.30.07
I was flying [British Airways] from Amsterdam to London Heathrow to Denver on July 28th. When I landed I waited by the luggage carousel for my bag, well as you can sure guess, it never turned up. I was told by BA, that they found my bag they apologized and assured me it would be delivered to my home the following day. Seven days later the luggage finally showed up. [More]
Delta's New Menu Will Feature Snacks And Meals From $2-$10 In Coach
By 8.29.07
Delta has announced their new menu. It’ll be available in November on flights over 2,000 miles and will be free for First Class and Business Class. The menu items cost from $2-$10 in coach.
Reach Amtrak Executive Customer Service
By 8.29.07
The corporate email address for Amtrak appears to lastnamefirstletteroffirstname@amtrak.com.
Avoid Checking Valuables At The Philadelphia International Airport
By 8.27.07
According to evidence the Philadelphia Inquirer calls “anecdotal,” there seems to be a theft problem going on at the Philadelphia International Airport. Recently, quite a few baggage handlers were fired by US Airways for cooking the overtime logs in an attempt to get paid for work they never did.
Avoid US Airways' Trans-Atlantic Flights
By 8.27.07
Even your ever-skeptical columnist was shocked at what I found: a near-collapse of the day-to-day operations of US Airways’ Philadelphia-based trans-Atlantic service. Even by this summer’s reduced standards, the operation that US Airways runs between Philadelphia and Europe is shocking.
