This post is brought to you by AJ (Live From A Lounge) while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

I am not a fan of someone else taking decisions for me, be it the big ones like which party to vote for, or the small ones like what should I eat or drink. When an airline tries to do that, it could specially be more troublesome, because they are your service providers, and when they start taking decisions, it is seeking trouble.

One of my favourite airlines, Jet Airways, is doing exactly that and getting into trouble repeatedly. I was taken by surprise when a friend who lives in Goa, India’s favourite beach destination, informed about Jet Airways requesting him to bring out a package of delicious crab-meat he was carrying for friends in Mumbai, before they could load his luggage on the belly of the plane. He wasn’t sure if he was the only one so played ball, but seemed like Jet Airways was using this trick with enough residents of Goa to ask for trouble and requesting to abstain from flying Jet. Owned by a vegetarian entrepreneur, this is the first time I heard personal choices being imposed on the airline. The modified policy, which I access via the news media report, stated:

effective June 27th, 2011, there has been a policy revision wherein carriage of fish, crab, sea food, meat and poultry products will be prohibited as check-in baggage

This first got reported in the local media, and of all places, New York Times  picked it up. The airline claimed to have put in place this guideline to ensure such products do not lead to seepage and damage of luggage. However, pray tell dear airline, how did you let go the tin of Indian sweetmeat I carried in my bag in July 2011 in my trip to Delhi.

The hue and cry raised did force them to modify their policy again, and they issued a media statement in November about not wanting to hurt the sentiments of anyone and how the whole thing was a well-thought out move. As you’d read at the end of the NYT piece, 9W refused to speculate how vegetarian pickle would not cause damage but delicious sea-food would.

And while I was getting over this, I came across a case of 2009 where a flight attendant, again with Jet Airways, refused a Canadian female passenger on a Bangkok-Delhi flight a ‘rum drink’ on the grounds that she was a woman. BBC reports that the female passenger took them to court. The FA did pass of her personal policy as the airline policy, but again, another instance of personal beliefs being imposed on passengers took the airline down as one with a regressive line of thought. Guess what, the court has now ordered for compensation of US$ 1000 to the passenger, and this will no doubt turn out to be one very expensive drink for the airline.

(In all fairness to the airline, I did try to look for a copy of the judgement, but not able to find it yet on the website of the court. If someone succeeds in finding this one, please send me a link!)

Readers, do let us know at BoardingArea if you think customer is king or not?

Enjoy these other Guest Posts while Jason recovers, and wish him a speedy recovery:

• Guest post: Delta Air Lines’ voucher policy change is a good move
• $200 Platinum American Express Delta strategy
• Guest post: The last DC-3 still in passenger service in North America
• Guest post: Visas for Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 5
• Guest Post: Air New Zealand reveals its All Black B777-300ER
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 4
• Guest Post: Lessons Learned Booking Mileage Runs on American Airlines
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 3
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 2
• Briggs & Reilly 20″ Expandable Carry-On by Mommy Points
• Lapault 20″ 2-Wheeled Foldable Duffle Carry-On by Points, Miles & Martinis

This month, Delta Air Lines very quietly rolled out new rules for redeeming vouchers. Effective December 15, 2011, those issued for voluntary denied boardings, as well as any other travel credit good on Delta, are non-combinable and non-transferable.

This post is brought to you by Frequently Flying while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

Airlines wager on breakage with voucher issuance and this policy change will certainly increase Delta’s percentage. One airline source revealed that the change was made mostly to combat the sale of vouchers on eBay and craigslist, a practice that violates the terms and conditions of the certificates.

The boards on Flyertalk lit up once this was discovered and many are incredibly upset no formal announcement was made. The Points Guy devoted a post to the subject and he is in the camp thinking Delta should have been proactive and formally notified Skymiles members. I’m not so sure.

Brian Cohen, author of Flyertalk’s “The Gate” blog uses an analogy where a supermarket doubles the price of nuts. Should that supermarket issue an all-encompassing notice of the price increase to every customer? I’ll say absolutely not. Is this an apples to oranges comparison? I don’t think so.

So long as the certificates issued have clearly explicit terms and conditions on them, I think airlines can change those terms without the need to make an official announcement. The same Delta source as before mentioned they didn’t issue a public statement about the change given “there is no target audience to make that announcement without causing undue worry.”

