I compiled the following chart showing each airline’s travel waiver information due to the impact Hurricane Irene will cause on the East coast of the United States this weekend. Please keep in mind this is a dynamic situation and the airlines will likely update their waivers as conditions change. I will do my best to…
Commentary
Category Archives for Commentary.
Australia updates from British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia
It was another media release frenzy in Australia this week with several announcements by British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia. Here’s a summary by carrier: Travelers from London currently have two options to fly British Airways to Sydney, namely via Singapore or Bangkok with continuing service to Australia. Beginning next March the carrier will discontinue…
Competition for ITA Software? Review of Everbread’s Haystack airfare search engine
I recently posted some videos put out by UK-based Everbread showing a humorous yet accurate description of how Global Distribution Systems came into being and their evolution to present form. Those videos were admittedly a selfless plug for the company’s Haystack airfare search engine, whose underlying technology is marketed as a business-to-business solution with greater…
New passenger protections took effect yesterday including airline fee disclosures
The enhanced airline passenger protections I blogged about in April went into effect yesterday, specifically: Airlines will be required to refund any baggage related fee if a checked bag is lost. Don’t get too excited, though… it only applies if the bag is actually lost (i.e., never found), not delayed. Current policies will remain in…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: Cathay Pacific Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
Very special thanks to reader Will who sent me several Cathay Pacific seat maps from 1988 and here is their Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. Flown primarily on high demand markets from their hub in Hong Kong, this bird was seen flying mostly to Bangkok, Manila, Seoul’s Gimpo airport, Nagoya, Singapore and Tokyo’s Narita airport. Cathay chose…
Amenity Kit Review: Air Berlin Business Class
It’s time for another Amenity Kit Review and I’ve selected the Business Class offering from Air Berlin, soon to become a full member airline within the Oneworld alliance. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introduction post here. Bag/Container: The deep gray nylon/canvas duck bag with…
United Airlines announces $550 million investment in cabin improvements
Just released, United Airlines announces they will invest more than a half-billion dollars for cabin enhancements fleetwide. Here’s the shortlist of improvements: According to CEO Jeff Smisek: Additional items to note and questions that remain: The release states United will add flatbed seats to, “14 United 767-300 aircraft.†This sounds like they’ll convert some of…
Declining airline sales; Obama scolded; new & imploding hotels; Tilton’s United; 787 update and Strategic Airlines
In other airline, hotel & travel industry news this week… The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) reported a 4.8% decrease in tickets processed in July through which virtually all airlines account. A total of 11.6 million air transactions were settled through ARC, the lowest figure for July transactions for the last six years. This could be…
United Airlines Chase Explorer Card “Baggage Claim” event & giveaway
I’m glad I read my “My Mileage Plus†email last night when it arrived. Turns out United Airlines and Chase are going on a four-city tour to promote the launch of the Mileage Plus Explorer credit card, and they’re in Los Angeles Glendale, CA today (and yesterday). Next up will be San Francisco on August…
Airline, hotel & online travel agency website usability study
A web usability surveyor based in Amsterdam named Usabilla just published results detailing user experiences on airline, hotel and Online Travel Agency websites. Participants were asked to perform simple tasks, such as “where would you click to get your boarding pass,†and leave additional comments about layout and other site features or functions. The full…