American Airlines, JetBlue Airways sign slot swap agreement out of East Coast cities

by Melanie Nayer on

Washington DC travelers rejoice: JetBlue Airways will begin flying to Reagan National Airport as part of a new agreement with American Airlines. In return, American Airlines will take over some gate slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The news, announced this morning, also says American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are joining forces to help boost international travel. The two airlines signed an agreement for commercial collaboration that will allow JetBlue customers in New York and Boston access to American Airlines’ international flights.

The payout: American is giving up eight slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport and one slot pair at White Plains, N.Y. to JetBlue, and JetBlue will transfer 12 slot pairs at John F. Kennedy International Airport to American.

In a press release from both airlines, “The partnership will focus on routes into and out of JFK and Boston that extend and complement each others’ networks. For example, it would provide seamless service for customers who wish to fly nonstop from Nantucket to JFK on JetBlue and from there to London on American. Likewise, customers can board American from Paris to JFK and connect to a nonstop flight on JetBlue to Burlington, Vt. JetBlue customers will be able to effortlessly connect on flights to 12 of American’s international destinations from JFK and Boston including Barcelona, Spain; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.”

In addition to the international flights, award program members of each airline can book flights with the other airline to collect miles. For example, American Airlines customers can book JetBlue flights from JFK or Boston to Portland, Maine, and collect miles.

As someone who has covered the travel and airline industry extensively for years, this relationship between American Airlines and JetBlue is intriguing. On the one hand, JetBlue prides itself on in-flight customer service and amenities (something American Airlines has been chastised for over the years, according to customer complaints). On the other hand, American Airlines has consistently prevailed in down economies, even introducing new routes and destinations when travel is at an all-time low. How it all pans out we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, maybe American Airlines can learn a thing or two about effective customer service, and maybe JetBlue can pick up a few tips on how to manage customer demand.

You can the entire press release here.

Top U.S. ports of entry in 2009

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Travel to the United States was off 5 percent last year, but this didn’t change how people enter the country. The top 15 ports of entry owned 85 percent of all overseas visits, gaining a full percentage point from 2008. New York JFK, Miami and Los Angeles took the first three positions and took 39 percent of the total, also picking up a full percentage point of “arrival share” relative to 2008. Five of the top 15 ports of entry actually gained inbound traffic over 2008, three of them in Florida: Miami, Orlando, Houston, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale.

Airlines losing 3000 bags – every hour of every day

by Scott Carmichael on

In 2009, the worlds airlines lost a whopping 25 million pieces of passenger luggage. That comes down to just under 3000 bags every hour of every day, all year long. These shocking statistics were published by SITA – one of the operators of airline and airport computer systems, using data from the World Traver luggage database.

SITA breaks down the reasons behind bags not arriving at their destination:

  • During aircraft transfers – 52%
  • Failed to load – 16%
  • Ticketing error / bag switch / security / other – 13%
  • Airport / customs / weather / space-weight restriction – 6%
  • Loading / offloading error – 7%
  • Arrival station mishandling – 3%
  • Tagging error – 3%

There is some good news though – 96.6% of all bags do manage to reach their owner – eventually. This still leaves over 800,000 bags that end up going unclaimed. Bags that never arrive are often simply abandoned by their owners, or fall victim to theft at the airport. After six months, all unclaimed bags are donated, sold or destroyed.

The real good news is that airlines have managed to lose fewer bags. Compared to 2008, airlines managed to decrease lost bag numbers by 23.8%. Of course, part of this is due to decreasing passenger numbers, but the worldwide decline in air travel was just 2.9%.

Bottom line is that airlines are investing heavily in luggage management, and even though they may never reach a perfect score, the current trend is very positive one – and one that will benefit everyone that checks bags. Of course, as luggage fees have started increasing, it is also refreshing to see that airlines are actually doing something with all that new money.

Don’t forget to follow our tips on keeping your luggage safe at the airport!
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“Love those gigantic tits” remark lands airport scanner operator in hot water

by Scott Carmichael on

Well, that didn’t take long did it? A mere month after London Heathrow introduced full body scanners, the first harassment case is already being investigated by the authorities.

When 29 year old Jo Margetson accidentally walked through the scanner, an airport security guard thought it would be hilarious to mention how he “loved those gigantic tits”. This was of course the situation everyone feared – I’m just surprised it took this long to happen.

The security guard has been issued a warning for sexual harassment, which will no doubt be the first of many to be issued to people that have access to the scanner images.

Miss Margetson is furious about the incident – ‘I can’t bear to think about the body scanner thing,’ she said. ‘I’m totally traumatised by it.”. She spoke to the police after the incident, and they in turn reported the case to BAA, the airport operator.

In the United States, the full body imagers are monitored by staff in a remote location, and we have been assured that images will never be shared – even though the purchase requests made by the government requested scanners that have storage and sending capabilities. In other words – it is only a matter of time till US airports are faced with similar cases.

The problem with this equipment is not the technology – which has been proven to work just fine – humans are the real issue, and knowing that some of the operators manning the checkpoints are going to be on the lookout for “big tits” won’t help the public’s attitude towards them one bit.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Captive audience: crying babies and air travel

by Laurel Miller on

We’ve all been there: the flight with the screaming infant. It strikes fear into the hearts of many to see a baby coming down the aisle.

The issue of crying babies and unruly children on flights divides air travelers. Many say they’re exasperated by parents who seem to do little to quiet or control their offspring, while others counter that fliers should be more patient and understanding.

Even normally well-behaved babies turn into screeching hellions when changes in air pressure hurt their ears. The question is, what to do about it?

Some passengers think airlines should seat families with children in one section of the plane, while others slap on headphones and watch a movie. If a baby on board has you ready to down Valium, it helps to understand the reason for in-flight tantrums.

“Because babies don’t know how to talk, crying is their only way of communicating, and can mean a number of things: I’m hungry, I need to be changed, I’m bored, I’m cold, I’m hot,” says Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia, and a CNN.com Living Well expert.

That doesn’t make it okay for parents to ignore tears. “The other people on the plane do not have to be subjected to your child crying. It is absolutely not something that they should be expected to endure. They can’t leave.”said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist specializing in parenting issues and author of “The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask.”

Tips for parents and passengers

• If a baby reacts to changing cabin pressure, give it something to suck on such as a bottle or a pacifier.

•Always make an effort to quiet a crying baby. “If other people see you trying, even if you’re not succeeding, they will feel at least you’re … doing your best to stop it.” explains Bartell.”You may have to get out of your seat and walk around [with your child].”

• If there is a baby screaming and the parents aren’t reacting, ask a flight attendant to say something to them.

• Glaring at the parents of a loud or unruly child may not always work. “Sometimes the parent is so thick-skinned and they don’t care, so it isn’t helpful,” says Bartell.

• Give parents the benefit of the doubt. Many babies sleep right through a flight. Remember- one day, it might be you trying to soothe an infant in the midst of an angry economy class.