Worst travel mistakes of the 2000’s : Locked in the lounge

by Scott Carmichael on

As we look back at the past ten years, and prepare ourselves for the next ten, lets take a moment to remember the dumbest mistake we ever made when traveling. For the coming week, we’ll entertain you with embarrassing stories of our dumbest travel mistakes, all for the sole purpose of your entertainment.

For me, the dumbest thing I did in the past ten years was fall asleep in the airport arrivals lounge.

It all happened when I arrived at Heathrow after a quick trip to New York. As I had a 4 hour layover, I decided to go landside for a full (free) English breakfast in the lounge followed by a quick shower. I then took “a short nap” in the serenity room.

This room was probably one of the quietest and most comfortable in the airport, because I was awoken by a security guard 17 hours later. This also happened to be a full 9 hours after the lounge had closed for the day. I either set off the alarm, or he was on his rounds checking for stupid people who fall asleep in the lounge.

A British Airways representative met me and apologized profusely for failing to notice I was still in the lounge. The airline then took care of rebooking me for a flight to Amsterdam the next morning, and provided a room at the airport Sheraton.

This is by no means the only stupid thing I’ve done during my many years of traveling, but it is the one that has stuck with the most – and the one that always brings back fond memories of the almost 325 trips I took passing through Heathrow Airport.

Tomorrow we’ll bring you another story of a dumb travel mistake, and later this week you’ll have the chance to tell us your own favorite – with a chance at winning a fantastic prize!

Ryanair passengers denied water in a five hour delay

by Annie Scott on

Ryanair passengers stuck for five hours on the tarmac at London Stansted last Monday were given ice cubes to fight the stuffy, hot conditions. Just the cubes. Suck on that.

Six inches of snow fell tauntingly outside as passengers cooked, free of air conditioning, and flight attendants claimed that it was against regulations for them to hand out water.

“A Ryanair spokesman claimed that cabin staff could not open the bar while the aircraft was on the ground due to ‘Inland Revenue laws’. The Air Transport Users’ Council, the aviation watchdog, disputes this, adding that there is no law to prevent staff from handing out a few free cups of water,” reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Irish airline is famous for cutting every corner to ensure low prices, including Michael O’Leary‘s pay-to-pee plan, charging for infants who sit on your lap, and hidden fees which make your total price a lot higher than you had anticipated when you clicked on that low fare.

Refusing to serve water to anyone for five hours on a hot, grounded airplane, when the water was certainly available, in this blogger’s opinion, ought to be treated as a crime. Imagine sitting for five hours in a stifling plane, asking for water, and the flight attendant telling you “no.” Imagine them saying “no” to your grandmother and your kids. I can’t believe there wasn’t a mutiny.%Gallery-51515%

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Lisbon airport brings some Christmas joy – flashmob style!

by Scott Carmichael on

Christmas time at the airport is usually a time of doom, gloom, pushing and waiting in line. Portuguese airline TAP and the Portuguese Airport Authority decided to spice things up at Lisbon airport with a massive dance and music show. Bonus points for spotting the dancing Santa.

Watch for yourself, and see the joy this brought to the passengers. How do you think this would go down at your local airport? Would the TSA have the happy people shot, or just tasered?

(Thanks Rita!)

TSA Security update: No inflight entertainment, books OK

by Grant Martin on

Security changes are coming fast and furious after Friday’s attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound Delta flight. While the passengers and crew were able to successfully subdue the would-be troublemaker, the fact that someone was able to ignite such a device has caused a wealth of backlash — from security officials and passengers alike.

Immediate changes restricted passengers’ access to overhead bins and carry-on items during the last hour of inbound, international flight. No electronics or lap items were to be allowed, including reading material. As Twitter user @antderosa suggested, “New TSA regulation requires passengers must hold breath for the final hour of flight while humming ‘kumbaya'”

Our inside source in the industry now tells us that books and reading material may be allowed (with the exception of e-readers) but that inflight entertainment cannot be used. That’s the seatback and projected video that pumps out movies, games and most relevantly, the location of the aircraft. Apparently that location is what the TSA wants to protect.

With the most recent security update, passengers may furthermore not keep anything on their laps, including jackets — but it’s okay to wear them.

What these new initiatives prove is that we’re still in a fragile, fluid situation following Friday’s events. While many of these changes seem reactionary and perhaps absurd, there’s little that we can do about it right now. Just make sure to get to the airport early if you’re flying overseas in the near future.

American Airlines is the one to watch in 2010

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Could 2010 be the year for American Airlines?

Well, it’s hard not to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a decade of unusual airline severity. The market was shaken several times by terror attempts – including the attacks of 9/11 – economic pressures from the dotcom meltdown and the recent financial sector only made matters worse. Energy prices hit some peaks along the way, which, according to Joseph Lazzaro of our sister site, BloggingStocks, determines the fate of the U.S. airline sector.

But, AA in particular? The guys with the flight attendant who through a nutter over orange juice?

The stock is up 90% since June. To most travelers, this is not just irrelevant, but boring … until you think about how these matters can impact your experience on an airline. When a company is profitable, it has an easier time serving its customers. And, employees tend to relax a little bit, as profits and stock prices tend to be good signs that jobs won’t be disappearing (at least not in large amounts).Also, I use stock price as a proxy for intangibles, like brand strength, customer loyalty and other factors that are hard to quantify. At the end of the day, the price determined by investors takes all this stuff into account, giving customers and passengers a feel for how the airline is likely to treat it.

So, cast aside the recent high-profile debacles of this airline, including its recent runway faux pas in in Kingston, and think to the future. After all, everyone’s screwed up. United has its guitar-playing victim, and Northwest (and, as a result, Delta) watched a plane overshoot a destination. In a business where every player is scraping the bottom of the barrel, American may rise above, even if only slightly.