Travel plan idea blog

Fees for minors flying unaccompanied

When we talked about flight attendants a while back we also talked about unaccompanied minors. Here's an article about just that. The author thinks the fees for flying unaccompanied are unreasonable.

I'm not so sure. If the child gets supervision then someone has to pay. The flight attendants might not do anything extra in the air, but if the groundstaff has to get the kid on and off the plane...

Correction or update to the recent TSA story (TSA profiling complaint)

I recently wrote a blog about what I called unreasonable complaints against TSA. I emailed the author of the story I linked to in that article to make sure I had interpreted the story correctly.

Turns out that I hadn't. I thought the other was angry that TSA wouldn't let her fly with the liquid (4 ounces of hair stuff). In the email reply I received, the author said she was really complaining about the profiling - someone had written 4 liquids on her ticket, warning the searchers to focus on her little plastic bag of travel bottles.

The complaint was that they profiled me before I stepped near the scanner. The woman who sat behind a podium and checked drivers licenses or passports as the case may be wrote "4 liquids" on my boarding pass. Hence, the scanners searched my bags.

There is no human reason for me to be profiled other than appearing of the age and income, perhaps, to be carrying beauty products. It was shocking to find that notation. Had we not been boarding the plane, I would have gone back out and asked her why.

I understand about the rules and was irritated about that because it is insane, but I understand it is the rule. I am upset about the loss of comfort, personal rights, etc. reflected in the airline system. Again, the complaint was the profiling.

So, that's the story.

So now that we have the real issue, Is profiling wrong? Always? In March, 2008 they were debating this in Israel where airport security uses profiling techniques and singles out young muslims. I don't know what happened with that court case. But most people seem to think that it works.

Anyone know about this 4 liquids business used by TSA in this story? Would TSA profile someone they thought more likely to be carrying extra liquids? If so, that's pretty silly when they should be focusing on people more likely to threaten the plan, not one more likely to have some extra hair gel or toothpaste or whatever.

By the way, I was searched more thoroughly than usual once with an SSSS mark on my ticket. Making a last minute reservation set off the warning system - not sure it makes sense since an attack would probably be planned and the bad guys would be more likely to buy the ticket well in advance.

Unreasonable complaints against TSA

I'm not a big fan of TSA. I've found security people in airports all over the world to be more friendly with the possible exception of the Dominican Republic and the Philippines. And I think TSA probably threw out parts of a clock that I inherited from my grandparents.

But just like we had some unreasonable complaints about flight attendants recently, here's an article where the author complains about TSA because they wouldn't let her fly with a 4.2 ounce bottle of hair stuff.

It seems to me that she knew the rules and wanted to cheat to avoid paying $15 to check in a bag. Then she gets angry when they catch her trying to cheat? And angrier still when they won't bend the rules for her?

Like I said, I certainly think TSA can improve but in this case it seems that they were both fair and polite. Let's save our complaints for when they really do screw up in hopes that someone might actually listen (because our complaints will be valid).

What flight attendants hate about passengers and vice versa

Interesting pair of articles here. First came flight attendants complaining about passengers. Then came passengers complaining about flight attendants.

Some complaints make sense. On western airlines the cart or the attendants bumping into seats seems common and it is annoying. On Asian airlines it rarely happens and they would apologize.

And I don't know why but it bothers me when I see people who don't put their own bags in the overhead bin. Flight attendants shouldn't be expected to do that if you ask me.

Some complaints from the passenger side seem unwarranted though. Passengers complained that flight attendants didn't keep children under control - if a passenger wants an unaccompanied minor to stop doing something then s/he should ask. Why would you expect the flight attendant to do that?

I can't think of a title

Have I been blogging too long? Are there no more good blog entry titles? Or is this one too disorganized? Or am I still not recovered from all the work I did this weekend plus the exams I listened to yesterday and today?

Well I wrote about a North Korea travel experience a few days back. The American reporters now in jail reminds me why I won't be going myself...

Here's an article on how a travel agent can save you money. Strangely, they try to prove their point by giving as an example a website, rather than a regular travel agent. Something about the website requiring you to use the site's travel agent but it still sounds like booking online to me.

Here's a New York Times article on new rules for buying airline tickets that are coming this summer or fall:

While the T.S.A. has announced Aug. 15 as a target date for the airlines to begin asking for each passenger's full name, gender and date of birth, and has already begun publicizing the program, called Secure Flight, the agency acknowledged that it would go into effect in phases as the airlines update their systems.

