Air France goes prix fixe, not buffet

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Starting in April, Air France is going to make you pay for what you consume. If you consume only one seat, that’s all you’ll have to buy. But, if you require more than one seat, expect to whip out your plastic. For some reason, airline spokesman Nicolas Petteau calls it “a question of security,” but I don’t think so. To me, it seems more like a question of getting what you pay for … and asking you to pay for everything you get.

The new policy includes refunded additional fares for obese passengers taking up two seats on a plane that isn’t full. Air France estimates that these refunds will be granted in 90 percent of big-passenger cases. Nonetheless, the airline cites economic factors as behind the decision (aside from the bizarro comment about security), which is not only believable but appropriate.

Air France, which denied the policy in the French media, ran into some trouble over this issue three years ago. A passenger weighing 353 pounds successfully sued the airline, which had to pay him $11,423 in damages and the cost of the second seat from New Delhi to Paris. (Let’s just hope he had an empty seat next to him.)

Other airlines have similar policies, including Southwest and JetBlue — and I applaud them. Forget about everything except the simple fact that the ticket you buy entitles you to one seat on the flight. If one seat does not meet your needs, buy two seats. After all, if I go to a restaurant and buy one entrée and remain hungry, I have to buy a second one.

Former airline employee allegedly robs bank — dressed in his airline uniform

by Scott Carmichael on

Why is it that we never hear stories of smart bank robbers? For some reason, when someone decides to rob a bank, it is usually someone as dumb as a bag of rocks. Take for example 24 year old Deoquisto Dennis.

According to the FBI, this Chicago resident walked into a TCF bank branch on South Cicero Avenue in Burbank, handed the teller a note demanding cash, and threatened to harm if his demands were not met.

Now, most bank robbers use face masks, and dark clothes — they understand that leaving any clues about their identity may screw up their plans of instant wealth. Sadly, Mr. Dennis could not find a suitable bank robbers outfit, so he allegedly put on the uniform he used to wear when he worked for Southwest Airlines.

Imagine a bank robber walking in with a Southwest Airlines sweatshirt and a fluorescent ramp workers vest — can you think of a more useless outfit? Of course, with the whole thing caught on tape, all the cops had to do was take the footage to Midway airport, interview a couple of employees and within hours they had a name.

Dennis has now been charged, and was released under bond with a home confinement, awaiting his next court date. In addition to his TCF Bank heist, he is also a suspect in four other Chicago area bank robberies around the same time.

A description of one of his robberies, along with more photos can be found on the Chicago Bandit tracker site. His “wardrobe mistake” may now end up costing him 20 years of his life.%Gallery-76818%

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A gloomy travel market for 2010 will follow an ugly 2009

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Everybody seems to want the travel market to recover next year, but it looks like more time will be spent in yards, instead. According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, only 16 percent of us are going to hit the skies or crash in hotels more than we did in what will go down in history as a dismal 2009. Close to a third said they are going to spend less time in guestrooms and cramped plane seats. The main reason, of course, continues to be the state of the economy.

Slow improvements to the economy, according to some industry analysts, should push demand for tickets and hotel rooms higher – not to mention services related to the convention and meetings business. But, the baseline is set pretty low, with 2009 having been so weak. American Express, the largest travel agency in the world, doesn’t see a recovery coming anytime soon.

The bar has been reset, and it’s low. It will stay low for a while.

The big beast to be tamed in the travel market, doubtless, is business travel. Until the corporations start to send people on the road more liberally, the airlines, hotels and other businesses involved in travel will continue to feel the squeeze.

What’s going to happen by sector? See below.

Airlines: Industry analysts see hints that the market is turning, with demand for seats up year-over-year (by month) since May. United Airlines sees “a very encouraging trend line,” and US Airways notes a steady improvement. But, the latter continues that a decline of 30 percent to 35 percent in corporate spending has been a drag, and November was the first month in which it was up year-over-year. And, November 2008 wasn’t a tough month to beat.

