Archive for November, 2007
November 26 2007
For today only, Sun Country has put every seat on every flight on sale for $49. All flights originate from Minneapolis, but you can travel to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Ft. Myers, South Padre Island
(Harlingen), Las Vegas, Laughlin, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando,
Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St.
Petersburg/Tampa, and Washington D.C.. You must travel by December 14th. Cheap!
Great Deals | No Comments » 
Print This Post
November 26 2007
I know that most people won’t care that Zambian Airways has canceled its service to Harare, Zimbabwe, but it is a further sign of the incredible collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy. Zambia is a neighbor of Zimbabwe, and with the departure of Zambian Airways, Zimbabwe is now nearly cutoff from the outside world. British Airways, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France have all stopped flying to Zimbabwe, leaving the country with little air service at all. Zimbabwe was once held out as a shining example of how a former colonized nation could succeed — this is just another sign of how far they’ve fallen.
Uncategorized | 1 Comment » Print This Post
November 21 2007
Via Travelzoo…
Gate1Travel has a great deal on a package to Costa Rica. $499 gets you a flight from New York, Orlando or Tampa, 6 nights hotel and a car rental for the entire trip — all for about the price of the flight. Can’t beat that!
Great Deals | 1 Comment » Print This Post
November 20 2007
I’ve seen this story a number of places, generally with a headline that suggests a near collision (not true):
A Midwest Airlines regional jet and a United Express aircraft got too close to each other after an air traffic controller lost track of the United plane. Aircraft should remain 5 miles apart horizontally and 1000 feet apart vertically, but these planes were only 1.3 miles and 600 feet apart. While the USA Today blog described this incident as "harrowing," the pilots actually said it was a non-event, and that passengers didn’t even notice the maneuver they did to get out of the way of the other plane.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
November 19 2007
(Thanks to reader Luke for the info…)
Certainly you remember the Southwest Airlines passenger who was denied boarding because her outfit was too sexy (or slutty). You may then remember that she was so embarrassed by this incident that she went on every television show that would have her. Feeling that she was still embarrassed she has decided that the best way to deal with the humiliation would be to pose for Playboy. Which is what she’s done. Photos are online, and I trust that you’ll figure out a way to find them. I sure hope she isn’t embarrassed anymore. I’ll let you know when the sex tape she made with her ex-boyfriend is leaked.
Southwest Airlines | 1 Comment » Print This Post
November 16 2007
Long-time readers know I rarely share personal travel stories here (nobody cares), but I wanted to pass along one from yesterday…
I did a day trip to Atlanta. Morning flight fine. Coming back we were delayed about 90 minutes (not that abnormal for that route). After about 90 minutes in the air the flight attendant tells us to get ready for our final approach into Newark. Ten minutes later the pilot comes on says something about “ vectors in the wrong direction” and that we have to stop for fuel in Washington, DC.
That seemed odd, as the flight attendant just said we were landing in Newark. And that the pilot never came on and told us we were circling somewhere over Richmond. That would’ve been nice information to have.
We land at Dulles, re-fuel for an hour, and take off again. The flight attendant gets on and says, “ You may use electronic devices, but keep in mind this is a short flight.” I found that to be a strange thing to say as I had, at that point, been sitting on a regional jet for 4 hours and 10 minutes. We land a bit later after 4 hours and 55 minutes in a CRJ.
The point of sharing all of this was a few random thoughts on the adventure:
– People all around me were cursing Delta (or Atlantic Southeast, which flew the flight), but the fuel stop certainly wasn’t their fault. The air traffic control situation on the east coast is at an unprecedented crisis (culminating in the Bush Administration opening up military airspace to ease Thanksgiving crowding — quite possibly the only decision he’s made that I’ve agreed with). On some level it’s the airlines’ fault (collectively) for scheduling flights in packed airspace, but air traffic control simply cannot handle the volume of flights they see. Some level of government intervention is coming.
