Alaska Airlines

More on FAA proposed fines for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air

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Maybe it was a wing and a prayer…

Today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a proposed civil penalty of $210,000 against Alaska Airlines for allegedly failing to properly document and tag deactivated systems and equipment before making repairs.

At the same time, the FAA announced a proposed $445,125 civil penalty against Alaska’s regional partner, Horizon Air, for allegedly operating a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

Ouch!

Alaska and Horizon have 30 days to respond to the FAA’s enforcement letter and today Alaska Airlines spokesperson Bobbie Egan said the airlines are working with the FAA to respond to the proposed penalties. She also shared these details about the cited incidents.

Alaska Airlines:

According to the FAA, Alaska Airlines did not properly document when the approved alternate procedure was used for making the aircraft safe, for instance while replacing a landing light.

These procedures are used during ground maintenance and were performed 10 times on six airplanes. In these instances, Alaska performed the required maintenance work according to the aircraft manufacturer’s specifications; however, we did not properly document the alternate procedure. The maintenance was performed during ground operational checks and at no time were passengers or employees in danger.

Since receiving the letter of investigation, Alaska has implemented a number of changes to ensure compliance, including revising the maintenance manual, implementing a new training program for aircraft technicians and performing routine compliance audits.

Horizon Air

According to the FAA, Horizon did not properly document compliance with an Airworthiness Directive in March 2011 while inspecting an aircraft fitting on one of the engine coverings, which is called a nacelle. Horizon performed the required inspection, however, we did not properly document our maintenance due to a misunderstanding over wording on the work order. (The fitting was located on a spar that attaches to the nacelle.)

The aircraft was immediately removed from service the day after the inspection when we realized we had incorrectly documented the work. The aircraft was re-inspected and found to be in proper order. Horizon has improved its work order for this engine fitting inspection to prevent a misunderstanding in the future.

FAA regulations require inspection of the engine nacelle fittings every 300 flight hours. Horizon is replacing the fittings with an improved part that does not require recurring inspections.

I’m no mechanic, but I do fly a lot, so whether the fines are warranted or not, I ‘m glad to know attention is being paid to everyone’s safety.

Tidbits for travelers: contests & an out of control flight attendant

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The folks at Kansas City International Airport are pretty excited that Alaska Airlines has started service to Seattle. So excited that they’re having a contest to give away two round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines between there and Seattle, Portland, Vancouver or Anchorage. Enter here. Deadline: March 21, 2012.

As long as you’re entering contests, enter this American Airlines contest for a trip to Napa Valley, New York or Paris. It looks like you need to buy a ticket to enter, but if you go to this page, you’ll find an alternate no-purchase-necessary option.

The email I received about the promotion promised a once-in-lifetime experience, but on Friday a planeload of passengers got an unwelcome, once in a lifetime experience when a flight attendant had a serious meltdown before the flight took off.

Here’s a TV news story about the event.

The flight attendant is getting medical attention and we hope she’ll be OK. But, interestingly enough, I received an email today from someone who said he was on another American Airlines flight a while back where a flight attendant was exhibiting the same sort of behavior.

“On my flight we were also told the plane could go down, people will and do die of heart attacks, and as we would be travelling over water we could drown when the plane goes down. It was not the most pleasant trip I have ever taken because there was some concern the flight attendant could do something really stupid in mid-air, such as open the cabin door. Suffice to stay I remained on alert the entire flight time.”

It’s impossible to tell yet if this is the same flight attendant, but pretty scary either way…

Amen? Alaska Airlines removes prayer cards from flights

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Do these cards look familiar?

When Alaska Airlines served meals to all passengers, these card would be tucked under a plate on the meal tray.

But in a memo sent to its frequent fliers Wednesday, the airline announced that the prayer cards it has been providing to passengers on meal trays for the past 30 years will be discontinued as of Feb. 1.

“A former marketing executive borrowed the idea from another airline and introduced the cards to our passengers in the late 1970s to differentiate our service,” the memo written by the company’s chairman and president explained.

For my story on msnbc.com, airline spokesperson Bobbie Egan told me that over the years the airline has received letters and e-mails from customers for and against the card. Last fall the company decided to stop distributing the cards because, Egan said, “We believe it’s the right thing to do in order to respect the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of all our customers and employees.”

