Posted by Seth on September 17, 2009 under Uncategorized | 
It isn’t all that hard to make a huge leap in quality when you’re towards the bottom to begin with. Still, the move that US Airways announced this week is pretty significant. The new seat will be fully flat for sleeping and pretty spacious. They’re actually removing two seats per row in their business class cabin – going from six to four – to get these new seats in. But with the seats at an angle rather than facing straight forward they can actually get the same number of seats in the cabin with fewer per row. Crazy.
It has most the “normal” features that a new business class seat would have these days, like in-seat power and what appears to be a decent entertainment system with a 12” screen.
The only thing I can’t figure out is what they are thinking calling it a “suite.” It doesn’t have a door. It isn’t particularly private (though they do point out the little divider). There isn’t space for a travel companion to sit with you and dine. It is most definitely not a suite. But it is a decent business class seat.
Look for the new seat starting in December on the A330 routes that USAir flies or check out more on the new “suite” here.
Posted by Seth on September 17, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Just how many frequent flier miles does a billion dollars buy? Ask the folks at Citibank, who have just made such a purchase from AMR, parent of American Airlines. It is no secret that the frequent flier programs have been the most consistently profitable part of airlines for the past several years and it is transactions like this that make them such.
But the credit card companies need these miles to continue to entice folks to sign up for their credit cards and pay the annual fees (often waived in the first year) and run charges through the system, earning money for the banks. And then the customers have all these miles that they can use to redeem for free trips. Everybody wins. Except that the airlines are barely staying in business. Ditto for the banks. And those “free” tickets are anything but. Still, it does seem to work in theory.
Ultimately it seems that the best thing for us to do as consumers is to ensure that the cycle continues. We want the airlines to stay in business so we need the banks to keep buying miles and giving them to us, 25,000 at a time. Keep churning those CC applications, folks. We’ve got an industry to protect.
Posted by Seth on September 16, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Several weeks ago there was a big kerfuffle in the frequent flier world when some reporters started talking about airlines going bankrupt and the mileage programs disappearing. The carriers cited – big ones in the USA – were arguably at risk of going bankrupt, but there was essentially zero risk to the points. Why? Because another carrier would buy the program as one of the few valuable assets the bankrupt carrier had and they’d honor the accrued points in those programs. At least that’s the way it would happen most of the time.
Then there are the other, smaller carriers that go under, and the points simply vanish. Such is the case with Greece’s Olympic Airlines and their Icarus loyalty scheme. They’ve announced their liquidation, effective at the end of the month. And they’ve also made it clear that the Icarus program expires at that time, including all points.
Dear Members,
As you maybe aware, Olympic Airlines will enter into liquidation and a new privately owned Airline Olympic Air will be established.
Consequently, we would like to inform you that the accumulated miles of Icarus Program of Olympic Airlines must be redeemed for domestic and international flights until the September 30th of 2009*.
*All flights must have been completed until the 30th of September 2009
The ICARUS FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM will be terminated on 30th of September 2009.
Taking the opportunity we would like to express our appreciation for your continuous support during all those years.
Sincerely,
Olympic Airlines
The good news? If you’ve got some Icarus points sitting around you have two weeks to fly on them. But come the end of September, the points – and any tickets redeemed via the points – are gone.
Ouch.
Posted by Seth on September 13, 2009 under Uncategorized |
I’ve run into a lot of random people in my flying adventures. Whether meeting my parents for a drink in Rome or heading to Portland for drinks with friends just because it is there, fun things seem to always be around the next corner or at the next airport. Sitting in Chicago and searching for dinner near the jetBlue gate (easier said than done) I managed to fall into another such cool situation. I got to meet a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The bad news is that I have absolutely no idea who he is.
