Just when you thought airlines were going to be a bit more accommodating to economy (coach) class passengers (see Flat Out Comfort in Economy), along come American Airlines.
American are planning to charge passengers $8 (£5) for a pillow and blanket on domestic trips and some international flights longer than two hours.
Not just any pillow and blanket, mind you. It’s ‘a blue fleece blanket with an inflatable neck pillow in a clear zip-up pouch.’ They’re even going to throw in a money-off coupon for the Bed, Bath and Beyond store. Needless to say, blankets and pillows will remain free in first class cabins.
To be fair to American, I gather US Airways already charge $7 (£4.50) for a pillow and blanket set, which comes with eye-shade and ear-plugs.
Airlines have steadily added or increased fees for various services since 2008, first to help cover jet fuel costs, then to offset large losses. British Airways recently announced that it had made a pre-tax loss of £50 million ($78 million) in the three months to December 2009. This was better than expected and BA said the figures were representative of cost-cutting measures across the company.
by Andy Moreton
It’s being called the first major improvement in economy class comfort for 20 years – the chance to lie down on long-haul flights like those envied fellow travellers in business and first.
Air New Zealand is equipping its new Boeing 777-300 ER range with 22 ‘Skycouches’ in the first 11 rows of economy. The airline’s developers have created a lie-down space for two adults from three economy seats abreast that fold out and stretch right to the seats in front.
For two adults, purchasing the Skycouch will be based on buying two seats at standard prices, with the third seat at approximately half price. Full fare details will be announced when the service goes on sale in late April.
The first arduous routes to offer travellers the Skycouch will be between Auckland and Los Angeles from December 2010 and Auckland and London from April 2011.
“For those who choose, the days of sitting in economy and yearning to lie down and sleep are gone,” said Air NZ Chief Executive, Rob Fyfe. “The dream is now a reality, one that you can even share with a travelling companion – just keep your clothes on, thanks.”
by Andy Moreton
For some while now, New Zealand has been a ‘must-see’ destination. Let Luxique help you choose from one of eight luxury hotels in New Zealand.
There was something quite alarming about the revelation last week that five passengers had had their pockets picked while sleeping on an Air France flight from Tokyo to Paris.
I think it was the violation of that unwritten code that, although some fellow travellers may snore, some may chat when you’re trying to read, and some may get up rather too often to visit the loo, everyone is basically honest.
The Air France-KLM Group said the incident was ‘very rare’ and wouldn’t prompt the airline to change proceedings by cabin crew, whose primary concern remained the flight’s safety.
The passengers on the Boeing 777, who were in business class, lost about £3,600 ($5,750) and the police in Paris are investigating.
An Air France spokeswoman said the airline didn’t provide a secure safe for valuables on board, and cabin crew ‘were not mandated’ to query passengers on which bags they were opening or if they were the rightful owners.
While Air France was responsible for the loss of any baggage in the hold, she said, it was up to the passengers themselves to protect money and other valuables they took on to the plane.
by Andy Moreton
Continental Airlines had a slightly weird but entirely valid excuse for an eighty-minute delay on a flight out of Houston, Texas just before Christmas.
A pair of otters had escaped from their wooden cages in the hold and were seen scurrying across the tarmac. Airport workers managed to catch the animals and return them to captivity, and the flight took off for Columbus, Ohio. One worker was slightly hurt in the chase.
“They told us there were a couple of otters loose in the cargo area,” said passenger Nicky Devanny. “People thought it was a joke at first I think.”
Some travellers reported that the otters had tried to chew into their luggage.
by Andy Moreton
My seasonal award for the most thoughtful travel gesture this holiday time goes to Air Berlin.
The airline – the second biggest in Germany after Lufthansa – is allowing passengers to take their Christmas trees with them on flights at no extra cost. Customers can take trees of up to two metres (six feet) in height until Christmas Eve on condition they notify the airline at least 24 hours in advance.
Titus Johnson, Air Berlin’s manager in the UK and Ireland, said: “Most of the demand for this comes from our German customers – it seems they can’t bear to be parted from their trees at Christmas. After all, it was Queen Victoria’s [German] husband, Prince Albert, who brought the tradition with him to England in the first place.”
The trees will, of course, go in the hold, not on the empty seat on the aisle. I’d love to witness the scene at the baggage carousel!
by Andy Moreton
Efforts are being made to bring home more than 3,500 passengers stranded abroad after the collapse of Scotland’s biggest airline, Flyglobespan.
