Jaunted

Tags: Miracle on the Hudson / AIrplanes / Airplane News / Airbus / Chesley Sullenberger / Flight 1549 / US Airways / → All Tags

US Airways' 'Miracle on the Hudson' Airbus is For Sale!

Anybody looking to develop a new roadside attraction? Have we got the deal for you! The now-infamous Airbus 320 of US Airways Flight 1549—which performed a flawless emergency water landing after a bid strike took out its engines—is up for auction.

WIRED and Gothamist fill us in on the details of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity:

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Tags: Checked Baggage Fees / Delta / JetBlue / Baggage Fees / Southwest Airlines / US Airways / United / Continental / Airline Fees / → All Tags

Kayaks, Surfboards, and Antlers: How to Check 'Special Item' Luggage

Honestly we have enough trouble dealing with checking just one piece of luggage, so it’s difficult for us to imagine dealing with anything unique at the check-in counter. Surprisingly, airlines are pretty welcoming when it comes to your oversized bags, sports equipment, musical instruments, and anything else you might need to bring with you. However, it’s going to cost you a few extra bucks.

If you’ve got a big track and field meet coming up or just want to bring a nice present to Bruce Jenner, no need to worry about bringing your javelin on the airplane—it’s totally cool. It will need to be checked—no carrying it on please—and if you’re flying on Continental Airlines it will cost you the same as any other checked bag. American Airlines isn’t as friendly to javelin throwers, and they’ll charge $100 in addition to their usual checked bag fees. Vaulting poles aren’t allowed on American, but United will take up to two poles in a case for $175—at that point it might be worth just driving.

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Tags: Travel Tips / Tickets / Airfares / Airlines / Delta / United / JetBlue / American Airlines / Continental / US Airways / Southwest Airlines / → All Tags

How To Cancel Your Airline Ticket Within 24 Hours

We’ve all purchased airfare without really thinking, but sometimes the buyer’s remorse is just a little too much. Despite the chance at an incredible fare there’s always something that makes it seem not worth it—like hitting the limit on your credit card. Thankfully there are still a few airlines that allow you to cancel your reservation within 24 hours. We’ve rounded up some of the policies below to ensure that you can fire first and ask questions later.

· Delta
As long as your make your purchase through Delta or Expedia—that means no Orbitz or other booking engines—you can cancel your ticket up to midnight the following day. Just make sure that your trip is originating from the United States, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or Canada. You don’t even need to call them, because you can just head to their website and take care of everything.

More ways to get your money back after the break...

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Tags: Baggage Fees / Checked Baggage Fees / US Airways / Airline Fees / United / → All Tags

United Airlines and US Airways Happily Match Checked Bag Fee Hike to $25

WHEN WILL IT STOP?! Probably never, and that's our final answer.

This week's big airline news has been the abrupt increase in fees for your first checked bag, going from $20 to $25 on two airlines; first went Delta, then Continental, and now we add a third and fourth airline—United and US Airways. American is the last legacy carrier holding out and of course it probably won't take long for them because once there's blood in the water...

The United announcement was made late on Wednesday, and it took affect yesterday, with United charging $25 to check one bag at the airport and $35 for a second bag on flights within the United States, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Canada. You can shave off a few measly dollars by checking it online and doing the airport bag drop for $23 for the first bag, and $32 for a second. What a rotten deal.

Now that we've been seeing these fees creep up over the last six months or so, we're no longer taken by surprise, but we can't say the same for leisure travelers and those who roll up to the airport with their bags, thinking that nothing has changed. These are the folks who will be hardest hit by the baggage fees, and who will be the most frustrated with check-in agents, so avoid waiting in line behind someone with lots of baggage of check, who maybe is also wearing Juicy Couture sweatpants.

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Tags: Miracle on the Hudson / Chesley Sullenberger / Events / Booze Travel / Flight 1549 / US Airways / → All Tags

Survivors of 'Miracle on the Hudson' Toast the One-Year Anniversary This Friday

On Friday, all 155 crew and passengers who were onboard US Airways Flight 1549 a year ago will celebrate still being alive, since that was the plane that safely landed in the Hudson River after a bird strike knocked out all of its engines.

Has it been a year already? We guess so, since Captain Sully has his book out, he's back to flying, the passengers finally got their luggage back (soggy, but still), and the talk shows are over having them on TV as guests. But damnit, they're still going to let their hair down and celebrate the fact that they didn't die in a horrific plane crash a year ago, so they're all heading back to New York City on Friday for a day of ceremonies to commemorate the occasion.

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Tags: Biofuels / Green Travel / Airline News / Airlines / Delta / US Airways / JetBlue / → All Tags

Around 15 Airlines Sign Up To Make Biofuels Less A Dream, More A Reality

It’s been almost two years since Richard Branson first praised the benefits of coconuts as a possible alternative to fly his planes around the globe. Since then, there have been many different biofuel blends and several successful test flights. Companies are certainly trying their best to become the ExxonMobil of green fuel, and the marketing departments behind camelina and jatropha are trying to illustrate while their oily plants are the best. One company, AltAir Fuels, is having a little bit of success with it all, and they plan to partner with about 15 airlines to provide some green juice.