Meal tray service in the coach class ended six years ago, so the prayer cards have been provided only to passengers in the first class cabin. MVP Gold flier Roz Schatman gets the cards on her meal tray quite often. “In the spirit of diversity, I find them offensive,” she said.

The Alaska Airline statement said that while some passengers enjoyed the cards, reactions like Schatman’s were not unusual.

“…[W]e’ve heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane, and some are offended when we hand out the cards. Religious beliefs are deeply personal and sharing them with others is an individual choice.”

“It always seemed odd to me,” said George Hobica of the consumer travel website Airfarewatchdog.com. “Flying on a wing and prayer? I don’t think those two go together.”

What do you think? Would you be pleased or perturbed to get a prayer card with your meal on an airline?

Souvenir Sunday: tiny travel items and free in-flight Wi-Fi

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Free Wi-FI at airport

This weekend kicks off a great holiday promotion that provides travelers with a truly useful travel souvenir. Depending on when you travel, you’ll be able to get free in-flight Wi-Fi on four airlines: Air Tran, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Virgin America.

Domestic travelers on Air Tran, Delta and Virgin America will be able to use the Gogo Inflight Internet for free on all Wi-Fi equipped planes from now through January 2, 2011. (Thank-you, Google Chrome). Travelers on Alaska Airlines can log on to Gogo for free from now through December 9, 2010.  (Thank-you, Honda.)

While you’re up there poking around the Internet for free, please take a moment to look at the Passports with Purposes website.

A word-wide team of bloggers has banded together to try to raise $50,000 to build a village in India.

Last time I looked, the heart-shaped thermometer showed we were just $15,000 short of the goal.

The project on its own is quite worthy, but each $10 you donate gets you an entry ticket for one of a boatload of great prizes, everything from plane tickets and hotel stays to upscale travel gear, an iPod, an iPad and swanky vacation packages.

My prize partner for the project is Mimimus.biz, the popular website that stocks pretty much anything you can think of in travel-sized and single-serving sizes.

minimus.biz hummus dip

They’ve donated a surprise box stuffed with essential, curious and luxury travel-sized items that I hope will include the organic Amazonian lip balm that comes packaged in a tree nut, TSA-friendly single servings of hummus and the Duncan Imperial Yo-Yo keychain.

minimus.biz imperial duncan Yo-Yo key chain

Free Wi-Fi on Alaska Airlines… on one route in Alaska

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Heading north to Alaska?

If you see Santa, send us an email from your flight.

While Aircell works on completing its Alaska-wide Gogo Inflight internet network for Alaska Airlines, passengers flying between Anchorage and Fairbanks will be able to use the service for free.

So far, Alaska Airlines has installed Wi-Fi equipment on more than 70 percent of its Boeing 737 aircraft and predicts it will have its entire fleet Wi-Fi ready by early 2011.

Site visit: Bellingham International Airport (BLI)

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Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is a tiny little airport just south of Vancouver, B.C. and about 90 miles north of Seattle.

Bellingham International Airport

In 2004, about 70,000 passengers boarded planes at this airport.

But then Alaska/Horizon Airlines and Allegiant Air began expanding their flight schedules here.

Now service is offered to cool places such as Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and, soon, Honolulu – at prices that are competitive with big city airports in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

So now this three-gate airport is serving closer to 400,000 passengers a year.

And it’s bursting at the seams.

Good thing there’s a major expansion project in the works.

Bellingham Airport historic photo

In September, the airport closed down entirely while the runway was upgraded.

By March, Phase I of a major terminal expansion will be completed.

And that will bring the total number of gates to 5.

Art Choat, the airport’s director of aviation, says the airport has no choice but to grow.

But he promises the changes won’t alter the sense of community at this airport, where there’s a collection box for the local food bank at the security checkpoint and a rack of used books for sale at the concession stand.

used books at Bellingham Airport

Souvenir Sunday: shopping the airline stores

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Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive, souvenirs you can pick up in airport shops.  This week, we’re taking what may end up being a several-week side-trip into souvenirs sold by airlines.  Going alphabetically…

Poking around the AirTrain Airways website I found an AirTran Airways Airport Play Set for $10.50, just a wee bit beyond our $10 Souvenir Sunday limit.

