Tag Archives: airlines

The End of Delays Pietro Place

The End of Delays?

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The End of Delays Pietro Place

The End of Delays?

How about this for a nail biter?  To cut down on the inevitable airline delays, air traffic controllers are starting to use time instead of distance to space out airplanes.  While this doesn’t mean that the really silly game where they tell you that the flight takes an hour longer than it really does, and without that ridiculous announcement from the pilot that we have been “held up a little bit but will try and make the time up,” is going away, this is a good thing.

Incidentally, what is that “make the time up” thing? Is he going to fly 1,000 mph instead of the usual 650 mph?  How does that work?  Or is there a short cut from LA to Boston that I didn’t know about?  You know the deal…if you go over Memphis and catch the magic jet stream, it only takes two hours.  Nope.  Actually, they are working on reducing delay time in a smart way.  The idea is if you space airplanes by time instead of distance, you can actually optimize and improve timing for landings and take offs.

At Heathrow in London, they started to use this system.  Typically, planes are spaced three to seven miles behind each other depending on the airplane.  They have begun experimenting with minutes rather than miles.

The results are remarkable.  Most of the Europeans have already authorized air traffic to adopt time-based spacing by 2024.  The FAA is working to jump on the European band wagon.  Bottom line, what used to seem too close is no longer too close anymore.  Analytics and headwinds are all thrown into an algorithm and out pops spacing by minute.  Good news for everyone in the future although I am not quite sure how I feel about being that close to the jet in front of me.  In the meantime, don’t think that the announcement from the pilot stating,  “There are 18 planes in front of us but we should be set for takeoff in the next 30 minutes and with “luck” we should catch up to get you there on time,” are going away.  Incidentally, what’s the luck thing?  Yikes.

Alaska Airlines Pietro Place Peter Jones

The Revolution

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The Revolution

You know that moment when some unbelievably smart person figured out that a suitcase with wheels actually could be turned so that the wheels went on the widest part not the narrowest part?  It was one of the great game changers in travel.  Then the bag moved to a 4-wheel option and you could maneuver your bag like a Mini Cooper through a city; holding it tight to your body but always upright in a busy airport.  Yet still, you have the hassle of either being the first person on the plane, paying the extra bucks for first class, or sweating that your bag is going to get dumped down below in the hold where you will have to “check and pay”.  The worst of all nightmares since you may never see the bag again. The cost of bag check-in on a budget flight can often be more than the flight itself.  Then there is that resentment of all of the people who got on before you that stuck their bags in the overhead bins.

Now there’s a solution and it’s a revolution. Overhead baggage compartments are being redesigned and refitted as we speak with a view to increasing the depth by a few more inches so that the bags can be pushed in vertically on their sides.  It is literally doubling the possibility for carry-on baggage.  Alaska Airlines is leading the way.  Partnering with Boeing, Alaska were the first people to understand that change was not just a good idea, but a necessary idea.  The sacrifice?  Two inches of head room.  There is even room on top of the bags to put tiny bags, coats, or you name it.  The time that it takes for an airline to be fully ready to fly and passengers to be comfortably seated with bags all set, is projected to greatly decrease.  In other words, departure times are going to improve!  Yay!  Tempers won’t get frayed (as much) and flight attendants won’t have to break the bad news to a disgruntled passenger who simply cannot bear the thought of checking in their bag.  All great news.

Now the re-fit begins.  Pretty soon there will be sleeping compartments up there too!

The Revolution Alaska Airlines Pietro Place Peter Jones

Basement Bargains Abroad

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There is good news out there for international travel. The RyanAir, Southwest airline, Easy Jet model has moved into long haul. You get food of course, but instead of departing from a major hub like Boston, you fly from Providence and the price difference on a transatlantic flight to Germany can be over $1000.

No way! Yes!

And here’s the deal. If you think airlines you’ve never heard of, like Condor, are going to force British Airways or Lufthansa to change their fare structure, think again. The big guys are figuring that you don’t want to fly from an airport that’s 30 miles from where you originally wanted to fly to, even for bargain travel. And the chances are that you didn’t check the routing thoroughly enough on Expedia. If you want to fly from Boston to Frankfurt, that’s what you’re going to get, prices from Boston to Frankfurt. So you’ve got to be smart and outsmart the technology, which is going to auto-populate and drive you to the bigger hubs.

