Airports

Category Archives for Airports.

First Class and elite member security lanes at airports going away?

This is not a belated April Fools. Senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska introduced legislation that would remove preferred security lines from U.S. airports. Citing them as having nothing to do with safety (doesn’t he realize the pun there?), he feels that since all passengers pay the same “security” fee in their tickets, everyone should be…

Continue Reading »

Southwest’s bag fees, US Airways’ Wi-Fi, Lufthansa’s 747-8s, JAL’s 787s, O’Hare’s new runway and other news

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news last week… Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran in May last year and received a single operating certificate from the FAA last month, but each carrier remains an independent operation for the time being meaning AirTran’s baggage and other fees will remain intact. Unlike the relatively faster integration between…

Continue Reading »

Delta’s Trip Extras, Virgin to PDX, Southwest’s Q1, DCA slot war, Google Flight Search & Hyatt’s TV technology

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news last week… Delta Air Lines introduced new ancillary options available at booking called Trip Extras. The initial offerings are priority boarding starting at $9 per segment, a mileage booster starting at $29 for 1,000 miles (terrible value!) and a 24-hour Wi-Fi pass for $12. Since Delta’s own…

Continue Reading »

Noteworthy United, American, Delta & other airline news last week

In other airline industry news last week… United Airlines will launch daily nonstop service from Chicago to Sarasota beginning November 4, 2012 using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This marks the ninth city United is slated to serve in the Sunshine State and a company spokesperson was particularly keen on mentioning the route’s ability to open up…

Continue Reading »

Meet “Premier Status Peter,” birthed by a consumer airline study

The PR firm for PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwCâ€) sent me a link to an interesting study PwC recently completed and published focusing on strategies the airlines should be incorporating to ensure they’re meeting the needs of both business and leisure travelers. I could write-up multiple posts covering the entire Experience Radar 2012: Customer Insight for the US…

Continue Reading »

Video: “Airline” television series from 1998 (UK)

I stumbled across another airline reality television series tonight I hadn’t previously known about, so thought it was worth sharing here. Camera crews follow airline personnel at Britannia Airways in the 1990s, once the largest charter operator in the United Kingdom. It rebranded to Thomsonfly in 2004 and then to just Thomson in 2008. If…

Continue Reading »

United & ARC excel, TSA PreCheck expands, airport PFCs, Alaska’s new routes, idiot of the week & more news

In other airline and travel industry news last week… United Airlines reported its January 2012 operational performance and enjoyed another month of increased consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) – up 8.5 to 9.5 percent. On-time performance and the number of flights successfully completed also grew about 1.1 percentage points from a year…

Continue Reading »

Top U.S. airports, passenger gawking, FAA funding, TSA groping, Boeing profits and hotel revenue & rates

In other hotel and travel industry news last week… Two business travel publications released their “best of” lists recently and the results go to show you how surveys can differ by reader demographics. For the 12th year in a row, readers of Global Traveler magazine named Chicago O’Hare ‘Best Airport in North America‘, whereas Denver…

Continue Reading »

American’s restructuring, Alaska’s religion, United expands IAH, 787 long-haul, JetBlue & Hawaiian, Lufty’s 747-8 and airline idiot of the week

In other airline industry news this week… American Airlines CEO Tom Horton issued a letter to employees this week outlining a redesign of the carrier’s management structure that will more than certainly involve layoffs. Several executives left at the end of 2011, and this letter points to additional tough decisions that will be made in…

Continue Reading »

Travel tips from professional tennis player Bobby Reynolds

I’m a huge tennis fan and currently glued to television watching the Australian Open underway in Melbourne, Australia. A recent article in USA Today’s sports section caught my eye featuring Bobby Reynolds, a U.S. professional tennis player. In addition to revealing a bit more about himself personally, he shared a number of helpful travel tips.…

Continue Reading »