Airlines using technology to learn more about you?

by Scott Carmichael on

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting segment this morning describing how airlines are slowly moving towards better customer relationship management.

The technology could finally mean that when you yell “do you know who I am”, they actually will. They’ll also know how often you fly, what you spend with them, where you live, your past delays and cancellations and a host of other information.

For years, airlines relied solely on their frequent flier programs to collect information from frequent passengers, and there was very little interaction between the airline reservation systems and their loyalty systems.

The passenger manifest would usually mention your program status with them, and occasionally someone at the airline would manually add some notes (VIP, CIP or “celeb”). Of course, none of those tidbits would actually let the flight crew know just how important (or unimportant) you are, nor would it give them any other information that could help them make you feel more valued to the airline.

Some airlines have already made enhancements to their CRM systems; Alaska Airlines implemented a system that lets the flight attendants know where their top customers are sitting, and their drink preference. Imagine getting on board a plane, and being handed your favorite drink – that is a nice personal touch.

The new technology will take everything the airline knows about you, and store it in a central system. It will then share that information with ticket agents, flight attendants and anyone else at the airline that could use it to make your experience more pleasant. At least, that is the theory. At the end of the day, airlines will probably use their investments to figure out more ways to make some money off you.

Emirates to stop flying Airbus A380s to JFK

by Jeffrey White on

Dubai-based airline Emirates, one of only two airlines in the world right now flying the new Airbus A380, is halting flights of the superjumbo to New York until the economy picks back up.

Instead, starting on June 1 Emirates will replace the A380 with smaller Boeing 777s on its daily Dubai-JFK run.

This comes seven months after Emirates made its inaugural A380 flight to JFK last August, the first carrier to operate flights on the plane. The airport has spent close to $180 million upgrading runways in anticipation that more airlines will soon be flying the world’s largest airplanes, which so far hasn’t been the case.

Emirates will continue flying an A380 on its Dubai-Bangkok and Dubai-Toronto routes.

The only other airline flying the superjumbos right now is Qantas.

Fly to Australia for free?

by Mike Barish on

The recession is not just an American problem. The economies of Europe and Asia are struggling as well. And, Australia is feeling the slowdown now, too. What does that mean for us? Potential travel deals in the future. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting Virgin’s interest in participating in a program that would offer free flights for foreign travelers heading to Australia.

The Mayday Project was proposed by Glenn Millen, the innovation direction of Independent Tourism Holdings. Recipients of the free flights would be required to spend a minimum amount of money in Australian hotels, shops and restaurants. When asked if Virgin would be interested in the program, Virgin Blue’s chief executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “Sure we would be. I don’t see a lot of downside in it for the tourism industry at all. In fact, I see nothing but positives.”

These are the types of win-win ideas that help generate business and allow people who are on strict budgets to still enjoy life. It also is not unprecedented Down Under. After World War II, the Australian government offered Ten Pound Pom fares, which were low-cost fares for British citizens traveling to Australian in order to entice people to migrate permanently. Australia, at the time, was seeking to increase its population and viable workforce.

Difficult times call for innovative ideas, and few airlines have been as innovative as Virgin. Qantas is less eager to get involved in the Mayday Project at this time. Still, this remains something to keep an eye on. You can be sure that we’ll update you as we learn more.

[SMH]

Porn industry disgusted by flight attendant side job

by Tom Johansmeyer on

“Look, we all have standards,” an adult entertainer familiar with the full- and part-time work of Ryanair flight attendant Edita Schindlerova told The Independent. “I think it’s disgusting that she works for Ryanair. All of us here at Biggus Dickus Productions feel really let down by her. If only she had told us she worked for them, maybe we could have done something to help her. Now, she has lost all our trust. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m off to do a three way.”

If you’ve seen Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, you know not to treat “Biggus Dickus” as a joke name.

While many look down their noses at the porn business, it looks like the airlines are able to give even those in the skin biz someone over which to hold a sense of superiority. Of course, the porn folks could learn a lesson in tolerance from Ryanair, which doesn’t care about Edita’s side job as “Edite Bente.”

If you’re surprised to see the porn industry claim any sort of moral high ground, don’t be. Anyone who has spent a bit of time in this business has had to listen to more than a few hours of First Amendment tirades, claims of wanting to be left alone and so on and so on and so on. Yes, it can get tedious, even though some of it is warranted. Either way, it’s pretty crazy to see the porn industry piss all over the airline business. What happened to “live and let live”?Ryanair flight attendant Schindlerova was recently outed as a part-time porn star by London tabloid The Sun. Her employer doesn’t care, and she hasn’t denied the allegations. She was also featured in the airline’s 2009 calendar, a collection of the sexiest employees that the low-cost carrier has to offer.

Her cover was blown by a pilot who somehow stumbled upon her work. Either this was an incredible coincidence, or this guy, who has not had to see his name in the press, spends a hell of a lot of time cruising the web for porn.

Julia Molony, who covered this story for The Independent, suggests, “Watch out fro the free-orgasm-with-every-flight offer on a billboard near you.” Such naïveté … does she really believe that Ryanair would give “free” anything?

Okay, through some investigative journalism on my part, I’ve been able to find some of her night job work. This is absolutely not safe for work or around children.This is not an adult website, rather it is a Czech tabloid, but do understand that they are able to push the envelope a lot farther than we can in the United States.

See our first story on Schindlerova’s erotic escapades.

Ryanair flight attendant moonlights in porn

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When the crew yells, “Brace!” one Ryanair flight attendant probably looks for the cameras. London tabloid The Sun (NSFW) alleges that flight attendant Edita Schindlerova (hopefully under a shorter name) moonlights in porn – on video and the web. The sexy 22-year-old also makes an appearance in the airline’s 2009 calendar.

The sultry stewardess wore a bikini and a smear of grease in the calendar, but this would be considered fully clothed at her second job. At night, she operates under the name “Edite Bente” and helps people part with their cash. Thanks to The Sun‘s investigative reporting, a tough job for some reporter, involves baring a pair of 34Bs.

The people she works for have apparently taken a more enlightened attitude than one would expect, saying, “What people do before or after they work for Ryanair, or when they’re not working for us, is entirely their own business.”

He adds a few remarks about putting the comfort and safety of passengers first (without editorializing) and makes a comment about employees being able what to do what they want on their own time, as long as their not breaking any laws. He could have stopped there and remained on the high road, but he had to keep talking: “All this proves is that the best-looking girls fly Ryanair.”

Not everybody at Ryanair, however, is on board with Edita’s calling hobby. Her secret was discovered by a fellow Ryanair employee. Schindlerova claims, “I had this shit a year ago with a pilot with nothing better to do than check the internet.”

A friend from work remarked, “We had no idea what she was up to in her spare time.” This person astutely observed, “There can’t be many airlines who have porn stars serving drinks on flights.”

I guess this is the trade-off for having to pay to use the lavatory on a flight …

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