Furthermore, business class is cheap on these airlines; baggage fees are waived and the booze is still free. So drink up, enjoy the Euro and look for Condor expanding beyond Seattle, Las Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale and Baltimore. And in case you’re looking for nonstop from New York, Chicago or LA on second-tier airlines – good luck, you’re not going to find them. Happy Travels! Oh, and guess what, the secret’s out Condor is actually owned by Lufthansa.

How desirable is where you live, from an airline point of view?

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There are hubs, and spokes, and then there are places that used to be hubs, but now are back waters. It’s not that where you live is not a desirable place but, from an airlines point of view, it’s a not a desirable place. Take Key West, for example; that seems pretty desirable. Who wouldn’t want to live there? Catch the sunsets, drink the tequila, and sit on the white sand while, in the distance, Cuba beckons. But 43% of Key West flights have been removed – disappeared, gone forever, along with Cleveland, Milwaukee, and La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The other day I was trying to fly from Boston to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Practically impossible. Not just difficult to get to, involving multiple stops, but over $600 round trip, compared to $300 round trip to Philadelphia. What’s happening?! Are airline executives angry about your bucolic country style living and just want to punish you? It’s all about shrinking flight schedules, boosting prices, consolidation. And none of it is good for us.

The truth is, it’s good for the airlines and the rental car companies. Smaller hubs have taken big hits and the smaller aircraft have been removed from the fleet. If you want to fly from Harrisburg to Boston, be prepared to pay top dollar and be inconvenienced with terrible connections. It can even be cheaper to take an Uber! It even encouraged me to drive the 6 hours, because by the time I rented the car from Philadelphia, it really provided me with no great benefit. This is the world of giant airlines; 8 have merged into 4. And smaller hubs have been removed or reduced down to practically nothing. The good news is that if you live in Seattle there are 25% more flights than there used to be. Westward ho!

The new world could mean a move back to cars (and trains if you’re lucky). Or just simply uprooting your entire hippy family from Key West, Florida and moving to midland Odessa, Texas, where there is a 20% increase in flights. That’s gonna be a great fit for you!

It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. Practically every hub in Hawaii has increased service, which brings me back to Key West, Florida. It’s just simply too close to Miami for anybody but the rich and famous. And Orlando, as a megahub, shows increases across the board. Disney just beat out the sunsets.

Image credited to: http://www.barnabu.co.uk/

Oh, Airport Where Art Thou?

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Oh Airport, where art thou?

The Automated Airport

As a frequent traveler I spend a lot of time passing through airports. I’ve noticed a trend and it’s alarming. The humans are disappearing!  In an airport there is increasingly no human contact.  Foreshadowed by the disappearance of the inbound customer service reps, airports are starting to do away with humans. Most of the time now it’s just you, the machine, a credit card or a passport; and those automatic check-in kiosks are for people who couldn’t or didn’t bother to check-in online. And forget the boarding pass. Printed boarding passes are passé.  Every airline (even budget carriers like Southwest) have a mobile boarding pass.  I still print out my boarding pass, by the way. Call me old-fashioned.

The check-in counters almost seem nostalgic now; an oasis for infrequent travelers to get reassurance that there are actual human beings running the show.  The only real reason to check-in with an actual human being is if you’re checking bags.

Baggage, we don’t need no stinkin’ baggage

Airlines seem to discourage it.  JetBlue has finally fallen and as of this month will now be charging fees to check bags.  Notably, only Southwest is remaining true to their “Bags Fly Free” mantra. Might make it worth not having assigned seat. Airfare watchdog is a great place to check to see how much it will cost you if you plan on doing something outlandish, like changing outfits during your travels.

So your first real human contact usually takes place at security. For some that means an actual pat down. Getting frisked in fluorescent lighting is never fun, so note to everybody, get TSA pre-approved.  This is like a VIP list for travelers and those on it get the luxury of keeping their shoes and belts on. Imagine that.