Bad travel rules and missing flights

Christopher Elliott talks about a few unfair travel rules in this article including one traveler who got to the airport two hours early but missed her flight because American Airlines didn't have enough ticket agents and wouldn't let her move forward in line. Then American wanted $2600 more a flight the following day. Maybe American Airlines really is evil.

I usually like to arrive many hours early - I can't relax until I've gone through security and am waiting at my gate 3 or more hours before boarding time. My wife is the opposite - She doesn't like waiting so wants to arrive at the airport as late as we can get away with. I blame her for us missing our flight from Paris to Seoul. She was so determined to get the tax refund before leaving Europe that we missed our flight. The funny - scary - thing is that she still argues with me when I say we need to get to the airport extra early. That situation was slightly different since it wasn't about when we arrived at the airport but still - 30 minutes before departure and she thought we could leave the security area and find the tax refund people and get back in time (not exactly in time but she was confident the flight wouldn't depart on time anyway).

Apparently in Korea (and she is Korean) at least for domestic flights you arrive 30 minutes before takeoff and run around like crazy. If you miss your flight they put you on the next one at no extra charge.

Should airlines charge travel agents to sell tickets?

I've got a lot of midterm grades to sort out so let me just revisit an old topic of discussion with this article. Actually the old topic is the value of travel agents but I'm not sure that's really related to the current question: Should airlines charge travel agents to sell tickets?

Apparently some airlines have talked about charging travel agents to sell airline tickets. The president of ASTA, Chris Russo had this to say:

They don't call me looking for an airplane seat. They call me to help them plan their vacation. They call me because they have a last-minute business meeting in London. They call because they want me to plan their family reunion next summer or because they have a funeral to attend. They call me for my assistance, for my expertise and for the value I provide them, and they are willing to pay for my services. They know they can go online and find out the price of everything. I sell them on the value of everything.

Sounds nice, but I don't see exactly how this relates to airlines charging travel agents to sell plane tickets. I get that he's saying customers (at least some of them) need travel agents but what does that have to do with how airlines distribute tickets?

Bad news

Sadly, the big news today is about planes crashing. 14 people died as a small plane crashed in a Montana cemetery. That article has a picture of the flames with gravestones in the foreground.

And on TV news I saw the disturbing footage of the FedEx crash in Narita. Apparently wind caused the plane to hit the runway extra hard and probably at the wrong angle / speed. The cargo included flammable liquid and that caused a fire pretty much immediately as the plane hit the runway.

Since the FedEx crash was on one of Narita's 2 main runways, there are lots of delays for people flying into and out of Tokyo. My wife is a tour guide in Seoul and her tour for tomorrow was canceled because the travelers are now stuck in Japan.

How many people have access to your luggage?

When I read about the baggage handlers that stole stuff from people's luggage I thought about my own mysteriously missing clock motor. I guess no one in their right mind would steal a broken clock motor and 2 hands for a 20 year old clock but still, maybe I was too quick to blame TSA or the security people in Japan. Seems like a lot of people can can get to your luggage.

Airbus 340-600 ADAT crash rumor: hoax or actual news?

I got the email with the convincing pictures:

The brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built, sat in its hangar in Toulouse , France without a single hour of airtime. Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine run-ups, prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi .

The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area. Then they took all four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 really is.

The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had all 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to take off but the aircraft had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.) Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm.

This fooled the aircraft into thinking it was in the air. The computers automatically released all the brakes and set the aircraft rocketing forward. The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was bright enough to throttle back the engines from their max power setting, so the $200 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it.

The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown for there has been a news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere. Coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Muslim Arabs. Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.

But a Google news search for "Airbus 340-600 ADAT crash" turns up nothing. Is the internet really so powerful that we know about this incident before official news sources?

I had my doubts. I think what we have here is an example or racism - the email claims that the news is being suppressed because it is insulting to Muslims. That makes me think this is a hoax designed to insult Muslims.

A web search turned up this page on snopes.com. They claim that the photos are an actual Airbus 340 that crashed during ground tests on November 15th, 2007 but that the information in the email is made up or, at best, unconfirmed. According to Snopes the media blackout is an outright lie - although that does make me wonder why my Google news search didn't some up with anything. Maybe because it's such old news?

