Business travelers forced into coach may never see first class again

by Scott Carmichael on

When the economy imploded, corporate business travel took a nosedive. Those companies that still allowed their staff to fly, changed the corporate policy forcing everyone into the back of the plane.

Within many companies, travel policy allowed for first or business class travel on long flights, while others had policies in place that allowed premium cabin travel for high level executives.

To save money (and public humiliation), coach became the new standard cabin for most business travelers, while everyone waited for the economy to recover.

Now there are small specks of light at the end of the tunnel, there is some bad news for business travelers expecting to get back to the front of the plane – companies are enjoying the savings, and may keep the current policies in place. This is good news for some, and bad news for others.

  • Travelers paying their own way for Business or First will see emptier cabins, and (hopefully) lower prices as airlines scramble to fill their premium cabins.
  • The business travelers are going to have to get used to traveling with the commoners, and eventually become commoners themselves (boo hoo!).
  • Airlines are going to have to make some tough decisions – on some routes, they’ll probably remove premium seats, or in some cases they’ll move from three class planes to two class planes. Others may remove premium travel altogether.

The numbers are not looking too bad for the airlines – coach bookings are up 5%, but premium travel is only up 1.8% – given how dismal the past couple of years have been, I’d say any gain is a good gain, even if it does mean fewer people up front.

Gadling TV’s “Travel Talk,” 001: Carnival, flight cancellations, Somaliland, airfare blunders, and more!

by Stephen Greenwood on

Looks like it’s finally time to take the wraps off ONE of the big secrets Gadling has been keeping for a while! Yep, it’s finally time to introduce Gadling’s Travel Talk TV!


Gadling’s Travel Talk TV, episode 1 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Travel Talk TV is Gadling’s version of a travel show. In each episode, we’ll discuss hot travel news; share fun, useful tips for both traveling and bringing your travel experiences back home; spotlight exciting travel destinations; and much more.

In this week’s episode, our hosts — Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, and Drew Mylrea — will discuss Carnival, airfare blunders, Somaliland, and who in the travel world got the Short End of the Stick. In addition, they’ll show you how to make a delicious south-of-the-border snack in “Tasteful Destinations”; Nikki will drop by; Bruce! will make an appearance to give you some travel tips… and of course, there’s a whole lot more. Watch it now, below!

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Be sure to tune in next week, for Episode 2 of Gadling’s Travel Talk TV!

Download the Show: Travel Talk – 001 (HD !!) // Travel Talk – 001 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted)

Update – Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.


Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special guest: Bruce!
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea

Music by:
 Dominic Balli & Mark Suhonen
“All We Need is Love (Remix)” [feat. Paul Wright]
myspace.com/marksuhonenproduction

This Holiday Life
“A Yes, Not a No”
myspace.com/thisholidaylife


Poll of the Week!

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American Airlines will begin commercial flights into Haiti starting Friday

by Aaron Hotfelder on

American Airlines is all set to become the first airline to resume commercial flights into Haiti, according to an announcement it made last night. The first flight will depart Miami International Airport at 6:40 am and arrive in Port-au-Prince at 8:35 am. Kayak lists airfare for that flight at $782 roundtrip.

According to a spokesperson for American, three flights a day will depart for Port-au-Prince from South Florida, with four flights a week from JFK in New York soon to follow.

The main airport in Port-au-Prince, damaged significantly by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck January 12, has finally been repaired enough to begin acccepting commercial passengers. Haitian Customs will take place at a nearby cargo facility, however, because of damage to the main terminal.

Despite not sending commercial flights into Haiti until Friday, American has been flying humanitarian workers, supplies, and medical personnel into Port-au-Prince since the earthquake.

According to a senior official for American Airlines, the commercial flights which begin Friday “serve as major milestones toward helping the country rebuild… With commercial air service restored, we can better connect loved ones and provide consistent transportation to and from Haiti.”

More here.

Airplane safety applies to everyone, even Willy Wonka

by Annie Scott on


So, I was flying Sun Country Airlines a few months back and happened to be seated in the exit row. Though I’m normally one of those jerks who doesn’t listen to the safety presentation (frankly, I’m often asleep by then), when I’m in an exit row, I feel obligated, so I pulled out the airplane safety card and read along. Much to my surprise, I encountered the characters in the photos above and below. What the devil are Willy Wonka and a ballerina doing on the airplane safety card?

They were subtle — I almost didn’t notice them. I laughed and showed my boyfriend when I found the ballerina, and he found the guy in tails, whom we immediately assumed was Willy Wonka. I reported the findings on Twitter, and some of my more observant friends commented that they had seen Willy, too. I had to investigate. I contacted Sun Country, who put me in touch with Trisha Carper-Ferguson, president of Interaction Research Corporation, the print and design company behind SafetyCards.com. I interviewed Carper-Ferguson via e-mail.

Gadling: What’s the story behind these characters?Trisha Carper-Ferguson: It is always our goal to educate and inform as many passengers as possible about aircraft safety and security. We believe what we do saves lives. At the same time, it is difficult to get the average passenger to pick up a briefing card and spend the few minutes exploring their aircraft information. In 1997 we created a way for a few airlines to make the passenger briefings (both oral and illustrated) fun and interesting with the hopes that it would attract more attention to the information. We created the character cards as a Where’s Waldo type of project. We encouraged the carriers to make it a game onboard the aircraft. Obviously we were limited by copyright and trademark, therefore we needed to come up with universal characters that people from all over the world would be entertained by.

G: Who drew them?

TCF: Our team of illustrators drew them. Specifically Linda Goff and Krista Dunk who were two of our graphic artists at the time.

G: What other products do you make, and do you include this same sort of whimsy?

TCF: We produce (both design and print) passenger safety briefing cards and videos for airlines all over the world. We also have a full commercial print company in-house which produces all types of business printing needs and signage. Not all of our work has a whimsical feel, but if it draws attention to important information then why not? :-)

G: How long have they been like this (and how long will they be like this)?

TCF: The “Character Cards” were only picked up by a handful of our carriers, starting in 1997 with Canadian airlines. I believe Sun Country Airlines is the only carrier currently using them. Thanks again, what fun this has been to revisit.


So, there you have it, folks. Fly Sun Country Airlines and you’ll get a special surprise. Carper-Ferguson and IRC definitely achieved their goal — I’ve looked carefully at every airplane safety card since.
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Delta Airlines passengers “fuming” over jet fuel soaked luggage

by Scott Carmichael on

When it comes to luggage, airlines seem to be involved in some kind of secret contest to see who can cause the most damage. In the past, airlines have left luggage out in the rain for days, set bags on fire and one airline saw 100’s of bags end up in a dumpster behind a pet store.

As of last Sunday, there appears to be a new winner in the race for baggage mistreatment – Delta Airlines. When passengers returning home from Puerto Rico retrieved their bags, they discovered that the bags were drenched in jet fuel.

Delta showed it really cares by sending the passengers home with their flammable luggage and a complaint form, telling them to wash everything, then to submit a reimbursement form within 24 hours.

Passengers think the jet fuel contamination happened at the Puerto Rico airport, and are obviously very worried that their bags sat in the luggage hold giving off harmful fumes.

If Delta did indeed load the bags knowing that they were covered in jet fuel, I’m sure someone at the FAA will want to have a word with them – a baggage hold filled with fuel fumes could have created a huge disaster. Then again, knowing how well airlines treat their passengers, I wouldn’t be surprised if these passengers receive a bill for the jet fuel.

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