Flying With Fish The Blog for Those Who Fly & Those Who Want to Fly Smarter

While Mexicana may not be flying, have UBS Global Financial saying the airline is dead and people writing off the carrier … I am once again going to stick my head out on a limb, as I did in this post: Mexicana Says Goodbye With Its Future Up In The Air … and say it is likely we may see Mexicana in the skies again.

Why do I think we’ll see Mexicana flying again when many others say the airline is dead?  Because a dead airline does not tend to continue to negotiate its union contracts.

ASSA, the union representing Mexicana’s 1,367 flight attendants, has begun voting on a new proposed contract.  The contract being voted on manages to use the contract currently in place between Mexicana and it’s flight attendants while reducing flight attendant costs by 30%.

In addition to Mexicana’s flight attendants voting on a contracts, Mexicana’s pilots, represented by ASPA, who presently own 5% of the airline, are working to create a long-term contract solution that aims to reduce pilot costs by 25%.

While Tenedora K, created by Advent International, owns 95% of the grounded airline, the Mexican Government has now stepped into to assist Grupo Mexicana in securing additional investors so the airline may be re-launched and the majority of the company’s 8,000 jobs can be retained.

The future may seem bleak for Mexicana … however dead airlines generally do not have an equity investment firm with US$24bil in assets backing them, a Government seeking to get them flying again, two labour unions working to ratify new contracts and the Chapter 15 protection that protects their access to their aircraft, slots, contracts, gates and terminals.

…now I guess all we can do is sit back, wait and watch.

Happy Flying!

Yesterday morning an incident involving a Qantas Boeing 747-438 flying from San Francisco to Sydney caused Julie Johnsson, the Chicago Tribune’s aviation reporter, to Tweet “3 words you never want to hear: “uncontained engine failure” from her Twitter account.

While the incident involving Qantas Flight 47 left the flight crew a number of options, including shutting down the affected engine about 45 minutes after departing San Francisco International Airport and requesting a priority route and and clearance back to SFO, the incident its self is quite scary for both the crew and passengers.

So … what does an uncontained engine failure look like? A passenger captured video of the incident from their mobile phone.

While this incident ended well for the passengers and crew with no injures in the air or on the ground … and even the no significant damage to the aircraft, aside from an engine replacement … I know this is something I’d not want to experience as a passenger.

Below is a SkyNews story including video of the engine surge flaring back from the engine past the fuselage.

Happy Flying!
(Click Image To Launch Video)

Airport codes, every commercial airport has a three letter airport code … and this week’s reader mail, from Dane in Philadelphia, asks “I know with all the possible three letter airport code combinations there must be some funny or odd airport codes. Do you know of any that make passengers chuckle?”

Well Dane … as a matter of fact I can think of quite a few IATA Airport Codes that make passengers laugh or sometimes blush.

Before I dive into airport codes themselves, this reader mail comes right after I heard a funny airline code joke from Dan Webb, author of fellow BoardingArea.com blog Things In The Sky.   Dan says he wants to fly from Telluride, Colorado to Mexico City so he can fly the TEX-MEX route.

That said … I do know a photographer who has flown from Fresno, California to Fukuoka, Japan for a job … and found himself laughing when he realized he was flying from FAT to FUK.

OK … one some funny and odd airport codes.

If you’re a fan of Bill The Cat, check out Nantucket in Massachusetts, its airport code  is “ACK!”

Love The Simpsons? Take a flight to Doha in Qatar and you’ll find yourself saying “DOH!”  You can also fly to Coquimbo in Chile and say “Don’t have a COW.”  I bet Homer Simpson would like Alpine Texas where he’d find himself landing at ALE.

Shocked easily? Head to Omega Airport in Nambia so you’re bag tags can be tagged with OMG!  Like to laugh? Then head to Derby Field in Pershing County, Nevada and you’ll find yourself at LOL.

Like to party? Head over to Tuvalu Island’s International Airport in the South Pacific and you’ll put your wheels down at FUN.

