Archive for the 'Business Travel' Category
United breaks guitars … and loses bags too: The saga continues
October 30, 2009 5:43pm
Dave Carroll, the Canadian musician who won worldwide fame by composing a song and video about the demise of his guitar at the hands of United Airlines, found himself in that airline’s clutches again the other day, on the way to a speaking engagement about customer service. And guess what happened?
United lost his bag.
“It’s bizarre,” said Carroll.
It happened Sunday, Carroll said, as he made his way from the Canadian city of Regina in Saskatchewan province to the Denver airport, on his way to a conference in Colorado Springs. “The only direct flight to Denver was with United. So I flew United and my bag got lost,” Carroll told Canada’s CBC News on Thursday. Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for the airline, said, “We will fully investigate what regretfully happened,” the New York Times reported.
Carroll’s initial trouble with United came in 2008, and he told the tale this year with a “United Breaks Guitars” video (above) that has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube.
Lowest airfares in 11 years? OK, but what about fees?
October 29, 2009 6:31pm
On the heels of an airfare war comes this report from the U.S. Department of Transportation: We’re paying the cheapest fares in 11 years. Of course, that accounting doesn’t include all the extra charges for checked luggage, seat selection and even blankets and pillows that carriers have piled on in recent years.
Even the airlines concede that these fees, which they dub “a la carte” pricing, add up.
“When you throw in a la carte, there are some cases where you could be paying more to fly” today than back in 1998, said David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Assn. of America, an industry group based in Washington, D.C. that represents most U.S. carriers.
But really, haven’t we had enough bad news lately? So as you squeeze yourself into a middle seat, sandwich your carry-on bag between your feet and shiver in the arctic blast from the air vents, count your blessings:
From April through June (latest figures), passengers paid an average of 13% less to fly between U.S. cities than they did during the same period a year ago. This was the biggest fare drop since the government began keeping records in 1995.
Bay Bridge closure travel guide: Detour routes, traffic and current info for getting to SFO and OAK
October 28, 2009 3:46pm
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is closed in both directions—indefinitely—after two rods and a 5,000-pound crossbeam fell during rush hour traffic at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, as reported on L.A. Now. Traffic was backed up during the morning rush hour on Wednesday and is expected to add delays to the evening commute Wednesday as well. Here are some resources for Bay Bridge updates and alternative travel means, plus maps for traffic statuses on routes to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK).
Bay Area transit info: 511.org is the best place to find alternative transit options in the Bay Area.
The page on transit options shows a full grid of status updates for Bay Area transportation services such as BART, MUNI, SF and East Bay ferry service and more. Use this 511.org “Detour Routes” page for alternative routes that use the Dumbarton Bridge, San Mateo Bridge and other options.
Airport commute: 511.org offers these directions to San Francisco International Airport from the East Bay: “Take Interstate 880, the San Mateo Bridge, and U.S. 101 north. Or, use the 511 Transit Trip planner to plan your trip to the airport on BART.” However, the trip planner does not account for adjusted schedules due to the bridge closure. If you are in San Francisco trying to get to the Oakland airport, MapQuest asks that you drag your route map down to the San Mateo bridge due to the closure. Here is a map link for travel between San Francisco and the Oakland airport.
SuperShuttle: If you are using the Super Shuttle 800 BLUE-VAN (258-3826), note that officials say that driving time is about 1 hour, 45 minutes between downtown San Francisco and OAK. They ask that you allow three hours from your departure time for domestic flights and four hours for international flights.
GEM Hotel offers Manhattan rooms from $139 during the holidays
October 26, 2009 5:58am
If you’re heading to New York City for business, pleasure or some shopping during the holiday season, you might not be holding your breath for bargain-basement deals at the city’s hotels.
Or maybe you’re already wise to the fact that the hard economic times have bitten into even Big Apple tourism, leading to some head-turning deals. For instance, the budget GEM Hotel brand, generally rated positively among travelers for good value, is offering the following rates at its centrally located properties.
Deal: The “Cool Yule” special offers rooms starting at $139 per night, pretax, at the three GEM Hotel locations in Manhattan during these dates: Nov. 20-29 and Dec. 13-29. This represents a savings of about $80 per night, since regular rates during these dates hover around $219. Read the rest of this entry »
Frequent fliers rate LAX the third-worst airport in the world
October 22, 2009 11:22am
Turns out that a $1-billion overhaul of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) (Bradley Terminal, above) can’t come too soon for 14,526 frequent fliers, who rated it the third-worst airport in the world in a just-released survey. The most hated airport? London’s giant Heathrow (LHR), followed by Paris’ Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
The online survey was conducted in September among members of Priority Pass, a program that charges an annual fee for access to airport lounges.
As for LAX: My colleague Christopher Reynolds has a suggestion or two (actually 10) for improving that place. Interestingly, it did not rank as the worst airport in the U.S. among American members of Priority Pass. That dubious honor fell to Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD), with LAX pulling up second and Atlanta (ATL) third.