If anyone has some real news - not just from a random travel blog - please share. If I'm wrong I'll admit it but I just don't believe this email is real - even if the photos might be.

New airline fees are coming. What do you think about paying to buy a ticket and paying to use the bathroom?

We knew it wouldn't end with paying for a pillow (when they actually have one on the plane).

Ryanair is talking about charging people to use the bathroom. Normally I would say that this has to violate some sort of health code, but pay toilets are actually pretty common in Europe.

And Spirit has had their own brainstorm - this one is being implemented soon - a fee to buy a ticket. Apparently if you don't buy your ticket at a Spirit counter you'll be paying an extra $5 to $10. Between the fee to buy a ticket, the fee to reserve a seat, the nonexistent customer service, and the milf ads, I still don't like Spirit.

Lost your job – JetBlue can help! / Micronations

I thought this was rather a nice gesture by JetBlue given the state of the economy, and the number of people out of work. The airline has promised to refund passengers’ tickets if they have purchased a plane ticket and then lose their job before they fly. This policy applies for up to nine people traveling together and for flights booked between February 1st and June 1st of this year. Other airlines, take note!

Some time ago, this blog reported that the world’s smallest country was up for sale although a quick look at the official website of the Republic of Sealand doesn’t give any further info on this. (However, there seems to be an interesting development in that a German who calls himself King Marduk has now declared himself the true sovereign of Sealand).

I was so intrigued by this concept of the micronation, that I ordered the Lonely Planet guide to micronations, called “Micronations” and was amazed to find that there are dozens of these places. Apparently, according to the UN, anybody can declare their island, town or piece of land to be a country as long as they have a permanent population, a system of government, defined territory and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

Some of these micronations sound quite nice, like the Hutt River province in Australia; and the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

Has anyone ever been to any of these micronations? I have been to what is probably one of the most famous – the hippy commune in Christiania, in Copenhagen, Denmark. That was about 25 years ago, but apparently, Christiania is still a thriving community as well as a tourist attraction. The whole subject of micronations seems to me as though it would make a fascinating and rather offbeat documentary for the Travel Channel..? Send Samantha Brown!

And talking of Denmark, apparently the famous (but rather unspectacular) statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen is to leave Denmark for the first time to be exhibited in the World Exhibition in Shanghai, China next year.

I hereby declare my living room to be a nation (called the Republic of Mancunia) as it seems to meet all of the above criteria. Visitors are welcome, although there is a charge of $2 for a visitor’s visa. Immigration is open from around 8am to 10pm, depending on what’s on TV. Mancunia is easy to get to; it’s located in and entirely surrounded by the US state of North Carolina, with which it enjoys cordial relations.

Guest entry by Mancunian

Buffalo plane crash witnesses

I'm sure most of you have heard about the crash near Buffalo by now. As far as I can tell this is the latest, some eyewitness accounts of the crash. The speakers quoted in this story seem to know quite a bit about airplanes, far more than I do.

Flying overseas to adopt a baby

I found this article on special airline fares for people who are adopting overseas because they recommend using a travel agent and I'm always following the "when is it best to use a travel agent?" debate.

Anyway, apparently it's not uncommon for people adopting overseas to need to change their plans. In fact I've heard stories about people dealing with crazy rules and things when adopting their third child from Thailand. I remember thinking that it's pretty insane - adopt 2 babies from Thailand with no trouble but then it takes weeks to get the third one. Anyway, that makes buying a ticket more complicated:

"Given how complex some of the airline policies can be, the best bet in some of these situations is to pay a travel agent to handle this for you," Perkins said. "He or she will have access to consolidator deals and will know which airline is offering the best fare. This is one case where it makes sense to pay someone to deal with the hassles for you."

I remember one time I was flying from Korea to New York and my wife and I decided to bring some babies to America to save money. We ended up paying $350 for each ticket (they called it a charitable contribution to the agency) instead of $1,000 or so. Of course the flight was pretty miserable an we never did that again... But who knows? I'm pretty cheap and I've had about 7 years for the old memories to fade so I may just consider it again in the future. Saving $1500 is pretty sweet.

One or more evil airlines: American & JAL

We flew from Seoul to Tokyo on JAL and and from Tokyo to New York on American. They were American Air tickets - they don't go to Seoul but they have a codeshare with Japan Airlines. We were planning to fly back to Seoul the same way, leaving on the 15th.

