Praying man kicked off United flight

by Grant Martin on

WABC out of New York is reporting that an Orthodox Jewish man who had been praying while a United Airlines flight was boarding was kicked off after he wouldn’t sit down.

As the story goes, the man boarded the flight and moved back to the lav to pray, which as doctrine dictates, can’t be interrupted. After flight attendants asked him to sit down and he repeatedly didn’t respond, they summoned a security guard to escort him off the plane.

I can see how standing up during pushback can be a security issue, but is it really necessary to kick the guy off for such a short delay? According to one of the witnesses on the flight, the ritual was only supposed to take two minutes.

But the best part about the article on ABC 7 is how they try to suggest it had something to do with religious or racial profiling. They make sure to point out that the man “wore a full beard, a black hat and a long black coat” and that he was “carrying a religious book”. Look out! Those rascals with religious books are dangerous!

Pilot who misfired gun in cockpit will be fired

by Justin Glow on

Remember the US Airways pilot that fired a gun in the cockpit? CNN is reporting that the airline will eventually fire him for the incident.

The Federal Flight Deck Officers Association, the organization “which represents pilots who are federally trained and allowed to carry firearms on flights,” will be fighting the termination, calling the incident “accidental not intentional.” Well, duh.

I don’t think anyone was questioning whether the shot was intentional or not, and its intention doesn’t make the bullet any less dangerous. But should he be fired for the mistake?

What do you think?

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How do I upgrade my airline ticket with miles?

by Grant Martin on

We had a question from a reader here at Gadling about upgrading a purchased ticket with miles into first class. Reader Ashley writes:

“My husband and I are blessed (cursed) enough to live in an area almost completely served by Northwest Airlines, and are trying to get a grasp on the requirements to upgrade an upcoming Europe trip to first class. We have enough miles to cover even the highest “cost” for upgrades according to the website (60,000), but are confused by the stipulations placed upon the “class” of ticket. It appears that, by selecting the box that allows you to upgrade, ticket prices more than TRIPLE!

Is this really the only way to upgrade? Is this one of those ploys that experienced travellers can find their way around?“

Unfortunately, Ashley, you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head. But let’s back up real quick.

On most carriers, it’s possible to buy an economy class ticket with cash or miles then upgrade that ticket at a later date into business or first class. It can be an economical way to fly in first without having to pay the often-ridiculous prices for a full fare.

The trick is, however, that airlines require you to be booked into a certain fare class in order to upgrade your fare — that is, you can’t upgrade the 170$ budget ticket to London that you bought in the super discounted fare class. Airlines do this on purpose to make it difficult for you to spend your miles; after all, miles you don’t spend are dollars in their coffers.

In your case, Ashley, you need to book a Y or B fare class in order to upgrade your ticket with miles, the former of which is “full” while the latter is “slightly discounted” economy. And I’ll bet those prices are significantly more than a regular “deeply discounted” economy ticket.

One long shot that you can use to get around this is by tracking down a System Wide Upgrade. Super-elite members are given vouchers that allow them to upgrade any ticket to first class. If you can find one of those members and make him or her a deal, they might give away their voucher. But you have to fly at least 120,000 miles per year to get these vouchers so they may be sparse.

In that light, I’d recommend you use your 60k miles to buy one economy ticket for the pair of you and pay out of pocket for the other. If you’re proactive, you can book a bulkhead or exit row on an A330 giving you unlimited legroom and in-seat entertainment. Then, use the money you saved to get a nice hotel room in Europe when you get there where you can sleep away your jetlag and any recollection of your flight in coach.

How long is too long on a tarmac?

by Jamie Rhein on

Many people, who have flown frequently, have probably had their plane taxi out to the runway and sit and sit and sit for what seemed like an extraordinarily long amount of time. Peering out the tiny windows, people have wondered, “Why me? Why now?”

They’ve possibly fiddled with the window shade, putting it up for a bit and down for a bit for something to do. After awhile, they can list several items from the airline’s duty free catalog and which movies are on which route. If left sitting there long enough, people may wonder what the tipping point is for a nervous breakdown and if they, perhaps, have wandered into the set of a horror movie. They may even curse their fate that if they must be stuck on an object that’s supposed to move, it’s not the London Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel. If stuck on that thing, people get better service than on an airplane.

With summer travel rapidly approaching, the being stuck out on a tarmac scenarios have not improved much since last year. The gap between what passengers think is a time they can be stuck on an airplane without going bonkers, and the airline industry’s version, is not any closer because there hasn’t been a length of time established for when extra services need to kick in. Airlines view”Trigger thresholds,” within a range from “30 minutes to two hours on arrival, and from 90 minutes to three hours on departure.” When it comes to deplaning, thresholds “range from 30 minutes to five hours on arrival and and between one and five hours on departure.” What is to occur during delays isn’t established either. Do customers get a snack? water? sympathy?

According to this AP article about this stuck on a tarmac issue, to avoid spending part of the summer in a metal cylinder with wings, unsure of when life will move forward, don’t fly in or out of O’Hare in Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul or any of the three major New York City airports. Here’s a detail that gives some insight into why being stuck is not uncommon. Northwest Airlines has 56 departures scheduled for a 15-minute window in Minneapolis/St. Paul. That number is physically impossible to meet.

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New legislation proposed to block inflight phone use

by Grant Martin on

It seems that people are sorely divided on whether airlines should or should not allow mobile phones to operate while in-flight. The technology and means to implement it are now available, and many carriers in the EU are starting to offer the service from the skies. Many US airlines are following suit given legislation that was passed a few weeks back permitting it.

And in all likelihood, we will be using mobile phones in the skies within a few years. Too many business people need the technology while in-flight and I’m sure are willing to pay dearly for it. That money that they bring is what will motivate the market’s development.

Don’t think that America is going to go quietly though. Several lawmakers including Jerry Costello, the chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee have recently proposed a bill to block mobile calls while in flight, calling it the HANG UP act, “Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace”. The law would essentially block carriers from allowing passengers to make calls while in flight.

It’s a quaint idea and one that I personally wouldn’t mind seeing passed (admittedly, loud talkers drive me buggers), but in the end I think Costello’s efforts will be in vain. At some point, I suppose that we old codgers have to buck up and accept change.