Live Blog: Onboard United Airlines 787 Launch

by Grant Martin on

It’s an historic day in Houston as United Airlines prepares to launch service on the 787 Dreamliner. Though plans were set back slightly by the delivery schedule at Boeing, one inaugural 787 will make the flight from Houston to Chicago to Houston to Los Angeles this fourth of November, ferrying passengers in the country’s first commercially operated, domestic Dreamliner flight.

This isn’t first time that America has seen the 787. Several carriers including ANA and JAL have operated flights from their respective home countries to the United States, but none have operated commercial flights within the country, and none have been on an American carrier. With this flight, United becomes the first domestic operator of the long awaited Dreamliner.

United plans to fly the 787 on domestic routes for the next month to get the country acclimated and then shift routes internationally.

Follow along as Gadling labs joins the United crew in welcoming the 787 to American skies. We’ll be live blogging the event in Houston as well as the arrival ceremonies in Chicago. Sadly, there isn’t internet service on this composite aircraft, but we’ll keep you updated as connectivity permits.

Update, 10:37AM: Our coverage of United’s inaugural 787 is wrapped up. Check back later for more details on the Dreamliner!

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10:36AM That’s a wrap for us! Check out a gallery of images in the article above and make sure to check back regularly for updates!

10:30AM Just docked into the United Red Carpet Club to upload the last batch of videos. What an exhausting morning.

10:30AM Here’s our favorite shot from the flight

Midflight video:

10:21AM Water cannon salute!

10:04AM Jim Starling, 787 pilot: “This aircraft is revolutionary.”

10:02AM Jeff Smisek “All I can say is ‘Wow. It’s a dream come true'”

10:00AM Press conference beginning in O’Hare

9:50AM Wheels down in ORD!

7:05AM Buttoning up for pushback. We won’t be updating in the air but we’ll connect again in O’Hare. Arrival is at 9:50AM local!

6:56AM Media bonanza during boarding. We may yet cause this flight to be delayed.

6:52AM Here’s Captain Michael Barksdale. He’ll be in charge of the flight(s) tomorrow.

6:48AM Commence boarding!

6:32AM Ribbon cutting!

6:28AM Jeff: “If you want to have the world’s leading airline, you want to have the world’s leading airplane. And that’s the 787 Dreamliner”

6:27AM Jeff “This is a very exciting day for United Airlines… We’re the worlds largest airline but we don’t care about that. We want to be the world’s leading airline”

6:26AM Opening remarks beginning.

6:26AM Jeff Smisek (CEO) up on the podium with the inaugural 787 flight crew.

6:20AM Economy class configuration. Looking good!

6:17AM We’re checked in at gate E5 for the launch festivities!

6:12AM

It’s an historic day in Houston as United Airlines prepares to launch service on the 787 Dreamliner. Though plans were set back slightly by the delivery schedule at Boeing, one inaugural 787 will make the flight from Houston to Chicago to Houston to Los Angeles this fourth of November, ferrying passengers in the country’s first commercially operated, domestic Dreamliner flight.

This isn’t first time that America has seen the 787. Several carriers including ANA and JAL have operated flights from their respective home countries to the United States, but none have operated commercial flights within the country, and none have been on an American carrier. With this flight, United becomes the first domestic operator of the long awaited Dreamliner.

United plans to fly the 787 on domestic routes for the next month to get the country acclimated and then shift routes internationally.

Follow along as Gadling labs joins the United crew in welcoming the 787 to American skies. We’ll be live blogging the event in Houston as well as the arrival ceremonies in Chicago. Sadly, there isn’t internet service on this composite aircraft, but we’ll keep you updated as connectivity permits.

Lost Luggage Has A Season And It Is Here Now

by Chris Owen on

Lost luggage was once a major problem for airlines but they have been doing better lately. Perhaps with the introduction of fees for checked bags, airlines are paying more attention to what happens to luggage. Maybe it’s those fees that are driving airline passengers to pack less, carry on more and give airlines less to lose. Whatever the reason, lost luggage is less of an issue than it once was for air travelers – for the most part. Still, there are some airlines that do a better job than others and, apparently, a time of the year when lost luggage reports peak.

A recent study by NerdWallet notes, “regional airlines mishandle luggage at significantly higher rates than average.” Those regional airlines include carriers like like ExpressJet, Mesa, and SkyWest. Better known airlines line American, Delta, US Airways and others, have a better report card.

The problem is that those smaller, regional airlines often operate flights for larger carriers, which equals more lost luggage. Also a problem: the holiday travel period between now and January.According to the NerdWallet survey, reports of lost, mishandled, damaged, delayed or stolen luggage spikes during this time as more travelers take to the air.

Looking to minimize the chances of a bad luggage experience? NerdTraveler suggests when traveling with someone else, split valuables into multiple carry-on bags to reduce the odds of losing important papers, documents and other items. Booking direct flights to minimize the airline handling of your luggage can help too.

Another good idea is to take smartphone photos of your luggage and its contents. That goes a long way towards a happy claim when luggage is lost or damaged. Finally, know the airline’s policy on reimbursement. Airlines commonly exclude personal items like electronics, photography equipment, things made of glass and more.



