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Qantas Parks Its First Class Seats (For Now)

May 26, 2009 at 11:47 AM | 0 Comments

It's a tragedy. We've been saving all our pennies to afford to travel somewhere in first class, and now first class is disappearing. If it wasn't enough to hear that British Airways isn't building first class in to its new planes, now Aussie airline Qantas is cutting first class from existing planes.

The Qantas news comes after demand for first and business classes dropped almost 20 per cent, and the Flying Kangaroo then decided to drop first on its San Francisco-Sydney, Melbourne-London and Sydney-Buenos Aires routes. Of course, the first class cabin will still be there, and if you book business class you might end up sitting there, but you'll just be getting treated like a business class passenger.

Unlike BA, though, Qantas isn't saying first is out forever – for now, they're not selling first class tickets for those routes between July 6 and October 31. If demand increases again, first class will make a comeback. So perhaps we can keep saving after all.

Related Stories:
· Qantas Scraps First Class on Long Haul Routes [SMH]
· BA Ejects First Class From Flights [Scotland on Sunday]
· First Class Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: x_jamesmorris]

British Airways Likes Piña Coladas and New Tropical Routes For Fall

May 21, 2009 at 9:16 AM | 0 Comments

Is Montego Bay, Jamaica destined to be the tropical international hotspot for winter 2009? Just today, Jetblue has launched their service there with a balloon-filled extravaganza departing from JFK's Terminal 5. Coincidentally, British Airways has also chosen this day to announce that they'll be crowding the Jamaican skies beginning in October when they begin direct , twice-weekly service from London-Gatwick to Montego Bay.

Apparently Britons are craving some western hemisphere vacationing, since BA just broke the news about their London to Las Vegas flights and now we have Jamaica; but wait, there's more!

Rounding out the trio of new British Airways routes for fall is an unexpected one to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Tickets for the Jamaica and DR routes go on sale tomorrow, but they'll have some competition from Virgin Atlantic to Montego Bay; Branson' carrier has been flying this route since 2006 and keeps tickets around £600 ($933) per person, round-trip in fall. Do we smell the sweet scent of an upcoming airfare war?

Related Stories:
· @British_Airways [Twitter]
· BA To Launch Two New Caribbean Routes [FlyerTalk]
· British Airways Coverage [Jaunted]

[BA photo: griffs0000; Triple 7s via AskGamblers]

British Airways Ups the Ante With New Las Vegas Route

May 18, 2009 at 8:46 AM | 0 Comments

Las Vegas may have a fake Venice, New York and Egypt, but perhaps they should start thinking about installing a replica Trafalgar Square now that British Airways has announced plans for a new non-stop route from London.

Due to go direct from the land of fish and chips to the city of all-you-can-eat buffets starting this fall, the once-daily roundtrips from London-Gatwick to McCarran will join Virgin Atlantic in shipping over the Brits and their pounds sterling to drop in casinos. According to info obtained by the Las Vegas Sun, England is already "the No. 3 provider of foreign tourists to Las Vegas behind Canada and Mexico."

This whole business with the added flights is also about to give "Triple 777s" a new meaning, as BA's arrival on VA's route means that their planes will be going head-to-head for a jackpot win on Vegas supremacy. As if the BA thorn in Richard Branson's side wasn't in deep enough already. And just like everyone else on their way to the "Sin City," all British Airways wants to do is score.

Related Stories:
· British Airways to Start Daily Service to Las Vegas [LV Sun]
· Las Vegas Travel [VegasChatter]
· British Airways Coverage [Jaunted]

[BA photo: griffs0000; Triple 7s via AskGamblers]

Hop a Free London Cab with British Airways, But It'll Cost Ya

May 14, 2009 at 1:46 PM | 0 Comments

Not content with having four separate classes of service aboard their planes, the focus on hierarchy continues at British Airways with their new complimentary London taxi service from Terminal 5.

From May 18 on through August 15, passengers on BA who arrive in London on a First Class or Club World Business Class ticket are eligible for totally free transfers in a classic black cab within 100 miles of the airport. Perhaps you can make sense of this offer, because we are unable to fathom why, when a First or Business Class passenger can easily furnish their own luxury transportation without batting an eye, BA would want to put them into a taxi.

Perhaps this would work better for those who have sprung for full-fare, or Y-class, economy tickets, since they might not be upgraded and may have to endure a transatlantic flight squashed in with other who paid half their fare and want to spend all seven hours bragging about that fact. A free taxi would help ease the annoyance and give them a taste of what it would be like to travel in Club World. But whatever—we're not about to tell British Airways what to do; we just hope they feel proud of all those empty cabs.

Related Stories:
· Enjoy a Complimentary Taxi Service [British Airways]
· British Airways Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: a_trotskyites]

Richard Branson's 'No Way BA-AA' Campaign Gets Personal

May 14, 2009 at 12:21 PM | 0 Comments

In a saga that now spans a decade, Virgin CEO Richard Branson is again ramping up his criticism of the proposed merger of American Airlines and British Airways. This time, however, it's personal.

In a statement made at The National Press Club in Washington DC, Sir Richard warned against the merger's adverse affects on employees and passengers, especially those really feeling the recession:

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Lounging at The Airport: The Many Lounges of British Airways

May 5, 2009 at 9:57 AM | 1 Comment

Airport lounges promise respite from the sad public seating at the gates and the unhealthy diet offerings of the terminal food courts. But of course, at a premium price. All week long at Jaunted we will be detailing what it costs to lounge at the best international airline lounges, because the domestic offerings that we featured last week got us dreaming of much, much more. Got any suggestions or tips? Let us know.

