Advice

We received another letter this week, with a not so pleasant story about Air France.
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We don't get much reader mail, but this came in this weekend and we wanted to open it up to the Internet for feedback
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Today, while we are stuck in our homes in the snow, our thoughts are with those stuck at the airports. In preparation for this storm, airlines around the Northeast United States preemptively cancelled flights, airports were closed for hours, and some people are being told it might be days before they get home. At...
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Overbooking is annoying. With the exception of Jetblue, which does not, airlines typically overbook by 33%. Find another industry where, with the approval of the government, a company is allowed to knowingly sell more of a product than they know they have. What reaction would this have if it were done at the theater,...
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As USAToday reminded us, new government regulations will take effect this week, requiring all individuals, including US citizens, to have a passport in order to enter the United States. Previously, a birth certificate or driver’s license was acceptable. Next year, passports will also be required at land and sea crossings, although for regular travellers...
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It has been a while since we checked in with the blogging community. Upgrade Travel’s mailbag features yet another reader question…The airline changed my schedule, what are my rights? Airlines waive themselves of liability in the event they change your schedule. That means they don’t consider themselves responsible for secondary fallout from their change…losses...
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As we’ve mentioned before, Farecast is an intriguing product that uses statistics and historical data to predict trends in fares. Now, the company if offering to lock in ticket prices against an increase for one week for $1 during the initial release. It will eventually increase to $10. The product, Fare Guard, guarantees that...
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In a press release today, the employees of US Airways provided their tips for Thanksgiving holiday travel. We summarize them below with some of our elaborations. Do not bring your turkey or other dishes to the airport. You can make them there. Travel lightly…overhead space is limited. Do not wrap your gifts prior to...
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We were honored when Jeff Hoyt commented on our post directing people to his podcasts. We hope he continues to entertain us with podcasts relevant to our subject matter(we’ve already referred to him twice). He inquired about the Knee Defender, a device designed to stop the seatback in front of you from reclining. It...
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With legroom in coach at a premium, fighting with your neighbor in the adjoining seat for the area you are meant to share may be something you’d opt to do. Wired provided this advice on how to capture the armrest from the person who, due to his or her proximity and the amount of...
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Effective today, for all flights originating in airports in the European Union, liquids will be allo wed in limited quantities. The rules match very closely the the US rules. To reiterate the new rules and best practiceseffective both there and in the US: Liquids and gels are permitted in 3oz/100mL bottles. No more will...
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We noted with interest the Upgrade: Travel Better blog response to a reader email on seat assignments. Speaking from our experience, we agree that booking your seats any way but directly with the carrier does not guarantee your seating will be confirmed by them. If your seat request comes back unable to confirm…they won’t...
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Northwest announced today that customers may now print their boarding passes at international fax machines after checking in for flights over the Internet, in addition to the domestic faxing added in July 2005. We have never taken advantage of this service, preferring to print our boarding passes directly to our printers. It is a...
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As Today in the Sky reports, more than 185,000 passengers were involuntarily bumped off airline flights during the second quarter of 2006, a 40% increase over the same period in 2005. It is the highest second-quarter figure since 2000. The number of fliers who gave up seats on flights rose 10%. We suggest you...
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We follow SeekingAlpha and their coverage of financial issues for a variety of reasons. In a recent article, as part of their Sound Money Tips column, they reminded us of the importance of travel insurance. We continue to emphasize this ourselves. They advise the following three hints: Read the fine print – Unless you...
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Not long ago, we wrote a summary of in-flight exercises. InFlightHQ.com…ironically sponsored by Boeing Connexion, posted this…on inflight yoga, linking to a podcast that walks one through doing yoga on an aircraft.
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As USAToday reports as part of its Airport: Special Report, under a three year old program…Daytona Beach spends between three hundred and four hundred dollars a month for envelopes and postage to mail items confiscated by the TSA back to their owners. Other programs involve complementary clear plastic bags. Dallas-Fort Worth Airport recently launched...
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We follow USAToday regularly, as they tend to cover airline issues daily. Today, for example, they had an Airport: Special Report we recommend you have a look it. We’ve linked to the various articles of interest below on the airport experience. In U.S. Airports by the Numbers, Dan Reed reports on intriguing airport numbers…For...
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We got these tips for travelling for less from SeekingAlpha and thought them worthy of comment. Eat the local food – Now this applies more to international travel..but for domestic travellers wishing to save money…try getting a hotel room with a kitchen, or at least a microwave and a fridge. You can buy food...
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In a post last week, the Upgrade Travel Blog, a guide to living the first class life at coach prices, posted on two useful directories. First is Travelpost.com, which has compiled this directory of wireless airport hotspots and their pricing. The second is the Air Power Wiki, dedicated to helping people find power outlets...
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On Saturday, the Cranky Flier posted some advice on delays, misconnections, and cancellations. We thought we would add our two cents on the subject. Delays are not anything you can do anything about. Most of the time it is weather causing delay of the inbound aircraft or weather causing a ground delay out to...
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The US Travel Insurance Association issued a press release reporting the results of a new consumer survey. This survey reveals that people who buy travel insurance tend to be more well-educated, travel more frequently and have higher household incomes than those who don’t. Travellers going overseas are three times more likely to buy insurance...
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The Cranky Flier blog focuses on the customer service experience of air travel, among other things. On Sunday, he posted a story about fighting USAirways on a fare downgrade. A fare downgrade is the situation in which, after a fare is purchased, a lower fare becomes available, and you downgrade to that fare on...
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When the ban on liquids and gels came out, we wondered what ever had happened to tooth powder and if it would make a comeback. Some research indicated Arm and Hammer had discontinued a tooth powder product not long before due to lack of sales. Yesterday, Harriet Baskas of USA Today commented on alternatives...
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We were recently prompted to think about issues of health and relaxation and wondered what had happened to Jetblue’s attempt to improve our inflight experience. In this press release from 2002, Jetblue announced the launching of their Airplane Yoga program. A special card, available in PDF format here, would be available in the seatback...
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