A fire department water canon salute is not all that common at airports. They are generally saved for special occasions, like new routes being launched. So when a US Airways A320 pulled into its gate at O’Hare this afternoon I was somewhat surprised to see it receiving the treatment. It isn’t like they are adding service at Chicago. I had sufficient time and inclination so I made the quick run over to the next terminal to see what all the excitement was about. Once at the gate I noticed a few folks waving American flags and some carrying yellow roses so I figured it was something military related but still didn’t have much of a clue. Fortunately the gate agent took care of that when he announced that the first passenger deplaning was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. And the name was announced but I didn’t catch it. I was too busy moving over to the end of the jetway to try to grab a photo. I got this slightly blurry one and then had the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for his service. But I have absolutely no idea who he is. There are only 94 living recipients right now so I think that I could probably track him down but I haven’t a chance to try yet. Still a very cool moment for me.
Posted by Seth on September 12, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Ever since the launched service a couple years ago I’ve been looking for an excuse to fly on Porter Air. They’re a small airline based out of Toronto’s City Centre airport – on a small island in the heart of downtown – and they are a bit of a throwback to the classic era of aviation. No three course meals in flight but that’s because their average flight is only about an hour. And there are plenty things about the service to love.
The first is their home base, Toronto City Airport. Rather than a 30-40 minute drive (on a good day) out to the international airport north of town, City Airport is nestled right in the heart of downtown. The airline offers a free shuttle bus from Union Station (~10 minutes most days) and then there is the free ferry offered by the city. Yes, a ferry. That’s because the airport is actually an island. The ferry is fun (one Torontoian calls it the most fun part of the trip) but what awaits after the ferry is the true Porter Air experience.
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| A couple Porter Air Q400s queue up for departure at Toronto’s City Centre Airport. |
Check-in was efficient and quick, as was the security screening. Because Porter is the only airline flying from the airport there are no crowds to speak of. But there is Mr. Porter’s Lounge. They’ve got a lounge that rivals just about every other lounge on the continent I’ve been inside for a North American carrier. Free drinks, and espresso/cappuccino machine and plenty of snacks. Plus free wifi and a few computers available to use. The best part of the lounge is that it is also the gate area. Everyone has access to it.
Boarding goes straight from the lounge and out to the planes – a fleet of DASH8-Q400s. They aren’t sexy, but they are damn efficient. And quiet. As an added bonus, Porter has two fewer rows of seats on their version, resulting in a very reasonable amount of legroom at every seat.
There are no long waits to taxi once the plane is ready to go – they close the door and you’re off.
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| Our Flight Attendant, prepping the cabin for departure |
The in-flight crew was wonderfully friendly and seemed incredibly happy to be working there, even though their lunch went missing on our flight. Their uniforms are also a throw-back to the golden age of flying, with sharp lines and pill box hats. I’m a fan.
The in-flight service was also top notch. Plenty of choices for snacks and for drinks, including a Toronto micro-brew beer (Steamwhistle) and some decent wine options. The beverage service was in real glassware, something that even a first class ticket doesn’t guarantee these days, depending on the airline. And if you weren’t quite done with your drink (or your second, in my case) due to the short duration of the flight, they were happy to switch you over to a plastic cup that you could hold on to through the landing.
The only downside at all that I can figure is that there is no pre-clearance in Toronto for Porter Air departures. But we still saved time overall by not having to get to the airport ridiculously early and then waiting around after pre-clearance. And they don’t have all that great a frequent flyer program, at least when it comes to partners and whatnot. Still, the flights are short enough that I’m probably willing to give up the points for the quality of the flight experience.
And in the end most of that doesn’t seem to matter all that much when you get a view like this on departure. Yeah, I’m a fan, soup to nuts, of the Porter Air experience. Too bad I don’t fly to Canada all that often or I’d be using them a lot more.
Posted by Seth on September 11, 2009 under Internet |
Having trouble selling a product? Just get the government to give you some cash. It worked for the banks, so why not the in-flight internet market, too? Aircell, the company behind the market leading gogo product is looking to do just that. They’ve applied for $65MM in federal funding to “accelerate adoption [of in-flight Internet] by US airlines and millions of domestic passengers.”