British Airways Lounges
· How Much: British Airways has a few lounges to choose from, depending on your ticket price and status as a frequent flier. To access the premier First Lounges, you'll need to be booked on a first-class flight. The entrance fee for entering the Galleries is of course a ticket in a First or Club World seat, or status as a Gold Executive Club member. Finally, there are the Terraces, where you can get in with First, Club World, or Club Europe credentials, as well your membership card proving your Gold or Silver Executive Club status.
· Internet Access: The Internet is free and wireless, thanks to service from BT Openzone, although getting work done in the lap of luxury will be a challenge.

Keep reading after the jump for more peeks at club perks.

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Joel Madden Forced to Cover Up Tattoos on British Airways

April 27, 2009 at 4:56 PM | 0 Comments

We known that some airlines are a stickler for dress codes but we were rather surprised to hear that British Airways gave Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden some grief for his tattoos. Fortunately for us, Madden--flying first class--Twittered the entire drama as he attempted to board his flight from Chicago O'Hare to Heathrow.

· Was just told by a british air person I can't get on the plane till I cover my tatts. Should I fight the power?
· I really actually am in shock he won't let me on the plane till I put long sleeves on and other BA rep is disagreeing
· I still can't believe Brit Air discriminated me for tatts. Unheard of. the guy was literally disgusted by me. I'm gonna write a letter!!

Good luck with that Joel! Although it looks like you've already Twittered them. He did end up covering the tatts because he was afraid of missing his flight. But was that necessary?

We did a cursory sweep of the BA.com website and we couldn't find anything about tattoos. Even in the sections Rules of Carriage and Unacceptable Behaviour there's nothing about tattoos. It sounds like somebody at the gate was just having a bad day.

Ever been discriminated at the airport for your tattoos? "Fight the power" here.

Related Stories:
· British Airways [Official Site]
· Joel Madden [Twitter]

[Photo: Hollyscoop]

What It Really Costs To Fly on Ryanair

March 26, 2009 at 3:40 PM | 5 Comments

Low Cost Carriers are notorious for their confusing and forever changing pricing schemes, and none mess with our common sense more than the European breeds.

With Ryanair releasing new fees left and right, it's become apparent that you can't take their bargain basement ticket prices at face value anymore. While a trip to Barcelona from London may only cost 53.39 pounds (including taxes), there are a host of dreaded extra fees which you must consider before clicking to purchase.

Here, we've done some sniffing around the websites of Ryanair, EasyJet, Iberia and British Airways to discover if opting for the hassle of an LCC remains worthwhile. Choosing the lowest fares for a random round-trip in April, we'll walk you through each carrier's potential fees and tell you what that cheap ticket really ends up costing.

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NTSB Orders Fix on Rolls Royce-Powered 777s

March 12, 2009 at 9:56 AM | 2 Comments

Lately we’ve been pretty hot and heavy about Boeing’s 777 plane, especially since that’s the bird that Branson and company have chosen to launch V Australia. However, apparently there’s some trouble with the 777 engines, and federal regulators want airliners to take a look at what’s going on. If you’re planning a trip down under on V—don’t worry—their 777s use engines from General Electric.

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British Airways Has Bidets In Their First Class Lounge

February 18, 2009 at 1:35 PM | 0 Comments

Since we're doomed to spending our lives outside of first class airport lounges, we hungrily roam the internet drooling over the places we'll never see inside. Today we're curious about the British Airways first class lounge at Heathrow's Terminal 5.

It's pretty swish looking, as any brand new first class lounge should be. And then there's the bathroom.

This is a fully-equipped bathroom, as you can see, complete with bidet. We don't usually expect this kind of cleaning service from the Brits. The really scary thing is that there's a little voice in the back of our mind saying, "If they've even got bidets, they must have fantastic WiFi."

Related Stories:
· The First Class Lounge at Turkish Air is Rather Palatial [Jaunted]
· Security Guards in Qatar's First Class Lounge Won't Allow Any Pictures [Jaunted]
· Heathrow Terminal 5 Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: garybembridge]

BA Jet Crash Lands at London City Airport, All Aboard Okay

February 14, 2009 at 2:14 PM | 0 Comments

Passengers and crew on a British Airways flight arriving in London Friday night got a serious scare as the plane's nose wheel collapsed during landing, sending the Avro 146 RJ100 skidding down the runway until it came to a stop. None of the 67 passengers and four crew members were killed, but one suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, which involved those deployable exit slides that would probably be a lot of fun outside of emergency situations. The flight originated in Amsterdam and was touching down at London City Airport, a single-runway airport for STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) airliners that primarily serves the city's financial district, when the nose gear buckled with a resounding boom.

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Thousands to Get the Shaft from Limping Airlines

February 13, 2009 at 2:46 PM | 0 Comments

Just as United announced that they would be getting rid of their India complaint call center in favor of keeping the jobs here in the States, other airlines have spoiled the fun by adding to the economic blow with more layoffs of their own.

According to the travel man himself, Peter Greenberg, the impact is widespread and includes US Airways, British Airways, American Airlines, United, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and even SAS Scandinavian Airlines. Joining the rest of us in the unemployment line will sadly be 233 from US Airways, 1,000 at United, 600 at Virgin and 800 at RyanAir, and a scarily hefty exodus of 3,000 from SAS.

There go our fantasies of being a flight attendant. In fact, who knows how this will affect the flight crew and reservation agents with seniority, as they often reap the nice paychecks that the airlines are looking to keep. Since deeper flight discounts only mean more trouble for the airlines, even though they put paying flyers into empty seats, the trend will obviously be going nowhere but downward.

Related Stories:
· US Airways, Virgin, Other Airlines Laying Off Thousands [Peter Greenberg]
· United Will No Longer Listen to Your Phone Rants [Jaunted]
· Airline News coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas]