EasyJet profits triple as budget airline attracts more passengers

by Sean McLachlan on

Budget carrier easyJet almost tripled its profits in the past 12 months as fuel prices dropped and passengers flocked to book cheap flights, BBC reports.

The airline released figures for the past twelve months through September, revealing a profit of £154m million ($247 million). The previous 12 months saw profits of £55 million ($88 million). A total of 49 million people flew on easyJet in the past year, up 8 percent.

While a 9 percent drop in fuel prices helped all airlines, there’s been a continued shift away from national carriers such as British Airways and Air France in favor of budget carriers, and no budget airline has as much share in the European market as easyJet. The carrier now accounts for 7.6 percent of the European market.

The airline also announced it will pay a dividend for the first time in 2012, and will be buying 24 airplanes in order to expand its services.

[Photo courtesy Antony J Best via Wikimedia Commons]

Top five uses for Ziploc® bags when traveling

by Laurel Miller on

Over the years, I’ve become a bit of a bag lady. I’m always finding new and surprising uses for Ziploc® bags or their generic counterparts when I travel. I’m also a rabid recycler, so I like getting extra mileage out of my airport security “liquids and gels” see-through baggie.

But that’s not the only reason I love these little guys. They’re tough, they’re resealable, and they’re economical, because they usually survive multiple trips. Below, my favorite uses for this home kitchen staple:®

1. Holding a wet swimsuit.
When you’re on a day or side trip, or don’t have time to dry it before catching your flight.

2. Collect seashells.
Make sure it’s legal, first.

3. Safeguard against spilled liquids.
I also place bags on top of shaving cream canisters (secure with a rubber band). Because it only takes one exploded can in your backpack to learn your lesson.

4. Seal off your shoes (or socks) for packing.
Hiking. hot weather. ‘Nuff said.

5. Keep your passport/money/other paper valuables (including tissues/t.p.) dry.
If you’re an adventure traveler, you may find yourself in situations where your daypack (or whatever you use to carry these items) gets soaked. I’ve had to hang my passport out to dry after a.) having to hitchhike in a major storm; b.) having to swim across a deeper-than-expected creek; c.) falling into the water while climbing out of a dinghy in rough surf.

*Bonus: “Have food poisoning/need to vomit while stuck in Marrakech rush hour traffic” emergency satchel.
Not that this happened to me.

Have your own travel uses for Ziploc® bags? Let us know!

Want to cut down on plastic altogether? ChicoBags come in their own little stuff sacks, and are the size of a deck of cards. I clip one inside of my day pack when I travel for groceries or other purchases.

[Photo credit: Flickr user hfabulous]

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Fed up passengers demand child-free flights

by Scott Carmichael on

The New York Times devoted some of its coverage to another of those always controversial airline topics – children on planes.

Once again, passengers are apparently voicing their concerns about children in the cabin, and some of them propose to outfit planes with a child-free zone.

The article even mentions a frequent flier from Boston who has started a Facebook group called “Airlines Should Have Kid-Free Flights”.

Stories like this pop up at least once every six months, and the passengers they talk to have very little understanding of kids or the aviation industry.

When the Boston based frequent flier sat behind a screaming child on a flight from LA to the UK, he said:

“The parents were not doing a thing to stop it,” he said. “They were just sort of weakly smiling and giggling like, ‘Oh, what can you do?’ But give them a pacifier, do something to make them stop.”

This is the solution that comes from all people who either don’t have kids, or don’t understand them. Pacifiers only work on children that are used to using them, and even with one, the cabin pressure may be too great to stop annoying them. But of course, “do something to make them stop” is something these people think the parents didn’t try themselves.

In all my flying, I’ve come across plenty of screaming babies – and it is not fun, but I’ve come across more pompous frequent fliers who irritate me more than babies. Babies eventually get tired and fall asleep, but the loud business traveler is one that never knows when to shut up.

The concept of creating a child-free zone on the plane is another that will never work – simply because airlines are hurting enough as it is. Sure, there may be a niche airline that considers creating special seating areas for families, but the investment and ticketing challenges may prove to be too great for it to ever be a success.

Of course, a lot of these complaining passengers fail to realize that there is already a (virtually) child free zone on the plane – the business and first class cabins. Instead of demanding that parents do something about their kids, people who don’t like the sound of a crying baby should just pony up the cash and sit up front. Alternatively, bring some ear plugs and noise canceling headphones.

What are your thoughts?

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[Photo courtesy of: Online Photography Course]

U.S. legacy carriers grab top spots in “worst company” chart

by Scott Carmichael on

Ask anyone what they consider to be a “bad company”, and most of them will mention their bank, their regular airline and their cable company. Because of this, U.S. airlines tend to score pretty bad in the monthly report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Business Insider collected the most recent data, and lists the top 18 worst companies in America – and it’ll come as no surprise that four of the top ten companies are airlines.