Analysts believe that “even a modest rise in the USA’s gross domestic product,” says USA Today, will kick the airlines back into profitability. Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, isn’t that optimistic, telling the newspaper, “Business travel still lags, and I don’t know that I’m comfortable in reporting that we’ve seen any improvement in that market.” He doesn’t expect business travel to bounce back next year.

Hotels: What can I say that Melanie Nayer hasn’t? Not much, really. The past year has been miserable, with PricewaterhouseCoopers reporting occupancy plunging to 55.2 percent this year, from a 2006 peak of 63.3 percent. Next year, it’s expected to tick up only to 55.8 percent.

Room rates fell precipitously in 2009 relative to 2008, causing an average decline of 16.4 percent in the industry’s average revenue per available room-night. PwC expects 2010 to be worse than 2009, conflicting with the Business Travel Monitor report from American Express. But, there’s room for both views. Leisure travelers will have to spend a bit more, but hotels in business-heavy markets will still win some favorable pricing.

Conventions: Look for a slight increase next year – again, relative to a brutal 2009. For the good news about the conventions, you’ll have to wait until 2011 and 2012, says Roger Dow, president of the U.S. Travel Association. Through the end of 2010, approximately 40 percent of corporate and association meeting planners, reports USA Today, are likely to postpone or sink off-site meetings for the next year.

Southwest & SkyMall Bring Yetis & Slankets to New York City

by Mike Barish on
The Southwest Porch in Bryant park has been around this the summer and has provided locals are tourists strolling through that Midtown greens space a place to relax, have a drink and grab a snack inspired by the cities that the airline services. But for three days this week, Southwest has invited Gadling’s favorite catalog, SkyMall, to join the party. With Slankets featured on the cover of the Southwest edition of the catalog, SkyMall made sure to bring plenty of the blanket/robe hybrids to keep guests warm and give away to some lucky attendees. And, one of the catalog’s most popular character’s, the Garden Yeti, was there in a Slanket all his own.

Not being able to resist anything SkyMall-related, I attended the opening night of the event and spoke with SkyMall’s VP of Airline Marketing, Casey Christ. He said that the partnership with Southwest was “natural and helps us connect with our fans outside of the flying experience.” Throughout the evening, attendees who entered the free raffle won Slankets. And one very lucky winner took home her own Garden Yeti.

And where does one find a Slanket that fits 28″ tall Garden Yeti? Well, Mr. Christ took a full-sized Slanket to his local tailor in Phoenix – along with the Garden Yeti – and asked her to make the proper alterations. I salute that talented woman, who I assume remains quite confused.

SkyMall will be joining Southwest at the Southwest Porch today and tomorrow to give away more Slankets and Garden Yetis. If you’d like to join them, be sure to RSVP in advance. The Southwest Porch will be open for snacks, drinks and lounging by their fire pit into January, when they will shut down until New York warms up again.

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Southwest gains a passenger midflight

by Jamie Rhein on

When a Southwest Airlines flight took off from Chicago Midway Airport today bound for Salt Lake City it had 123 passengers. When it landed, there were 124. The addition joined the flight at 30,000 feet somewhere above Denver.

As one of the passengers discovered, the floor at the back of an airplane can work fine as a delivery room in a pinch. Luckily, there was a doctor on board who could help deliver the baby. Southwest medical personnel on the ground gave instructions via radio.

In the case of this baby, they’ll be a story to tell later. Instead of claiming that a stork was in charge of the delivery, the family can tell tales of a jet plane bearing responsibility for the speedy arrival time.

An ambulance took the mother and new baby to a hospital in Denver after the plane was diverted there. Hopefully, this is the kind of flight delay the other passengers were happy to be a part of. I can’t imagine that it would have helped matters if any grousing was going on.

I wonder if the mom can sign up the baby as a frequent flier and get any credit for the baby’s portion of the flight?