Then my grandfather passed away. I called American to see about changing my flight to depart a few days later. They wanted $1,150 each to change the departure date. That is more than we paid for the round trip ticket. They said there was no bereavement fare or change fee exemption. They blamed it on Japan Airlines, saying JAL was very expensive those days (we checked 18, 19th, 20th, 21st).

We called 072.com, the Korean website where we bought the tickets. They said it should be about $60 to make a change but that airlines can pretty much do whatever they want. They would see what they could do for us.

So we think we're flying out 5 days later and we paid $60 plus $15 for the travel agent's commission per ticket. Sure beats $1,150 per ticket.

So was it American being evil? Was it JAL? Both? I'm not sure, but our Tokyo to Seoul trip is now on United (probably a codeshare with Asiana we think) so maybe it really was JAL screwing us. Then again, how could they possibly screw us in the $1,000 plus range? We're talking about a 1 hour 40 minute flight that never costs anything close to a grand.

All I know is theses 2 airlines just dropped way down my list. 072.com went up a few notches.

Virgin Atlantic upper class experience

So returning to New York from London was interesting. We first did our tax free shopping refund stuff at the airport. Unlike our experience in France it was very easy in Heathrow - no problems at all.

Check-in was also no problem. We were there 6 hours before our flight I think but certainly there were other flights as well. The check-in area was not crowded at all. We asked about upgrading to premium economy. Over 200 GBP each. We said we'd fly economy but that on the way over we got a 2 for 1 upgrade special. If they could do that for us we'd like to upgrade. The lady made a phone call and got us the special deal so we paid $360 or so to upgrade the two os us.

So instead of spending $1,000 on the 2 round trip tickets we spent more like $1700 - a big difference but we liked the premium economy seat width and comfort.

We decided to have lunch before going through security so we opened up the bag that had our sandwiches from the Costa Pure Coffee I mentioned earlier. To our surprise the Italian owner had given us 4 instead of 2. 2 parma ham on rolls and 2 parma ham, sun dried tomato and provolone on white bread.

We were definitely leaving England with a good feeling thanks to that nice, old Italian guy. I'll probably do a whole entry on his coffee shop later.

We did some shopping in the airport's duty free stores. I saw an Armani sweater I liked on sale but it was an XL. I usually wear small or medium. I tried on a large (different color, same design) just for fun and it fit like a small. It had some damage so I didn't consider that one but I figured I might as well try the XL since the large was so tight. So I tried on the XL and it fit like a medium. My first Armani sweater!

We also bought a Harrod's tea bag tidy for my parents (there were actually lots of Harrod's shops in the airport). That and a coffee used up the last of our British currency.

Then we headed to gate 40 and on entering the gate were told we had been upgraded to 15k and 16k. With only one seat per row I knew it would be good so I put on my Armani sweater. With all that extra room I knew I could manage not to spill anything on it.

We ended up in Virgin Atlantic's upper class. The seats were the new kind some airlines are advertising that can be made into beds. It was a glorious 7 hours from Heathrow to JFK. The food was excellent (choice was roast vegetables, lamb, Indian chicken), laying down was nice. Sitting at the bar (eating fresh fruit and drinking a balck russian at no extra cost) and chatting with the flight attendant Virgin had recruited in Japan was great. We loved it. It was far superior to JALs business class - our only other comparable experience. That was closer to premium economy although the JAL business seats were bigger / cushier and there was free Hagen Das or Ramen whenever you wanted.

They didn't have the ice cream on Virgin Atlantic's upper class but the seats were way better and the bar was a very cool touch. They flight attendants were not actual bartenders so I had to tell them how to make a black Russian (I said equal Kalua and Vodka which was a little strong but not bad).

It was by far the best flight experience of my life. I just wish I had the money to throw around to do it again. I guess I'll be hoping for more upgrades in the future...

By the way I was going to link to my JAL business class review but I can't seem to find it. I did accidentally find this old one about problems on Virgin Atlantic. Even without the upgrde I'm certain I'd have been happy with them (because I was on the way to London).

In London - Virgin Atlantic not bad

My first experience with Virgin Atlantic was pretty interesting. On checkin, we asked about seat assignments and they said they had a 2 for 1 special if we wanted to upgrade to premium economy for about 230 GBP (normally the price for 1 upgrade but which would buy us 2 upgrades).