This construction set at $5.99 was a better option. As was the Airplane Cockpit Clock, at $9.95.

But over at the Alaska Airlines site I hit pay dirt. This doggie hoodie –with pouch pocket! – comes in four sizes and three colors – but at $15 is out of the Souvenir Sunday budget. (I don’t even own or a dog or know anyone who’d dress their dog in this fashion. But maybe you do..)

But in the $10 range I found what looks like a metal thermos for $10 (the site says silver, but nothing more..) and  pint-size pilot hats, which I’m certain would be a big hit for any kid heading to the airport.

Have you found a great souvenir while stuck at the airport? If it’s costs $10 or less, is “of” the city or region and is, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. It may end up on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday!

Kids flying solo? Here’s what you’ll pay.

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My Well-Mannered Traveler column on msnbc.com this week –Are airlines cashing in on your kids? -addresses some of the new fee airlines will charge you to put your kid on a plane as an unaccompanied minor.

Southwest Airlines gets kudos for not charging customers a fee to take along two checked bags. But the “Bags Fly Free” airline has a different attitude about kids: starting Friday, April 23, 2010 Southwest Airlines is doubling the fee it charges to transport children age 5 to 11 as unaccompanied minors.  The new UM fees — $50 each way, up from $25 each way — are still on the low end of a fee scale that can top $300 per round-trip. But as we learned last June when one airline “misplaced” very young travelers on two much-publicized occasions, parents don’t always get what they think they’re paying for when they fork over these fees.

So as summer travel planning gets underway and kids start looking forward to camp or a visit to a friend or relative in another city, it’s a good time to review airlines fees for unaccompanied minors and the tips for making sure your little solo traveler flies safely.

Bags may be free; your kids aren’t

The news isn’t all bad: Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are actually lowering the fees they charge for accommodating unaccompanied minors.  Starting with tickets purchased May 1, 2010 for travel after June 16th, customers will pay a $25 fee per child for direct flights and $50 per child for connecting flights. This is a reduction from the current $75 fee.

What about other airlines? Prices and rules are always subject to change, but here are the current charges for unaccompanied minors on most domestic airlines. Fees listed below are one-way.

Airtran Airways: $39 for non-stop/direct flights; $59 for itineraries with connections. If two or more children travel together, only one fee is charged.

Alaska/Horizon Airlines $75 each way for children ages 5-12. This fee is for up to three children.  Effective May 1 for travel after June 16: $25 fee per child for direct flights; $50 per child for connecting flights within the Alaska/Horizon network.

American Airlines: $100 each way. Covers two or more children from the same family.

Continental Airlines: $100 each way. Covers children traveling together.

Delta Airlines: $100 each way, per child.

Frontier Airlines: $50 for direct and non-stop flights; $100 for connecting flights. One fee per family.

JetBlue Airways: $75 per child.

Spirit Airlines: $100 each way, per child.

Southwest Airlines: $50 each way, each child.

United Airlines: $99 each way; covers 2 or more children traveling together.

US Airways: $100 each way; non-stop only. Covers two or more children.

Virgin America: $40 one way; non-stop only.

Some details to keep in mind:

Be sure to check for updates, rules and additional fees, which can vary widely and often change on short notice.

For example, some airlines waive the UM fee for children who have achieved frequent flier status. Some airlines do not allow unaccompanied minors to fly after 9 p.m., on the last flight of the day or if bad weather or some other condition (i.e. impending strike or volcano eruption) might cause delays.

Several airlines promise to give your child a snack; others will waive the checked bags fees; and a few charge just a single fee for two or more children traveling together, which can offer significant cost-savings.

And be sure to check those age restrictions: some airlines charge unaccompanied minor fees only for children aged 5-11. Others might insist on collecting an unaccompanied minor fee for teens 14 or even 15 years-old.

