Another reason never to fly American Airlines…
I have been on many an American plane that felt like it was going to fall apart. On a flight from Buenos Aires to New York this past year, after the air conditioner broke, the cabin “rained”, the toilet water ran out of water and smoke began to surface causing stewardesses to run around and smell the TVs, the French guy sitting next to me said, “American Airlines, it seems more like Nigerian Airlines.” And thus on every American flight that I have braved trying to burn through my 120,000 miles, it has felt like the plane is going to fall apart. In fact, just getting on a plane that isn’t falling apart is a luxury for this airline. So it comes as no surprise to me that their plane broke apart in the storm in Jamaica yesterday, they just aren’t built to last. Thankfully no one was hurt!
Virgin America plays customers when it comes to schedules
Virgin America had a big holiday sale for flights in January and it sounds like maybe they didn’t actually sell all of their flights or they overbooked, so they are moving things around at the expense of fliers.
A friend of mine has a flight booked a flight from San Diego to New York in January. A few days later they wrote to tell him that his plane has been repositioned and he has been rebooked on a flight for a day earlier. I’ve heard of this happening the day of, but six weeks in advance? The friend had issues with getting the time off of work and he asked about getting a free hotel room or some such amenity to account for having to take an extra day from work, which was not well looked upon.
Virgin told him that it would be $50 to change the flight and then he’d have to pay the increase in fare, which had gone up to three times as much as he had originally paid. Um, seriously? Sounds like they just overbooked his original flight and want to sell him a first class seat on the same plane. I love the airline, but I really hate to hear about this kind of thing.
Vintage Southwest flight attendant uniforms
Flight attendants really did used to have great fashion. Unbelieveable that this was the Southwest Airlines Uniform, maybe they should consider a rebranding…
US Airways to pay for uncompliant planes
US Airways has been hit with a $9.2 million fine by the FAA for flying jets that don’t comply with the association’s directives. They apparently were using towels instead of approved caps for engine maintenance. Wow, scary! I know that US Airways has gotten a lot of good press because of the hero pilot Scully, but let’s just remember that while Scully was an excellent pilot (one I’d want at the helm of any plane that I was on), that same plane was experiencing technical difficulties the day before and actually took off and made a forced landing. I am glad to see the FAA keeping an eye out.
Standing room only on Chinese flights
China’s low cost airline Spring Airlines is considering increasing their passenger capacity on each flight while offering lower airfares by selling “standing” seats. This move will increase the flight’s capacity by 40%, while cutting flight costs by 20%. The seat’s will be like barstools and include seatbelts. Check it out:
RyanAir, Ireland’s low cost airline, that has 1 euro flights all over Europe is also considering and the entertainment in flight, plus you have to look at ads for the airline on the back or your seats. It’s kind of cool that they are giving fliers the option to go more low cost, but it might make it even more crowded on the already tight planes. making passengers stand. They apparently got the idea from Spring. This comes from an airline that had been considering charging a pound to use the bathroom. And while I love that RyanAir exists to help get me from Paris to Stockholm for under $50, they really are nickeling and diming you the whole time by charging for the bus rides to their far away airports, the food. I’m guessing maybe Southwest Airlines, who I affectionately refer to as the Skybus, may be next on the list.
Music for Airports
A good flight is always accompanied by a good soundtrack. I just discovered Air King Sound, who have some great ambient tracks that would go well with flying. Repetitive, atmospheric and sparse, they sound kind of like airplanes. I really love it when I lean my head against the window of a plane with headphones on and the music mixes with the sound of the engines. Brian Eno’s music evokes this, as he was likely aiming for naming an album “Music For Airports.” The Air King Sound is in this same vein with an album called Jet Lag, and let’s face it, there is really nothing better than this kind of music when you’ve got a little jet lag.
Virgin Spaceport under way
I’ve been covering the Virgin Galactic story for years now, and I am really excited to know that the fantasy of floating just outside of the atmosphere could actually become a reality pretty soon. So it is cool to hear that the spaceport, designed by British architect Norman Foster, is currently under construction in New Mexico. Here is the new runway:
Can’t wait to see it when they pour concrete!
American Airlines business class
I flew to London last week from JFK and did so by burning up that huge pile of American Airlines miles that seem to sit there but never be good for any days and times that I actually want to fly. My flight there was your normal subpar American experience, tiny seats too tight, and mushy food. I can’t say that it was awful, as I had a good seat in the front of the plane and was in a two seater with a small friendly Asian woman.
The TVs were kind of cool because they were a vintage kind of monitor and the graphics were so basic that they actually reminded me of my first computer. I enjoyed the novelty.
The flight home, I flew business class, since I was flying on miles and that is often the only thing available on American when booking only to weeks in advance. The American Airlines lounge in Heathrow was a sad disappointment. The last time I was in a business class lounge was Etihad Airways in JFK, which had amazing food, spacious seating and of course a ton of magazines and free drinks. The time before I had spent hours in Northwest’s lounge in Narita, which I would also highly recommend.
So I was disappointed to find only packaged biscuits and hardened packaged breakfast rolls that looks like something to be served at a Days Inn in Reno. Everything was inedible, except for a side dish of salty cocktail peanuts, which were just like regular bar food. But since it was 8am, I skipped the bar and the salty snacks.
The flight itself was good. It is always nice to have a bed to unwind in. The food was ok. It was, of course, much better than the mushy pasta my coach flight, but it was overpresented and really just a dressed up airplane food. A beef wellington with vegetables. The salad was very good though, much fresher than the iceberg wedge in the back. Still, not sure it’s worth the $1000 fare difference.
Overall it left me with the feeling that American is one of these relics that is not quite caught in the past of vintage travel, but is stuck somewhere in the 80s after the airline industry deregulated in 1978. There is an adherence to the old fashioned tradition of service, but it feels old and musty, like eating a beef wellington.
I think that American can take a lesson from JetBlue and make the experience clean and simple. I mean they are competing with Virgin for flights from JFK to Heathrow and Virgin is light years better. Not because of its annoyingly hip branding, but because it delivers on clean planes, good food and a restful environment.
Japan Airlines is cutting flights
Japan Airlines has announced that it is cutting its flight frequency in half. The cuts include discontinuing 14 weekly flights from Osaka to Seoul. The airline, which is struggling to stay alive, has been in talks with the likes of American Airlines and Delta to stay afloat, as they are losing money hand over fist.
They are not alone. The airline industry is faced with times worse than post 9/11. This week, the International Air Transport Association, said that the airline industry expects to lose $11 billion this year, as passenger air traffic is expected to be down 4% and cargo down 14%.
This is sad for us fliers, because even thought it may mean less people on planes, it might show in the flight experience. While I can live with less flight attendants and less frills on the plane, I hope that air traffic control and plane maintenance doesn’t suffer.
Hawaiian Airlines is expanding its fleet
Palm trees, grass skirts, volcanoes and endless blue water. As if you needed another reason to go to Hawaii. Well now, Hawaiian Airlines is getting a new Airbus A330-200. Last year, the airline started flying to the Philippines and now they are adding these new planes and new staff. They are hiring everyone from pilots and cleaners to mechanics and flight attendants. Hopefully clean new planes and a beefed up staff will mean continued pleasure in the air above the Pacific.
