Here I was complaining about the dearth of good deals to Europe…I priced out fares to Paris and Rome recenrtly for well over $1000…and I discover that Air New Zealand is currently selling rondtrip discount tickets to London from Los Angeles for $660. Of course, there’s a catch…you have to pretty much wait until the end of summer to take advantage. Flight dates are from September 8 through December 6, 2006 and December 24 through March 31, 2007. Oh, and fare is valid for Monday-Wednesday travel only.
In-Flight Entertainment Awards
There is a little-known organization called the World Airline Entertainment Association that, according to the group’s website, is “committed to excellence in in-flight entertainment (IFE), communications and services, and the continual improvement of the airline passenger environment.”
As an acknowledgment towards those airlines which excel in this area, the WAEA annually presents awards in a number of categories every September. Although we are a bit late in reporting the 2005 news, I thought I’d pass on a few of the winners to take into consideration for next time you are looking to book a flight.
Best In-Flight Magazine – Qantas Airways
Best In-Flight Video Programming (Short Haul) – American Airlines
Best In-Flight Video Programming (Long Haul) – Cathay Pacific
Best Overall (Mid-Size Fleet 21-50) – Virgin Atlantic
Best Overall (Large Fleet 51+) – Qantas Airways
Grading the Frequent-Flyer Websites
I was a bit shocked last year when trying to book an international flight with my Frequent Flyer Miles only to discover that I couldn’t do it online. I tried again last month and found that United has finally brought this service to their website. The frustration, however, is that I still ran into the same problem of not finding any seats.
Technology is supposed to make life easier but when all it does is take the same problems I had booking tickets with a live operator and transfer them to the online world, I’ve got to ask myself, why did they even bother?
Naturally, some airlines have better sites than others when it comes to booking award travel. So which has the best? James Gilden of the LA Times surfed through the sites of four major airlines and has put together a report card rating the services offered. The winner was Continental with an “A” grade. The worst performer was, Delta with, appropriately enough, a big “D.”
Click here to find out how they were rated and the grades of other airlines.
Flying with Babies
Traveling with children can be Hell on two fronts; it makes your life miserable, as well as everyone else’s’ within ear shot of your wailing goober. While this can be slightly tolerable for short flights, what about the long hauls? Is there any way to minimize this hell over an extended period of time?
This question was addressed yesterday in a helpful column in The Independent (UK). A mother on the way to New Zealand asked for help in “easing the pain” and was given some decent advice about minimizing jet leg, and the best place to stop en route to break up the journey. It turns out that the Changi Airport in Singapore boasts two small playgrounds, a movie theater, swimming pool, gardens, and in-terminal hotels that charge cheap, hourly rates.
The author also highly recommends Singapore Airlines for such a journey. In addition to a staff trained to sooth and coddle babies (I kid you not), the airlines also allows families to pre-book the bulkhead seats while making reservations.
I don’t know about you, but the more child-friendly an airline becomes, the less likely I will want to fly on it without a child.
Shhhhh! I’m Flying!
It is an unfortunate fact in life that blabbermouths love captive audiences. Unfortunately there is almost no place more captive than the inside of an airplane; once your seatmate in 36B opens his mouth, there is no where to go for the next four hours. You’ve just got to sit there and take it.
A recent article on ABCnews.com addresses this terribly annoying issue. Columnist John J. Nash suggests a few polite methods to help indicate to your new chatty bud that conversation is not welcome and that an immediate shutting of their pie-hole is actually preferred. The suggestions aren’t genius, such as putting in earplugs or reading a book, but they do broach the issue and provide some direction that should help your next flight proceed a little quieter.