This one is for Mary Kirby who writes Flight Global’s Runway Girl blog … Pocos De Caldas Airport in Brazil is good for POO while Bolshoye Savino Airport in Perm Russia is for those who prefer PEE.

Looking for a good Mother’s Day trip? Check out Letfotar_Airport in Moudjeria Mauritania, it’s airport code is MOM.  Father’s Day is right after Mother’s Day … maybe a quick trip to Da Nang International Airport in Vietnam for DAD.

In a foul mood? Maybe check out Samcheok Airport in South Korea … it’s the SUK.  South Korea to far away? Then visit Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City Iowa, their slogan is “Fly SUX.”

Maybe you’re the CFO of a failing corporation? If so, check out New Caledonia’s Ile Ouen Airport and get an IOU.

Looking for a little something bawdy? Then visit Sembach Airport in Germany to find SEX.

Involved in a government conspiracy? You mind find answers at Rome’s Ciampino Airport … otherwise known as CIA.

Everyone loves pets (OK, not everyone, my brother especially) … but if you’re an animal lover check out Cat Island in the Bahamas to visit CAT or stroll over to Dongola Airport in the Sudan if you prefer a DOG.

Want to think dirty thoughts in a clean city? Then Changi International Airport is the place to be since its a SIN.

Alaska’s Summit Airport and Willow Airport make up a comment my daughter is likely to say UMM WOW.

I can go on … but I’ll leave you with Hati’s Les Cayes Airport … CYA!

Happy Flying!

It is hard to pinpoint when Japan Airlines (JAL) started its downfall.  For more than fifty years JAL was the top airline in Japan and for a long time the top airline in Asia and one of the largest airlines in the world.  Even with competitor All Nippon Airways (ANA) being founded a year after JAL was established … JAL lead the way.

In 2009, amid the global comic downturn that impacted airlines around the world, JAL suffered massive financial losses. The total losses for the airline at the time it filed for bankruptcy was a staggering US$26,000,000,000 (yes, that is twenty six billion).

Much of JAL’s financial downfall can be attributed to the airlines’ corporate culture and its management.

The upper management at JAL failed to see the critical danger the airline was in. JAL’s management attempted to ride out the problems and seek emergency loans while assuming the Japanese Government would cover the bill.  Much of JAL’s management failed to see the company’s total financial crisis due to the compartmentalized structure of the company.

Japan Airlines’ corporate culture was to separate each department, each project, and each unit with no one overseeing the ‘big picture.’

Now with JAL having presented its bankruptcy restructuring plan to the Tokyo District Court today the company has laid out is plans to move forward, pay off its remaining approximately US$11-billion in debt, although it is seeking forgiveness for roughly US$6.2-billion of its debt.

With JAL having recently shed its hotel chain brand, cargo operations and ground handling divisions, it will shed 16,000 employees, retire 103 aircraft, eliminate 39 domestic routes and sack 10 international routes. Additionally, JAL reiterated that it intends to launch a Low Cost Carrier (LCC), which I had discussed here – Japan : An Airline Battle Ground.

First off, Japan Airlines’ shedding 16,000 positions, equal to around 30% of its total workforce, while a massive reduction of staff includes jobs that are attached to divisions being sold off by the airline. Obviously those who worked with JAL Cargo, JAL Hotels and JAL’s ground handling services that are being separated from Japan Airlines would no longer remain with the company.

JAL’s decision to retire certain aircraft focuses on specific aircraft types. Of the 103 aircraft being retired, these include 3 MD-81s, 18 MD-90s, 29 Boeing 747-400s and 22 Airbus A300-600s.  These aircraft elimination announcements are not new, in fact JAL had announced the removal of these aircraft from their fleet some time ago, however people are now paying attention since its bundled into the airline’s restructuring.

The three MD-81s and eighteen MD-90-30s have an average age of 15.1 years and the aircraft are known to be heavy fuel guzzlers. Many airlines have phased out the MD-80/90 series of aircraft for aircraft with lower fuel consumption.

