Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for February 2019.

American Airlines Says Man Wasn’t on the Flight to San Jose. Then How Did He Get There?

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Feb 20 2019

So what happened? Presumably he was un-checked in or offloaded by the gate agent in error. This happens occasionally, most often during irregular operations when there may be multiple flights in a booking (backup options).

A customer shows up for their return flight only to find they have no reservation. The airline says “you didn’t take the flight” and the customer says, “then how did I get here?”

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Eastern Airlines Comeback Continues, Wants to Start Scheduled International Service From New York JFK

Feb 20 2019

It’s been nearly 30 years since the ‘real’ Eastern flew, and it didn’t have a good reputation even then — for reliability, for service, or even for safety.

So what is next for Eastern Airlines? They have applied to the Department of Transportation to start scheduled international air service from New York JFK>

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Virgin Atlantic 787 Exceeded Speed of Sound, Passengers Arrive Early at Heathrow

Feb 19 2019

Virgin Atlantic flight VS8 from Los Angeles to London hit 801 miles per hour over Pennsylvania yesterday.

A ground speed of 801 miles per hour (obtained only briefly, as the plane remained in the jet streak only a brief period of time) is faster than the speed of sound (767 miles per hour). However the 787 wasn’t actually breaking the sound barrier as it was not moving 767 miles per hour faster than the surrounding air.

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Inflight Entertainment Systems Aren’t Spying On You (Yet) But Some Airlines Monitor You With Video

Feb 19 2019

A Singapore Airlines passenger took to twitter to share that he had discovered his inflight entertainment system appeared to have a camera installed in it. There has been a ton of media pickup of this.

I’m not aware of any inflight entertainment systems currently in service that are actually ‘spying’ on passengers, though some airlines do have cameras in their cabins.

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Man Flies to Los Angeles in Boxer Shorts, Recreates ‘Living Room Experience’

Feb 19 2019

The saga of a man on a Paris – Los Angeles flight coming out of the coach restroom in his boxer shorts and spending the flight just letting it all hang out was chronicled on twitter yesterday.

There are a couple of things that make this story even more bizarre. Somehow a ukulele is involved. And flight attendants refused to ask him to put clothes on. Even when he got cold he left his pants off, but put on a puffy jacket.

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American Airlines Five Star Adds Blade Helicopters and LAX Private Suite Experience, Now Sells Flagship Lounge/Dining

Feb 19 2019

More premium services on offer are better and American Airlines just announced several. It can be better to buy LAX private terminal access via American, in conjunction with a premium flight, than to buy it direct. Whether helicopter transfers represent a deal is more questionable. Both offerings have been done by competitors over the past two years.

The more innovative piece is monetizing access to their excellent Flagship lounge and dining products, which is a nice perk for those interested in paying the freight. The only downside here is increased usage.

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Wyndham Doubling Redemption Prices at Top Hotels, Making Many Other Changes

wydham on beach
Feb 19 2019

In October I wrote that I expected Wyndham to abandon their one price for all hotel awards and move to a tiered award chart.

Specifically four years ago they introduced 15,000 points per night at all hotels and when they introduced redemptions for timeshares and vacation rentals those were also priced at 15,000 points (per bedroom) per night.

That’s happening. They’re also tweaking elite benefits and adding new earning and redemption partners. And there’s a last chance to transfer La Quinta points without losing half their value.

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