North Korean Airline Dubbed ‘World’s Worst’ Finally Gets On Board With Online Booking

by McLean Robbins on

Let’s take a poll: would you fly an airline rated the “world’s worst”? No? Now tell us, if that same airline was owned by North Korea would you consider it any more worthy of your ticket price? Probably not, you say?

The good news is that if you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, booking on Air Koryo just got a lot easier. The Skytrax one-star rated airline is selling its flights to China and Russia online for the first time.

Although we’re not sure that the website will add anything to the airline’s reputation. According to the Telegraph:

Early reports seems to suggest the website is unlikely to help the North Korean flag carrier shake its one-star rating, however. Users have already reported slow response speeds, with some searches not offering any availability for flights, while others result in an error message appearing on the screen.

What happens on a one-star airline? According to Startrax: “very poor quality performance … with poor, inconsistent standards of … service … in on-board and airport environments.”

At present, the airline utilizes a number of planes constructed in the former Soviet Union and is the only airline rated as one-star worldwide. That said, there are 29 airlines ranked just above this dubious distinction as two-star, which include names you may have flown, including Air Zimbabwe, Bulgaria Air and Ryanair.

[Photo credit: screenshot from Air Koryo]

Airline Passengers Want More Quick Self-Service Options

by Chris Owen on

The Airline Passengers Bill of Rights gave air travelers compensation when bumped, a refund of fees for lost baggage, a ban on hidden fees and more. Now, airline passengers want more control via self-service and mobile-based offerings to reduce stress during travel according a survey released this week.

“What passengers really want is to avoid delays and to be kept informed of what is happening,” said Francesco Violante, CEO, SITA in a Travel Daily News report. “Nearly everyone surveyed said they would welcome any queue-busting services and 89% voted self-boarding as their top technology.”

Among findings in the survey;

  • 79% of passengers use online check-in regularly or occasionally
  • 68% prefer automated bag drop as opposed to checking it with an agent
  • 62% of passengers use social media, a higher rate than the general population
  • It’s not that today’s air traveler is anti-social; 80% of younger travelers (18-24) are active on social media, compared to 39% of the over-55s but neither group really wants to buy travel via their smartphone
  • The number of passengers with smartphones rose over the past year from 54% to 70%, fueling the desire for more self-service options

The Air Transport World (ATW) seventh annual survey was conducted with 2,526 passengers from more than 70 countries, a representative sampling of the 280 million passengers who pass through six of the world’s leading airports each year at Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Beijing, Frankfurt, Mumbai and São Paulo.




[Flickr photo by ericksonkee]

We Must Be ‘Dreaming’: New 787 Boasts Rainbow Ceiling

by McLean Robbins on

Move over, Virgin. You’re not the only ones with in-flight mood lighting. The new 787 Dreamliner is taking ambient lighting to a new level, offering up a literal rainbow of color on the ceiling.

The inaugural 787 flight took off on Tuesday from Seattle to Tokyo after a day-long delay due to a faulty cooling valve.

Want to take a ride on the Dreamliner? You’ll probably have to tackle a long-haul route, but United will show off their shiny new plane on a flight from Houston to Chicago on Nov. 4, and alternate routes between Houston, Chicago and Newark over the next few months, USA Today reports.

A special thanks to Mary Jo Manzanares (Traveilng with MJ) for the tip.

Woman Claims United Airlines Killed Her Golden Retriever

by McLean Robbins on

A California woman claims that United Airlines killed her 2-year-old Golden Retriever, Bea, on a flight from New York to California two weeks ago.

The accusation appears on her beamakesthree blog, which prominently featured her puppy.

“I’m writing this with my anger aside, in the hopes that someone looking for advice will read this and not make the mistake of trusting United with their pets as we did,” she posted earlier today.

The story is a sad one. A caring dog owner returning from an East Coast summer vacation took all needed precautions to ensure that two of her dogs would travel safely home, driving from Upstate New York to Newark airport to plan a direct flight, enrolling the pets in United’s PetSafe program, buying extra food and crates and special water bowls, and of course, undergoing thorough vet checks.

“When we arrived in San Francisco to pick up our dogs we drove to the dark cargo terminal and on arrival in the hanger were told simply, ‘one of them is dead’ by the emotionless worker who seemed more interested in his text messages,” she wrote.

Maggie described the struggle she had with supervisors to get her dog to a preferred vet for autopsy (called necropsy in animals) and the resulting cause of death was heatstroke.

United, she says, has not responded to repeated requests for comment or further explanation as to how her dog could have died in flight, simply stating, “our internal investigation does not show any irregularities, as evidenced by the fact that your companion dog and other animals on board did not suffer the same fate.”

She does not confirm if the airline refunded the $1,800 in expenses they incurred to travel with their pets.

Maggie, we’re so sorry for your loss.

Editor Note: We have reached out to United for comment and have been told that a statement will be issued soon. We will update the post here when an official comment is made.

Update, 4:34 PM ET: United issued the following statement:

We understand that the loss of a beloved pet is difficult and express our condolences to Ms. Rizer and her family for their loss. After careful review, we found there were no mechanical or operational issues with Bea’s flight and also determined she was in a temperature-controlled environment for her entire journey. We would like finalize the review but are unable until we receive a copy of the necropsy.

[Image via beamakesthree]

Assigned Seats? Airlines Face Heat For Discriminatory Seating Policies

by McLean Robbins on

A recent example from Qantas airlines illustrates a rare form of what some are calling “reverse discrimination” after a man was told to move seats because he was sitting next to an unaccompanied minor.

Qantas and Virgin both have safety policies that require unaccompanied minors to be seated alone or next to women.

Virgin Australia is reviewing its policy after a recent case involving a firefighter who was asked to switch seats after being seated next to two unaccompanied young boys, the country’s Sunday Morning Herald reported.

Qantas is now taking heat as well after a weekend incident where a male nurse was asked to move in a similar situation. The passenger in question, a male nurse, told the Sunday Morning Herald that he found his treatment “insulting and discriminatory.”

British Airways recently overturned their similar policy after a man sued for sex discrimination.

What do you think? Is it discriminatory to prevent unaccompanied minors from sitting next to adult males during flights?

[Flickr via planegeezer]