JAL’s Boeing 747 fleet has an average age of 15.9 years, with its sub-fleet of 747-400D aircraft ranging between 18 and 19 years of age, with a much higher landing cycle than other 747-400s due to its usage in high frequency & high-density domestic routes. Of JAL’s 29 747-400s, 4 are 747-400D and another 5 are freighters…with the youngest passenger 747-400 having just turned 10 years old.

…and the Airbus A300-600s were inherited from JAL’s merger with Japan Air System (JAS) in 2002.  The A300-600 is considered ‘old technology’ and is incompatible with the rest of JAL’s all Boeing fleet. Not to mention that the A300-600 is a fuel hog.

While I believe JAL needs a more uniform and streamlined fleet, if JAL truly plans to move forward with the creation of a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) I have to wonder if the airline should consider retaining its high density 747-400D aircraft specifically designed for the Japan domestic market (the only other airline in the world operating the 747-400D is JAL’s primary competitor All Nippon Airways). These aircraft are ‘paid for’ and along with a few of the MD-90-30s JAL will be retiring would make up an LCC fleet to handle high traffic major city traffic as well as the smaller point-to-point LCC traffic until the airline can rebuild its credit to acquire additional type-specific aircraft for the LCC airline.  Even if the 747-400D aircraft are not viable for the LCC, the MD-90-30s for single class of service with high frequency can make up for the fuel burn costs with high-density passenger volume until the airline can afford different aircraft, preserving their access to liquid assets and reducing their payment for new aircraft.

Japan Airlines’ shedding routes is good and bad … of the 39 domestic routes JAL plans to eliminate I am confident these are routes where they not only compete with LCCs in Japan, but many will also be restored by JAL’s intended LCC, should the LCC come to fruition.  Japan’s domestic traffic was once highly regulated, allowing JAL and ANA to operate with little worry, however now with multiple LCCs within Japan, operating with lower operating costs, reduced labour costs and lower overall overhead, JAL is wise to shed routes.

JAL has not yet finalized the 10 international routes it intends to eliminate. While the airline has eliminated a few routes in the past year, a wise move for JAL would be to eliminate routes in which it has a code-share agreement in place with partner airlines flying the routes and potentially wait for certain long-haul joint-ventures to come into play. The proposed American Airlines – JAL joint venture could allow JAL to reduce flights on its own aircraft while maintaining routes form key US cities to their hub at Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

While some airlines maintain “trophy” routes to certain destinations, Japan Airlines is in no position to retain any route for the purposes of pride.

As of right now, with JAL being “only” US$11-billion in debt, down from its original US$26-billion in debt and investors such as Japan’s Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation seeking to invest US$3.5-billon into the airline’s future the airline can create a whole new future.

Most companies that file bankruptcy for a fraction of JAL’s bankruptcy are gone forever, however JAL has the chance to rebuild and become a whole new company.

The big question is can JAL change?  Can JAL’s corporate culture change?  JAL can have a bright future. Japan’s airline industry can grow, and grow experientially, but will JAL be able to grow with the market?

The airline needs to change its tactics, not only in terms of fleet and route restructuring, but also in being open internally, allowing ideas and information to flow from department to department and never become compartmentalized again. The airline must work as a whole to be effective.

Aside from a vast change in the airline’s corporate culture, JAL must change how it attracts and recruits passengers and corporate accounts. The old methods JAL had in place worked once, but did not change as the business environment change or how passengers sought out their airlines.

JAL’s chance to rise from the ashes is now and only time will tell if they can truly change nearly every facet of how the airline operates internally. The company needs visionaries, as well as managers, open minds to new ideas while maintaining a strict fiscal responsibility.  JAL needs to remember its past as to not repeat it while keeping its focus forward.

Will JAL return to being the dominant airline in Japan? Maybe so … but not for a very long time.

Happy Flying!

Everyday I read stories regarding passengers who are upset about carry on bags, checked bags, legroom, missing flights because they were late. Today was no different … except today this story was published by the BBC and it is virally traveling throughout Twitter, Ryanair tells girl to buy £190 plane seat for violin.

