JetBlue to charge extra for more legroom

by Justin Glow on

Would you pay for extra legroom? JetBlue is betting you will, and plans to roll out an “upsell” program to offer more leg room on your next flight for an additional cost. AP reports,

“[JetBlue’s CEO] said JetBlue, based in Forest Hills, N.Y., soon expects to roll out a program called “even more legroom” that will offer passengers in the first few rows and emergency exit seats of its larger aircraft additional space for an added fee. A spokeswoman declined to provide details of the plan, but Barger made it clear the single-class carrier is not planning to start offering business-class service.”

Why not? If there’s a demand for it — and I’m sure there is — why not allow people to pay extra for the features they want? I really like the a la carte trend in the airline industry — I enjoy paying less for my flight, even if that means I don’t get to eat the rubbery piece of chicken I didn’t want in the first place.

But when JetBlue goes this route, I think they should offer the same service in the opposite direction: give me the option of having less legroom (my Dad went to school with him) for a cheaper fair. Go ahead, cram me in the back of the plane with my knees to my chin, I don’t care. If it costs less, I’m game.

Air France and KLM conglomerate to usurp Alitalia

by Grant Martin on

It appears as if the days of Alitalia are almost over.

Long steeped with financial trouble, Italy’s national airline has slowly been edging down the slippery slope towards bankruptcy. One could blame the quality of their aircraft or the repeated tardiness of their flights or condition of their hub airport, Rome‘s Fiumicino for their slow spiral downward, but the fact of the matter is, they were just a poorly done airline. Most of the time when I fly on a foreign carrier I’m generally pleased by its quality over my domestic carriers — little things that make the airline “European” or pleasant. But on my last flight between Rome and Paris last month I was unimpressed. The equipment was outdated, the service mediocre and the aircraft late.

Perhaps Italians, as well, have lost faith in their maternal airline. As of St. Patrick’s Day, the nation’s government approved their acquisition by Air France/KLM at a paltry 1:160 share ratio, or for about 15¢ a share. It was a desperate, terminal move to save the airline, but may ultimately guarantee their future.

The question that now remains is whether Alitalia will keep its branding and employees or be completely swallowed by Air France. If the acquisition is simple, many travelers may never know the difference between the old and new airline. But if the French decide to refurbish the entire company, there may be some hiccups in service.

Alitalia seeks approval from the new incoming government and the unions before finalizing the deal — expect that to happen in the next few weeks and more news to surface then.

Airlines give a thumbs down to new fingerprinting plan

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Airlines are voicing their disapproval about a new plan that would require international passengers departing the U.S. to be fingerprinted before they leave.

While Congress recently approved the fingerprinting measure, the airlines are urging the White House to kill the plan, saying that fingerprinting every international passenger as they depart would further stall the boarding process.

Government officials recently stated that fingerprinting one foreign traveler “would take about a minute,” which, multiplied by hundreds of passengers per flight, would slow the departure process considerably.

“If you think the travel process is bad now, just wait,” said the head of the International Air Transport Association.

The fingerprinting plan is another move by the Department of Homeland Security to keep track of– what else?– terrorists. Recommended by the panel that investigated the 9-11 attacks, the idea has been roundly criticized by the airlines, privacy groups, foreign governments, and members of Congress.

Southwest Airlines deprives me of peanuts, saves lives

by Justin Glow on

I flew on Southwest Airlines yesterday, and despite their recent mishaps, everything was — as expected — perfectly fine, save for the peanuts. But more on that in a bit.

First, I had the opportunity to try out their newest boarding system, and it worked quite well. Instead of the cattle-call and line sitters of the past, the new system organizes passengers by their boarding pass group (A, B, C) as well as their unique boarding pass number, which are dealt out in the order that you check in. My girlfriend and I were in the A-20s and were the first group (30 and below) to board.

I realized, however, that no matter how straightforward and easy you make the process, there will still be people who are confused. One lady held A-15, and became flustered when they called for anyone with a boarding pass between A-1 and A-30 to board the plane. Really, you can’t devise a system to help these types of people.

But back to the peanuts — this was a first for me. We had a short flight between Chicago’s Midway and St. Louis, and as we taxied, the flight attendant explained that we’d be given drinks but no peanuts. The reason? “Someone on board has a severe peanut allergy,” she explained.

Are peanut allergies so strong that one can’t even be near them in confinement? Was that person afraid a rogue nut would hop out of a bag and into their mouth? I’m not sure, but SWA took the anti-utilitarian route and deprived us all of our salty snacks for the sake of someone’s life. They really do have safety in mind!

I guess I’ll let it slide… this time.

Woman suing American Airlines over masturbating incident

by Jeffrey White on

Here’s a question: Are airline passengers covered under the mythical Rule 240 if they fall victim to a rogue, in flight masturbator?

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that a 21-year-old Texas woman has now filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines for failing to protect her against a pervert.

The woman alleges that while sleeping on a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles last year, a man changed his seat, sat next to her and preceded to “masturbate to her” before ejaculating in her hair.

The woman tried to get the attention of flight attendants, to no avail. A few passengers finally intervened (she woke up to the guy still going at it, the newspaper says) and when the plane landed at LAX he was arrested.

During the investigation that followed, flight attendants said they saw the man change his seat. The woman accuses the flight staff of not properly vetting passengers to keep the cabin free of unsafe situations.

American has apologized to the woman, but she still wants a jury trial and damages.