3/05/2008 at 4:00 PM
Tags: Airline Travel, Airline Delays, Flight Delays (all tags)
If you plan three trips this year, make sure you only want to go on two. One-third of domestic flights were delayed or canceled in January, worse than the 2007 average of 25 percent. It might be slightly better than December's average, but the reality is that you probably won't arrive on-time, anywhere, ever again.
If you must plan a trip for 2008, go to the islands. Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines had the best on-time arrival statistics in the country, with 94 and 93 percent of their flights cruising in when they're supposed to. (A distant third was US Airways with about four in five flights landing on-time.)
Just one more reason to enjoy that beautiful Hawaiian weather.
Related Stories:
· Airline Delays Worsened in January [AP, via Yahoo]
· Flight Delays coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: marctonysmith]
by egw
2/28/2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: Qantas, Australia Travel, Airline Delays (all tags)
True, we did tell you about those new jobs with Qantas, but that was before we heard about the current problems Australia's national carrier is having with strange smells.
About 10 days ago, a Perth to Sydney flight was canceled because a strange odor was found in the cabin area, and the problem couldn't be solved--many passengers had to spend the night uncomfortably in Perth airport before being put on planes the next day.
That was just the start of things. This week, a similar Qantas flight heading from Perth to Sydney had to get permission for priority landing after an unusual smell developed in the cockpit.
Unfortunately no reports will identify what kind of smells we're talking about. We do know the summer temperatures in Perth have been consistently over the century recently, so maybe we're talking BO drama. In any case, we hope Qantas fixes this stinky problem before we have to fly with them again.
Related Stories:
· Smelly Cockpit Forces Qantas Jet Down [SMH]
· V Australia and Qantas Want You [Jaunted]
[Photo: mateoutah]
by amandak
2/05/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Qantas, Australia Travel, Airline Delays, Luggage, Baggage, Coffee (all tags)
We've heard the story about cookies being a trifle problematic for the flying kangaroo, Qantas. But who would have thought that ground coffee and golf clubs would both spring up this week as real downers in the life of the Aussie airline?
Let's start with the golf clubs. Frustrated English golfer Samantha Head is about to sue Qantas because they lost her golf clubs when she flew Down Under last week for the Australian Open. She didn't win--so she's blaming the clubs, or more specifically, Qantas for sending them to LA instead of Sydney. We fully sympathize about the lost luggage problem but then again, what's that phrase about a bad workman blaming his tools?
But it's not just golf clubs keeping Qantas in the headlines, because reports this week have let out the secret of a Qantas Boeing 767 pilot who wouldn't fly because a sink was blocked with coffee grounds. The crew was concerned about spills and damaging electronics; Boeing says there's no issue but that:
If a worldwide alert was needed on coffee grounds then we would do it.
We'd like to see that.
Related Stories:
· Head Blames Qantas Over Lost Clubs [Herald Sun]
· Qantas Pilot Given Grounds for Concern [SMH]
· Qantas coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: iMorpheous]
by amandak
1/15/2008 at 9:00 AM
Tags: China Travel, Airline Delays, Beijing Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008 (all tags)
With the Olympics on the way, China is extremely concerned about making it a good experience for the expected influx of tourists. As well as improving Chinglish signs, having extra English lessons for hospitality staff and even sending some flight attendants on exchange to learn how to please us, the Civil Aviation Administration branch in China has just released a set of extremely strict guidelines for airlines in the period leading up to and during the Beijing games.
Among other measures, airlines that aren't punctual will not be allowed to continue to fly the routes that are underperforming; starting in July, airlines which fail the punctuality standards will be suspended from flying those routes for three months. (Obviously they haven't thought of this over in Britain or there wouldn't be any airlines left in the air.)
There are a bunch of other rules that airlines have to adhere to, including taking sole responsible for baggage handling to prevent theft, not overbooking seats between July and September this year, and at major airports, keeping one or two planes on stand-by in case of extra passengers or problems with another plane. It sounds like traveling around China during the Olympic season will run like clockwork. Or are we being a bit idealistic here?
