Air Travel

Private jet travel – on a budget

Air Travel, ,

 

How’s this for a sweet airfare deal: $499 for all four seats on a private jet from Santa Monica, Calif., to Las Vegas. Drinks and refreshments included. You choose the departure time.

That was the offer made by JetSuite, a West Coast charter-jet company, last week on Facebook and Twitter for a flight the following day.

There were a few catches: Only one flight was available, it was one way and it was subject to 7.5 percent federal excise tax.

But for a flexible traveler going that way, perhaps with a few friends or business colleagues to help split the bill, the last-minute deal offered a chance to experience private jet travel without having to pay per-hour flight costs that, industry-wide, can range from $2,500 to $8,000 per hour.

Like other private, on-demand charter jet companies, JetSuite (created by JetBlue founder Alex Wilcox) offers membership programs for customers willing to put down cash in exchange for guaranteed rates. But although JetSuite’s best membership plan claims to offer the industry’s lowest rate (“only $2,975 per hour”) and private jet travel offers clear benefits over commercial airplanes (faster travel, no security checks, plush seating and luxury amenities, to name just a few), this sort of travel is likely remain the bailiwick of corporate executives, celebrities and the super rich.

Still, to expand the number of people who might someday consider booking a private jet, JetSuite has turned to social media to fill empty seats and broaden the market.

Each day between 4 and 6 p.m., JetSuite sends out a message on Twitter telling followers that the company has posted the next day’s $499 SuiteDeals on Facebook. Most last-minute, one-way offers will be short hops between the West Coast or Northeast cities regularly served by JetSuite, but company president Keith Rabin notes that because JetSuite is a charter company, “the flights could be anywhere. Missoula, Las Vegas, San Francisco; wherever someone may have booked one of our four-passenger jets.”

“It’s an interesting concept,” said Joe Brancatelli of the business travel website, Joe Sent Me. “There are some other private-jet rental firms doing this kind of ‘remainder’ stuff in various channels,” but they all face the same problem. “You’re left to the commercial system for your return flight. In most cases, prices for walk-up, one-way fares — unless, of course, you can score a Southwest or JetBlue flight — are insanely high.”

(This story first appeared on msnbc.com’s Travel Kit: Private jet travel – at affordable prices.)

Survey confirms: air travel sucks

Air Travel, Airlines, Airports, Security,

A new survey confirms what most travelers already know: modern air travel can be stressful, frustrating and exhausting.

“Air travel has lost its spark,” said Tom Rossbach, director of aviation architecture for HNTB, the architecture, engineering and construction company that commissioned the survey. “Going to the airport just isn’t as glamorous as it used to be. Now it’s just a chore.”

Of the survey’s 1,000 U.S. respondents, 44 percent called air travel stressful, 41 percent said it was frustrating and 32 percent declared it downright exhausting. Very few people (16 percent) found air travel easy, luxurious (5 percent) or relaxing (7 percent).

Math whizzes will note that these totals add up to more than 100 percent but survey respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer to the question: “Air travel is…”

Not surprisingly, the survey found that air travelers are displeased with the modern-day airport security-screening process. “The biggest frustration is with waiting in those long lines,” said Rossbach.

 

Only 22 percent said airport security-screening procedures were effective and only 11 percent said it was efficient. A mere 4 percent found it pleasant while 42 percent found the security checkpoint “a hassle.”

But some travelers are optimistic that new technology and better airport amenities can help patch things up.

According to the survey, almost half of Americans think that over that last 10 years there’s been improvement in terminal amenities such as shops, food options and entertainment. And more than half count the now ubiquitous self-check-in kiosks among the improvements.

Going forward, more than a quarter of the survey respondents would like to see paper baggage tags replaced by electronic GPS tags. And 53 percent said they’d feel safer in an airplane that had “NextGen” GPS technology installed, instead of the current radar-based system.

More than 10 percent of respondents would also like to see improvements at airport drop-off and pick-up curbs and at the departure gate lounges as well as a few more designated areas for quiet or conversation.

“We’re going to take this information and use to it design better airports with facilities that are easier to manage and much more enjoyable to be in,” said Rossbach.

100 percent of travelers would most likely say yes to that.

(I first wrote this story for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Lessons learned from the Singapore Airlines Training Center – part 1

Air Travel, Airlines, Airplanes, Safety, , ,

It’s been fun this week to learn about and, better yet, experience, the plush seats and top notch service offered to business and first class passengers on board Singapore Airlines’ new A380 service from JFK to Frankfurt and Singapore.