In fact, Americans think so little of the legacy carriers, that the ones that made the list even managed to score lower than the biggest banks.

When customers think United Airlines scores worse than banks that have been in the news due to mortgage fraud issues, you just know they suffer from a customer service problem. In the top ten, here are the worst airlines in America:

#7 – American Airlines
#6- Delta Airlines
#5 – US Airways
#2 – United Airlines

The one thing these airlines all have in common is baggage fees – and sure enough, the common complaints mentioned in the research all point to baggage fees being a reason for customers to rate them so low. Delays are of course also a big factor in how passengers rate customer service. None of the low cost carriers made the list, and no carrier with free baggage allowances is mentioned either. Bottom line; if an airline is going to charge for baggage, they’d better make sure the rest of their service is top notch or they’ll be stuck in this list forever.%Gallery-64688%

Galley Gossip: Can a mother of two young kids become a flight attendant?

by Heather Poole on
My name is Stephanie and I am thinking of becoming a flight attendant. My only concern is my two boys ages 5 and almost 2. How can I have time to be a mom and work? I love to travel and I hear benefits are good. Can I work flights after bedtime? But when will I come back?

The most difficult thing for a flight attendant, Stephanie, is being flexible in terms of scheduling. Making long term plans is next to impossible when you never know what you’ll be working month to month – or even day to day if you’re on reserve! Even if you are able to hold a schedule, that schedule can always change at the last minute and the only thing you can do about it is continue on with the trip or quit! Keep in mind if you do quit mid-sequence, you’ll have to figure out how to get home as you’ll no longer have travel benefits.

Two years ago I had a trip that was scheduled to land on Christmas Eve. With thirteen years as a flight attendant, I was finally able to hold Christmas off! I couldn’t believe my luck. But on Christmas Eve the final leg of our trip canceled. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the entire crew got reassigned, which meant none of us would make it back in time to celebrate the holiday! I wound up in Toronto at an airport hotel when I should have been at home with my family eating turkey and dressing like everyone else.

Unless you have an amazing support system twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the kids, this may not be the job for you – at least not right now! It’s why so many flight attendants start working at an early age or later on in life after the kids are grown. Trust me it ain’t easy juggling the job with family, especially when you’re brand spankin new with little to no seniority.

SENIORITY – Refers to a flight attendants years of experience. Years of experience with an airline is based on date of hire. Seniority is everything at an airline. It determines what trips a flight attendant can “hold” and whether or not a flight attendant will serve reserve. Basically it determines whether you’ll be working days, nights, weekends, and holidays, as well as where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone. So there’s no telling when – or if – you’ll make it back home.

Here are a few more things to consider…

THE PAY: No one becomes a flight attendant for the money. While the benefits are good, the pay is not. Most flight attendants that work for major U.S. carriers make less than $20,000 annually their first year. Smaller airlines pay even less than that! I know a flight attendant that works for a regional carrier and she makes $14,000 a year! AND she works holidays without incentive pay.

WEEKS OF TRAINING: The majority of airlines provide their own training. (This is why it doesn’t make sense to go to one of those “flight attendant schools.”) My airline required seven and a half weeks of unpaid training at a facility near the airlines corporate headquarters. Years ago I worked for a low cost carrier called Sun Jet International Airlines that only required two weeks of unpaid training. It was conducted at a hotel in Houston. Can you handle being away from your children for weeks at a time in order to earn your wings.

CREW BASES: Most airlines have crew bases in a handful of cities. That doesn’t mean you’ll be able to work out of the city of your choice. In order to be based in a certain city, there must first be an opening at the base. Crew bases are awarded by seniority. At my airline New York is the most junior base in the system, so it was no surprise that the majority of my classmates in training wound up there – myself included. New York is where I’m still based, even though I live in California. That makes me a commuter.

RESERVE: Flight attendants on reserve have no life. At my airline we bid for a schedule of days off only. We get twelve of them. The rest of themonth we’re on call. This means we must be ready to go to the airport at anytime – day or night. We’re given at least two hours from the time crew schedule calls us with a trip to the time we have to sign in at the airport. One night I ordered Chinese delivery and was out the door and on my way to the airport to work a flight to London before the food even arrived!

NOTE: How the reserve system works varies at different airlines, but most flight attendants serve straight reserve. This means they’re on reserve until they have enough seniority to hold off. If the airline is in a hiring frenzy, you may not have to be on reserve for very long as newer flight attendants will bump you off. But if you’re hired at the end of a massive hiring streak, you could get stuck on reserve for a very long time. I’ve been working at my airline now for fifteen years, I’m based at the most junior base in the system, and even I am still on reserve!

Photo courtesy of Santheo and Tawheed Manzoor