Once you’re through there, there’s no need for human interaction until you get on the plane, unless there’s a problem: you’re on stand-by, you’re late or you’re trying to move your seat or waiting for an upgrade. You now have to deal with…the Gate Keepers.

The Keepers of the Gate

These guys are important – they’re your only hope in most cases, and they know it. So it’s in your best interest to treat them kindly. A great article about gate attendants in WSJ really struck a chord with me the other day. It’s worth a read because it shows the behind-the-scenes of how gate agents juggle passenger requests.

People complain that the gatekeepers are hard, impersonal and tough to communicate with, but it’s not an easy gig. I have always found 100% of the time that the nicer you are, the better things turn out. These are the guys that control everything except the plane itself: the closing of the plane’s doors – you better hope you’re on the right side of it when they do! They can upgrade you, keep you where you are or frankly bump you off if the flight is oversold. Like Santa’s elves, they know who you are and they know how much you paid for your ticket.  Trying to negotiate a free upgrade on a ticket you got on Priceline is probably not going to happen. And copping an attitude with a cheap ticket and you could be left behind. In fact, you deserve to be left behind!  As we tell our kids all the time, attitude is everything.

 

Virgin Premium Economy to London

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Virgin Premium Economy to London

It’s only 7 hours, not a life sentence by any means. But if you’re tall, Virgin Premium Economy is a lifesaver and the only hope for those who don’t want to pay a small fortune for 7 hours of comfort.  You certainly shouldn’t do it for the food, which is no better and no worse than what’s behind you and what’s in front of you.  Zagat once rated airline cuisine, but it’s safe to say there is no market for a full on guide. And who goes on a plane because they’ve heard that the food is superb in the galley kitchen?

Our arrival was less than premium, transitioning from Terminal 3 at Heathrow to Gatwick, not exactly a stone’s throw away. The answer? Always travel light, have Uber on your phone and pray to God that the M25, competing for the highway of hell with Los Angeles’s 405, is having a quiet day.

We were heading to Venice and flights to Venice, sadly, fly out of the even sadder Gatwick airport. It was a day of sad airports and sad terminals with the only respite being the first sight of the Alps, the magic of Venice below and Marco Polo airport to welcome wary travelers into this magic paradise.

 

Bags to Check

I never like to check bags unless I am skiing. I have had the experience of losing too many bags for weeks at a time. This simply becomes a huge inconvenience and it is costly. Airlines provide you with barely enough compensation to buy a pair of underpants and socks.

So that is my rule. In addition, there always seems to be a hopeless wait time over busy periods for the ground staff to get your bags from plane to carousel. Of course, there are good airports and bad airports. Good airlines and bad airlines. But the golden rule I use is always to hide my bag behind a post if the plane is full and small. This has easily checked out before.

When the check-in attendant asks you if you have any more bags than your simple carry on, I always state that this is it. When you get to the gate, and the bag happens to be too big and they spot it as a rebel carry on, they take it from you. But, at least you have minimized half the risk because you know now that the bag will be on the plane as it’s checked at the gangway entrance. Now you only have the receiving airports ground staff as your final obstacle. This happened to me on my recent flight from Lyon to Rome. And of course, what could be worse than Aeroporti di Roma for that final possible glitch. Yes, the delightful Fiumicino Airport lost my bag.

bag carousel

I reported it lost after waiting endlessly for the carousel to churn around. That sinking feeling you get. The quick check to ensure you have your baggage receipt. Then the forms and the bureaucracy. The absolute lack of enthusiasm to find your bag. One of the three people sitting doing absolutely nothing and telling you, “It’s here, but it’s busy, and we don’t know where it is!” LBS or “lost bag syndrome” can haunt you for days, affect your sleep, and cause hyperventilation. They have got my Paul Smith suit!

So, if you have to check a bag, make sure you have a backup of sorts. Mine turned up the next day. I actually thought to myself that things maybe had improved dramatically at Fiumicino and that it was a new world where bags didn’t get lost, toilets were always available and clean in arrivals, and taxi drivers weren’t looking to rip you off as you wearily exited the doors. Maybe aliens had taken over the country after all. A new prime minister, a new world order. Nah, Italy wouldn’t feel the same.

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