I’m not a Delta flyer, so don’t really have a vested interest in this, but would be totally fine if United Airlines – my carrier of choice – decided to change the terms on their vouchers. Currently, VDB certs on United aren’t combinable, but can be used by anyone. I’ve always used them for my own travels, but appreciate the option to give them away. If that changed, I’d understand.

I’ve seen oodles of certs and miles for sale on eBay and craigslist and think airlines are doing their due diligence in cracking down. This week I watched a man take a VDB off a United flight in Reno and the agent clearly explained the rules and policies. That certainly doesn’t always happen, but once you accept such a voucher and its terms, you, the traveler, should be willing to abide by them.

Change is annoying and Delta’s switch in policy definitely irks quite a few fliers. I honestly think it was a smart business decision on their part and support their policy. Will the other airlines join Delta’s move?

If you’re like me and made the awful decision to choose Delta as your airline for the $200 Platinum American Express airline credit, you’re probably struggling to spend the money.

Delta is offering 5 – 1 day Delta Sky Club passes for $99 right now through Dec 31st. I purchased two sets last night at a Sky Club. They are good for one year and can be gifted to anyone of your choosing. Unfortunately you have to purchase them at a Sky Club as they are not available online.

I will be switching my $200 credit to another airline at the beginning of the year.

This post is brought to you by AAdvantage Geek while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

I don’t have a bucket list, but if I did, riding as a passenger on a DC-3 would be one of my items.

The Douglas DC-3 aircraft was one of the most successful aircraft in aviation history.  It entered into passenger service back in 1936 when American Airlines introduced it on their Chicago – New York route, and its arrival came at an important time in the early years of commercial aviation, for the DC-3′s operational, safety, and financial performance had a big impact on the industry.

From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s “America by Air” exhibit:

(The DC-3) was the first to fly profitably without government subsidy. More than 18,000 DC-3s, both civil and military versions, U.S. and foreign built…the 21-seat DC-3 was comfortable by the standards of its time and very safe, because of its strong, multiple-spar wing and all-metal construction. The airlines liked it because it was reliable, inexpensive to operate, and therefore profitable. Pilots liked its stability, ease of handling, and excellent single-engine performance.

Its impact went beyond commercial aviation. More than 10,000 DC-3s were built and put into service during World War II, and it played a critical role supplying troops, ammunition, and equipment to the effort in Europe.

It’s a beautiful plane. It looks fast. On the ground it resembles a bird ready to take flight.  And the streamline modern look is probably one of the most recognized and influential designs in industrial design history.

And though it’s been more than 75 years since it carried it’s first ticketed passenger, it’s still possible to find a DC-3 in regular, scheduled passenger air service in North America.

Tiny little Buffalo Airways, based in Hay River, Northwest Territories in Canada is still operating a DC-3 on their route between Yellowknife, NWT to Hay River, NWT.

The short 45 minute flight departs Hay River for Yellowknife each morning and then returns from Yellowknife in the early evening.  Round-trip fares are $327 through the week and $244 on the weekend.  Here’s a look at the schedule:

Yellowknife to Hay River
Mon-Fri departs at 5:00pm
Sat no flight
Sun departs at 4:30pm

Hay River to Yellowknife
Mon-Fri departs at 7:30am
Sat departs at 8:00am
Sun no flight

Buffalo also operates cargo flights on Lockheed L-188 Electra Freighters and Douglas DC-4 aircraft.

To take a ride on the DC-3, a person would first have to get to Yellowknife, a mining town of about 20,000 people, by traveling from Calgary, Edmonton on either Air Canada Express or WestJet.  From Yellowknife, they’d connect to the Buffalo Airways DC-3 for the short trip to Hay River (populations less than 4,000).

It’s possible to find charter companies that offer a one or two hour arial tour in a DC-3, but for me the idea of riding in one that’s being used in regular commercial air service has always been more appealing: it’s a “real” flight and not just an amusement ride.

I would love to do it, but there’s just never enough time…

So for now, a Buffalo Airways DC-3 t-shirt and this short video will have to do.

