Archive for the 'Airline travel' Category
Thanksgiving travel predicted to be up this year at LAX, down at ONT
November 20, 2009 9:11am
Here we go. Today begins the 10-day stretch known in some circles as the “Thanksgiving holiday travel period,” so brace yourselves for lines, lines, lines.
At Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), passenger volumes between today and Nov. 29 are predicted to be 1.1% higher than they were in 2008. Airport officials expect to see 1.49 million passengers at this major hub.
By contrast, L.A./Ontario International Airport (ONT) is anticipated to see fewer travelers, with a passenger volume that may be 8.8% less than it was in 2008. That translates to 123,500 travelers expected in the coming 10-day period.
Today is expected to be one of the busiest at both airports, as are Wednesday and Sunday, Nov. 29. Many airlines are forecasting that flights will be 80% to 100% booked, according to Los Angeles World Airports in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »
Delayed and canceled flights across the U.S. caused by FAA computer system glitch
November 19, 2009 9:03am
Flying today? Prepare yourself for possible major delays or even cancellations. A computer system malfunction earlier this morning adversely affected flight schedules throughout the U.S.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is among the major hubs that have been especially affected, and AirTran and Delta Air Lines are among carriers affected. Minor delays have been reported at airports in the New York City area, Boston, Orlando, Fla., and Tampa, Fla.
Though the glitch with the Federal Aviation Administration’s automated system has been resolved, “it was unclear how long flights would continue to be affected,” AP says.
AirTran has posted a travel advisory on its website. It warns passengers that some travel interruptions are “occurring at short notice,” and advises that those who want to adjust their travel plans can make itinerary changes online. Read the rest of this entry »
Grand Bahama Island: Flight-hotel packages for $900
November 19, 2009 6:05am
For us West Coasters, the Caribbean is not really so close. But given the amazing sale rates we’re seeing to this island region, we just can’t ignore its appeal. Take, for instance, the following package deals now being offered to Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas.
Deal: For winter travel (holidays included), CheapCarribean.com is offering up to $500 in savings over its typical rates for vacation packages. Stay five nights or longer for the $500 discount. For four-night vacations, you’ll save $400, and for three nights, $300. Some of the Grand Bahama Island hotels included in this deal are Flamingo Bay Hotel, Our Lucaya Reef Village, Pelican Bay at Lucaya, Radisson Our Lucaya Resort and Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach.
Tested: I tested a four-night getaway at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach in early January. From LAX, I found fly-stay packages for $706 per person (pre-tax, and based on double occupancy). Via CheapCaribbean.com’s online reservations system, that worked out to $892 per person total, after taxes. Read the rest of this entry »
Timing’s good, says Virgin America CEO as airline launches Fort Lauderdale service (with $99 sale fares)
November 18, 2009 10:42am
A few months ago, after Virgin America announced plans to add Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to its route map (with twice-daily nonstop flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles), Chief Executive David Cush was “cautiously optimistic” about the state of fall travel.
How’s he feeling about the timing of the launch right now, as he is, this morning, aboard one of the inaugural flights of the new service?
“The timing of this route is very good. South Florida is a warm-weather destination that does very well in the first quarter,” he said. “While we are excited about Fort Lauderdale as a destination, we are also pleased that it is giving our network a bit more seasonal balance — a warm-weather destination. While first quarter is the weakest quarter for most routes, it is the strongest for Florida.”
And yes, he’s enjoying the first flight, which is laden with WiFi and cocktails, though he added, “not as much as some of the other guests, if you know what I mean.” And the fun continues after landing in Florida (at 3:15 p.m. EST), where passengers will receive “a champagne-soaked red carpet runway welcome” by Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson, according to a news release.
Those of us who aren’t part of the party can celebrate by — how else? — shopping. To mark the official addition of its 10th destination, Virgin America has launched a 24-hour “Go Golden” sale, which ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. PST. Read the rest of this entry »
FlyAway bus service links LAX to Irvine
November 17, 2009 10:45am
For Orange County residents and visitors, access to our country’s third-busiest airport has just gotten a little easier. This week, a new nonstop FlyAway bus service began carrying passengers between Los Angeles International Airport and the Irvine Metrolink Station.
