News and notes from around the interweb:
- Oscar Munoz is expected to return as CEO of United in early 2016. In the meantime, United has continued to plot out a positive narrative that started when Munoz was appointed two months ago. In his absence leadership seems to ask themselves, What Would Oscar Do?
- Why American has more cashews in their nut mix. Almond prices went up, so American scaled back almonds and replaced them with relatively more cashews. Almond prices have fallen though so in 2016 there will be fewer cashews. More pecans, too. Think that’s the end of the savings? United pocketed $200,000 a year by shifting from whole cashews to broken pieces.
- Up to 6000 miles with new United MileagePlus shopping promotion
- Fly Virgin Atlantic between US and London, Manchester or Glasgow through January 31 and earn 100% bonus miles and bonus tier points. Registration required.
- Do you know anyone who likes flying from Dulles Airport near Washington..? …Why can’t we have more TWA Flight Centers and fewer dark, dank nightmares like New York’s LaGuardia?
- In the coolest thing since Chuck Norris did an in-air leg split between to planes, comes this incredible video from Jetmen Dubai and Emirates:
Re: The “nice things” article. You’ve mentioned this before, but there are airports that are good for arriving/departing, and there are airports that are good for connections. They either make everything one big mess behind central security piers (IAD, ATL, MSP, and I’m sure a few others) which is better for connections, or they have smaller terminals behind individual security areas (LAX, JFK, DCA). Those ones suck ass for connecting.
I’m not sure that there’s any airport in the US that I terribly *like* flying from, although IAD’s terminal B really isn’t bad for those who want to bitch and moan.
All of that aside, Seat 2B goes into a bunch of statistics about passengers and airports. What point is he trying to make? When he talks about 550 airports with commercial air service, he’s talking about the SHD, LYH, ROA, and all kinds of other small airports. Is he advocating that they should have increased service? Hubs are getting bigger, that’s the nature of the consolidation beast. Was it necessary to have hubs in CVG/DTW, ATL/MEM, and STL/ORD? Clearly not, and remember, back then, airlines were NOT making money.
Why are you helping promote a Virgin promotion on non existent flights to/from Glasgow!???
Virgin operates seasonal Glasgow flights to Orlando and Las Vegas – neither of which can be booked within this so called promotional window.
Someone somewhere is either incompetent or having a laugh!
Personally I’m a big cashew fan so more of them is fine with me! Though pecans are my absolute favorite…but they’re still pricey so I don’t hold my breath for many more of them in mixes!
IAD is an embarrassment to us all. I remember when UA express was in that temporary terminal for awhile (Terminal G was it?), what a madhouse that was.
People who don’t like IAD don’t understand IAD. No, it’s not the perfect solution for your weekly work trips to Des Moines, or that Thanksgiving visit to Grandma in Buffalo. But I am not aware of any other airports in the DC area where I can drive 20 minutes, park in the daily lot, walk 2 minutes to the terminal, be in a lounge in 20 minutes and then on a nonstop to Europe, the Middle East, or Asia. Yes, using IAD for short domestic flights is like using a hammer to kill an ant, but its real purpose is for long-haul international.