Airlines

Now two airlines will ship your wine for free

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Love wine? Love taking wine home when you travel?

We do too.

Alaska Airlines has a long-running and very popular Wine Flies Free program that allows members of its mileage plan program to check a case of wine without having to pay an extra baggage fee when flying from 32 West Coast cities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.

As a great and valuable bonus, in Oregon, Washington and Idaho your Alaska Airlines boarding pass gets you free wine tastings at participatng wineries.

Now Avelo Airlines is joining the wine-flies-free bandwagon with its own version of the program.

The airline doesn’t service as many cities as Alaska does, but beginning on National Wine Day (May 25), Avelo customers can begin checking a case of wine for free from the Bay Area’s Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, CA.

Avelo currently offers nonstop flights from Sonoma to Salem, Oregon (SLE), Bend/Redmond (RDM), Boise (BOI), Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) in Kalispell, MT, Las Vegas (LAS), Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Palm Springs (PSP).

“We know that visiting the vineyards and sampling Northern California’s world-famous wines is one of the most appealing reasons for visiting the Sonoma County region,” said Avelo Airlines Founder and CEO Andrew Levy, “It is our hope Avelo’s new Wine Travels Free program will make our Customers’ trips to California Wine Country that much more enjoyable and memorable.”

On both Alaska and Avelo, you must be at least 21 years of age to take advantage of this perk. And on both airlines one case of wine is considered to be a single box or case containing up to 12 bottles and weighing 50 lbs or less.

Let’s raise a glass to airlines that let wines fly free.

(photo courtesy Flickr Commons)

Airline barf bags. The anniversary & the movie

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No one wants to get sick on an airplane. But if you feel ill, it’s good to know there’s usually an air sickness bag in the seatback pocket.

And, as there is for most everything, there are people who are serious about collecting (unused) airline barf bags.

This short film includes interviews with some of the world’s air sickness bag collectors. The film also notes that this travel amenity shares its 75th anniversary with Dramamine, a medication designed to combat air sickness that may, some worry, signal the demise of collectible airline barf bag.

Airlines offer travel advisories/waivers for weather & 737-9 MAX inspections

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Between the storms in many regions of the country and the grounding of all Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft for inspection, there are a lot of flight cancellations, schedule disruptions, and airline travel alerts.

Here are links to the current travel advisories and waivers (as of early Tuesday, January 9, 2024) in effect for some of the major airlines. Be sure to check your airline’s website for the latest updates on these advisories,

Alaska Airlines

On its website, Alaska Airlines is advising travelers that due to Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft inspections and winter weather in the Northeast, they are offering a flexible travel policy for travelers who want to change or cancel their flights. Original travel dates include January 9.

American Airlines

American Airlines has a travel alert for close to 60 cities that may be affected by severe weather in the Eastern US and Canada. The airline will waive your change fee if you traveling in any fare class and are scheduled to fly January 9-10 and can travel instead January 9 – 15. See here for more details on American Airlines’ travel advisory.

Delta Air Lines

for Delta Air Lines has travel advisories posted for winter weather in the Midwest that may affect more than two dozen airports and as many in the Northeastern U.S.

JetBlue

JetBlue has also issued travel alerts for winter weather in the Midwest and the Northeastern US.

In the Midwest, the airline will waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for customers traveling through January 9 to or from Chicago (ORD), Detroit (DTW), Kansas City (MCI), Milwaukee (MKE), and Minneapolis – St. Paul (MSP). The travel alert covers about 15 airports in the Northeast. Customers may rebook their flights through January 13.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines has travel alerts posted for the Midwest and the East Coast.

United Airlines

For those scheduled to fly on a Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane, United Airlines offers these options:

You can reschedule your trip and have the change fees and fare differences waived. Your new flight must be a United flight departing by January 18, 2024. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked. Trips rebooked after January 18, 2024, will still have the change fee waived, but there may be a fare difference. Cancelling and getting a full refund is also an option.

SFO Airport remembers Virgin America. Do you?

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Remember Virgin America?

The carrier began operating in 2007 and became a passenger favorite thanks to leather seats, cool cabin mood lighting, premium entertainment systems, a super-catchy award-winning safety video (see below), and its high-energy flight and ground crews dressed in hip, casual uniforms.

Virgin America’s planes had cool names, such as Jefferson Airplane, Legally High, and Let There Flight. And when new routes were kicked off, Richard Branson would often show up

The airline ceased operations in 2018 following its acquisition by Alaska Airlines. But the airline lives on in the collection of the SFO Museum at San Fransisco International Airport (SFO).

A new exhibition at SFO, titled VX Forever: The Legacy of Virgin America includes flight and ground crew uniforms and accessories, inflight service items, promotional material, seats, photographs, and ephemera.

Look for the free Virgin America exhibit pre-security in the Aviation Museum and Library in the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport through November 17, 2024.

(otos courtesy SFO Museum)

What? Alaska Airlines to merge with Hawaiian Airlines

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On Sunday, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines announced a plan to merge in a deal that has line Alaska Airlines buying Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.

“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai‘i travelers,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines CEO in a statement.

Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO said, “Since 1929, Hawaiian Airlines has been an integral part of life in Hawai‘i, and together with Alaska Airlines we will be able to deliver more for our guests, employees, and the communities that we serve.”

What does this mean for travelers?

While many details are still unknown, and some are likely to change before the deal officially goes through (a 12 to 18-month process) here are some of the highlights of this weekend’s announcement, from a message sent to customers on Sunday evening by Alaska’s Ben Minicucci:

The brands will remain: The Virgin America name was retired after it was purchased by Alaska Airlines. But Alaska Airlines says it plans to keep the Hawaiian Airlines brand on airplanes, at airports, and elsewhere. “It will exist alongside the Alaska Airlines brand, supported by a single operating platform and industry-leading loyalty program,” Minicucci said in his statement.

There will be more destinations: The deal will bring a combined network of 138 destinations, including non-stop service to 29 international destinations such as Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Auckland, as well as over 1,200 global destinations through the oneworld Alliance, Alaska notes in its statement. The combined airline will have a fleet of 365 narrow- and wide-body airplanes, according to Alaska.

Headquarters to remain in Seattle: The new combined organization will be based in Seattle and headed by Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, but Honolulu will become a new key hub.

What about ticket prices? There is where this deal could have a downside. “Competition between airlines is the single biggest cause of cheap flights,” notes Going’s Scott Keyes, “A merger between these two airlines—whose route maps have dozens of flights that overlap—would result not in more cheap flights for consumers, but fewer.”

How do the flight attendants feel about this?

On Sunday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), which represents over 6,800 Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines and 2,200 Flight Attendants at Hawaiian Airlines, released a statement:

“Our first priority is to determine whether this merger will improve conditions for Flight Attendants just like the benefits the companies have described for shareholders and consumers. Our support of the merger will depend on this.

“As a practical matter, our union Constitution and Bylaws provides a detailed process for this review with AFA leadership from each airline. Mergers take time – this will not happen overnight. Our union will continue to press forward in negotiations at Alaska Airlines. Alaska Flight Attendants, joined by Hawaiian Flight Attendants, will be on the picket line on Dec. 19 as holiday travel takes off.”