MAXjet files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

MAXjet, an all busines class carrier filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.  The company cited rising fuel prices and the impact on the credit climate for airlines as the primary reasons for the filing.  MAXjet is attempting to protect passengers by contracting with EOS Airlines to protect passengers in the New York to London route.

For more information, contact MAXjet and EOS Airlines .

Filed under: Air Travel, Eos Airlines, MAXjet, airline, airline industry

Southwest makes open seating policy changes

Southwest airlines offers an open seating arrangement for seating on their planes. Passengers are given cards labeled “A”, “B”, “C”. “A” card passengers are boarded first, “B” card passengers follow and “C” card passengers board last. “B” and “C” cardholders don’t always get bad seats. We flew from Albany, NY last year and had “B” cards. We were directed to enter the plane from a rear door and ended up with an aisle and middle seat in row 16. Not bad at all!

Southwest has decided to modify their boarding procedure by adding numbers to the cards. Passengers will still be assigned “A”, “B” and “C” cards but each card will now have a number on the card. For example, cards will read “A 9″, “B 18″ or “C 2″ or something similar.

Southwest cites customer suggestions of improvement in the boarding procedure as the reason for the modification. Normally there is a line winding through the gate area because passengers queue up 90 minutes prior to boarding. The usual free for all then ensues when passengers rush on the plane in an attempt to stake out their seats FIRST!

Now, passengers will be boarded by letter and number. It is way to divide the letters into more manageable boarding groups, something that airlines who offer assigned seats have had in place for quite some time.

Filed under: Air Travel, Southwest Airlines, airline, airline industry

Passport Alert-September 30

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reminding air carriers and the traveling public that the temporary Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative accommodation allowing U.S. citizens to travel by air within the Western Hemisphere using a Department of State official proof of passport application receipt will end as scheduled at midnight on Sept. 30, 2007. U.S. citizens who depart the country under this travel accommodation prior to Oct. 1 with a Department of State official proof of passport application receipt and government-issued identification will be readmitted with these same documents if returning to the United States after Sept. 30.

Through Sept. 30, 2007, U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for, but not yet received, passports can  enter and depart from the United States by air with  government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport.

Effective Oct. 1, 2007, U.S. Citizens traveling by air to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda must present a passport or other Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliant documentation to enter or depart from the United States. For more information, visit www.travel.state.gov

Filed under: Air Travel, Passports, airline industry

More on 3-1-1

I recently came across two pages on the TSA.gov website that refer to the 3-1-1 rule and how it will apply to international passengers. One page announces new regulations regarding liquids in carry on bags and the effect on duty free purchases and the other announces the “International Harmonization” security measures that will be implemented on November 6, 2007.

All duty-free items purchased in European airports will be placed in sealed tamper-evident bags and they will be permittted through the European security check points. Duty-free liquids purchased in US airports will be permitted only if the passenger flies nonstop to Europe. If the passenger is connecting to another flight in a European airport, US duty-free purchases will not be allowed through security because those items will not be in a tamper-evident bag.

30 countries will have similar security measures in place regarding liquids in carry on bags. The statistic that approximately one half of the world’s travelers will follow the 3-1-1 rule is impressive.

As for the duty-free prohibition on US purchases because of a connection, why aren’t US duty-free shops placing these purchases in the same or similar tamper-evident bags? It just doesn’t make sense.

These two pages aren’t linked and are found in different headings on the TSA.gov website. I found them by accident. I think the TSA.gov website very difficult to navigate through and pages like these should be linked. A redesign and reworking of this site is in order.

International Passenger Travel Alert
International Harmonization of Security Measures

Filed under: airline industry, airport security, airports, international travel security, tsa

Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, New York Style

Governor Eliot Spitzer announced on August 2, 2007 that he signed an airline passenger bill of rights into law. The law is scheduled to take effect in January of 2008. New York claims to be the first state to enact this type of law. The law provides for some mandatory basic services if a flight is severely delayed. The law will require that food, water, fresh air and working restrooms be available to passengers on any flight that has left the gate and has been delayed on the tarmac for three hours or longer. The law will also enact consumer protection guidelines that will:

1) Create a consumer bill of rights for airline passengers.
2) Establish the Office of the Airline Consumer Advocate within the Consumer Protection Board to oversee compliance with the airline passenger bill of rights.
3) Mandate that all air carriers provide consumers with notice of complaint contact information to be posted at all service desks and other appropriate areas.
4) Provide the public with a New York State-based consumer advocate and contact person who can help to coordinate with the appropriate airline industry officials, federal agencies and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the event an incident occurs.

The Air Transport Association commented that this law ignores existing federal law regarding customer service. Options, including a possible legal challenge will be considered.

Additional bills have been introduced in the House and Senate that if passed will create a national airline passenger bill of rights.

The airline industry has never been held accountable for decisions made by management regarding delays and cancellations. It is unfortunate that a lack of forward thinking strategies and a serious attempt to create a high customer service strategies has eluded the airline industry for over a decade while CEOs recived millions in compensation, employees gave back salary and pension benefits and the United States Government gave billions of dollars to U.S. Airlines in the wake of 9/11.
New York Governor’s press release
Aviation Week article
Business Travel News story

Filed under: Air Travel, airline, airline industry

lighters+airplanes=ok

The TSA is lifting the ban on butane lighters or “common lighters” in carry on luggage effective August 4, 2007.  TSA says lighters pose no serious threat. Last year the TSA confiscated more than 11 million lighters. The United States is the only country in the world to ban lighters.

Filed under: Air Travel, Travel Industry, Travel Tips, airline, airline industry

Our Day

We have an Alaska cruise tour group coming in today for a “document party.” We just reviewed our hosting duties at 8:30am thinking out loud about how many chairs we have, how many people are coming, when to order the coffee and munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts, and finally deciding to finish our review in the office this morning. 

Some of the items we will review include ‘what can I bring’ airport screening procedures and packing tips. Of course, there will be other questions and we will try to anticipate them this morning. Our group leader Diane, one of the office staffers, is accompanying the group and I’m sure she will have a check list that we will take a look at today.

In the meantime, I have another group that I am working on today.  This is an incentive group who will be spending a week in the Dominican Republic in January.  This has been in the planning stages for the past 6 months and has just been contracted.  

I’m considering creating a password only space for this group to try to have a lot of information there for them to review. Since this group is not particularly local to our agency, I’m sure there will be a lot of emails to write and answer.

One of the interesting facets of my business is that each customer has different needs and we have to be flexible and creative enough to meet those needs. I like thinking up tech ways like private web space, wikis and, of course, emails. We are even considering instant messaging as a tool to use with the Caribbean group.       

Filed under: Air Travel, Travel Agency, Travel Tips, airline industry, airports, cruise agency, cruise group, cruises, group travel, travel technology