The falling price of oil could help the economy, the Obama administration and air travelers, among others, if the airlines follow suit and hold down more increases in fares or fees. Read more about it here ...
You knew that eventually an airline serving the US would do it, allowing talking on cell phones while in flight.
Virgin Atlantic said yesterday its newest Airbus widebody will be equipped to allow talking while over the ocean, far away from land, and other planes so equipped will follow. This isn't the first airline to allow talking while cruising at 35,000 feet; some Middle East carriers started it a couple of years ago.
As you probably know, federal regulators in this country still restrict phone calls at altitude because of the chance it will interfere with aircraft equipment, and because of great concern that rude phone talking (ever hear of that ???) will result in fistfights or worse in airline cabins. Read here what some travel pros think of the idea, and see the comments to the writer's story from readers at the end.
- Poll: Cell phones and planes (37 votes)
This article goes into some depth on a topic that's been looked at repeatedly over the last several years: Do the airport security measures TSA uses in a widespread, public way really work to make flying safer? The most recent stories (yes they're old news -- they were first published and broadcast all of a week ago!) indicate that it was largely old-fashioned spy work that did the most to thwart another plot. Read the NY Times story on the topic here ....
Here's a tidbit for those snarky readers who whine about PHL getting new domestic routes operated by US Airways when it "should" be getting more international flights to parts of the world other than Europe. When the aircraft and demand are there, PHL will see more nonstops to Asia. The Inquirer's Paul Nussbaum assembled US Airways officials' thinking on the topic in this story ...
The critics scoffed a few weeks ago when US Airways announced support from three American Airlines unions for US's efforts to merge the carriers. Now it seems there's less chortling from the crowd, especially at AMR headquarters, where executives bowed to pressure from its unsecured creditors in the Chapter 11 process and said it would "explore" merger options. All sorts of interesting possibilities could emerge for US Airways' PHL hub operations were the two airlines to combine. Read more about it all here ...
Open Allies for Airfare Transparency,(www.faretransparency.org) an organization of travel agents, consumer groups and travel-reservations companies, is waging an uphill battle to give air travelers more information before they buy tickets about the full cost of their trips. Among other efforts, the allies want the U.S. Department of Transportation to adopt rules that make complete cost information -- all fees included -- transparent on all buying "channels," meaning from airline Web sites, online travel agents or regular service-for-fee agencies. The most recent statement from Open Allies, by Charlie Leocha of the Consumer Travel Alliance, makes a good argument that airlines have created a far less competitive travel landscape with the adoption of thousands of possible fee permutations. Read his statement here, and check the group's Web site link above for more information about the need for requiring airlines to do more to help customers before they buy.
American Airlines management believes it's going to continue running the company as it comes out of Chapter 11 protection, something US Airways management is trying to change. In the meantime, AA is outlining how its route planning strategy to employees, with emphasis on international routes that it says will boost revenue. Read more here ....
US Airways is adding new routes in September from PHL to Austin and San Antonio, Texas, two cities Southwest tried serving nonstop a few years ago before abandoning the idea. US will use 90-seat EMB jets, perhaps more suited to the markets than the larger Boeing 737s Southwest was using. Read more here ...
Sometimes, even the most hard-headed, disrespectful boors see the error of their ways. Read on about Spirit's CEO using some of his own money to refund a ticket ...
UPDATE: Meant to post this great column on CBS Money Watch earlier today. The writer does a masterful job of skewering Spirit for its ticketing and service practices.
Spirit Airlines, which serves Atlantic City, has been in the news recently for two reasons: First, it has declined to refund a non-refundable ticket to a 76-year-old Vietnam vet dying of cancer. Most airlines make exceptions to their ticket rules in such cases, but not Spirit, as you can see in this followup analysis on what the decision might do for the company's reputation.
Now, Spirit is raising its carry-on bag fee to as much as $100. For those of you who fly Spirit, tell us what you actually pay to travel on the airline, and whether you determined the total cost before or after the trip. And was it worth the money? Did you have enough legroom?
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