Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 11, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines, Starwood Preferred Guest | 
Hello from the A Center Delta Sky Club in Atlanta. Arrived here just before 3PM after a really great flight aboard Delta flight 1052 from Seattle. My Medallion upgrade cleared at the gate, the 757 was equipped with on demand video, in seat power (that was a little spotty), GoGo Inflight Wi-fi, and really great First Class flight attendants. What more could one want in a flight? Alas, it wasn’t to last. My 4:20PM connection to DCA is now a 5:55PM connection and that’s a slight uptick from the 5:45PM departure that was posted when I landed.
I’ve had one of the more successful business trips of the year, and am looking forward to completing the week. I’m also anxious to complete my review of the W Seattle, which was the hotel of choice for this trip. Not only did I have a great stay, but my colleagues mostly seemed to enjoy it as well.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 9, 2010 under Commentary / General Info |
While dining this evening at Salty’s on Alki Beach in Seattle, I looked out the window and was delighted to see something above Seattle’s Skyline that impressed this airplane geek. A Boeing 787 on final for Boeing Field. Taken with an iPhone at dusk, so I apologize for the quality, but you get the idea.
A Boeing 787 Over Seattle
Posted by Marshall Jackson on March 6, 2010 under Commentary / General Info |
If not, take a look. This guy is good. http://jethead.wordpress.com/
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under American Airlines, Commentary / General Info |
There’s a lot of talk by certain labor groups at American about seeking release from mediation and entering a 30 day cooling off period, after which they would be free to strike. I won’t get into a discussion about who is right or wrong, but I will say that I’ll be surprised if the National Mediation Board (NMB) declares an impasse with any of the labor groups before the end of the summer travel season. That said, this is a situation that bears watching, so stay informed. Industry pundits that are far better informed than me seem to think that the flight attendants are most likely to be the first group released from negotiations.
Pilot Website
Flight Attendant Website
Ground Crew/Maintenance Technician Website
American’s Website on Negotiations
Posted by Marshall Jackson on under Commentary / General Info |
Random for me, I know. But I love this video. Hat tip to Jon Ostrower.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 26, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines, Starwood Preferred Guest |
My Delta flight from Atlanta to DCA was right on time tonight. I was feeling so good, I decided to take Metro (DC’s subway system) home, and walk the half mile or so from the station to the house. Remind me not to do that again in the winter with luggage. Brrrr. I have a few things to blog about this weekend. I won’t give a full review of the W Atlanta Midtown since I recently posted one, but I will give a quick synopsis of the stay. I will also post about my Delta flights, which were fine, and offer some thoughts on my Delta Sky Club experience today. They’ve added back some better munchies. Not great, but better and they deserve a shout out. Stay tuned, I think I have more flying planned in the next 2 months than I’ve had in a number of years. My Tripit.com calendar is starting to take up multiple pages!
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 25, 2010 under Commentary / General Info |
Yes, I am on Twitter. Follow me @MJonTravel.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 24, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Delta Air Lines |
Hello from the W Atlanta Midtown “Living Room.” Good stay so far, though I’m on a slightly lower floor than previously. Oh well, I’ll survive! I’ve been up since just before 3AM. The 6AM launch to Atlanta from DCA on Delta was delayed by an hour and fifty minutes for snow that was forecast, but never really materialized. Life goes on. But I do need to check my Delta.com profile as I received a phone call and an email to advise me that my flight was delayed, a fact that I already knew the night before. But no complaints about Delta notifying me, just an observation about the irony since I already knew.
I have to wonder why Delta instituted its “proactive delay” program today, and so many hours before the actual flights to boot. Could it be the first manifestation of the unintended consequences of hard limits on that amount of time passengers can be held aboard a flight before being allowed off? Just sayin’……
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 21, 2010 under Commentary / General Info, Random Musings |
This New York Times article caught my eye first thing this morning. Entitled “Will Airlines and Passengers Call a Truce,” the article immediately led me to think what a sad state of affairs we are in when airlines and the customers they depend on are seen as being at war with each other! But let’s face it, we customers depend on those airlines too. Do you really want to take Amtrak from DC to California? Didn’t think so.
I’ve repeatedly said that I am not opposed to the concept of unbundling as long as the service now being charged for can legitimately be considered an enhancement or “plus up” to the travel experience. Unfortunately, many of the big airlines have taken this idea and run to the moon with it, leaving no opportunity to charge for something unturned. The finance departments at our airlines have a very easy time counting the pennies they earn from every little service they charge for. What they can’t do very well is account for business they are no longer getting because their former customers have moved on to Southwest, JetBlue, or some other airline where they feel like they are far less likely to get screwed by some random fee.
All that said, we need a healthy, vibrant, and profitable airline industry that supports itself, provides decent jobs, and fosters commerce and the movement of people and goods in a way that only the airlines can. The industry has continuously sold product at prices which are less than the cost of providing it, and as a result, much of the traveling public has become accustomed to the idea of flying cheap. As those same airlines have cut services or begun charging for others that were previously “free,” the perception among travelers that they are being fleeced by the industry has only grown…..even as airfares remain at historic lows.
I suppose that if I knew how to fix this, I’d be running an airline now. But I think at a minimum, some rationalization in fares is bound to happen. The $99 dollar west coast specials that seem so popular are going to have to go away. The drastic draw downs in capacity at the big airlines are already having an impact in this regard I think. As capacity comes down even more, I think fares at the low end will begin to come up. On the flip side, the rates that the big airlines charge for walk up fares are enormous, hardly anyone will pay them, and even offering a price like $700 $887 dollars one-way from DC to Raleigh or $1312 dollars one-way from DC to Los Angeles only reinforces the perception that the big airlines are out to get us. Fares need to be rationalized, and the spread from top to bottom should be narrowed.
Fare rationalization is a good start. I’ll have more ideas on repairing the relationship between airlines and customers in future posts. In the meantime, what are some of your ideas for improving air travel? Comments are open. Let’s hear what you have to say.
Posted by Marshall Jackson on February 20, 2010 under Commentary / General Info |
Something suddenly came up, and I’m off to Atlanta this week. Don’t leave until Wednesday at 6am, so who knows? Maybe that upgrade will clear afterall. Flying Delta and staying at the W Atlanta Midtown again. If I keep this up, I’ll become a regular there. 
You can read my most recent review of the hotel here.