We were pretty tired and it was an overnight flight so we sprung for it. The seats were not business class but certainly wider and more comfy than economy. We were pretty happy with our choice. We tried the Virgin lounge at JFK but premium economy doesn't get you in - doesn't make you "upper class".

Still the seats were much comfier than economy, wider and more cushy.

When it came time to take off, they made us put all our pillows, blankets, and things under the seat in front of us. I was shocked when they made me take off the blanket that I had under my buckled seatbelt. What kind of stupid rule is that? Could takeoff somehow turn my blanket into a lethal weapon that would break the seatbelt and start attacking other passengers?

My only other complaint was that we took off late and they never gave us on update or told us what was going on.

So overall we were happy with Virgin Atlantic and are hoping they have another upgrade special for our return flight.

Leaving for London soon

What can I say? I'm excited. Virgin Atlantic seems pretty fair as far as bags go (2 bags under 50 pounds per person). Our Korean B&B is letting us check in as soon as we arrive (probably reaching the hotel at 9 or 10 in the morning) so I'm willing to forgive them for not accepting credit cards.

The only problem is jet lag. I mean it's 6:00 PM in New York and I don't know how much longer I can stay awake. Flying to London before adjusting to New York time might mess me up even more.

Airport Karaoke

I noticed this article on Karaoke in a Houston airport on Yahoo's front page and thought it was worth sharing. I guess the idea is to sing Christmas songs while you wait for your flight. Sounds like fun to me - I've never noticed anything special for the holidays at Incheon or Narita airports but I'll be on the lookout tomorrow.

Want to ride a zeppelin?

A lot of times when we travel we like to try new stuff so this article's first line caught my eye: "The universe of people who have been there, done that narrows considerably when we're talking about sightseeing in a zeppelin."

Apparently your choices for a zeppelin ride are flying over "Lake Constance in the breathtaking beauty of Southern Germany." Or hovering above some Japanese islands.Or, beginning soon, flying over California's wine country.

I wonder how close I was to Lake Constance when I was in Munich. I also wonder why I haven't mentioned California in such a long time on this blog.

I have a few more interesting articles to share but I need to go do some work on that textbook I mentioned a few days ago. I should have more for you soon.

Bereavement or compassion fares

This article talks about the writer's search for a bereavement fare. Some US airlines have stopped offering bereavement fares but that may not be a huge loss since in this writer's experience, an online search beat the least expensive bereavement fare.

Qantas: laptop arrest obscuring more serious problems

This "laptop idiot" seems to be a big story in Australia. According to this article, he was escorted off a plane by counter-terrorism police after refusing to turn off a laptop as the plane landed. Later he was released and not charged. Here they say he could have been fined $2750. If you're wondering about he "laptop idiot" I did not come up with that.

This seems to be getting as much or more attention that more serious issues. This article talks about cancelled and delayed flights. Qantas isn't doing so well.

It wasn't that long ago when Qantas flight attendants expressed some concern over the safety of the airline. Here's the old blog entry, but the Yahoo article i linked to back then is gone so it may not be much use.

It seems Qantas hasn't quite recovered from a spat with their mechanics. Scary.

Should airline passengers pay by weight?

I never seriously thought that it would be cheaper to fly a little 140 pound guy like me around compared to someone heavier.

However, it seems that times are so tough for airlines that every pound counts. This article talks about how one airline is removing life vests from the planes - they will make each flight about 50 pounds lighter...

They won't want to pay for storage, so if you need an airline style life vest, I'd start checking Ebay.

Anyway, it's a topic we've covered this before but the cost of flying will increase. And although Continental made a nice gesture by not charging travelers who are affected by Tropical Storm Gustav for itinerary changes, the airlines are charging for just about everything these days.

And apparently they have to. Alitalia is in trouble again. Spanair should be in trouble if they aren't already. Zook failed (screwing hundreds of people in the process). The workers for American Airlines are making noise.

The extra charges trend has been devloping for a while. Recently we talked about pillows. One of the only things they don't charge you for is your body weight...

Would you pay $7 for a Pillow or take a 2 minute flight?