Demo of bed in First Class suite on Singapore AIrlines A380

But there’s also a serious side to these giant airplanes: safety.

That’s why I was so interested – and so attentive – on a tour of the Singapore Airlines Training Center.

A mock-up of the A380 is set up here and, on a tour of the facilities, we learned that not only is the drop from the door to the floor exactly the same height as it would be out in the ‘real ‘ world, but that every member of the Singapore Airline’s crew must return here each year for a training ‘check-up’ that includes deploying and going down these slides.

That way, if there’s an emergency, crew members “don’t think; they respond,” the trainer on duty told us.

I wondered what the famously polite Singapore Airlines crew members are taught to do in an emergency with a passenger who might balk at going down a slide.

“Those passengers would feel a gentle, but firm, push,” the trainer told us.

I would have liked to try out that evacuation slide, but thought twice about even asking to jump into the cold, choppy waves outside the water evacuation pod used for practice in the next room:

Noticing the heels and the outfits some members of our tour group were wearing, the trainer also offered some “dress for success” tips in case of a flying emergency: Thumbs up on loose slacks and low heels. Thumbs down on pantyhose, high heels and clothing apt to be flammable.

I’d heard those tips before – and mostly ignored them – but after getting a close look at these evacuation paths – and heights – I’m going shopping for new, safer, travel outfits.

Next up: Transforming flight attendant trainees into crew-worthy gems.


Note: I’m in Singapore as a guest of Singapore Airlines.

My CNN “Business Insider” feature on airport amenities

Air Travel, Airports, , ,

I thought I’d agreed to be interviewed for a CNN “Business Insider” feature on airport amenities, but when I showed up it turned out the producers wanted me to be more “hosty” than that.

So I gave it a try.

See what you think. (And please, be kind…)

BUSINESS INSIDER-AIRPORT AMENITIES from linda saether on Vimeo.

(Bankrupt) American Airlines offers complimentary beer & wine on int’l flights

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American Airlines, whose parent company, AMR Corporation, filed for bankruptcy at the end of November, 2011, isn’t going down without a fight.

This week the airline announced that, beginning February 1, main cabin passengers on many international flights will once again be served complimentary beer and wine, a practice discontinued some time ago.


Here’s the deal:

“Customers traveling on American-operated flights between the U.S. and Europe, the U.S. and Asia and / or onboard long-haul flights between the U.S. and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay can choose from a variety of complimentary beer and wine options, in addition to the full selection of nonalcoholic beverages.”

What’s next? Complimentary pillows and blankets?

UFO? Nope, just a shark.

Air Travel, Fun Stuff, ,

You know how sometimes you don’t even know that something exists and then, all of a sudden, it’s everywhere?

On New Year’s Day I looked out the window and saw this shark flying by:

I ran outside, snapped this photo and learned that my young neighbor had received this Air Swimmer shark as a present.

“You fill it with helium and it flies by remote control,” he told me, “I’m bringing it over to show my friend.”

Cool, right?

Well, it seems like my neighbor wasn’t the only one to get a flying shark for Christmas.

Consider this report, found in the New Zealand Herald, about a flying shark spotted way off course:

“….[F]rom a pilot on the Wings Over New Zealand Aviation Forum: ‘There I was, just cruising around at about 1500 feet above Hamilton …when I see an object that looks like a helicopter off in the distance. However, without getting much bigger (i.e. closer) it suddenly whizzes past my left wing … and although it has the same general shape as a chopper, this thing has fins and a tail instead of rotors. Despite the warning on the box of the Air Swimmer Shark (for indoor use only) someone’s $80 Christmas present (with $50 worth of helium) is drifting gently southwest over Hamilton city, climbing at about 200 feet a minute. I did my civic duty and reported it …as a hazard.”

Playing musical chairs on an airplane

Air Travel, Seating,

Each Friday on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin I tackle a reader’s question. This week the topic was:

Is your airplane seat assignment sacred?

That’s what Dennis Palkoner wanted to know.

Palkoner and his wife are both elite frequent fliers and often receive first-class upgrades for their flights.

Lucky them, right? The only problem: often the upgraded seats are not together.

Palkoner said that when this happens his strategy is to “politely ask the person in the seat next to our upgraded seat if they will switch seats so my wife and I can sit together.”

He said this works “100% of the time” but wants to know: First class or not, “Do airlines mind if I change seats with another passenger?

“I can’t speak for all airlines,” said Heather Poole, a long-time flight attendant and author of “Cruising Attitude” (due out March, 2012). “But at mine it is OK for passengers to swap seats in the same cabin they purchased their ticket in.”