According to the BBC Francesca Rijks, 12, a music student from Cheshire, was flying home from Dusseldorf, from Weeze Airport (NRN),  following a family vacation in Germany with Ryanair when she was informed she’d need to buy a seat for her violin case or pay a fee to place it in the baggage hold.

This news story leaves out a number of key pieces of the story, given that Ryanair is very well known for its “No Exceptions” carry on baggage policy.  The first question I would ask,  since Francesca father, Harmen Rijks, states the airline said the violin could be carried on, did he look at Ryanair’s very easy to find and public policy that requires passengers to purchase a seat for small instruments when flying with the airline?

While Ryanair allows for up to 10kg (22lbs) &  55cm x 40cm 20cm (21in x 15.5in x 7.5in) for its carry on baggage it is extremely strict in carrying out it’s “No Exceptions” carry-baggage policy.

Ryanair’s carry-on rules go rules go one step further that most in enforcing it’s ‘one carry’ policy … Should you purchase any duty free in the airport it must be carry inside the carry on bag. Have a camera? It cannot be on your shoulder, it must be in your carry on bag.  Woman with a purse? Nope, it must fit inside the bag

While Mr. Rijks contends that the airline allowed them to carry the violin at check in, only to be stopped at the gate, failure to comply with the rules is not a reason to be upset with the airline. An error by a check-in agent is also not ground for a passenger to not comply with a clearly published rule by an airline.

Mr. Rijks states “This was an absolute disgrace. Their policy appears to discriminate against violinists, the vast majority of whom simply can’t afford to purchase an additional seat,” however a section of Ryanair’s website clearly states the following “Smaller musical items, such as a guitar, violin or viola which exceed our cabin baggage dimensions may be carried in the cabin, if an extra seat has been purchased.”

While I may not agree with many of Ryanair’s pricing policies, their website and policies do not hide their fees, The airline is very transparent about is ancillary costs and it reserves the right to place any restrictions or additional fees on baggage it chooses, whether passengers agree or not.

The Incorporated Society of Musicians senior legal advisor David Abrahams added “The idea that musicians should be forced to purchase an additional seat on board an aircraft because they are carrying an instrument that can be stored safely in the overhead lockers is unfair, discriminatory and irrational.”

Personally I do not agree with Mr. Abrahams, Ryanair charges passengers to buy a ticket, in addition to the ticket fee, as well as to get a boarding pass … and for nearly everything else possible. The fact is that Ryanair e-mails each and every passenger a clear set of rules and regulations they must agree to before the booking is final. While much of what Ryanair does may seem irrational, the fact is the airline turns a profit and does so by charging fees most other airlines would never dare to dream of … even in this new age of charging for everything.

Anyone flying with Ryanair must know that a £1 fare from the UK to Germany is to good to be true … and that when all the fees and related costs are added up its often not less expensive than flying a different airline that is not as restrictive and does not have a militant “no exceptions” policy.

Happy Flying!

If you’re a regular reader of Flying With Fish you may have noticed I am a ‘three-holer‘ fan.  While my favorite three-holer, the Lockheed L-1011, is all but gone from the skies, the long serving three-holer workhorse of the skies is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its very first flight.

I am not sure how I almost missed this milestone, but David Vanderhoof, from the AirplaneGeeks Show, reminded me this afternoon of this important anniversary in aviation history.

While you’d be hard pressed to find many DC-10s carrying passengers today, with 446 aircraft having been built and nearly all of those remaining in the skies having been converted to freighters … along with 64 built specifically as military air-to-air tankers … these planes are still seen every day in airports around the globe and in the skies the world over.

Even though you may not find yourself seated on a DC-10 any longer, given that the last DC-10 rolled off the assembly line in December 1988, chances are you encounter items that have flown on the DC-10 regularly.  Presently the largest operator of the DC-10 in the world is Federal Express (FedEx), flying 66 DC-10s with another 25 in storage in the desert.

So as the sun sets on the 29th of August all I can say is Happy Birthday to the DC-10. It is comforting to know that dozens of you are in the sky right now and you’ll be in the air tomorrow morning kicking off your 41st year of flying.