– It’s funny, though, that the first thought is to blame the airline – everyone assumes that airlines are out to screw us. But I think this is because of the airline staff. They were at fault for giving us no warning that we were circling and that a fuel stop may be necessary. We’re adults. We can handle it. We don’t want to feel like we’re being held hostage, which is exactly how we felt after we had been on the ground at Dulles with no word from the cockpit. And not sharing information is part of the reason why passengers often feel they’re being lied to (even when they’re not).
– The woman in front of me had incredibly nice hair. She was playing with it for much of the flight (which would’ve grossed out my wife, because there were more than a few loose strands being dropped on the floor), but I can’t express how much it looked like the hair of a woman in a shampoo ad. I was this close to asking what kind of conditioner she uses. Then I remembered that that’s weird.
– A half-assed apology is worse than none at all, and we’ve all sat on flights where flight attendants were genuinely apologetic and when they were not (like last night). A bit of training on how to apologize (even when a fuel diversion is not their fault) would go a long way. All of us on that plane were just trying to get home to our families. A bit of recognition of that would’ve been helpful.
– I primarily blame myself for taking the flight that was served with a regional jet. I flew down on a 757 – larger planes make the flight all the time. I think it’s a good lesson: avoiding regional jets makes sense if only because if (when?) you get delayed, it’s much more pleasant on a 757 than on a CRJ-700.
– How many routes are served both by 757s and small regional jets?
– And finally – when you’re in a small plane and it’s a full flight, please don’t fully recline your seat. I know it’s your right to do that. But it makes the flight miserable for the person behind you.
Whew…that was cathartic. I’m always interested in hearing your flight delay stories – please share in the comments section.
Uncategorized | 6 Comments » Print This Post
November 15 2007
You’ve no doubt read about the (possible) merger talks between United and Delta. Yes, there are synergies in their route structures — it would create an airline giant with a massive global footprint. But let’s get real. Airline mergers have not failed because of route overlap. They fail because of workforces (see: US Airways/America West); because of technology (see: US Airways/America West); because of fleet integration issues (they would have a laundry list of aircraft); and because the supposed synergies of a largescale integration never arrive.
Is this merger impossible? No. Is this merger unlikely? Yes. Are the operational issues of merging these two groups together virtually insurmountable? Absolutely. US Airways and America West announced their merger 2 1/2 years ago, and it’s still an operational mess (see: website). And those were small(ish) airlines compared to these two. Just because a merged United would fly to Cape Town, Kiev, and Seoul does not make this a great idea.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines | 1 Comment » Print This Post
November 14 2007
You’re not the only one who has suffered a long delay on the runway.
The Detroit Red Wings were trying to leave St. Louis after their game last night when their plane made a sharp turn and got stuck in the mud at St. Louis Downtown airport. Crews couldn’t move the plane, so the team spent the night in St. Louis. They were scheduled to re-depart this morning.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
November 14 2007
(Thanks to reader IAH-PHX…)
British Airways has been accused of flying empty widebodies across the Atlantic in a bid to keep its landing slots at London airports. This seems a bit odd (and iah-phx doesn’t buy it at all) that they would fly empty planes from London to Houston (and other cities) considering the huge amount of fuel that would be used on the flight (the British articles about this all talk about the CO2 emissions from an empty plane). For its part, BA says it has flown a handful of these so-called ghost flights because it needed to reposition crew (that doesn’t really make much sense either) and that no crews were available to staff these flights. In short, I don’t know what the hell is going on over there.
But what’s interesting is how the British press is outraged from an environmental standpoint. While people in the US are still arguing about whether there’s any global warming at all, Europe has woven the issue into how it looks at every aspect of business.
Uncategorized | 5 Comments » Print This Post
November 13 2007
Airbus announced the identity of the first person to purchase his own A380 is Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, the world’s 13th richest man. Plans for the airplane, which features 6,400 square feet of interior space, are still being finalized, but they will likely include several bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, showers, gym, and an area for "courtiers" (I don’t know). The aircraft will carry about 50 people.
Uncategorized | No Comments » Print This Post
« Prev - Next »
Sun Country’s $49 Sale