Photo: The Buffalo Airways DC-3 Passenger Cabin
Credit: Hugh Lee on Flickr

This post is brought to you by Rapid Travel Chai while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

Jason’s Africa trip report began with a rundown of his gear and flight routing, noting the need for US citizens to get visas for all three countries. Visas are a hassle, especially for those outside the major cities that typically house embassies and consulates. Expeditors can help for a price, but sometimes trips are more fun when they are DIY, the extra effort creating a feeling of accomplishment on arrival. Here are the tourist visa procedures and links for Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. For convenience all references are to the policies of their embassies in Washington, D.C., but note that countries frequently have wildly different requirements at different diplomatic missions (check Bolivia’s US missions for a real jumble).

All the below have the standard requirements of passport valid for at least six months, form, photos, return air ticket, fee (money order/cashier’s check), prepaid self-addressed return envelope.

Ghana:

Types and fees:

• single entry$60/expedited $100, valid for three months
• multiple-entry $100/expedited $200, validity unspecified

Processing time:

• standard: not more than 7 business days
• expedited: 72 hours

Pay attention:

• “Evidence of financial support or letter of invitation from host in Ghana” (typically a bank statement is sufficient)
• Not needed for the visa, but may be required to provide a Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever on arrival

Nigeria:

Types and fees:

• single entry$112, validity unspecified, fee paid in online application
• multiple-entry $112, validity unspecified, fee paid in online application
• Additional processing fee of $20 for standard, $85 for expedited (times not specified) to be paid by money order included in the application package

Processing time:

• single entry: unspecified
• multiple-entry: unspecified

Pay attention:

• Required to use their online application
• “Letter of invitation from host accepting full immigration responsibility”
• “Confirmed hotel reservation, if the applicant is not staying with host”
• “Evidence of funds to cover stay in Nigeria, (letter from bank etc)”
• Remember to pay the visa fee online AND the processing fee to the embassy

Kenya:

Types and fees:

• single entry $50, valid for 6 months
• multiple-entry $100, valid for 6 months
• 24-hour transit $20, valid for 6 months

Processing time:

• standard: 14 business days
• expedited: not listed, inquire if available

Pay attention:

• Required to use their online application, then print out and send the application package.
• Return envelope should NOT be UPS or USPS mail.

For multi-country trips an expeditor may be essential. Some visas can be obtained in other countries on the road, but research well in advance, particularly any requirements to apply in home country and holidays in BOTH the country you want the visa for and the country you are applying in.

Readers, share your experiences with visas for Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.

This post is brought to you by Road Warriorette while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

Other Guest Posts:

• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 4
• Lessons Learned Booking Mileage Runs on American Airlines
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 3
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 2
• Briggs & Reilly 20″ Expandable Carry-On by Mommy Points
• Lapault 20″ 2-Wheeled Foldable Duffle Carry-On by Points, Miles & Martinis

I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed the spouse and upgrades debates. It’s been very entertaining to hear all the different sides of the story. And, as a wife, I admit it’s been rather gratifying to hear that most husbands let the wives have the upgrade. My upgrade story is a little different, though.

Most of the time on vacations, either we have both gotten the upgrade or neither of us has gotten it. So I don’t remember any incidents where there’s only one and we’ve had to decide who gets it. But once, we were flying back from a trip to Vegas for my cousin’s wedding. We booked our flights way in advance, and were super happy to see we had been upgraded a few days in advance. A great way to end our week of gambling and partying! Except that we realized the day before our flight that my 90-year-old grandmother was also on our flight. Even after begging and pleading, the agent couldn’t get her an get her in first class with us for free. The only way to make it work was to purchase 3 500-mile upgrades, at $30 a pop.

Let me tell you a little bit about my grandmother. She is 5’2”, very energetic, and a bit of a firecracker. She’s also, as are so many from her generation, very frugal. So when I went to her and explained the situation, and said we would be happy to split the $90 with her, she laughed at me. “Pay 50 dollar?” (She’s also Norwegian, with an accent even after being in the States for over fifty years.) “For what? A bigger seat and a glass of wine? No thank you!”

The Home Warrior and I had a quick whispered conference. What to do? Do we let her sit in front while one of us sits in back? And the answer is, yes. Yes, you do. So we told her she could have one of our seats, and she said no! She refused to come and sit in first class, even when we asked her to switch with us for just a little while. So we sent her back a glass of wine, and visited from time to time. But of course, today she is 94, and still reminds us of that flight where we sat in front of the plane and she sat in back.

