Qantas and Jetstar Offer CO2 Offsets for Passengers

by Catherine Bodry on

While some airlines are complaining about environmental directives for air travel, Qantas and its budget carrier Jetstar are actually doing something about it. On Wednesday, the two airlines launched a scheme that allows passengers to offset their CO2 emissions. No, passengers don’t hold their collective breath for the entirety of the flight; this offset is monetary. For example, the Associated Press reports that a flight from Australia to Los Angeles generates around 1.4 tons of greenhouse gases per passenger, which the airline says can be offset by paying just 17 Australian dollars ($14.50; 10.46 euros) per flight. The money is then donated to a “variety of environmental projects,” like government-approved carbon dioxide abatement schemes.

Critics argue that carbon offset programs don’t have a major impact on CO2 emissions. But at least it’s a step in the right direction. Would you buy carbon dioxide credits?

Travel Overseas and the Government is Watching You

by Jamie Rhein on

My doctor’s office has a file on me. So does the dentist, my employers, my credit card company, my bank, my health club and I’m sure a bunch more. I just found out that the file the U.S. government has on me might be bigger than I thought. Any American who has traveled outside the U.S. since 2002, whether they flew, drove, or took a cruise, has had their trips monitored.

The Automated Targeting System, part of Homeland Security, has been doing its monitoring thing since the 1990s, but in recent years the information that is gathered has grown. Because of technology and automation, info can be culled from places like commercial reservation systems.

The idea, of course, is to separate those who are simply traveling for whatever non-threatening reason from those who are doing illegal activity or who are possible threats. If you are pulled aside for more screening, your file could get bigger with more information. One guy, whose case is written about in this recent article, found out that his file listed Drugs and Your Rights, a book he was traveling with.

Here is the typical information in that can be found in people’s files. Currently, information is kept for 15 years.

  • names
  • addresses
  • credit card information
  • phone and email contacts
  • itineraries
  • hotel and car reservations

As you can imagine, there is a debate about this tracking system. Perhaps, though, it might come in handy. For example, let’s say you are trying to figure out the exact dates of that trip to Borneo that you took years ago. You’re finally putting together a trip scrapbook and the details you remember are fuzzy. If you contacted the folks watching over the Automated Targeting System, I wonder if they would let you know the dates of your trip and the name of that neat hotel you stayed in as well? By, the way, I’m kidding. I’m not sure what I think of this system. Governments like Singapore’s have kept track of their citizens for years.

Northwest Airlines Employees to Undergo Customer Service Training

by Catherine Bodry on

Flights are delayed, and connections are missed. Passengers get angry. Airline employees get bitter from having to deal with the angry passengers. So what should be done? One airline is taking action, but not any that gets to the root of the problem.

USA Today reports that Northwest employees will undergo “intensive training” that will encourage them to see travel experience through the customer’s eyes. The airline admittedly needs some customer service training, as their reputation isn’t one filled with gumdrops and rainbows. Nevertheless, this training shouldn’t be the only response to passenger complaints; they wouldn’t have as much of a problem if flights were leaving and arriving on time. But as flights are still backed up and baking on the tarmac, a little sprucing up in the service department might do Northwest some good.

Will employees will be forced to sit in cramped quarters with screaming babies and people who take up half of your seat? Actually, come to think of it, flight attendants already do that.

Alaska Air: (Another) First Airline to Offer In-Flight WiFi

by Catherine Bodry on

There seems to be a WiFi battle going on between airlines — each is scrambling to be the first to offer in-flight wireless connections. Last month American Airlines said it would be the first. And before that, we got a tip that Southwest Airlines might start offering the service.

To Alaska Air’s credit, they’re only claiming to be the first airline to test the in-flight service. The company will begin trying Row 44’s system, a satellite-based service that is designed to work over water and across international borders. If all goes well, the airline could add wireless to each of its 114 planes. That’s good news for me, since I fly Alaska almost exclusively.

As for the cost of this convenience? The article only states that Alaska is “researching various pricing options.” But if you’re in economy class, I wouldn’t expect economy prices.

[via Reuters]

Airline Passengers Push Congress to Pass Tarmac-Waiting Limit

by Catherine Bodry on

If you’ve every felt frustrated and powerless while cramped in your seat on the tarmac, you’re not alone. Some passengers are so upset that they’re pushing Congress to to pass a mandatory “Bill of Rights” to limit waiting to three hours. On Tuesday, demonstrators on the National Mall attempted to recreate the cramped jetliner experience on Tuesday by erecting a portable vinyl carport painted to resemble the outside of an airplane. A recording of crying children played while organizers sat in tightly-packed plastic chairs.

Did the message get through? Rep. John Hall, D-New York, (who was recently stuck on La Guardia’s tarmac for three hours), believes delayed takeoffs can be assigned in the order they were originally scheduled. This assignment would allow the plane to return to the gate, and passengers to disembark rather than sitting on the plane, while the flight would not lose its spot in line.

I don’t know if an amendment to our Bill of Rights is necessary, but I do think that airlines need a bit of a push to get some problems solved. Perhaps this is the push that’ll get them moving. Literally.

[via CNN]