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Airplane Seats

Airlines Charge Less for More Suffering

Something to keep in mind as you head home on the busiest travel day of the year: The more hellish the flight, the more it may actually be worth paying for. That's because airlines with fewer flights and packed cabins are actually ...READ»

Holiday Hack: One Bag + Virgin = Holiday Travel Bliss
BEN-PAYNTER   |  Comment

Holiday Hack: How and Why You Should Pack a Single Bag

This holiday season Virgin America has announced a plan to reward travelers who save the stuffing for their turkeys rather than their carry-on bags. But you'll need a few extra skills to get where you're going without breaking your ...READ»

northwest

In Defense of Laptops, MP3 Players, and Gadgets in Airline Cockpits

After a single airliner went ever so slightly astray because its flight crew were using laptops in the cockpit, lawmakers are poised to bring regulations crashing down that forbid almost any kind of gadget being used by pilots. That's ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Say It Ain't So, Shoeless Joe

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson got that nickname for taking off his shoes once in the second game of a doubleheader in 1908.One hundred and one years later, TSA is still making Shoeless Joes of us all with the apparently immutable requirement ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: What Are Your Chances of Getting Bumped From Your Next Flight?

Bumping is the nemesis of the business traveler. Leisure travelers often have a certain amount of latitude as to when they need to arrive at a destination. Not so with the road warrior, who is a clockwork captive. While it is highly ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: What Are the Chances for a Passenger Bill of Rights?

When the founding fathers endowed us with certain inalienable rights I would have hoped they had the foresight to assume these truths would have been self-evident even when sitting on an airplane.Unfortunately, it seems like the ...READ»

t42
RYANAIR   |  2 comments

Ryanair Allows E-Cigs, But Americans Can Smoke on Flights, Too

Irish bargain airline Ryanair announced yesterday they would begin selling smokeless electronic cigarettes on their flights. The gimmick may bring in a few extra nicotine-happy customers in Europe, but Ryanair doesn't fly to the ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: The Bus Also Rises

Anne Marie Chaker of The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent review recently of the new bus services that have come onto the scene to cater to business travelers. Her story includes a charming video of her trip to Baltimore on ...READ»

Kenan Samms
FUNNY   |  Comment

Really?! Plane Crash Documentary on In-flight TV

A blog post to brighten your workday morning with a cheap giggle.READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Is the Cutback on Business Travel Cutting Into Business?

 Business travel is the oil that lubricates the wheels of business. I've always felt that companies that cut back on travel for business are cutting back on their business's prospects. Now several surveys say that while ...READ»

airline-wi-fi-5.jpg
WI-FI   |  12 comments

Four Ways Airlines Could Make In-flight Wi-Fi Free

From a marketing standpoint, money can't buy a more exquisitely perfect demographic than airline passengers: bored, opinionated, and current users of the company's product. Why are airlines passing up the opportunity to collect data ...READ»

DustinCurtis

Design Gadfly Strikes Again, All You Can Jet Pass in Hand

The young man who torched American Airlines' Web design embarks on an exhaustive new experiment: Hearing the stories of strangers on a plane.READ»

Kenan Samms

Technology: Mobile Boarding Passes: Convenience, or Technology for Technology's Sake?

When new software is introduced, such as whiz-bang applications for mobile devices, technology reviewers tend to focus whether it is the latest, greatest, or coolest thing to hit the market. Less often do you see reviewers take a step ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Take My Breathe Away

I'm sure it comes as no news that spending time in a sealed, pressurized aluminum tube at high altitude is probably not the most healthful thing you can do to your body. For that reason, one would think that fliers might have ...READ»

flight attendant smile

How Designers Can Deliver Service With a Smile

Great design will never save bad service, but great service will always save bad design.READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Let's Make Fixing the Air Traffic Control System a Priority

It gets pretty cloudy in Juneau, Alaska. Constant overcast, plus the fact that the airport there is surrounded by mountains, has caused many flight delays and cancellations. Fifteen years ago Alaska Airlines (AA) came up with a ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Carriers Need Wings. And Credibility, Too.

Enough is enough. On July 17, I blogged about Ryanair's announcement that it was mulling the idea of requiring passengers to pay to for potty privileges. Ryanair has now topped itself. It now is floating the trial balloon ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Back Up There

Okay, I have a confession. For the past several months I have been a "virtual" road warrior. Like many of you I, too, have been affected by corporate travel restrictions. As a result, today I crossed the jetway threshold for the first ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: All A-Twitter About Airborne Pay Potties

Most travel experts think Ryanair's announcement that it is considering charging for bathroom access on the plane was purely a PR ploy. But I think it was more in the nature of a trial balloon. Yes, Ryanair is justly regarded ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Carriers Continue to Cut Capacity

With no sign of a recovery in airline travel, and with aviation gas costs ramping up, the major carriers are continuing to cut capacity, led by Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. What this indicates is that we are not out of ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Just Plane Kids

Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. Yes, it's an old joke but I'm reminded of it when I fly with kids - whether the kids ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Technology: Transparency in Pricing Means Technology in Practice

Fliers increasingly are warming up to the concept of choice, aka à la carte, meaning paying only for those services you want in the airport or on the plane. But going à la carte comprehensively, that is, across hundreds of ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Technology: The Wild Green Yonder

In January, Continental Airlines became the first U.S. airline to test biofuel in a jet engine. The Boeing 737 used a B50 blend of jet-A, jatropha, and algae - so it was 50 percent conventional jet fuel and 50 percent ...READ»

Kenan Samms

Work/Life: Whole-Body Scanners Aren't a Peep Show

Whole-body scanners will replace metal detectors, in a little-noticed policy shift at the TSA (Transportation Security Administration). This means that instead of walking through the familiar security portals that stand next to the ...READ»

Virgin Airlines 25th Anniversary

Virgin Atlantic's 25th Anniversary

  It's ironic that the world's sexiest airline -- RIP, Hooters Air -- is still a Virgin. But these days, that's a good thing. As older carriers battle bad press (say, U.S. Airways) and financial woes (pretty much everyone ...READ»

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