Archive for the 'Frequent Flier' Category
Phoenix airport luggage thefts: Did you lose a bag? [Updated]
November 4, 2009 2:19pm
Take a look at the photo above. Recognize your bag? If so, you may be one of possibly hundreds of passengers whose luggage may have been stolen off carousels at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Arizona.
Police are asking travelers who think they might have been victimized to call the property crimes section at the Phoenix Police Department, (602) 495-7808.
In a news alert on their website, Phoenix police said they arrested two people on suspicion of stealing luggage from the airport’s carousels after an officer reported suspicious behavior there. When police searched the couple’s home Tuesday, Nov. 3, they found “suitcases everywhere — from floor to ceiling,” said Det. James Holmes, a department spokesman. The photo above shows some of the bags.
Five nonsmokers’ paradises: a guide for globe-trotters
November 1, 2009 5:57am
The world’s biggest tobacco-consuming countries that I profiled in my last post, including Greece, Russia and Austria, are also among the top travel spots, but the opposite isn’t quite the case.
Countries with the lowest reported adult smokers, as you’ll notice in the list below, don’t all provide dream vacations.
But there are some nice hangouts not far beyond the top 10. The percentage of adult tobacco smokers in Barbados, the homeland of pop singer Rihanna, is 10.8%, according to a 2005 World Health Organization report. At No. 12, the island is the first on the list that is not on the African continent. We’ve listed some others at the end.
The WHO that data I used, covering 129 countries, were incomplete for several countries. Many of those are smaller or impoverished nations where tobacco may not be in widespread use.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.
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.
Priceline gives weekly updates on Thanksgiving and Christmas air travel
October 21, 2009 9:59am
If you are still waiting for a good deal to book your holiday travel, we suggest you tune into Priceline’s travel blog. Brian Ek is giving a weekly update on flight costs for travel around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Earlier this month we talked with Ek about holiday airfare prices and concluded that if you had to pick between traveling during one of the holidays, Thanksgiving was going to be cheaper. However, in this week’s analysis, prices are going up for Thanksgiving and coming down slightly during Christmas.
“At the macro level, Thanksgiving airfares increased to an average $372, while December holiday airfares dropped to an average $423. Thanksgiving is still the better deal, but Christmas is looking better,” Ek writes.
These averages are based on flights booked by Priceline customers. So, what does it mean for SoCal travelers?
Ek said that airfares between Los Angeles and Chicago were down 9% for winter travel and up 20% for Thanksgiving. However, fares between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were down 8% for Thanksgiving travel and unchanged for winter travel.
For more end-of-the-year travel booking advice, read “Holiday travel planning tips from the experts.”
—Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Image: Priceline logo. Credit: Priceline.com
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 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.
