jetBlue’s David Neeleman to start new airline in Brazil

by Grant Martin on

Entrepreneur and found of jetBlue David Neeleman is leaving the domestic Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market for greener pastures: Brazil. Born and raised in the South American city of Sao Paulo, Neeleman is targeting that booming economy to host the next new Brazillian airline.

With ten million dollars of his own money, Neeleman has raised a total of $150 million to get the ball rolling. Just last week he signed a 1.4 billion dollar deal with Brazillian airplane manufacturer Embraer to purchase 36 195s, with an option to buy an additional 40.

Right now the airline is called AirBrazil, but it’s just a temporary name while they get a contest for the new name underway. The winner of that competition is supposed to get a lifetime of tickets for free.

I’ll bet that oil is a lot cheaper down there too.

Heathrow Terminal 5 mess: Delayed? Know what compensation could come your way

by Jeffrey White on

While the United States still struggles to pass a Passenger Bill of Rights, it’s nice to know that American travelers are covered under the European Union’s Air Passenger Compensation Requirements, which went into affect three years ago.

With thousands of passengers delayed or waylaid over at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, now seems to be the perfect time to review just what kind of compensation you’re entitled to when flying within the EU.

The Guardian newspaper has this handy guide to the EU’s APCR. In many respects, the regs are not that different than the ones U.S. airplanes are ostensibly held to. Yet the EU’s somehow seem a little more straight forward.

If you are flying a European carrier within the EU, and your flight is delayed, here is the approximate financial compensation you’re entitled to, according to the Guardian:

  • $200 for a journey up to 1,500km that’s delayed up to two hours
  • $375 on a journey up to 1,500km delayed more than two hours
  • $300 on a journey of 1,500km-3,500km delayed up to three hours
  • $600 on a journey of 1,500km-3,500km delayed more than three hours
  • $450 on a journey of more than 3,500km delayed up to four hours
  • $900 on a journey of more than 3,500km delayed more than four hours

The Guardian points out that airlines have big incentives to pay up if you process a claim that falls under the regulations; they face fines of nearly $10,000 from the EU if they don’t.

So, just because you’re flying out of the U.S. doesn’t mean you forfeit your rights as a passenger. If any of you have been caught up in the Heathrow mess this week, maybe you should get something for your troubles.

A third day of Heathrow misery. Terminal case continues

by Iva Skoch on

Things are not working out so well at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. Since the terminal opened three days ago, it has been nothing but baggage problems, cancellations and misery, BBC reports. One fifth of flights from the new terminal were scrapped today: 67 out of the 330 scheduled. 37 flights have been canceled for Sunday.

A total of 208 flights in and out of the terminal were canceled during the first three days so far. Some elevators are not working. People cannot locate their bags. Sounds like a nightmare.

The cancellations also created an unexpected heavy demand for hotel rooms. An average airport hotel room, normally around $150, went up to $500 for a double room on Thursday. After many complaints, the airlines have scrapped its $200 limit for delayed passengers’ hotels.

That’s a lot of airplane spoons

by Grant Martin on

We all have our strange hobbies. Besides the obvious, mine is buying and selling odd things on Ebay. Catherine’s is ostrich racing. Justin sings opera to mentally disabled children.

And some people steal spoons from airlines and take pictures of them. I am reminded of one of the scenes from the Home Alone series when several of the family members put nice flatware in their bags during their flight.

One guy on Flickr though has done exactly that. He’s either pilfered, been given or traded for over a thousand different airline spoons and has meticulously taken photographs as well as details of every single one and posted them to the web. It didn’t strike me as to how many photos this was until I was leafing through page five of spoons and clicked on page sixty eight. Still going strong.

My favorite thing to do is to look at the spoons with a larger bowl to see the reflection of the photographer or his camera. You can almost see how excited he is to be adding another photo into his collection.

‘Open skies’ agreement spells good news for travel to London Heathrow

by Jeffrey White on

The “open skies” agreement between the U.S. and Europe goes into effect this weekend. And for those wondering whether this deregulation measure will result in lower transatlantic fares, it seems that the answer is yes…at least for now.

It used to be that only four airlines — United, Virgin Atlantic, BA and American — could fly between the U.S. and London Heathrow. Now under “open skies,” US Airways, Delta, Northwest and Air France are jumping onto this route. And in an effort to establish some kind of position in the market, they are offering competitive fares in the $400-$600 range for travel in April and May.

Carol Sottili, the travel deal guru over at the Washington Post, blogs about the details, including specific London services now on offer from the above carriers.

For the time being, it seems that the opening up of transatlantic routes will really only benefit those heading to London. While “open skies” mean, in general, that more airlines will be able to fly to more European destinations, Sottili points out that those flights are spread out across the continent, so competition between carriers isn’t as fierce as it is with London service.

But as a hub for many budget airlines, you can still leave London for other European destinations relatively cheaply. This way, your first leg to London is now more affordable.