For years, domestic and international airlines have experimented with offering limited air-to-ground wireless communications. Now a Sun-Sentinel article reports that Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines intends to become the first carrier to equip its entire fleet — 330+ aircraft — with broadband wireless access by summer 2009. Delta’s onboard wireless service would transmit data only — no voice.  Cost per user would be $10-13, depending on the length of the flight.  Delta’s strategy focuses on business travelers who cut deals wherever, whenever.   And on data rather than voice, which suggests that passengers continue to harbor a deep aversion to the idea of overhearing multiple phone conversations while spending several hours in a confined space.  According to a June 5, 2006 USA TODAY article, this aversion has jumbo-jet proportions:

The FAA and the FCC are considering whether to approve in-flight cellphone usage. In a USA TODAY survey last year, 68% of respondents favored keeping the in-flight cellphone ban.

As we get ever-closer to living in a world of nonstop gadget connectivity, at least one airline — “no-frills” carrier Jet Blue — seems to be rethinking the question “Which items belong in the ‘frills’ category?”  Jet Blue may be charging passengers $7 for a pillow and blanket starting this week, but according to the Jet Blue website their BetaBlue onboard wireless service is still free, and has been since its debut in December.  It’s limited… very… to a single Airbus A320, which travels transcontinental routes. But, again, it’s free. And on a transcontinental flight it’s reasonable to expect that, at some point, a passenger might be jonesin’ to visit the e-mail inbox.  Will the rest of us?  On shorter flights? And how much will we want to pay for it?

File this one under:  “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”  A software glitch affecting those machines that read the bar codes on airline luggage labels at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport unleashed havoc on Wednesday, bringing the airport’s complex luggage-routing system to a standstill.  Thousands of passengers had their luggage misrouted, forcing personnel to have to sort a “sea of baggage” by hand.  Adding to the inconvenience, the glitch caused American Airlines to cancel many of its flights on Wednesday and Thursday.   American and other airlines apparently took the unusual step of sending luggage by truck to the city’s other airports, to be routed to destination cities around the world.  Passengers were furious, but we hope not all of them were as angry as this one:

Maricarmen Dhooghe and her boyfriend from Brussels were on their way to Los Angeles when they got stuck in American Airlines’ baggage debacle. They missed their flight and will take off Thursday instead.  “I was really frustrated and angry. I wanted to get on a plane tonight,” Dhooghe said.  “We’re only 14 days in America. So we lose two days. So it really sucks. It’s not a good begin for us,” Michael Janssens of Brussels said. Dhooghe even took her frustration a step further.  “I never fly again with American Airlines. And I hate America. That was the first thought, but it’s not true,” Dhooghe said.

Dear Mr Eavis,

What you do is ass-kicking. It’s awe-inspiring. It’s applause-tickling. I don’t think that last one is even a word, if it’s not, then I just created one for you, Mr Eavis. Firstly, even if I could, I would never have around 160,000 people camp in my backyard for a weekend. It seems a bit of a hassle, but you seem not to mind the drunkards, the merry-go-arounds, the chip-shops and the hundreds of thousands of tents – literally, in your backyard (I mean I could see your house from my tent). I have no idea where you keep the cows during the festival but thanks to your patience and theirs, I and all the other happy campers get to experience one of the most unique festivals, and weekends, of our lives.

This is only about 1/10 of the tents at Worthy Farm

Continue Reading…

The Mylo is an “internet communication device,” which means it’s a tiny laptop. The prime feature is you can use it like a phone with Skype because it has built-in wireless internet (there is a microphone and ear speaker), making it a gadget of interest for travelers. Mostly you’ll be using it to surf the internet but add a Sony memory stick (no SD cards unfortunately) and you can use it to open files and listen to MP3’s.

I’m going to rate it on two dimensions: looks and personality.

It gets a 7 out of 10 on looks. It’s lightweight and pleasing on the eye and has neon-looking lights at the ends. You won’t be embarrassed with it in your hand. The screen is bright and clear and the keyword is easy to use. The stylus at the end of the wrist strap is discreet. But it’s not hot enough that you’ll make someone else feel insecure about their electronic device. iPhone people will look at it and act all smug-like, going off about the superiority of their phone in a passive aggressive mumble.

Continue Reading…

High oil prices. Credit squeeze. Reduced spending by consumers. What to do? Instead of filing for bankruptcy (again), United Airlines has a new strategy: drastically cut the number of flights for leisure travelers. That means no more Ted, United’s Denver-based low-fare division that launched in 2004 to compete with Frontier and Southwest. From where I’m sitting — Sin City — that sounds a lot like economic disaster. According to an interactive graphic posted by USA Today, United’s announced cuts will contribute to a drop of 12.3% in air traffic to Vegas.

Agence France-Presse reports that United said it would trim US capacity by 17-18 percent through 2009, removing 100 aircraft from its fleet and about 1,500 jobs from its payroll. I guess the silver lining in this economic cloud is that the planes United says it intends to retire — about 20% of its fleet — include what the carrier says are its oldest and least fuel-efficient aircraft, namely, all 94 of its Boeing 737s and six Boeing 747s. At least the environmentalists have a little good news. As for leisure travelers, well, you might want to find a business aspect to that next trip, so someone else will pick up the tab.

