What’s an Exit Row Seat Worth?

by Iva Skoch on

Any seasoned (or at least tall) traveler has been through this exchange numerous times at check-in:

“Do you have any exit row seats available?”

“Unfortunately not.”

From there, you start cultivating visions of yourself bundled up in a little ball between two overweight passengers on that 12-hour flight from US to Asia…Don’t you just love traveling?

Well, if you fly Virgin (incidentally my favorite airline, not just because of the 300+ hours of free personal in-flight entertainment but that certainly helps), they charge you $75 for exit row seats.

You can question the ethics behind charging for a space that requires people to help in emergency situations but at least you have a better chance of getting more legroom before the plane crashes. Their exit rows are huge, too, it is well worth the money. Look at it as if you are getting a free upgrade for some $6 per every hour of the flight. A bargain!

Silverjet Announces Women-only Bathrooms

by Martha Edwards on

Ladies, do you cringe at the thought of using the airplane bathroom mere moments after seeing a big burly man exit from it? Have you ever, while waiting next in line to use the loo, crossed your fingers and offered unquestioned loyalty to the divine figure of your choice if he/she will only guarantee that the person who emerges from the bathroom next is pretty-smelling and feminine? Yeah, me too. We get segregated washrooms in the airport … why not the airplane too?

Good news: Silverjet, a new-ish carrier that offers service between London’s Luton airport and New York’s Newark is offering women-only bathrooms on their trans-Atlantic flights. And they have the controversial commercial to prove it. And while I know that women can be just as gross as men, and though I never fly between New York and London, it’s just a teensy bit exciting to a gal like me. Will other airlines follow suit? Only time will tell.

It does, however, seem a bit sexist. I wonder what the male travelers have to say about it.

Use PayPal to Buy Southwest Airlines Tickets

by Justin Glow on

Southwest Airlines has begun accepting electronic payments from PayPal as an alternative way of purchasing its low-fare tickets.

“We want to make purchasing a ticket on Southwest Airlines as easy and appealing as possible — and PayPal is a great addition to our payment options,” said Kevin Krone, Southwest Airlines Vice President Marketing, Sales, and Distribution, in an official statement.

This is especially nice for hardcore eBay salespeople and travelers who may not have a credit card, as PayPal allows you to link the service to your personal bank account. Otherwise, I don’t see this being an extremely popular way to pay for plane tickets.

What is nice about it — from Southwest’s prospective — is that money in a PayPal account seems much more “virtual” than cold, hard cash (or credit debt), and people might be more willing to spend it on leisurely things like travel. When I used to sell stuff on eBay and get payments through PayPal, I always treated my earnings stash as a “free money” account that I could use to buy other stupid things off eBay. If I had the option of either buying another vintage coffee cup off eBay, or a Southwest Airlines trip to Seattle, I’d be much more interested in the latter.

Wouldn’t you?

Play Airport Screener Online

by Neil Woodburn on

Most of us have never thought about the tough challenges facing those who work as airport security screeners. Imagine having to sift through baggage all day confiscating prohibited items from an ever-growing list of contraband.

I suppose there is probably a certain amount of Schadenfreude involved here, as sadistic screeners merrily strip travelers of their liquids, jells, and other personal items. But, it probably isn’t all fun and games.

With this thought in mind, Addicting Games has produced a free little web game called Airport Security in which screeners rush madly to keep up with an ever evolving, and increasingly absurd list of items which need to be confiscated from a growing list of passengers anxious to get through security. Let too many through without properly confiscated the correct goods, and you lose the game.

Okay, it’s not the most brilliant thing out there on the web, but it is worth a few minutes of your time. But only a few…

More on Boeing 787

by Jamie Rhein on

When I caught the Today Show segment on the Boeing 787 Monday morning, there were a few things I noticed. One was the airplane’s lighting details. Instead of letting international travelers deal with jet lag by their lonesome, the 787’s lighting adjusts somehow to allow for the time differences as the airplane travels across the world. There’s nothing worse than just going to sleep and BAM!!, the lights come on for meal service.

Another thing that perked me up was how shopping for an airplane is a lot like car shopping. Companies who add the Boeing 787 to their lines get to choose from a variety of seat colors. This means Qatar Airways that is adding 30 of these to its fleet needs to decide what its 787s will look like. This airline isn’t discussing its order; I guess the color choice will be a surprise.

In case you’re interested–and for some odd reason I am–here’s a link to the other airlines that have purchased 787s in 2007. If you wander around the Boeing website, you can find out just how much a jet might cost you. The cheapest one I saw was 50 million dollars for the 737. Just think, there are people who go on-line to order an airplane. I couldn’t find a link that lets you pick your seat color though. I do remember seeing red and blue in the Today Show segment. Another thing I couldn’t find on the Boeing Web site were details about infant carriers. (This search did lead me somehow down the path of car seat rules in the United States.)