Below is a photo I shot of two FedEx DC-10s on the ramp at New York’s JFK Airport.

Happy Flying!

Mexicana, formally known as Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, has a storied history. The airline founded in 1921 is not only the oldest operating airline in Mexico, but also the oldest airline in The Americas, one of the oldest airlines in the world to continue flying under its original name … and the oldest airline in the world to have continuously operated it inaugural route, Mexico City – Tampico.

On the 28th of August at Midnight Central Standard Time (CST), Mexicana shut down its operations and at Noon CST Mexicana ceased to operate flights after 89 years of continuous service.

The grounding of Mexicana is a considerable blow to air travel in Mexico as the airline was the largest airline by passenger traffic, including its subsidiary airlines Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link.

Mexicana has been battling excessively high operating costs and with its Unions for a long time and the beginning of the end started on the 29th of July when a number of leased Airbus aircraft were seized in Canada. At the time of the aircraft being seized in Canada the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) reported they were seeking 12 of its aircraft leased to Mexicana back. At the same time the aircraft lessors began seeking their aircraft back, the airline found itself falling nearly a month behind in paying for its fuel, with the Mexican government keeping its fuel flowing.

While labour costs at Mexicana were soaring well above the airline’s revenue, the airline faced the same harsh global decline in other airlines around the world experienced. While many airlines were able to renegotiate with labour to survive, merge, or simply fold … Mexicana has continued on as ‘business as normal’ while hemorrhaging cash.

One week ago 95% of Mexicana was purchased by Tenedora K, a consortium controlled by Advent International, was created to purchase Mexicana. The remaining 5% of the airline is now owned by the Pilots Union, with the pilots agreeing to reduce their wages to 20,000 Pesos per month (US$1,500)  for 100 days as the airline restructures and the and the Union negotiates for both a seat on the Board of Directors and a larger stake in the airline.

With Mexicana having filed for Bankruptcy Protection in Mexico and under Chapter 15 in the United States the company still has control of its aircraft, its landing slots, its gates and its contracts remain intact … despite the company holding US$500-million in assets and being US$1-billion in debt.  The key to any airline’s ability to reorganize and restart are access to its fleet, its gates, terminal space and its landing slots.  The protection of these assets are critical to the potential future of Mexicana.

So now Mexicana’s future is largely controlled behind closed doors at the mercy of politics in Mexico.   Does the Mexican government want to see its largest flag carrier airline fail while the country is works to boost its economic growth, which is forecast to grow by 4.1% this year … or does it want to see the airline lay off its 8,000+ employees while impacting the jobs and economics of those who’ll be laid off indirectly by the closure of Mexicana.

Mexicana has valuable assets that work to its advantage, including significant brand recognition, a fleet that is intact due to bankruptcy protection, gates and infrastructure and slots at highly sought after airports … as well as standing in a global alliance. While Mexicana has traditionally been a weaker airline within the OneWorld Alliance, its membership in the alliance allows it more flexibility to marketing and access to more markets.

On the other hand Mexicana has some significant disadvantages, union labour costs that are significant out of line with current economics of both the company and the airline industry, the financial hardship of having had its ticket sales suspended nearly a month ago and the fact that in order to restart they’d be starting from a position of having just ceased operations.

Mexican may have the ability to raise liquid capital for the company as Mexicana,  Mexican Click and Mexicana Link all operate with independent Air Operators Certificates (AOC). The company has the potential to maintain a core airline while selling off one or more affiliate companies and their AOCs and allow the company to operate in a more streamlined manner.

If the politics surrounding Mexicana can all come together we may see the airline take to the skies again and reach its 90th birthday next year.

If Mexicana fails to get its house in order while it restructures in this brief period where they still have their fleet, gates and airport slots intact those flying in Mexico lose a valuable travel option and Mexicana’s primary competitor Aeromexico will have the opportunity to grow rapidly and massively.

Happy Flying!

I have been closely watching the two primary airlines in Japan, Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) for nearly two years.