Those annoying extra charges that the airlines keep adding on are in the news again. JetBlue announced a few days ago that they would begin charging $7 for a blanket and pillow on their flights. (You can take your own pillow and blanket if you don’t want to pay $7, but would that then be considered to be your carry on item or personal item?)

You can keep the blanket and pillow, presumably to take with you next time you fly JetBlue; and you also receive a $5 voucher to Bed, Bath and Beyond – a major home furnishings store. And apparently, this isn’t just any old pillow – it features a new kind of fabric technology that helps to keep out pet dander, mold, pollen and dust.

This is just the latest in a series of fees imposed by nearly all the airlines in recent years, initiated to offset high fuel prices. Virtually all the major airlines now either charge for checked bags, or for checking more than one bag. And the standby policy may be the next perk to disappear - Frontier Airlines recently announced it is doing away with its policy of free standby for same day flights, as well as raising the amount of the change fee from $100 to $150.

You probably don’t need to bother with a pillow for some of these flights, which are among the shortest scheduled flights in the world. I discovered that Newark to Allentown/Bethlehem takes just about ten minutes and Flint to Detroit is about 11 minutes flying time. I wonder who takes these flights when it seems as though it would be quicker to drive, especially with the time it now takes to check in for a flight. It’s now easier to take the train from Paris to London, rather than fly – Eurostar trains now make the journey in just over two hours.

But the shortest regularly scheduled flight seems to be the service between Westray and Papa Westray in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, which apparently takes about a minute! I can’t find anything to verify this..has anyone taken any of these short flights or know of any others?

Guest entry by Mancunian

Is Qantas safe enough?

This story made Yahoo's front page - apparently Qantas flight attendants aren't confident that the planes they're flying on are safe. Pretty scary...

Wifi in Seattle's airport

Don't get confused by verb tense; I wrote this over a week ago but forgot to post it. I'll try to find something more interesting for tonight and tomorrow I hope to publish my comprehensive NCL cruise review.

So the cruise is over. We got off the boat around 10:00 and headed to Seattle Art Museum where we spent the day. Now it's around 6:00 and we're in the airport (our flight leaves at 9:45). I figured I'd pass the time blogging and while I'm able to write, I have no internet access. I thought most airports had free wifi, but in Seattle you have to pay AT&T:

High-speed wireless Internet access, provided by AT&T, is available to laptop users everywhere at Sea-Tac except the subway and upper floors of the garage. There is a $7.95 fee for 24 hours of access for non-AT&T subscribers.

$8 may not seem too bad since I have 3 hours or so, but I'm feeling pretty cheap so I will write offline now and post this stuff later. Too bad I wasn't feeling a bit more thrifty on the cruise...

By the way, there's an extra charge for reading this!

This site has commented before on the various extra charges and fees imposed by US airlines – a trend that seems to be becoming even more noticeable. One of the latest tactics is to charge for checking an extra bag, or even to check any bag. American Airlines became the first major US airline to begin charging a fee for a checked bag ($15) closely followed by United and US Airways. This will surely have the effect of making people take even larger and more unwieldy carry on bags.

If you fly, you may not get a meal, although you can usually be assured of at least a free drink – now even that is changing. US Airways recently announced that they are going to start charging for drinks in the main cabin – meaning non-alcoholic drinks such as coffee and soda. The charges for non-alcoholic drinks will apparently be $2. US Airways is also going to begin charging to redeem frequent flyer miles. Many airlines charge a fee to redeem miles within a certain timeframe, (for example, three weeks) but this fee is regardless of the timeframe.

Pre-reserved seats are not exempt - Spirit Airlines is already charging for pre-reserving a better seat - $15 for a highly coveted exit row seat, $10 for window and aisle seats, and $5 for a middle seat (Why anyone would pay to reserve a middle seat is puzzling – if you don’t pay, you are probably going to end up with a middle seat anyway!)

And we are all used to having our bags weighed, but what about having ourselves weighed when we check in? Apparently, some airlines are considering a plan to add on extra charges based on the weight of the passenger. (If nothing else, this policy would be a great incentive to lose weight!)

And if you have changed your airline reservation recently, you may have noticed that the standard change fee has gone up from $100 to a staggering $150 in many cases – this blog points out that the actual cost of changing a ticket in terms of the labor involved is estimated to be perhaps $10 – the rest is just profit.

Can it only be a question of time before you need a major credit card to be able to use the airplane lavatory...?

