News and notes from around the interweb:
- Very good sentences – the bottom-line on Delta SkyMiles:
Irrespective of whether Delta’s frequent fliers defect to other carriers though, the program is moving in the direction that the airline wants. With aircraft at ultra-high capacity and fuel at bargain basement rates, the airline has little reason to beg for loyal customers. Until there’s incentive to bring loyal customers back to the airline, expect SkyMiles to continue shrinking.
- The American Express OPEN lounge at the Javits Convention Center in New York
- As Emirates downgauges their Houston and Dallas – Dubai flights from A380s to 777s, meaning fewer first class seats and no onboard showers, there’s good news for award seekers: Washington Dulles – Dubai will shift to an A380 on March 27 and Los Angeles gets a second daily A380 on July 1.
- Delta has signed a non-binding letter of intent to move from terminals 5 and 6 to terminals 2 to 3 at LAX. The airport just completed a $229 million renovation of terminals 5 and 6. I’m sure that the rehab of terminals 2 and 3 will be more expensive, and take a long time, so don’t expect moves soon.
- Emotional support animals aren’t just dogs.
- According to the DOT, airfares were down in the second quarter of 2015 and are down substantially over the past 15 years.
The average domestic air fare decreased to $385 in the second quarter of 2015, down 2.8 percent from $396 in the second quarter of 2014, adjusted for inflation…
Since 1995, inflation-adjusted fares declined 17.1 percent compared to a 56.5 percent increase in overall consumer prices.
These figures do not include ancillary fees, but separate data suggests that the cost of travel inclusive of fees is down as well.
woo hoo.
looks like UA abandoning IAD-DXB may have encouraged a positive change in equipment!!!
I have to admit, the turkey really takes the cake. Not sure whether to laugh or be outraged. With an animal that size, did it have a purchased seat? What do you do for a name on the ticket? And what about ID to match the ticket? If TSA is getting handsy that day and wants to pat the critter down, it could get interesting in a hurry. Who gets the miles? Who gets to clean up after it on the plane? What would happen if a snake handling preacher said that the highly poisonous snake he was bringing on the plane was his emotional support animal?
Ludicrous scenarios aside, why don’t the airlines simply forbid emotional support animals?
Emotional support animals. What an absolute crock! They day one appears next to me, or even in my cabin, you’ll be reading about me in the headlines! By the way, I feel the same about drones overhead where I live. My shotgun is at the ready.
My wife is deaf and has a certified service dog who goes everywhere with her, including traveling on a plane. The dog lays across the floor in the bulkhead row and doesn’t move during the flight. She needs her dog due to her disability. Other than a couple of overzealous flight attendants who insisted on the dog, a 56 lbs golden retriever, fitting in front of only one seat in the bulkhead row or fitting under a seat in a regular row, she has had no trouble flying with her service dog. Passengers all love the dog and have to be continually reminded that the dog is working and cannot be pet.
Emotional “therapy” dogs in the flight cabin are often an excuse for someone not wanting to kennel a pet and ship it in the cargo hold. I have personally seen a woman attempt to travel with her Doberman in the first class cabin by placing a homemade vest embroidered with “Therapy Dog” on its side. The pilot came out of the cockpit and told her that there was no way he was going to fly with a Doberman in the cabin and she could either kennel the dig and put it in the cargo hold or get off the plane. The woman and the dog both deplaned and were never seen again. Therapy dogs are not afforded the same rights as service dogs per the ADA.
I have also had the privilege to sit next to a Marine Corps veteran who had been wounded in Iraq. He suffered from PTSD and would get severe anxiety attacks. His therapy dog helped keep him calm, especially in close quarters like the plane. Pilots have the discretion to allow therapy dogs on a flight. In this case, the pilot made the correct decision allowing the Marine veteran’s therapy dog to fly in the cabin.
What could be better than an emotional support animal you can eat? That’s real emotional support!
Emotional support Turkey – Good to eat is more like it. It would support my love of eating it with gravy and stuffing!!!!
As for ESA dogs … It is always old bitter women who tend to need them because they are the meanest flyers on the plane. They are too cheap to put that mutt in the cargo so they call it emotional support because no one else will be friends with them, not even their husbands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7a0eQleWiw
Stay home ladies with your ESA!