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Think Tank Finds Solution To Flight Delays: New Fees On Passengers
Researchers over at the top-ranked Brookings Institution have taken a look at the airline industry and at airport congestion, and they'd like you to know that they're very concerned. They note that airline delays have increased dramatically over the last decade, until now more than one in ten planes is over two hours late. Very true and very concerning, and thank you for bringing that to our attention, though it's hardly news.
Their solution, which is to raise fees in order to discourage travelers from flying during peak congestion times, seems to us much less smart:
The researchers said much of the problem is due to heavy concentrations of short trips between big cities, but they also cited an "ill-equipped" air traffic control system and other factors. They suggested increasing high-speed rail service to offer travelers alternatives to short flights. They also recommended letting busy airports charge fees on rush-hour flights to make airlines spread trips more evenly through the day.
Tags: Flight Delays / Airline Delays / Air India / Airline Travel / → All Tags
Air India Needs To Build A Better Mousetrap After Rat Sneaks Aboard
We’ve seen our share of airline delays due to weather, mechanical delays, and even wacky passengers. However, there aren’t too many delays caused by furry critters. Well, that’s exactly what passengers of an Air India flight had to deal with as they were stuck to wait things out for about 11 hours.
Apparently a flight with over 200 passengers from Amritsar, India was supposed to head out to London over the weekend. Early on Saturday morning passengers spotted a rat on the plane, and then the rest of the day was spent searching for the little stowaway. After all, it definitely didn’t go through security.
Tags: Airline Delays / Airline Travel / Flight Delays / Airport News / → All Tags
Mathematics Might Be The Secret To Fixing Airline Delays
We’ve all been there, and we certainly have done our share of complaining about them: the dreaded delayed airplane. For the most part it has just become one of the many fun features that are now part of the travel experience. However, there are some researchers trying to crack the code behind these inconveniences, and the smartypants scientists feel that a little math might help everyone out. If academics can help aircraft land on time and leave on schedule, we just might head back to school.
Computer scientists at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland have created a system to use runways efficiently to reduce delays and to conserve fuel use. Their plan uses the size of aircraft, fuel efficiency of the plane, and number of passengers aboard to figure out the most effective way to move the birds around the airport. Their new math also looks at the amount of suitcases on the planes to ensure baggage handling delays are kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of preventing baggage loss—too bad.
Tags: Airline Delays / Airline News / Delta / → All Tags
Delta Takes The Cake For Ridiculous Tarmac Waits
Have you ever been in an airplane traffic jam? We imagine that it looks something like the picture above, and judging from the latest numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a healthy number of Delta passengers have been enjoying this view lately.
In terms of airlines whose flights have had more than two hours of Taxi-Out time, or "the time elapsed between departure from the origin airport gate and wheels off," Delta ranks first with a hefty amount of their 105,430 flights suffering such a delay in just the first three months of 2009. For 31 of those flights, the planes sat on the tarmac for over 180 minutes, awaiting their turn at their skies.
Knowing about this now, we can better prepare for future Delta flights, especially the one we've got tomorrow. Just remember the major rule of pre-flight comfort: fully charge iPods, Kindles, cell phones, and electronic handheld Sudokus. Perhaps bring a bag lunch just for the plane; it's a shame pizza can't be delivered to the airport tarmac.
Related Stories:
· Taxi-Out and Other Tarmac Times [BTS]
· Airline Delays Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: matt.hintsa]
Tags: Airline Delays / Airlines / Delta / Airline News / → All Tags
Prepare For Delays If You're Flying Delta Today
There’s nothing worse than flying on small commuter jets, except when those jets aren’t flying for the day and you’re stuck. That could be the scene today as Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which usually flies Delta connection flights, has grounded about 60 regional jets to check out their engines.
Apparently an internal audit at ASA raised some questions as to whether the company was checking out what they were supposed to be checking out. It sounds like they weren’t following manufacturers guidelines, and like good kids, the airline reported the problem to the FAA and took the initiative by grounding these planes. Only ASA’s Bombardier CRJ200s are currently affected, so your plans aboard a commuter jet aren't totally ruined today.
Tags: Airport Hell / LGA / JFK / EWR / Airline Delays / Travel Weather / → All Tags
Winter Storms in the U.S. Leave Snarled Flights and Snarling Passengers
Snow, sleet, and rain in the Midwestern and northeastern United States grounded hundreds of flights this weekend, majorly screwing up travel plans for thousands of people and giving news outlets a timely opportunity to run their annual holiday travel chaos stories. Airports in Detroit, Chicago, and even Las Vegas had rampant delays and cancellations, while Milwaukee's General Mitchell airport shut down entirely to focus on snow removal. Things were pretty grim in the New York area as well, with more than 500 flights canceled at LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports. Since New York is such a major airline hub, its delays and cancellations caused ripples throughout the entire country, making more people than usual shake their fists in anger at the Big Apple.
We're actually kind of surprised so many flights were cut, because it didn't seem like we got that much snow. It came down pretty steadily yesterday, but ultimately left only a couple of inches on the ground and coat of ice on the plastic crocodile (pictured) that Louie, our landlord, keeps in the garden. Sub-freezing temperatures must have compounded the problems, because what's on the streets now isn't going to be melting on its own any time soon. If you're flying this weekend, Google your flight number to see if you'll be making it to Grandma's house before Monday, and pack a good book just in case.
[Photo: Victor Ozols]
Related Stories
· Storms Snarl Flight Schedules in Midwest, Northeast [USA Today]
· Retreat! Retreat! NYC Snowed In [Jaunted]
Tags: Armageddon / Qantas / Australia Travel / Airline Delays / → All Tags
The Day Airlines Began Rationing Toilet Paper
Mid-air nose dives and delays galore have already tested the "any publicity is good publicity" adage for Qantas, the Aussie airline with a plummeting reputation. Now they're in the news for being tight with the toilet paper.
A flight into Sydney from Singapore had to be diverted over the weekend thanks to storms, and everything soon fell apart: The plane landed in Canberra for a while, then missed Sydney's curfew, then when it was finally able to take off, the crew had been on shift too long and had to be changed. Because Canberra's not equipped to deal with 747s, they couldn't restock anything, so rationing began, and that's when passengers had to ask for toilet paper when they visited the bathroom--and were given just four sheets each.
After spending the night on the plane, Qantas finally sent passengers to a hotel at 6 am and then got them back on the plane late morning and on to Sydney. But there's an idea in this story for budget airlines: If passengers are bringing their own food, they could easily bring their own toilet paper too.
Related Stories:
· Loo Paper Rationed on Bummer of a Diversion [The Age]
· Qantas coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: whizchickenonabun]
Tags: Airline Travel / Airline Delays / Flight Delays / → All Tags
This Is Improvement? One Third of Domestic Flights Delayed
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]
Tags: Qantas / Australia Travel / Airline Delays / → All Tags
The Mysteriously Smelly Qantas Jets
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]
Tags: Qantas / Australia Travel / Airline Delays / Luggage / Baggage / Coffee / → All Tags
Too Much Coffee, Not Enough Golf Clubs
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]
Tags: China Travel / Airline Delays / Beijing Olympics / Beijing Olympics 2008 / → All Tags
Chinese Airlines Will Be On Time, Or Else
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]
Tags: BMI / UK Travel / Airline Delays / London Heathrow / Websites / London Gatwick / Travel Websites / → All Tags
Don't Expect Punctual Departure on British Flights
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™]
