On Tuesday, Jeff Smisek, CEO of United Airlines, made an appearance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business as the speaker for the school’s “View from the Top” lecture series. The aim of the student-run program is to bring leaders of business and social sectors in to impart wisdom on the student body, particularly focusing…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for April 2011.
Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 2
As I mentioned in Part 1, I was asked recently about how I construct a mileage run, and although I provided a brief version back in January, I fully detail one of my methods in this two-part posting. Continuing from Part 1: Now that I know the date range, days of week, and fare basis…
Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 1
Every mileage runner has a tried and true method for finding the best combination of fares, routings & flights when constructing a mileage run, and I’ll share my most frequently used process in the next two posts. I made a similar posting in January, but with less detail, and have been recently asked to expand…
Southwest Airlines jet skids off runway, plus merger approved with AirTran
Southwest Airlines has been in the news in recent days for a couple of incidents, and successfully winning government approval to proceed with the AirTran Airways merger. Yesterday, Flight 1919 from Denver skidded off runway 13C after landing during a rainstorm at Chicago’s Midway Airport. None of the 134 passengers or five crew members were…
Suggestion for “galley curtain policy” to reduce airline cabin light pollution
A flight attendant’s recent use of a curtain in the forward galley got me to thinking about the “curtain policy†U.S. airlines have been forced to take resulting from a post September 11, 2001 directive by the TSA. Airlines were initially ordered to remove all curtains that impede a visual line of sight from anywhere…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: United Airlines Boeing 737-200
It’s time for another Vintage Airline Seat Map, and I’ve selected a United Airlines Boeing 737-200. Seating 109 passengers in a two-cabin configuration, this bird was an absolute workhorse for United during its tenure with the carrier & affectionately called the “guppy.†I flew it many, many times in both cabins and really enjoyed watching…
United Airlines flies extra section St. Louis to Chicago with a 757 today
I mentioned previously that United Airlines does a fantastic job ensuring a quick recovery of backlogged passengers when events cause flight disruptions, and today is no exception. With St. Louis airport reopening today after the tornado struck on Friday night, United ferried in a Boeing 757 to make a St. Louis Lambert Field to Chicago…
Online bag tracking, new US-Australia service, Hilton lobby revamp, suing Sabre & first quarter losses
Here’s a recap of additional news from this week that caught my attention: Delta Air Lines introduces the ability to track your checked bags online, as well as at self-service kiosks at its largest stations around the U.S. These upgrades also allow you to submit a missing bag report electronically, where in the past you…
American Airlines celebrates 30 years of the AAdvantage program with daily deals
As widely reported this week, American Airlines is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the AAdvantage frequent flyer program with 30 days of deals. If you’re not following me on Twitter, I had posted the link to the promo when it began on Monday, and today is a great day to “Follow†AAdvantage as they’re giving…
New federal airline passenger protections set to be announced today
The U.S. Department of Transportation is planning to release several new airline passenger regulations today. It is being reported the new rules will make all fees more transparent up-front, enhance denied boarding compensation, refund some baggage fees, and add a 4-hour tarmac delay rule for internationally arriving flights to the U.S. The full regulations have…