Rival budget airlines including Flybe, EasyJet and Ryanair have been offering reduced price rescue packages. The Transport Minister, Paul Clark, said efforts were being made to get the passengers home for Christmas. “We are working with the industry and the Civil Aviation Authority to minimise the regrettable disruption,” he said.
Flyglobespan had 800 staff and had operated flights from Manchester, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Belfast to 24 destinations in Europe, North America and North Africa.
The airline had expanded aggressively in recent years. This year, it has carried more than 1.5million passengers and operated 12,000 flights.
The company had hoped for a last-minute reprieve against administration with a cash injection from a Jersey-based company, but eleventh hour talks seemed to have failed.
It was already a bad month for aviation in the UK, with the announcement of a 12-day Christmas strike by British Airways cabin crew over pay and conditions. That strike is now off, having been declared unlawful. The High Court in London ruled that the union had not correctly balloted its members.
by Andy Moreton
I didn’t know whether to rejoice or hold my head in my hands at the news that the plane maker Airbus has sold the first two 840-seater airliners.
My first thought was: I hope there are enough toilets.
The two planes are all-economy versions of the giant A380. They’ve been sold to Air Austral, the flag carrier of Reunion in the southern Indian Ocean. The island is officially part of France, and the airline has nine flights a week to Paris.
The configuration of passengers, euphemistically known as ‘high-density’, has been certified for use by civil aviation authorities after a fire test in which 873 passengers and crew were safely evacuated in under 80 seconds.
Airbus’s Chief Operating Officer, John Leahy, said that far from people being crammed in, it would be more comfortable for them. He said the plane’s size meant there would still be wider seats, wider aisles and more space for each passenger than on its competitors.
The standard A380 recently made its maiden transatlantic flight. Air France took one of the airliners from Paris to New York with 538 passengers, 380 of whom were fans of the super-jumbo and had bid for the seats on eBay.
by Andy Moreton
As an excuse for a delayed flight, it took some beating – a mouse was loose in the cabin.
Nearly 150 passengers on the Delta Airlines Boeing 767 from JFK New York to London Heathrow last Sunday were transferred to another plane after the mouse was spotted. Airport officials told them that the stowaway could create a safety hazard by chewing through electrical wire and hydraulic lines.
Amazingly, Delta confirmed that the same plane on the same scheduled flight had been evacuated three weeks earlier for the same reason. The airline said it was now “working with pest control experts in case remedial action is needed.”
The New York Times had a bit of an eye-witness exclusive on this one – their Deputy Managing Editor, William E Schmidt, was on board. “People were amused,” he said.
by Andy Moreton
It began innocently enough … a passenger dropped her mobile phone as her holiday jet came in to land at Murcia in Spain.
But the consequence was a delay of three hours for holidaymakers who were scheduled to fly on that aircraft back to Newcastle in north-east England.
The problem was that the woman accidentally kicked the phone as it fell to the floor and it slid out of sight into an air vent. Because it had been switched on, Jet2 airline bosses refused to allow the plane to take off until it had been located.
That was the cue for the cockpit area and three rows of seats of the plane to be dismantled while passengers waiting to board sat in the departure lounge. The phone was eventually retrieved.
A spokesman for Jet2 thanked the passengers for their patience. He said:
“Any mobile or similar communications device that is switched on would need to be removed from the aircraft in order to ensure maximum safety for our passengers. We would like to remind all those travelling by air not to switch their phones on until they reach the airport terminal.”
When this story was run by the Daily Mail in the UK, there were no fewer than 114 comments. Said ‘Christine’:
“Is the same care given to a lost piece of luggage?”
by Andy Moreton
French passengers on board an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Paris were thrown into panic when a false announcement was played over the public address system.
The airliner was about 20 minutes out of Dublin when a message in English advised passengers to return to their seats as there was some turbulence. But the French pre-recorded version that followed told travellers that the plane was about to make an emergency landing and to await instructions from the pilot.
One English-speaking passenger said: “The French man sleeping next to me woke up and looked very startled. He then translated what had been said … I got quite alarmed, the woman behind me was crying, all the French freaked out.”
The Irish airline’s cabin crew quickly realised their mistake and apologised in French. An airline spokesman said: “There was a malfunction of the public address system and we apologise to our passengers. This sort of thing happens very rarely.”
by Andy Moreton