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This post is brought to you by Plane’nSimple while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

Star Alliance Carrier, Air New Zealand which is very popular in the social media for its cheeky ads and smart campaigns recently gave a sneak peek at the world’s largest commercially operated aircraft to be painted completely black.

The airline has gotten Boeing to paint its fifth B777-300ER in all black livery dedicated to the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, the aircraft which is expected to be delivered to Air New Zealand in late January following the completion of its interior fit out and will make its way to Auckland, Los Angeles, London Heathrow and Melbourne airports during 2012.

Highlighting its long standing sponsorship of the All Blacks who also are the current World Champions, the airline got Kieran Read and Andy Ellis to Boeing hangar facility in Seattle for a special ceremony for the aircraft’s unveiling to world. As per Boeing, painting the aircraft took just over a week, two days longer than it normally takes to paint a 777 aircraft. 185 gallons (700 liters) of chrome-free primer and paint was used and involved a total of 14 painters working in shifts 24 hours a day. Prepping and painting the aircraft entirely black took one and a half days, followed by a further five days for the intricate detail of the silver fern overlaid on it and the Koru symbol. Remaining time was spent on the finishing touches, Boeing has termed this as one of the most challenging paint jobs in it’s history.

The all black color scheme and silver fern are a key part of both New Zealand’s and the All Blacks’ identity has already been painted on a couple of A320’s (ZK-OAB and ZK-OJR) and they entered into service earlier this year, By mid next year Air New Zealand will have six aircraft featuring the all black livery including two Airbus A320s and three Beech 1900D turbo-props. Contrary to popular belief, the black paint won’t cause the aircraft to heat up a great deal. In fact, the more than 330 individual TV screens inside the aircraft create more additional heat than the all black paint job.

Personally I find the livery amazing and a great masterpiece, hats off to the technicians who made this happen with all the long hours put in by them and am really looking forward to have a chance to fly the bird soon.

Check out the ‘Behind the Scenes’ video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZkhGQ_K4Ak

This post is brought to you by Deals We Like while Jason is out with two broken wrists and a microphone. Keep an eye out at MilesQuest for future guest posts by other Boarding Area bloggers.

Other Guest Posts:

• Lessons Learned Booking Mileage Runs on American Airlines
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 3
• Guest Post: The Spouse and Upgrades debate, take 2
• Briggs & Reilly 20″ Expandable Carry-On by Mommy Points
• Lapault 20″ 2-Wheeled Foldable Duffle Carry-On by Points, Miles & Martinis

I figured I’d join in the spouse and upgrades debate as I have a great story myself. While I am writing this post, Mr. Deals is actually sitting next to me writing his side of the story (which was from the back of the plane). He’ll be posting this post as his Sunday Feature this week.

Exactly two years ago Mr. Deals and I decided to take a trip to Hawaii. We were engaged and our wedding was coming up in 6 months. Many people thought we were ridiculous taking a honeymoon before our honeymoon, but when Hyatt released their Faster Free Nights promotion we could not resist. I was able to snag two tickets from JFK to Oahu for about $600 a piece. I had a travel voucher from being bumped to cover the cost of one ticket, so out of pocket cost was about $600 – not too bad for two tickets to Hawaii! At that time I had Executive Platinum status with American Airlines but unfortunately not too many 500 mile upgrade stickers left. I only had enough stickers to upgrade my husband one way. We decided that the way home would be better since that was the red eye and we were going straight to work once we landed back in New York.  If you are not familiar with the way American Airline works only Executive Platinum members are given unlimited complimentary upgrades. Gold and Platinum members need to use their 500 mile upgrades which are earned by flying on AA flights. These upgrades can also be used on other passengers on the same itinerary.

Although I could have easily put in for an upgrade for my ticket on the way there and leave my husband in coach, I passed. I still needed to make sure that my fiancé at the time was going to show up for the wedding, so I could not push my luck too much. We sat together in economy class and that was that. I am a good sleeping, so coach seats do not bother me.