They are applying to receive this money as a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a part of the Department of Commerce. One view of the BTOP is that it serves this role:
BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.
Sure, the skies above us are arguably underserved, but unless Aircell plans on using this money to make the in-flight internet free for the passengers as part of this cash grab I’m inclined to think that there are probably other areas that are more deserving of the funding. After all, they don’t need it to build infrastructure (that’s pretty much done) or for R&D (that’s done, too). So what do they want the money for? To stave off bankruptcy? To otherwise line their coffers?
Oh, they do play the national security card as part of their application suggesting that the funding will, “improve public safety and consumer access to in-flight Internet service in the largely unserved US airspace via Aircell’s ATG [air-to-ground] commercial broadband network,” and also that, “in-flight Internet service to be more widely available for national security agencies.” Good thing that they’ve got our safety in mind here.
Ugggh…I hate to be such a cynic but the National Security part of this irks me to no end. I’m sure that they could use the money to do good things for broadband in the air and that is probably worthwhile in the end. But when they make such a blatant and ugly request, particularly today, it just rubs me the wrong way. And I doubt this will make it free, but maybe it will let them operate a bit longer until the economies of scale actually kick in and they can bring the price down to a more tolerable level.
Posted by Seth on September 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Every now and then I really wish that government was as polarized and incompetent as everyone seems to suggest. At least then they wouldn’t be able to cooperate and put together such a ridiculous effort as they did with S. 1023, the “Travel Promotion Act.” And the House has a similar enough bill ready to go. This one is going to become a law for real, and it sucks.
The concept is almost laudable. They want to promote the USA as a travel destination in the global market and such promotion requires money. And how best to get said money? Charge the people who are visiting, of course. In a move that seems to defy most logic I’ve considered the US government has decided to levy a $10 fee against every visitor who fills out an ETSA form – the required authorization for non-residents from our closest allies to visit the USA. Having to fill out such a form was bad enough. Having to pay for it just sucks. It is, essentially, the end of the free visa experience for visitors to the USA. Now everyone has to pay. Sure, is it “only $10” for many folks rather than $131, but it is still a ridiculous concept.
To make matters worse, there are some folks who seem to think that this actually makes us look good in the global market:
“The United States Senate today took a giant step toward regaining America’s position as the premier travel destination and strengthening our struggling economy,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Nearly every company, city, state and developed nation understands the power of promotion. By getting in the global game, America will create tens of thousands of new jobs and strengthen its image in the world as visitors leave with an improved perception of our country and her people.”
It is going to be very hard for people to leave with an improved perception of the USA if they don’t show up because we’re now charging admission at the door.
The bill was sponsored by a Senator from Nevada. Sure, they know a thing or two about self-promotion and advertising there.
I am obviously from a tourist-driven State. We spend a lot of money advertising, whether it is Las Vegas, Reno or Lake Tahoe, we spend a lot of money advertising to other places, including internationally. Nevada does a lot of advertising. The Las Vegas Convention Authority and private businesses advertise because it works.
What we are saying in this bill is, let’s do it as a country. Let us show how many amazing places there are to see. Let’s tell the rest of the world about it.
…
The United States has some amazing places to see. If we tell people about it, they will come in greater numbers. The studies are fairly significant on this. If you spend money to bring people, they will come. And when they come, they will bring their money.
But he forgets that there is is actually all paid for by the companies that are going to reap the windfall. Here we’re essentially taxing our visitors to fund the advertising coffers of big business. Why can’t they simply spend the money themselves? After all major cities (the ones he cites elsewhere in his testimony) have been been doing this for years. There’s another great bit of logic in his testimony:
In 1996, we eliminated a Federal program that was basically about promoting travel to the United States. We have had private programs and we have had public programs. None of them worked very well on their own–privately, because they couldn’t get the funding necessary; on a public side, it was because the government doesn’t run those things very well.
This is a public-private partnership that I believe can work. That is the reason I support this. It is the reason I think a public-private partnership, where some of the public funding is matched with private expertise, can bring more tourists to the United States.