Guest entry by Mancunain

What comes next for airlines?

The US airline industry is in trouble. US airlines saw a combined profit of $5 billion in 2007- not bad but not enough to make up for the $32 billion lost over the previous six years...

And turning a profit in 2008 looks like it will be tough: routes are being cut and prices are going up.

United Airlines is making cuts. 1,400 to 1,600 jobs and 14% of domestic flights.

Continental Airlines is making cuts - 3,000 jobs and 8% of its flights.

Silverjet has failed. The article blames the business model of "low fare business class airlines" where "attracting passengers was not a problem but obtaining sufficient revenue from those passengers to make a profit was." Customers who don't have a credit card company willing to fight for them will lose their money (but doesn't everyone pay by credit card?). It reminds me of this Mancunian article.

So what is next for the airline industry? Industry analyst Michael Boyd expects U.S. fares overall to rise 15 percent this year. Many people expect mergers, but this pilot says they are no the answer. So what is the answer?

Air travel to get even worse thanks to charging for checked bags?

This article talks about how American Airlines' new policy to charge for every checked bag could screw up your next flight experience. There may be longer security lines and more people with ridiculous amounts of carry-on luggage delaying takeoff.

Bangkok, Colombo, Istanbul and Mumba are among the cheapest places to buy round-the-world tickets

Here's an interesting travel Q & A from the International Herald Tribune. They say round-the-world tickets are too complicated to buy online and that you should start your round-the-world (and get your tickets in) the least expensive place on your itinerary.

There are also a few tips on frequent flyer miles - using them is too complicated if you ask me (although Mancunian did offer some help).

A Challenging few weeks for Airlines!

It has been a challenging few weeks in the airline industry – just a few weeks ago, we had the horrendous problems at London Heathrow’s new terminal 5, with British Airways canceling flights and losing an estimated 28,000 bags. (Although the airlines claim that bags are never lost, just delayed).

Several small US airlines have declared bankruptcy in recent weeks – Aloha Airlines, Frontier, Skybus and ATA. The reasons are basically rising fuel prices (oil hit a record high of $119.90 a barrel a few days ago) and falling ticket prices. ATA’s bankruptcy especially hit passengers hard – the airline literally suspended operations overnight, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Hawaii.

American is still the only large US airline that hasn’t declared bankruptcy at one time or another, so they must be doing something right. However, AA had horrendous problems a couple of weeks ago when they were forced to ground most of their Super-80 aircraft due to a safety recall notice by the FAA. American canceled over 2,000 flights over several days, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

And it didn’t come as a big surprise that two of the biggest US airlines, Northwest and Delta announced plans to merge. (Perhaps in an effort to avoid some of the above problems!) If approved, the new airline would be the largest in the US in terms of number of planes and passengers carried) One potential problem with the merger could be opposition from the pilot unions for both airlines, even though a merger wouldn’t necessarily need their approval.

And virtually all the major US airlines recently announced huge losses for the first quarter of 2008. United Airlines lost a staggering $537 million – and the other airlines didn’t do much better.

If only the airlines could use alternative fuel, as an increasing number of car manufacturers are doing...

Guest entry by Mancunian

Pilots underpaid and overworked?

This article talks about how becoming a pilot is not all that it used to be as pay decreases and working hours increase. The result is a little scary for frequent flyers:

Poor pay and fewer big-airline jobs to move up to have led to fewer applicants, creating a pilot shortage that is most acute overseas but also felt in the United States.

Regional airlines have had to reduce their hiring standards drastically. Earlier this decade, they could insist on candidates having a minimum of 1,500 hours of total flight time before an interview. Today, that minimum is 500 hours at many regional carriers, and the decline is contributing to safety concerns among some experts.

I have a friend who is a US Air Force fighter pilot who must have tons of flight time. He mentioned that if he decided to continue working after leaving the USAF he would look seriously at FedEx but he didn't mention any passenger airlines. I guess it's a little scary that our best pilots get paid more to fly cargo than people.

TSA SPOT: Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques

TSA has received a good amount of criticism on this site and in the news generally. This article (which made it to Yahoo's front page) takes a pretty objective look a the SPOT or Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques program.

TSA has been doing this for the past 4 years and has picked 104,000 people out of lines for a more thorough investigation. They've gotten a few with fake IDs and a guy that had pipe bomb-making materials in his checked luggage.