The new service on a 22-seat bus running on compressed natural gas is available to travelers six times daily in each direction. The earliest and latest departures from Irvine are 4:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m, and, upon arrival at the airport, passengers are dropped off at their terminals on the departure level.
Buses headed to Irvine depart from the arrivals level of LAX between the hours of 9:45 a.m. and 9:45 p.m. See the LAWA website for the schedule. Read the rest of this entry »
Delta passengers get free in-flight Wi-Fi over Thanksgiving too
November 11, 2009 3:47pm
Now Delta passengers don’t have to feel left out in the free in-flight Wi-Fi department. Thanks to eBay, Delta passengers will have access to free in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic flights Nov. 24-30, the Thanksgiving holidays. As you may recall, Google teamed up with Virgin America to offer their passengers free Wi-Fi throughout the holidays from Nov. 10 to Jan. 15. And now with Google offering free Wi-Fi at 47 airports throughout the holiday season, it’s all Wi-Fi, all the time, whether you are in the air or waiting for your flight.
Delta passengers will have to pay a price of a different kind. The first website they will come to when they get their free access is a holiday page on eBay. After all, ’tis the season for shopping. Budget Travel’s This Just In blog gave us the lead on all the behind the promotion meaning as spelled out by AdvertisingAge in the article, “EBay Gets Onboard With Delta for Holiday Promotion.”
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: Delta Air Lines jets at airport in Kentucky. Credit: Tom Uhlman / Bloomberg News]
Google gives free Wi-Fi to holiday travelers at dozens of U.S. airports
November 10, 2009 12:10am
Got Wi-Fi? You do now. In the spirit of giving, Google announced today, Nov. 10, that it is offering free Wi-Fi at more than 40 airports across the country during the holiday season.
Southern Californians will be pleased to hear that Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in Burbank and San Diego International Airport (SAN) are on the list of those with free terminal-wide Wi-Fi. Among other airports in the promotion are those serving San Jose, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, Houston, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C.
For travelers who think that all airports should offer free Wi-Fi, there’s more good news: Bob Hope Airport plans to continue offering free Wi-Fi indefinitely, according to Google.
This ought to take the sting out of crowded airports and potentially delayed flights during the busy holiday season.
When: Nov. 10 through Jan. 15
Tip: Fly on Virgin America over the holidays to get free Wi-Fi in the sky as well. Google partnered with the airline voted Best Domestic Airline in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 and 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards, and announced in October that it would be offering free inflight Wi-Fi during the same holiday period.
Pay it forward: Those who do take advantage of the free Internet will have the ability to make a charitable donation to one of three organizations. Google will match the donations made across all the networks, up to $250,000, and the airport network that generates the highest amount per passenger by Jan. 1, 2010 will receive $15,000 to donate to the local charity of its choice.
More info: FreeHolidayWiFi.com
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: A Southwest Airlines jet takes off above Bob Hope Airport in Burbank in April 2008. Credit: Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times
Hurricane Ida: Airline advisories, travel waiver information [Updated]
November 9, 2009 2:07pm
Hurricane Ida weakened to a tropical storm today after the U.S. Gulf Coast braced itself for more troubling weather. In Nicaragua last week, Hurricane Ida destroyed homes, damaged schools and bridges as it moved through the Caribbean. Currently, the National Hurricane Center has a public advisory on its site.
“A tropical storm warning remains in effect from Grand Isle Louisiana eastward to the Aucilla River Florida … including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.”
[Updated at 9 a.m. Nov. 10: Ida made landfall in Alabama but has weakened considerably and was headed toward the northeast, the National Hurricane Center said.]
U.S. airlines are alerting travelers that flights may be affected in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Here are some change policies listed on their websites:
Delta: States that you may make a one-time change to your ticket without fee if you are scheduled to travel to, from, or through the following destinations: Fort Walton, Fla. (VPS), Gulfport, Miss. (GPT), Mobile, Ala. (MOB), New Orleans, La. (MSY), Panama City, Fla. (PFN), Pensacola, Fla. (PNS) and Tallahassee, Fla. (TLH) for impacted travel on Nov. 9-10. Read the Delta Weather Alert page for Hurricane Ida for full details and restrictions. Contact: (800) 221-1212.
