A sampling of industry news that caught my attention today:
- A Delta Air Lines passenger abandoned several of his bags in Seattle to avoid paying $1,400 in overweight luggage fees. It created quite a stir at the airport and a co-author of the linked article later tweeted that it ended up being four out of his seven bags. Seven checked bags? Maybe he was moving.
- Delta wants to relocate all Tokyo operations from Narita to Haneda airport, but it’ll be an uphill battle getting the 25 slots the airline needs. Haneda is heavily slot controlled due to both demand and capacity limitations. I’m sure United would love to be at Haneda exclusively, too.
- United Airlines plans to retire or sell 73 of its 129 757s by the end of 2015, replacing them (as much as possible) with new 737-900s. You’ll still see United 757s on international routes for some time after 2015, as the focus appears to be removing them from domestic service.
- American Eagle will begin flying its newest aircraft type tomorrow – the Embraer 175. It will primarily serve routes from Chicago O’Hare and features 12 first class seats and 64 in coach, 20 of which are Main Cabin Extra. Click here for a couple of great cabin pictures.
- The term “gate lice” goes mainstream with an article from the AP today (and picked up nationally) discussing airline boarding procedures and the quest to perfect it. David Koenig, the author, later tweeted me, “yep, it’s red-letter day when you can use ‘gate lice’ in a story.” 🙂
- Would you bribe a fellow airline passenger for their seat? I certainly wouldn’t (then again… I normally get my preferred seat), but cash and other offers are apparently on the rise.
- A Twitter-themed hotel debuted in Mallorca, Spain, complete with Twitter concierges and all the hashtags you could dream of. Socially engaged guests will enjoy Twitter parties, contests and receive discounts at the hotel’s restaurants and bars.
- A Denver hotel is offering a pop-up inflatable room for $50,000 per night. It’s a limited time promotional thing for Biennial of the Americas festival of arts, culture and ideas. The “room” includes a lot of extras, including a diamond pendant and earrings, a couple of iPods and more.
- Finally, if you live in Seattle, San Diego or Miami, there was a great mileage run opportunity on United earlier today. The original fare was loaded sometime yesterday and it saw at least two price drops today before it was pulled.
– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.
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Love the “Gate Lice” news!!