The way home, however, was a different story. I had put in the upgrade request for both seats immediately after we booked our tickets. While in Hawaii, we kept on checking our email for our upgrades to clear, but no dice. It was a Sunday evening red-eye so I was not surprised that the flight was pretty filled up. We got to the airport early to try to snag those business class seats, but the agent informed us that they had only one business class seat left. She asked if we were still interested or if she should take my name off of the upgrade list. With my status, chances were if I left my name on the upgrade list, I would get the upgrade. So here was the dilemma, to take the upgrade or not? At first I said absolutely not (remember, I still needed him to say “I do”). My husband, surprisingly, suggested that we take it and switch seats half way through. He actually was mostly excited for the business class meal, especially since it was an 8 hour flight.

I was cleared from the upgrade list and there I was sitting in business class while my husband was in coach. Good thing I got the first half of the flight as we never ended up switching! I did ask the flight attendant to send back the massive ice scream sundae to my husbands seat, which he did! My husband never came up to initiate the seat change and there was no way I was going to volunteer! The flight landed and I thought to myself, “this is going to be the end of it!” All was good though and instead it is a pretty funny story to tell others (at least I think so)!

So what would you do? Take the upgrade or no? While business class from Hawaii back to the states was not the same as an international flight, it was still pretty good!

Get better Jason!

This is a guest post by Gary Leff of View from the Wing.

As part of the oneworld MegaDO, American Airlines is offering participants a special status challenge opportunity. There’s no fee for the challenge, and qualification requirements are relaxed. A top tier member of a competitor airline can become top tier Executive Platinum with American by flying just 20,000 miles by January 13 (basically a 3 month window).

I admit, I was skeptical whether or not it made sense for me to go for it. I wasn’t doing a ton of revenue travel over the Thanksgiving and Christmas period. And what travel I was doing was already booked before I saw details of the challenge offer and realized it was much easier than I had expected. So I’d have to do some mileage runs.

But status challenges and status matches are only valuable if you’re going to use your new status. And as a DC-based flyer, am I really going to switch to American? Will I retain my current status and top tier with American?

But then some things changed which influenced my thinking.

• British Midland is being sold to British Airways (probably) or Virgin Atlantic (unlikely). Either way I probably don’t have a keen interest in retaining that status next year. Bummer, I’ve just requalified for Gold, but probably not going to do that again.

• US Airways is going to be getting more slots at National. Much of my bmi flight credit comes from short hops on US Airways where United wouldn’t give me 500 mile minimums but bmi does 600 mile minimums. US Airways is putting first class into their regional jets. It’s not a great product but it’s a lot of non-stop flights from my home airport. I might actually want some US Airways status and what I can’t fly for I can top off by straight buying the qualifying miles or segments.

• American offered double elite qualifying miles. So any flying towards the MegaDO status challenge during the first 13 days of January will also count double towads requalifying.

So with some prodding and goading and egging on from others, I decided to take the plunge. I’ve got myself set to earn Executive Platinum by completing the challenge in just a couple of weeks, and I’ll also have earned about 50,000 qualifying miles on American during the month of January.

There are some interesting things I’ve learned along the way, or at least they’re interesting to me as very much a non-expert in all things American.

Upgrades can’t be processed until tickets are issued and American doesn’t issue tickets instantly, it can take 30 minutes or a couple of hours. Actually I already knew this.

Only two upgrades on an itinerary can apparently be processed at one time, I had to process two, wait for tickets to re-issue, and call back to process the third piece of the itinerary.

Confirmed upgrades can’t be done online. I knew this also. While American will allow confirmed upgrades from any fare when using electronic VIP upgrades, the re-ticketing does mean you need to only upgrade ‘legit’ tickets, no pricing tricks permissible or else they’ll probably be caught during the re-issue process.

American has discount codes. Google is your friend. Meeting codes, usually. They’re good for 5% – 10% off any fare bookable at AA.com. This is generally more lucrative than using a shopping portal site like Big Crumbs to book through Expedia, and you can double dip by adding in a small business program (Business ExtrAA) account code.

I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to the next 20,000 miles of domestic flying on American or not. But I couldn’t not do it and I’ll be half requalified for next year, too. I’m sure I’ll have a whole lot to learn as I continue to sample the dAArkside.