The saga surrounding Japan Airlines‘ fall from the both the dominant Japanese airline and the largest airline by passengers carried in Asia, to a company in the midst of the largest bankruptcy in Japan’s history, relying on a government backed rehabilitation that involves selling off significant assets, is not only a huge blow to JAL but also a massive opening for All Nippon Airways to step in.

Two months ago a shift happened in the battleground shared by ANA and JAL … ANA became the dominant airline in Japan.

In June Japan Airlines’ passengers carried dropped to 3.55 million people a 1% drop, while All Nippon Airways saw a 10% growth achieving 3.65 million passengers for the month.

Along with the overall passenger growth, ANA has seen a 30% increase in international passenger traffic as JAL shreds apart its international routes, reducing and eliminating routes.

Now, between these two top Japanese airlines there is a new battleground that will emerge … the creation of low cost carrier (LCC) entities.

Just as ANA was eclipsing JAL as the dominant airline in Japan, they announced that they were exploring the creation of an LCC to be based at Kansai International Airport (KIX).

Japan has seen the launch of a number of LCC’s that have cut into the extremely high airfares for domestic and regional travel offered by ANA and JAL.  These LCC’s have taken a huge bite out of both ANA and JAL.

ANA is not a new comer to LCC’s, as they’ve wholly owned Air Next, a small domestic LCC based Fukuoka Airport (FUK) since 2004. The announcement to launch a larger scale LCC, using medium sized aircraft with high density seating, of approximately 200-seats per aircraft flying both domestically and internationally, priced competitively with Express Buses is within their grasp.

ANA’s choice of Kansai Airport, near Osaka, offers two advantages. For starters the airport offers them a fairly central location within Japan, as well as an airport well placed for flights to South Korea and major business hubs in China, secondly, the airport is exploring building a terminal dedicated to low cost airlines on its second reclaimed island where its second runway has been constructed.

To reduce costs, ANA plans to use non-Japanese pilots, reduce in-flight services and seek out shorter routes with a quick turn around time.    While JAL and ANA have long since offered frequent domestic travel with such high capacity that Boeing created the 747-400D specifically for the high density seating offered by ANA and JAL (with up to 624 passengers, the standard 747-400s operated by JAL & ANA that carry between 287 & 325 passengers) these high density routes have been impacted by LCCs and command higher fares due to the airports they operate from and the higher operating costs and labour costs of both JAL and ANA.

To counter ANA’s announcement that they’ll be launching a low cost carrier, JAL has now announced they’re exploring the creation of an LCC of their own.   While JAL sees a low cost carrier as a potential way to boost its financial recover, it has more hurdles to overcome than ANA.

ANA is financially solvent, has the credit to purchase a new fleet of aircraft and has multiple Star Alliance partners in the region to feed potential traffic and the capital to invest in a low cost carrier … not to mention the experience in being flexible enough to let an LCC operate on its own.

JAL on the other hand is selling off assets and while it is on the upswing financially, it is a in a very deep financial hole. Even with the Japanese Government backing JAL’s restructuring it has many hurdles to over come in build a new fleet, a new brand and demonstrating that its new management is flexible enough to allow a new brand to flourish on its own.

A recent independent review panel determined than JAL’s failure was due to the company being so compartmentalized that one division could never know what another division was doing and that management was so short sighted that it couldn’t see its failure on the horizon.

Can a company that literally could not foresee its own failure successfully restructure in such a way that they can not only develop a low cost carrier and create its brand … but also let that own brand work independently to succeed?

The opening shots to the Airline Battle for Japan have been fired … and this is a war that will not only be won in the long term,  but by both Mainline ANA and JAL brands and their potential new LCC brands as well..

Happy Flying!

It seems that all the good travel apps are designed for the iPhone, leaving iPad users out in the cold. The good news is that more travel apps are being released for iPad users … and this week’s iPad App of the Week is one of the new ones…

…this week’s iPad App of the Week is PocketTrav.

PocketTrav is a constantly growing source of traveller information…and while PocketTrav does not match its claims to cover every “country or city in the world,” it does cover most countries and it does provide an excellent resource for many cities around the world.