Related Stories:
· CAAC Issues 8 Measures to Control Flight Delays in China [CHN]
· Flight Attendants Go On Exchange [Jaunted]
· Don't Expect Punctual Departure on British Flights [Jaunted]
[Photo: SqueakyMarmot]
by amandak
1/14/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: BMI, UK Travel, Airline Delays, London Heathrow, Websites, London Gatwick, Travel Websites (all tags)
It sounds like a dangerous thing for most airlines: a website that proudly publishes the punctuality data for flights across the UK. Now, if you're friendly ol' bmi Regional, that's no big deal, because the airline just won the award as the most punctual from January to September 2007. (Number-crunchers are obviously still on vacation so haven't caught up to year-end yet).
Being punctual means that 91 percent of bmi Regional flights took off within 15 minutes of the planned departure time, and in fact their average delays across all their flights was just 6 minutes. We just wish they flew on the routes we wanted to take, like, all across the world.
If you're flying in and out of Britain you can check the Flightontime.info website which collates all the Civil Aviation Authority statistics on delays and punctuality. You can also find out which airports will give you an easier run, and you might be surprised to learn that Heathrow Airport wasn't the one with the biggest delays. It was narrowly beaten by Gatwick where you can bank on your flight departing, on average, 20.23 minutes late. At Heathrow, it's around 19 minutes, but to make up for it, they'll probably lose your luggage.
Related Stories:
· bmi Regional Wins Punctuality Award [FHR]
· Flightontime.info [Official Site]
· British Airports: London Gatwick's A Loser [Jaunted]
· Heathrow's in Chaos [Jaunted]
[Photo: sabandija™]
by amandak
7/12/2007 at 9:10 AM
Tags: Airline Delays, Vance Atkinson, Airline Report, New York Times (all tags)
Sure, the other pilots might think he's a traitor. But Vance Atkinson, 64, who spent 30 years flying for an unnamed airline actually admits that the airline industry is screwing its customers. An article quoting Atkinson's disillusionment with the state of the airline industry appeared in The New York Times Tuesday.
Atkinson lays out a plan to improve passengers' flight experience by forcing airlines to stop cutting corners. On the other hand, this means we need to be willing to pay higher ticket prices. Hmm, you had us until then Vance. Good thing there's SkyBus.
Related Stories:
· Even a Pilot Thinks Airlines Are a Mess [NY Times]
· 2007 Flight Delays the Worst on Record [Jaunted]
[Photo Credit: NY Times]
by ced138
7/10/2007 at 9:53 AM
Tags: Airline Delays, Airline Hell, Hawaiian Airlines, US Airways (all tags)
Money exchanged for goods and services is an established custom in these United States. When we go to a restaurant, for example, we expect to order, receive, consume, and pay for a meal in a timely fashion. Yet airlines seem to think, more and more, that following through on a pre-paid service is optional. A recent CNN story reports that flight delays in 2007 are the worst on record. The article states:
Of the roughly three million flights between January and May, about 73 .6 percent were on time, the government reported, down from 77.4 percent last year. That marks the lowest on-time percentage for the same period since the government began tracking the numbers in 1995.
Part of those delays were due to a sharp increase in the number of canceled flights. During that period, cancellations soared 79 percent, to 75,925, from the same period a year ago.
Hawaiian Airlines did the best job of getting its customers to their destination on time, while US Airways fared the worst. From experience, we think flying US Air is about as masochistic as attending Live Earth in South Africa.
[Photo Credit: Davity Dave]
by ced138
6/20/2007 at 2:57 PM
Tags: United, Travel Hell, Airline Delays (all tags)
Bad news for United Airlines fliers today: The airline experienced a system-wide computer breakdown that grounded all flights for two hours this morning and is still recovering from those delays. The airline responsible for 15 percent of domestic travel volume was having problems with the system that regulates the weight and balance of planes, according to a San Francisco airport official, without which flights could not depart -- and thus arriving flights had nowhere to park at major hubs like Chicago O'Hare.
We have been stuck in O'Hare at least once a year since approximately 1999--thanks United! Too bad you have to pay for WiFi, but there's always those delicious Wolfgang Puck sandwiches.
[Photo: davitydave]
by egw
0 Comments - Add Yours