So the problem was the money. And that is easy enough to fix when you simply take it from folks who don’t have much of a say in the matter, right? Or they can just skip their visits here and go somewhere they are welcomed with open arms, not a cash register.
It is going to hurt Americans. It hurts us because now the other countries – our closest allies in most cases – are now going to retaliate. They don’t have to, but they will. So now when we travel it costs more. I guess that doesn’t affect everyone since most Americans don’t even have passports, but it still sucks. Moreover, it is just one more disincentive to potential visitors. Now they get to warn the governments in advance that they will be visiting, be fingerprinted like a criminal when they arrive on our soil and they get to pay $10 for that luxury.
What is particularly entertaining about this (in a sad and pathetic way) is that history is repeating itself. Just over 80 years ago the USA reached an agreement with France to remove a $10 fee for visitors (though $10 was a LOT more money in 1929):
Foreign News: Visa Fees
Monday, May. 27, 1929
Each U. S. citizen going to France this summer will save $8—the price of three good dinners or 33 martini cocktails—through an agreement signed last week by the U. S. State Department and representatives of the French Government. Reciprocally, the price of French and U. S. visas has been reduced from $10 to $2.
The $10 visa fee, bane of U. S. travelers abroad, started in 1920 when U. S. consuls were instructed to collect $9, plus $1 for executing the application, from each and every foreigner who wanted a passport visaed. Delighted at finding a new source of revenue, several foreign governments instantly retaliated, charged all U. S. tourists $10 each.
Finding that U. S. citizens were spending millions on foreign visas — while little money was accruing from foreign tourists in the U. S. — the State Department started negotiations in 1925 to abolish or reduce the $10 charge. France last week was the 29th nation to comply.
I don’t know why they think it will be any different this time around.
So, yes, I hate my government right now. I hate that they are so short-sighted and that they don’t seem to understand the retaliatory effects this will have. I hate that they don’t see how much money it is going to cost American citizens – the same ones they claim they are trying to help. I hate that when I called my Senators yesterday to voice my concerns one aide didn’t know the Senator’s position (after he had already voted, it turns out) and the other simply left their phone off the hook so I could not call in.
I really wonder where I can expatriate to reasonably quickly and easily. I’m sick of this crap.
Posted by Seth on September 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
With Continental’s upcoming move to Star Alliance there have been a lot of questions surrounding their OnePass program. Mileage accrual for partners and the reward charts were two of the biggest ones. We’re about 45 days from the move to *A now and Continental made an announcement this morning detailing many of the changes that will be seen in the coming weeks and months. The crazy part is that, for the most part, they actually appear to be positive changes. Like many other carriers it seems that Continental is actually working to add value back into their program and these changes are a big step in that direction.
Continental’s Platinum elites (their top tier) make out the best in all the changes. The last couple fees that they were subject to (same-day standby and close-in reward ticketing) are disappearing. Those fees are also being reduced for other elites. And for all their members they’re giving more bonus miles for short flights and getting rid of their wacky rule that only accrued 50% elite miles for discounted fares purchased through 3rd party sites. Plus the Saturday-night stay requirement is being dropped from award tickets, as is the co-pay on B fare BusinessFirst upgrades. All good news.
There is some bad news, too, however. Premium cabin fares are going to earn fewer miles (125% instead of 150%) and there are a number of partners that are being eliminated from earning elite miles. Relatively minor negatives relative to the positive benefits that are being seen. And still no details on earning rates with Star Alliance partners, which isn’t too much of a surprise based on contractual obligations. European OnePass members are getting screwed pretty good. Their earning rates are dropping precipitously on premium cabin fares and their redemption rates are increasing more significantly than others, but the number of members that affects is relatively low.