PocketTrav offers travelers the basics, including restaurants, hotels and what to do in a city or country, but it also delves into other import travel topics.  PocketTrav’s detailed break out topics for each country and city include how to get around places, breaks most cities down into districts with information on those districts are extremely informative and very handy for gathering information on the road.

For travel basics many areas within PocketTrav offer insights into history, common languages, safety & crime and respecting local cultures.

Need help while traveling? There is even a section listing the contact information for consulates in each country or region. A traveller should never need to contact a consulate, but there are times when that information can become critically important, especially in an emergency.

I have spent hours combing through the sections of PocketTrav and can detail this App in a long epic iPad App of the Week Post … but instead I’ll just suggest you check out on the iTunes App store for FREE!

Below are 18 screen shots of PocketTrav from my iPad.

Happy Flying!

(Click Image To Enlarge)

This week’s iPhone App of the Week has been around for nearly two months, but due to the creator of this App I needed to make sure the App worked only in ‘one direction’ before writing about it.  In a society becoming more like George Orwell’s 1984 every day I needed to do some homework first …

… now that the homework is out of the way … this week’s iPhone App of the Week is My TSA.

My TSA has been released by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  The TSA’s My TSA App has some interesting features for travelers in the United States, primarily infrequent flyers.

For infrequent flyers an interesting feature of the My TSA App is a guide on how to prepare for crossing through a security checkpoint quickly. There are some basic tips in this section, but tips that can reduce stress and anxiety for those not familiar with the airport screening process.

Information in the TSA’s  My TSA “Guide” that is very handy to infrequent flyers would be information on accepted IDs, traveling with children, packing tips, special medications information, etc.  The whole “Guide” section is well thought out.

A feature of the My TSA App  that should not be overlooked is a guide to what can be brought through an airport checkpoint. There are some interesting things you can search for (as you can see in the last screen shot of the App posted below). Many traveler frustrations stem from passengers facing rules that are inconsistent from TSA station to TSA station, hopefully a pocket sized Official TSA list of what is acceptable can reduce some of these arguments and frustrations.  The TSA has made a surprisingly detailed guide for travelers.

Oddly, the feature that is least useful in the My TSA App is security checkpoint wait times. The security check point wait times is dependent on users reporting their time in the TSA lines.  In order to get accurate wait times there needs to be a massive number of regular users, this many of the wait times listed in the App can be days old. The TSA needs to start using its own real-time data for security check points again and integrate this into the App for it to be a real tool for travelers. The TSA previously made real time checkpoint data available and has since ceased making that information available.

My TSA is free on the iTunes store.

Below are 20 screen shots of the TSA’s My TSA App from my iPhone.

Happy Flying!

This week’s reader mail took some clarification because when I first read it I was sure it was a typo … but apparently it was a communications error.

This week’s Reader Mail comes from Lysse. Lysse was on the phone with an airline changing her seats when she asked about legroom in economy class … the answer she received back from the agent on the other end, speaking with a ‘heavy accent,’ caught her by surprise.

So … here was the original question of the week “What is seat b!+ch? I’d swear the lady on the phone said my seat had a 31 inch b!+ch.”  Now, with some clarification, I know the real question of the week is “What is seat pitch.”

So Lysse, now that we’ve clarified your question … let me explain what Seat Pitch is.  Simply put, Seat Pitch is the distance between two seats. Specifically Seat Pitch is the distance between the back of the seat your sitting in and the back of the seat you’re staring at, ie: the meal tray the person behind you is looking to the meal tray in front of you that you’re staring at. This distance is called Seat Pitch.

While technically legroom depends on the thickness of a seat and the depth of a seat’s under-seat space… Seat Pitch is generally a term used to inform passengers of their legroom in a seat.

Below is a photo I shot on-board a Bombardier Q400 NextGen demo-plane with different Seat Pitch configurations.  I have drawn in markings showing where Seat Pitch is measured from.

Hope this answers your question!

Happy Flying!