Air France and KLM join rush to charge for second bag overseas
October 21, 2009 6:33pm
Want to check a second bag to Europe on Air France or KLM? Hand over $50, s’il vous plait.
These European airlines, both owned by Air France-KLM Group, are the latest to charge for what used to be free on overseas flights. In recent months, British Airways, American Airlines and United Airlines have all announced fees for coach fliers to check a second bag between the U.S. and Europe. Although at least one carrier, Air New Zealand, still gives second bags a free ride, the list is dwindling.
In the case of Air France and KLM, the $50 second-bag fee will apply to tickets issued Nov. 1 or later. If you’re flying after Nov. 1 but buy your ticket before that date, you’ll still get two bags for free, an Air France-KLM spokeswoman explained. Like other airlines, they will exempt high-mileage frequent fliers, customers flying in first and business class and some others from the fee. For details, see the airlines’ joint news release.
The LAX list: 10 airport improvements I’d like to see [updated]
October 19, 2009 12:53pm
So the commissioners who run Los Angeles International Airport look as if they’re about to spend a billion dollars to make the airport a better place, especially for international travelers. They’ll get no complaints from me about that. In fact, I’m here to help.
Here are 10 improvements I’d like to see throughout LAX:
1. Fainting couches: For infrequent travelers to fall upon as they realize how much they’ll be paying for their luggage; their headphones; a meal; a phone conversation with a live sales agent; or (this one’s for you, JetBlue and US Airways) a pillow and a blanket.
2. An intelligible sound system: Because right now, the publnc adrsses sn sd weoibchcn sod0ewnxfon, you know?
3. An escalator that leads down to a subway stop: San Francisco’s subway connects with its airport. So do a bunch of others. [Corrected at 4:50 p.m. Oct. 20: An earlier version of this post said Boston's Logan airport had a subway station. The Boston transit system's Blue Line does have an Airport Station, but from there, travelers still have to catch a shuttle bus to reach the air terminal.] So why does our subway/light rail stop a mile away?
British Airways offers $300 to fliers who booked mistaken $40-$100 fares to India
October 9, 2009 2:10pm
British Airways, which declined to honor U.S.-India round-trip fares of $40 to $100 that were posted by mistake a week ago, is now making nice with customers. In an e-mail to travel agents today, the struggling airline said it would offer a $300 discount on a future flight to people who snagged the cheap fares. But it still didn’t say it would honor the fares, which it planned to refund to buyers.
The offer came after the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was investigating the incident, which has unleashed a barrage of criticism in Internet chat rooms on sites such as FlyerTalk and in comments posted on my earlier post. A DOT spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the investigation.
Some people who bought the low fares on Oct. 2 said they had thought they were valid because, with taxes and fees, they could total more than $500. Others worried that the mistake could wind up costing them hundreds.
British Airways goofs, sells $40 round-trips to India
October 7, 2009 6:38pm
How’s this for a dream deal: Fly round trip between the U.S. and India for as little as $40, plus taxes, fees and surcharges. For about two hours last week, that dream was reality for untold numbers of British Airways customers who booked these fares. Alas, it was a computer error, and now the carrier is trying to fix it.
“We sincerely apologize,” British Airways spokesman John Lampl said today. “We’re trying to figure out how to best rectify the situation.” He added that it might be taken on a case-by-case basis and involve not only refunds but possibly credits toward other flights.
In an e-mail sent to travel agents today, the airline was more specific.
“As these fares were so clearly below the normal fare levels, British Airways is unable to honor these bookings,” the e-mail said. “We have cancelled all affected bookings made during this two-hour window, and will make a full refund for any paid for and issued ticket.” It also said it would refund any fees associated with rebooking other airline segments on the same ticket.
Meanwhile, Lampl gave us the scoop on how the glitch happened.
United Airlines offer: Pay $249 a year to avoid checked-bag fees
October 5, 2009 3:08pm
Is there no end to airlines’ creativity in extracting money from us for services that once were free?
Apparently not, judging from the latest option that United Airlines announced today: Pay a $249 yearly subscription fee and you (plus up to eight people traveling with you on the same reservation) get to check up to two bags per person, per flight for free all year.
In fact, the so-called Premier Baggage program may be worth it, if you don’t mind handing United all that money up front. But you’ll need to do a little math to see if it might work for you. And you’ll need to join Mileage Plus, the airline’s frequent-flier program, too.
First things to note: Typically, certain high-mileage frequent fliers (and up to eight people traveling with them), plus passengers in first class and business class, are already exempt from fees for first and second bags. So this program doesn’t help them. And United already lets coach passengers check two bags for free on some international flights, depending on the destination. As for other customers:
Who benefits: Potentially, families and groups who travel together and frequent fliers who don’t already qualify for fee exemptions.