Sara Keagle, a flight attendant who blogs at The FlyingPinto.com, said the same policy exists at the airline she works for. “My airline does charge for premium seats such as exit rows and bulkheads, so as long as [an economy cabin passenger] doesn’t choose those seats, it’s fine.”

Passengers within the premium zones can trade amongst themselves, said Keagle. “And we do let passengers trade seats from coach to first class, but that is done on the ground and there is no switching back once the door closes for departure.”

How — or why — would someone swap a first-class seat for one in coach? “Sometimes one person in a couple will get an upgrade but they’ll want to sit together, so they will offer their seat in first class to their neighbor in coach,” said Keagle.

“We want our customers to have a safe and comfortable travel experience, so changing seats or moving to an empty seat within the customer’s respective cabin is fine,” said Delta Air Lines spokesperson Anthony Black. “But it is always a good idea to ask the flight attendants if it’s OK to move and the best — and safest — time to do so.”

When swapping or moving to an open seat, there are some things to keep in mind.

Another passenger may have purchased two seats to insure that no one is seated next to them. “Smaller planes may have weight and balance issues, and there are certain requirements passengers must meet in order to sit in an exit row,” said Poole.

Even Southwest Airlines, well-known for its open-seating policy, has given seat-swapping some thought.

“Our policy allows customers to choose seats that fulfill their personal preferences,” said Southwest spokesperson Michelle Agnew. “But it’s not uncommon for our flight attendants to ask customers if they are willing to switch seats to accommodate a family who would like to sit together.”

Agnew says customers are usually very accommodating and flexible in those situations. Perhaps it’s because flight attendants often thank those customers “with a complimentary adult beverage if they are of age.”

Travel tips from an airline gate agent

Air Travel, Airports, Security, Travel tips,

Christopher Schaberg, who’s lovely, brand new book “The Textual Life of Airports” showed up in the mail today, was curious about my post here yesterday about surprising advice I received on Christmas Day from an airline gate agent at Washington’s National Airport.

Spokane Airport TSA

 

My husband had gone back out through security to buy a book and was very late getting back to the gate.

I waited and worried. And as the doors for the flight were about to close,  I asked the gate agent about my options. His response: “If ever thought about leaving your husband, this is your chance.”

Schaberg wrote to ask: “So what happened?!?”

I’m happy to report that I didn’t leave my husband behind at the airport.

In a ‘saved by the bell’ moment, he appeared at the gate – shoes in hand – having raced down the concourse after being re-scanned at the security checkpoint.

The gate agent looked a little disappointed, but he winked, ushered us onto the plane and wished us a Merry Christmas.

Have you gotten advice from someone who has seen it all at the airport? Please share your story.

 

 

 

Marriage advice from the airline gate agent

Air Travel, Airports, Travel tips,

The security checkpoint lines at Washington’s Reagan National Airport weren’t terribly long when we began our trip home to Seattle on Christmas Day, so my husband thought he had plenty of time to go back out through security to pick up something to read at the bookstore.

To save time on the way back, he left his carry-on, his coat, his cell phone and buckle-heavy belt with me by the gate.

But as the plane began – and finished – boarding and the gate agent made a ‘last call’ announcement, there was no sign of my husband.

I imagined him blissed-out there among the bestsellers, not paying attention to time. Then I thought perhaps he’d left his boarding pass behind along with his phone.

Irritated and a wee bit concerned (Was he passed out in the terminal? Sick in the bathroom?) I asked the gate agent for some options.

He didn’t skip a beat.

“Well,” he said, “If you were ever considering leaving your husband, this is your chance.”

Tidbits for travelers: more holiday events at airports & in the skies

Air Travel, Fun Stuff, Holidays, , ,

If you’re heading to Toronto Pearson International Airport, you have one more day to take advantage of their “tweet-a-carol” program.

Anyone with family or friends traveling on a flight within Canada though December 24 can send a tweet to @torontopearson with the passengers’ first name and flight number and airport carolers will greet them with a holiday song on arrival.

At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, travelers might be able to spot Santa Claus through December 26 and encounter the white Wish Fairies, the Xmas Skate Girls and other performers.

And through the end of January, 2012, Jan Dellaertplein, the square in front of the terminal, remains transformed into a winter wonderland complete with an ice-skating rink and complimentary skate rentals.

And, of course, NORAD , the U.S.-Canadian military organization that spends the rest of the year focused on the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada, is using a wide variety of sophisticated methods to track Santa’s progress around the world.

Here’s a tracking map to see where Santa is now:

Have a great holiday!