On Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on United and witnessed what could be classified as a lazy and motivated gate agent at the aircraft door. Lazy because she wasn’t going to fill the two empty seats in first class with passengers on the upgrade list, but motivated to get our delayed…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: United Express British Aerospace BAe 146-200
How about a little regional carrier love for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps? Appearing below is the seat map for a United Express British Aerospace BAE 146-200 seen flying the skies in 1998. I enjoyed flying on this bird, as the interior was nearly equivalent to a 737. And the #avgeek in me…
Insightful Remarks From Spirit Airlines’ Chief Marketing Officer
Barry Biffle, Spirit’s chief marketing officer, spoke at the Association of Travel Marketing Executives conference today in Miami. I wasn’t there, but it sort of felt like I was reading Henry Harteveldt’s real-time Twitter updates from the event. Henry, if you don’t follow him, is a veteran airline and travel industry analyst working for Hudson…
How to Get Your Airline Friends and Family Fired
You may have seen in the news during the past few days a story about two US Airways first class passengers who were told to change clothes before being allowed to board. They were traveling from Denver to Los Angeles via Phoenix and were allegedly wearing jeans, hoodies and baseball caps. A “no go” according…
World’s Top Airline Amenity Kits of 2012 – TravelPlus Awards
I posted the third annual TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Award winners over on my Road Warrior blog last week. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention them here, as many of you know I’m an amenity kit aficionado. Not surprisingly, the top honors in each category went to non-U.S. carriers. United Airlines, however,…
Yes! United Stepping Up Its Twitter Participation – Keep It Up!
I’ve previously harped on United Airlines for its less-than active, engaging participation on Twitter. But I’ve seen significant improvement lately, particularly since the beginning of the year. United has stepped up its game in replying, helping and informing those who directly include @united in their tweets. And it’s a welcome sign. Today, for the first…
Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: April 8, 2013
The 23rd annual Airline Quality Rankings were released showing passenger complaints have jumped by 20 percent over last year and denied boardings are also on the rise. Also noteworthy are Virgin America taking the “winning” spot for quality and United Airlines coming in last. United Airlines will cut its daily nonstop flight from Washington Dulles…
Vintage Airline Seat Map: American Airlines DC-10 ‘Standard’ From 1985
I previously posted three other American DC-10s – one from 1977 sporting a “Dining in the Sky†section, another from 1985 in a three-class international configuration, and a high-density coach layout operating to Hawaii. And here now is American’s standard version seen flying the skies in 1985 for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.…
Targeted Virgin America Visa Q2 Bonus Promotion
If you’re a Virgin America flier and have the Barclays Visa card, check your snail mail for a targeted offer. I received the following yesterday: It’s not the most generous offer – especially since it’s being capped at only 2,500 bonus points – but every little bit helps. Related posts: Virgin America Extends Status Match…
American Increasing Most Admirals Club Rates May 1
American Airlines will be raising most rates for an Admirals Club membership effective May 1, 2013. Rates for non-elites will remain unchanged, with prices for new or renewal memberships for AAdvantage Gold members going up by $25. If burning miles is more your style, the rates for Golds are going up by 5,000 miles with…