Back in February, we reported on Farecast, a website that predicts fluctuations in airfares for major airlines, providing an advantage for travelers in a confusing, increasingly pricey market.  Farecast relies on historical airfare data to extrapolate probable changes in ticket prices, and generates graphical prognostications indicating whether an airfare is likely to increase, decrease, or remain the same.

Now, that’s a pretty awesome feat, but we think a new player on the scene, a Seattle-based website bearing the quirky name of Yapta, takes the air travel price comparison game to a new level.   Yapta — an acronym for “Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant” — takes a truly novel approach, allowing users to browse airline websites and bookmark the flights they’re most interested in.   Then Yapta tracks ticket price fluctuations in real time, and sends you an email alert as soon as the price drops.   It literally does the legwork of shopping around for lower fares while you sleep — saving users lots of time and tedium.

Yapta also takes advantage of a little-known policy many airlines have where refunds or frequent-flyer credits are paid to passengers when an airfare is decreased after they’ve already purchased tickets.  Yapta shows users how to take advantage of this policy.  And we understand that many flyers have already saved significant amounts of money, from both the price alerts and the refunds.

What we like best about Yapta — in addition to these innovative services — is the website’s clean, uncluttered user interface and ease-of-use.   The simplicity of design is very attractive and kind of reminds us of Google.  In fact, Yapta is so well-designed that, within minutes, you can create an account and start building a portfolio of travel plans.  From that point, the price alerts and a whole range of other useful features are within easy reach.

Yapta goes a long way to “level the playing field” between airlines and their customers, and is one of those websites that reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke’s famous saying:  “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”  We think the folks over at Yapta may just have created not just an “amazing personal travel assistant”, but the perfect planning tool for busy air travelers.

Ads, ads, ads. Recently, atop a Hotmail web page, a banner ad displayed the phrase “Fees Don’t Fly With Us,” accompanied by an image of a Southwest Airlines plane. Plus there’s the new “coupon” (see above). Lower on the page, to back up these claims, a link to an MSN article teased US Airways to Charge for First Bag, Drinks. So now it’s three carriers charging $15 for the first checked bag — American, United, and US Airways. On top of that, starting August 1 US Airways will charge $2 for a nonalcoholic drink. It seems that either the legacy airlines are rushing to yield the skies to Southwest, or that the great blue will become the exclusive domain of the wealthy. One thing’s certain: the skies are becoming less friendly.The MSN article goes on:

As of July 1, Southwest Airlines will be the only U.S. carrier that permits two checked bags for free, according to air travel expert Tom Parsons, who expects still more service fees to come.

As someone who flies Southwest more than any other airline - and so far has not been accused of violating the carrier’s unspoken dress code for passengers - here’s hoping that air passengers continue to have the sans-fee option of flying Southwest.

BBC’s website recently reported that a customs officer at Narita Airport in Japan gave a free spliff to a random passenger. Three questions: Where was that, um, flier headed? Was he/she was the hit of the party at the end destination? More to the point, what would have happened to that passenger had a dog detected the stash? The agent who planted it admits to not remembering into whose bag he put it.

I knew it was going to be expensive on the ride from the airport. Billboards and lighted signs advertised celebrities I thought were dead (Roseanne, Carrot Top) and everything seemed a little too new for a traveler used to paying eight dollars for a foam bed and twenty dollars for a crazy night out in places like Peru and Argentina. If you’re wondering what type of person stays in Las Vegas for seven days, it’s the type who’s used to lounging around in cities for weeks for no other reason than to see who he or she happens to come across. Initially I thought seven days may be too short.

The Famous Sign (Photo Credit: Pirvy)

Continue Reading…

If you’re planning to fly American, get ready to shell out more money, *after* purchasing your ticket, for any bags you check. According to a May 22 article in the Chicago Tribune, a $15 fee - each way - will take effect for the first checked bag, for people flying with discounted tickets purchased on or after June 15; in other words, passengers who seek to pay the least for their flights will be the ones hit with this fee. United Airlines is “seriously considering” following suit.

So, what will this do to processing times at airport check-in, when people who forget about this new fee go to check their bag and get told they need to pay on the spot? How many more minutes will it take everyone to check in? And what’s next? A fee to wait in the airport lounge? A dollar for a pillow or blanket? In his May 23 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, William Ernst asks, if the new fee really is a way to cope with rising fuel prices, then why not charge for carry ons, rather than compel people to attempt to cram more items, which they would otherwise have checked, into the overhead bins?

Most importantly, what will people who travel with discounted airfares decide to do? Will they stop flying American, and possibly United, in protest? Will they opt for a full-fare ticket instead? Will they stop flying altogether, and go by car, bus, or train instead?

After more than a decade of taking low airfares for granted, Americans seem on the brink of a major shift in travel habits. Not only might a majority of Americans never own a passport; that majority might stop traveling even within our borders, too.