Continental: Offers the option to reschedule or re-route your travel once, without penalty, if you are ticketed to/from one of these cities with original travel dates on Nov. 9-11: New Orleans, La. (MSY), Baton Rouge, La. (BTR), Lafayette, La. (LFT), Lake Charles, La. (LCH), Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss. (GPT), Mobile, Ala. (MOB), Pensacola, Fla. (PNS), Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (VPS). If your flight has been cancelled, a refund to the original form of payment can be requested. Get full information about their re-accommodations policy here.
Phoenix airport luggage thefts: 10 tips to protect your bag and belongings
November 7, 2009 4:24pm
Worried about your bag getting stolen in baggage claim? You’ve got plenty of company, especially since the news broke this week about police arresting a suburban Phoenix couple on suspicion of stealing nearly 1,000 bags from carousels at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX).
Nearly 60% of 1,830 people who responded to an online poll, conducted after the arrests, said they always or often were concerned about the security of their luggage in the baggage-claim area, TripAdvisor reported Friday. Only 11% said they were never concerned.
Although airlines say that they recover nearly all the bags that owners report missing, and that only a tiny percentage are truly lost — because they were misplaced, misrouted, stolen, abandoned or whatever — that’s small comfort to victims, who may have numbered in the hundreds in Phoenix alone.
Here are 10 steps you can take to protect your possessions, gleaned from my research and chats with security experts:
Expedia drops fees for booking over the phone
November 5, 2009 11:04am
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a call to Expedia. If you have missed talking to a real human when making your travel reservations because the extra fees forced you to figure out how to do it online, get ready to have your life back. Expedia today, Nov. 5, let go of all its fees for booking flights, hotels, rental cars and cruises over the phone. Yesterday, calling in travel reservations cost customers $20 per transaction; today, it’s zippo.
Here are four scenarios that will save you money if you call in your reservation with Expedia.
1. If you book your flight by calling an airline directly. You know those pesky charges that airlines tack on if you call them to book your flight? As examples, Virgin America charges $15 per guest per itinerary. Delta charges $20 per person per ticket and United charges $25 per person, per reservation. As of today, if you call Expedia to book a flight (on any of those airlines and others) there will be no extra fee for doing so.
2. If you book your flight over the phone through a a competing online travel agency (OTA). Orbitz, Travelocity and CheapTickets charge $25 to book a flight over the phone. If you are making that call to book flights for more than one person, the fees can go up and up. For two people, it’s $50 on those three other OTAs and $75 for three people. When you call in flight reservations for four people, the fee stays at $75 on Travelocity but becomes $100 on both Orbitz and CheapTickets. [Update on Nov. 5: An earlier version of this post said Priceline doesn't charge for offline flight bookings and hasn't for years. The correct information is that Priceline does not offer telephone bookings for flights.]
3. If you book a flight with some OTAs and need to change or cancel the itinerary. Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline generally charge $30 for flight changes and cancellations. However, Orbitz has a 24-hour no fee flight cancellation policy through its My Trips feature. Priceline’s Name Your Own Price does not allow changes. CheapTickets charges $50 for flight changes and cancellations.
4. If you book a cruise for a family of four with an OTA and need to cancel it. Some online travel agencies charge for changes. Orbitz charges $75 for canceling a cruise, according to a spokeswoman and their website. [Corrected at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 5: In an earlier version of this post, I noted that I called Orbitz and was told they charge $100 per cabin for cruise cancellations but that there will be no charge if you rebook for a different date on the same phone call. I was also told that again when I called later. But an Orbitz spokeswoman e-mailed to correct this information]. And of course, there’s the nonrefundable $25 booking fee. CheapTickets charges $75 per cabin for cancellations. It’s worth noting that Travelocity and Priceline do not charge a fee to change or cancel a cruise booking.