And then there is the new reward chart. Like everything else in life, some good and some bad. The best news is that Continental is finally acknowledging that their premium cabin is actually not a first class cabin. Forward cabins in two cabin planes will now be treated as business class, like they should be. In the running for best news is that the Around the World (RTW) rewards will stay pretty cheap. They will price at 160K/220K/280K for the three classes of service. Compared to other Star Alliance members these rates are a tremendous bargain. There are plenty of rewards that have gone up 5-10K points each, including Mainland-Hawaii, Mainland-Europe and Mainland-Asia. There are also a few that have dropped down, like Mainland-Israel.
Overall these changes appear to be quite positive. Gaining access to true premium cabins at a marginal increase in cost from what is available today is quite nice, and the RTW rewards are phenomenally good. Continental may still be lacking in some areas, but they’ve done pretty well with this update.
Posted by Seth on September 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
The flight from Seoul to Chicago was the first that I actually got to sample the food on the flight. The menus came with instructions for how to mix them bibembop (only for the white folks, of course) as well as some Western dining options. The food was actually pretty good, though the timing was once again strange. Lunch was served right after departure. Well, just over an hour after departure. And no drink service immediately upon departure either. The first drinks were not served until after the first food was presented. It is billed in the menu as a pre-drink appetizer – a small lump of crab meat in some sauce – and it was rather tasty, but I generally prefer my drinks first and then my food, not the other way around. I also generally prefer my drinks in full size glasses. I’m sure that they keep their wine budget down by using the miniature glasses that they do and shrink the costs even more by only filling the glasses half-way with each refill. The net was that I pretty much got one sip from each pour. It was definitely a slow go on the alcohol side of things.
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| Bibembop for lunch. |
The menu showed a mid-flight snack and then a light meal later. When I woke up from a nap about 6 hours into the flight I thought I’d be getting the former. It was the latter. So another strange meal schedule with the last several hours of flight completely food free. Good thing I saved the honey roasted peanuts they provided at boarding for a late morning snack.
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| The "light meal" |
The seat in business class is OK, but that’s about all I can say for it. The current seat on the 747 is a lie-flat-at-an-angle model, also known as a slidey seat. I slept fine and with minimal sliding, but there are a couple of quirks that make it hard to get particularly comfortable in the seats. The armrests are at different heights – about 4-6 inches different. This is very confusing to me, and rather uncomfortable. Also, the padding on the seats is quite thin, enough so that I noticed. I tend to fly on Continental a lot and their seats are hardly known for being well cushioned. The Korean business seat was the same or worse to me. Using the blanket provided helped to address the issue when sitting up but didn’t help much during the sleeping portion of the flight.
No amenity kits and the pillows in business class are the same as those in coach, and it isn’t because the coach pillows are that nice.
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| Much more direct with the warnings! |
I understand that the latest & greatest business class seat is better than the current iteration, but that isn’t really why I wouldn’t spend the money or points on their product. It turns out that it just is rather blah. If I’m going to spend the points or dollars I’d rather feel like the quality of the product, both in the air and on the ground, was actually worth the expense.
Posted by Seth on September 8, 2009 under TSA |
Well, it is official. After a couple weeks of rumbling around in the rumor mills, the press release is out and the Security Theatre is being enlarged.
The TSA is now expanding their efforts to ban various states of matter to powders in addition to liquids. Reading the press release is actually sadly entertaining. They claim that they will be using the x-ray machines – the same machines that actually cannot identify chemical composition of the liquids (hence the reason you cannot bring big bottles) – to identify powders that need to be checked more thoroughly. Apparently powdered explosives show up on x-ray. But then they still need to be checked using the actual trace element detection system so they really aren’t being tested or identified by the x-ray machine. The good news in all of this?
If a particular powder is determined to be a potential threat, it will not be permitted into the secure area or checked baggage.
At least they’re doing one thing that isn’t completely idiotic. Of course, and bottle of talc thrown in someone’s face is a pretty good way to distract and attack them. And a laptop is a pretty good bludgeoning object. The farce continues.
It has most the “normal” features that a new business class seat would have these days, like in-seat power and what appears to be a decent entertainment system with a 12” screen. 