So far it sounds like they haven't actually nabbed anyone who could have really messed with their flight, but I don't see how we can blame TSA for that since we haven't had any terrorist attacks. There hasn't been anyone for them to catch.

The ACLU has expressed its doubts, but Homeland Security is happy enough to greatly increase the number of behavioral detection officers in US airports.

Open Skies Agreement / Heathrow Terminal 5 Problems

Flying between the US and Europe should be easier (and cheaper) this summer, with the announcement of the so-called open skies agreement, which came into effect at the end of March. The agreement means that more airlines are allowed to fly between the US and Europe; and that airlines don’t necessarily have to originate in their own country – for example, British Airways can fly from Paris to New York.

Several airlines have already taken advantage of this agreement and are announcing new routes from the US into London Heathrow – Air France, Northwest, Delta and US Airways. And American Airlines is switching almost all of its London flights from Gatwick to Heathrow, in an effort to improve onward connections to Europe, Asia and Africa.

Ryanair which offers one way fares from the UK to Europe for around $20 one way, also has plans to fly to the US, with fares as low as about $16 one way, although I couldn’t see anything about that on their website.

If you are flying to Heathrow you may find yourself arriving at the newly opened Terminal 5, which has been having all sorts of problems since the Queen opened it recently at a cost of around $8 billion.

The state of the art baggage handling system has not been working properly, leading to a backlog of almost 28,000 delayed bags at one point last weekend. And British Airways, which have exclusive use of the terminal, also canceled over 200 flights during the first few days of the terminal opening.

And don’t take the overpriced Heathrow Express train from the airport into London. It’s much less expensive to take the Underground, or tube as it’s called.

Guest entry by Mancunian

Discrimination in the air?

Christopher Elliott, the well known Travel Troubleshooter and National Geographic Traveler's ombudsman, has this article on discrimination by airlines. He suggests that most cases of discrimination go unreported. Of course even if you do report it, the airline "can contest the complaint and have it removed from their record."

Well even though I'm happy to be back and want to keep writing I do have to go to the bank and to a graduation ceremony at the university. But I will be back.

Does a Delta + Northwest merger mean trouble for US air travelers?

This article contains some speculation about how US airline mergers might be a bad thing for travelers. Basically, fares are expected to increase and service is likely to get worse.

Hard to find a seat?

I know from experience that flying between New York and Tokyo gets difficult during summer. This Australian article talks about some other situations where they expect a shortage of seats on planes.

Heading to Beijing for the Olympics is one. Late July when Pope Benedict XVI goes to Australia for World Youth Day is another.

I was thinking about heading to Beijing for the Olympics this summer, but I've decided not to. Since I went to Europe this winter it has been a while since I've visited New York and that's where my family is.

Airlines offering "hotel rooms" in the sky

Whereas most of us are looking for the cheapest airfare when we fly, some travelers can afford to pay the first class fares and travel in comfort. Flying first class isn't cheap, (although there are some bargains to be had) A quick check on various web sites found a first class ticket from JFK to Tokyo for about $11,000 and a ticket from London to Sydney for around $7,000.

Airlines make most of their money from the people who are prepared to pay for first and business class and are going out of their way to make the experience even more comfortable for those who can afford it.

The latest trend seems to be towards offering actual cabins in first class, instead of just a seat.

Singapore Airlines is now offering suites with double beds on their new Airbus A380 - the suites boast such extras as wardrobes, sliding doors, window blinds and turn-down service. And Singapore Air is well known for the quality of their service as well as the food and drink, even in coach.

And Virgin Atlantic also offers a first class seat that's almost a suite - including a guest seat and an extra large table for eating or working. The seat is the longest flat-bed seat - almost 7 feet long and almost 3 feet wide, offering plenty of room for a good night's sleep.

Virgin Atlantic also puts an emphasis on service and amenities on the ground, as well as in the air. The airline's Upper class (or business class) passengers receive such extras as free ground transportation and an airport clubhouse with dining, showers and internet access.

And for the rest of us stuck back in coach, our biggest concerns are probably not getting stuck in the middle seat and not having the person in front lean their seat too far back into our lap. But there may be hope for economy passengers - Lufthansa is said to be considering offering an all sleeper-seat coach cabin with triple bunk beds.

Guest entry by Mancunian