Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for April 2011.

US Airways to upgrade express fleet, brings jobs back to the USA & asks Airbus for A321 ETOPS

Yesterday, The Cranky Flier and Henry Harteveldt tweeted updates throughout the day from a US Airways Media Day event in Phoenix. One of the larger announcements was that the carrier will be investing $35 million to upgrade their largest Express jets (Embraer 170/175s & Bombardier CRJ-700/900s) to include first class. Whereas the other major carriers…

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United Airlines ramp worker dies two days after falling while unloading a 777

Very sad news to report from United’s hub in Washington Dulles, where a veteran baggage handler fell from a scissor lift while unloading a Boeing 777. Eduardo Tlatempa, 48, reportedly fell face first onto the tarmac last Friday while performing his normal work duties unloading the jumbo. Co-workers first thought it was an April Fool’s joke,…

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American Airlines flights return to Expedia

At the turn of the New Year, Expedia, the country’s most visited Online Travel Agency (OTA), pulled American Airlines flights from their site after American pulled themselves out of Orbitz, another OTA. In a rare show of solidarity with a competitor, Expedia didn’t like the cards being dealt to Orbitz, namely sign up for a…

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The future of airline frequent flyer loyalty programs

This past February, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and likely others were in attendance at “Loyalty 2011,” an annual conference for all things loyalty programs. One of the main topics focused on the future of the now 30-year old marketing machines, noting specifically that the industry should evolve with the needs of those racking up the…

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“I’ll pay someone $40 for their seat! Please! I have to get on this flight!”

I flew United Airlines from Burbank to San Francisco yesterday morning aboard the usual Skywest-operated CRJ-200. The flight was zeroed out in availability for a couple of days, and the seat map had only two seats left to assign (exit rows), so it indeed was looking full and perhaps in an oversell situation. While I…

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Vintage Airline Seat Map: Pan Am Boeing 747

I was curious to see the full cabin layout of the Pan Am Boeing 747 featured in this video from 1989, so here is a “blended†edition of Vintage Airline Seat Maps. By blended, I’m referring to the difference in first class seating from the video as compared to the full South American version posted…

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