Airlines like Air Canada, Delta, JetBlue, and US Airways have all agreed to think about purchasing up to 750 million gallons of eco-friendly jet fuel from AltAir Fuels. Their magic ingredient of choice is camelina—sorry jatropha fans. The green travel juice will be made in Washington, and the company is hoping that 100 million gallons of fuel will be made each year, starting in 2012.

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Tags: In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / Airline News / Airlines / Technology / Lists / Air Canada / Airtran / Alaska Airlines / American Airlines / Continental / Delta / Jetblue / Southwest / United / US Airways / Virgin America / Lufthansa / Virgin Atlantic / Emirates / → All Tags

Jaunted's 2009 Airline In-Flight WiFi Guide

Let 2009 be known as the year that the airlines embraced the internet. Whether through Facebook and Twitter or web-only specials, they really put themselves out there. But the most revolutionary change to come was the proliferation of In-Flight WiFi. The seeds of connectivity were planted in 2008 and they budded this year, but 2010 will see the bloom and boom of airlines with WiFi. Already we have eleven carriers that are either already online or signed up to start very soon. And that's not counting the international airlines with their grand long-haul plans.

Let's look at the status of the WiFi on each of these airlines, but first you'll need to know a quick bit about the major providers of in-flight WiFi, and there are three:
· Gogo, a terrestrial-based service that relies on signal towers on the ground. This is the most popular choice.
· Row 44, a satellite-based service that allows for uninterrupted browsing, even over bodies of water.
· LiveTV, used only by Jetblue and sadly lagging behind with extremely limited internet access.

And now, without further ado, Jaunted's 2009-2010 Airline In-Flight WiFi Status Update...

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Tags: Airport News / Airport / CLE / PIT / US Airways / Continental / → All Tags

What Happened To Pittsburgh's Airport Could Spread To Cleveland

Since you’ll probably be spending some time in an airport hub during your holiday travels, we thought we’d share a little story about one in particular. Unfortunately for the airport and the city, it’s just not as important as it once was. We’re talking about the Pittsburgh International Airport, and after US Airways shifted their planes and people elsewhere, the place has become a little empty.

Most of the additions were built at the airport to please US Airways, because after all, they were the one bringing in all the jobs and jets into the area. It cost about $1 billion to get the Pittsburgh airport to where it needed to be at the time, but now it seems that the construction and cash was all for naught. The place was supposed to hold over 30 million passengers a year without a problem, but now it only sees about 8 million passengers wheeling their suitcases through the terminals.

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Tags: Airline Fees / Airline News / US Airways / Delta / United / Holiday Travel / → All Tags

Three Airlines Become True Grinches By Raising Holiday Surcharges

That's right lady, go ahead and type in our checked baggage fees and holiday surcharges; we now know to avoid your airline in future travels. You see, three airlines have become the grinches of the holiday travel season. Not only are they throwing down the baggage fees, but they're already upping recently-announced peak travel surcharges, some of which continue through to 2010.

The offending airlines are: United, Delta and US Airways. Might as well just throw all your spare change and travel coffee money at them now, with all the little additional nicks they're taking at your wallet...

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Tags: Airline Fees / Airline News / Airlines / Holiday Travel / Delta / American Airlines / US Airways / United / → All Tags

Random Airline Fees Continue Into 2010, Including Super Bowl Travel

Remember all those airline fees that were pouring in a few months ago related to this season’s holiday travel? Well the airlines must have really enjoyed what they were seeing, as they are now looking to tack in some additional charges for days well into 2010. Delta, United, and American Airlines are busy adding these presents to our tickets anytime they think travel will be busier than usual.

The website BestFares.com is reporting that Delta and United have added surcharges to as many as 40 days between now and next May. The fees can be as much as $30 each way depending on distance, time, and other factors that appeal to the airlines. Our favorite airline fee has to be the $50 one-way charge that has now been added to some flights on February 8. In case you don’t have the NFL calendar kicking around, that’s the day after the Super Bowl. Not like we could afford tickets anyway, but we can still be angry about it.

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Tags: Airline News / American Airlines / US Airways / Airline Mergers / Airlines / → All Tags

American and US Airways Might Sneak A Kiss Under The Mistletoe

Last week we were intrigued with the latest developments regarding a possible merger between United and Continental, but this week there’s a different merger rumor kicking around. Unfortunately—or fortunately depending who you ask—this one doesn’t seem as likely. We’re talking about the possibility of American Airlines and US Airways joining forces.

American and Delta jostle for the title of largest carrier, but like we said last week, if Continental and United hooked up they would move into first and American would fall to third behind the newly formed Delta. That’s got to hurt your ego, even if everyone remembers that first is the worst and second is the best.

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Tags: Frequent Flyer Programs / Mileage Programs / US Airways / Airline News / → All Tags

US Airways Rearranges Frequent Flyer Program To Give 'More Flexibility.' Oh Noes!

US Airways just published a press release promising customers a new tier system for frequent flier purchases, the promise being that travelers will get "more choices and flexibility." Right now there are three kinds of award bookings you can make using your miles: off-peak, mileage saver, and standard awards. After January 6, 2010 there will be four categories: off-peak, low, medium, and high awards.

Essentially they've taken one of their awards tiers and split it into two. Fair enough. But now they get to rearrange what each rewards ticket costs into a 4-category system, and here's where things get interesting; will they use the new system as a cover for making everything more expensive?

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