[Photo Credit: Flickr user puregin]

Trouble Booking Post-Sandy Air Travel? Try Using Twitter

by Jessica Marati on

The other day, a friend spent 40 minutes on the phone trying to rebook a trip from Orange County to New York City, only to have his request denied. But when we tried reaching out to the airline on Twitter, it took only 10 minutes for a response. After a few 140-character direct messages back and forth, we successfully switched flights within the hour.

Twitter can be a fast, easy and efficient way to get airline customer service, particularly in the aftermath of disasters like Superstorm Sandy. But not all Tweets are created equal. Here are a few factors that can help your message get noticed.

Using hashtags

Hashtags allow Twitter users to participate in larger conversations on topics and events. For example, a search on the hashtag #Sandy will bring up all Tweets related to the storm. Other useful hashtags include: #frankenstorm, #travel, #airlines, cities like #nyc or #boston and airport codes like #jfk and #ewr. If you include a hashtag in your Tweet, chances are your message will surface beyond your immediate network – which can be harmful to airlines if the sentiment is negative.Mentioning other airlines

It sometimes helps to stir up a little healthy competition. In this particular situation, we mentioned American Airlines in our Tweet to JetBlue, stating that American’s change policy included flights on October 28, while JetBlue’s policy started on October 29. We concluded:

@jetblue first time I’ve ever wished I flew @americanair instead. No way to change flights w/ fee waiver for a 10/29 redeye? #frankenstorm

Within a few minutes, we received a response from JetBlue asking us to send the confirmation code by direct message so they could see if we qualified for a change fee waiver, which we did. To boot, American Airlines sent us a cheeky Tweet asking why we had “cheated on them” and wishing us well.

Your follower count

The higher your follower count, the wider the network your angry Twitter messages will reach. As a result, Twitter users with more followers may well have their messages bumped to the top of the customer service queue. The same goes for users with high scores on Klout, an engine that attempts to measure a person’s social media influence. Airlines already use Klout to issue perks like airport lounge stays and even free flights; it’s not out of the question that they use Klout scores in their social media customer service platforms too.

Perfecting your message

Set aside the impulse to be rude and aggressive, and feel free to shelve the emoticons while you’re at it. Twitter’s 140-character message limit forces you to pare down your request to the bare essentials, and it helps to be direct and concise about your needs. Try to avoid messages like this:

@airline i am so bummmmmmed that i can’t change my flight!!! ur customer service sux. :(

Instead try something like this:

@airline trying to change #LAX-#JFK fl 204 fr 10/31 to 11/3 bec #sandy. phone agent says no flights on 11/3 but i see flights online. help?

[Photo Credit: Flickr user Shawn Campbell]

Hurricane Sandy Travelers Might Get Little Relief From Airlines

by Chris Owen on

Hurricane Sandy brought travel by air, land and sea to a halt in the Northeast Monday, grounding thousands of flights, diverting cruise ships and shutting down public transportation. The cascading effect of airline flight cancellations alone has disrupted travel plans around the world. But once the storm has passed, air travelers may have more problems than canceled flights to deal with.

Airlines canceled more than 8,900 flights Sunday and Monday, with 4,800 more set to cancel for Tuesday. Heavy cancellations were at some of the nation’s busiest airports with Philadelphia International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport hit especially hard.

That’s bad news for travelers. Worse news is that airlines may choose to not increase capacity to handle the surge of travelers once airport operations are back to normal.
“Empty seats are a rare commodity since the nation’s airlines began more than a year ago to cut many short-haul routes and eliminate less-profitable flights to increase revenue,” says a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Compounding the problem, some airlines have cut the amount of time passengers have to rebook canceled flights and still have change fees waived. While details vary by airline, most waive change fees and any difference in fares for a period of time after a major disruptive event. Previously giving up to a year to rebook, airlines have cut that time to as little as 14 days.

The combination of airline moves to cut capacity, flying full and profitable flights along with a shortened rebook period has travelers worried.

Call it “Frankenstorm,” the “storm of the century” or the “Superstorm,” in areas that received a direct hit, 60 million people could be affected. Stranded airline passengers are not likely to see relief for a number of days as airport operations are set back to normal.

[Photo Credit: Flickr user tanithk]

New York’s LaGuardia Airport Flooded

by Jeremy Kressmann on

New Yorkers and residents along the Eastern Seaboard are just beginning to emerge today from the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy – millions remain without power, thousands of flights have been cancelled and transportation throughout the region has been severely disrupted.

If you need further evidence of what it looks like in New York here on the ground, just check out this shot posted this morning by a flight attendant at LaGuardia airport. The airport, which lies in a low-lying coastal area remains severely flooded this morning.

For those of you in transit this week, stay patient. It could be a few days before normal flight, train and bus service in and out of the New York area resumes normal activity.

UPDATE: A special thanks to tireless LaGuardia airport worker Francesco Giannola for your photo.

[Photo credit: Francesco Giannola]