Airlines take the fee; you keep the responsibilities

There’s that old saying, “You get what you pay for.” That rule doesn’t necessarily apply when it comes to picking an airline to transport your young solo flier. Remember those ‘mis-delivered’ kids? They were flying on Continental Airlines/Continental Express, which levies a $100 UM fee. Last June, the airline sent a 10-year-old girl to Newark, N.J. instead of Cleveland and flew an 8-year-old girl to Arkansas instead of Charlotte, N.C.

Mistakes happen, of course, and millions of kids fly alone each year with no problems. But there’s plenty you can do to tip the scales in favor of your little unaccompanied minor having a smooth flight.

Make sure you’re prepared:

Nancy Schretter of the Family Travel Network urges parents to do their homework. “Avoid airlines that have had problems [caring for unaccompanied minors] in the past. … Choose larger aircraft and, if possible, stay away from small regional jets. … And think about everything that could happen and be ready to deal with problems.”

Some of those problems could crop up with the all the paperwork associated with sending a child as an unaccompanied minor. Study the rules, have the required phone numbers and identification information ready when you go to the airport and make paper copies of everything, including the airline’s posted unaccompanied minor policy. In researching current fees and rules, I discovered that the advice of reservation agents can conflict with an airline’s posted rules.

Make sure your child is prepared

Arm your child with snacks, some cash, a charged cell phone, emergency phone numbers and books, games and other activities to keep them entertained. And make sure your child knows what to do if things go wrong.

Changes galore in fees and service charges on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air

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Heads up, Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air customers.  A bunch of changes to the airlines’ fees and services were announced today.  The news is good and bad…

Here’s a rundown:

Effective for travel on or after June 16 for tickets purchased beginning May 1.

Checked bags and baggage service guarantee

It will cost you $20 for each of your first three checked bags. This is a $5 increase for the first checked bag, a $5 decrease for the second, and a $30 decrease for the third.

There’s also a change to the carriers baggage service guarantee.  Yes – there’s a service guarantee!

Instead of promising you they’ll get your bags to your within 25 minutes the airlines now promise to get bags to you within 20 minutes.  And if the bags don’t show up in 20 minutes they’ll either give you 2,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles or $20 off a future flight.

Unaccompanied minors

Alaska and Horizon are also lowering the fees for unaccompanied minors ages 5 to 12.

The new fees are $25 per child for direct flights and $50 per child for connecting flights.

This is a reduction from the current $75 fee, which applied to several children traveling together.

[Note: As of tomorrow, April 23, 2010, Southwest Airlines is raising its fares on unaccompanied minors; see news about this and other airlines’ unaccompanied minor fees in my msnbc.com column “Are Airlines Cashing in on your kids?”]

Same-day confirmed travel

If you want to change your flight within six hours of departure, it will cost $25 to confirm a seat.

Outside of that six-hour window, you must pay the difference in fare plus any applicable change fee. Until now, for a flight on the same calendar day it seems you could pay this $25 same-day confirmed fee or stand by for free.

Instant ticketing and refund policy

Effective May 12, you will no longer be able to hold reservations for 24 hours without payment when booking directly with the airlines, but you’ll get one free change or a full refund within 24 hours of purchase on all tickets.

For more details see the Alaska Airlines website.

Travel contests: you can’t win if you don’t play

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Traveling is expensive. Especially if you want to eat and sleep when you get somewhere.

So we’ll start the week off with two contests you many want to enter to help subsidize an adventure.

AirTran Airways has a Facebook-linked sweepstakes encouraging students to become a “Facebook creeper,” which they describe as someone who “crawls Facebook, obsessively checking the content of other people’s profiles.” (That does sound sort of creepy)

The airline has set up the AirTran U Creeper page and is giving away one round trip flight per week  through the end of November 2010.  Here are the details about the AirTran Airways “creeper” contest.

Not a creeper? If you or someone you know is under 23 years old – in college or not – keep in mind that AirTran has a program that offers cheap standby tickets year-round.

[For more details about this and other student airfare deals see the article I wrote last September for MSNBC.com: Travel Discounts for the College-Bound ]

And, here’s one for fans of Hawaii and Olympic medal-winning speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Alaska Airlines is running a contest for a 4-night/5 day Hawaiian vacation (for two) on Maui. And yes, Ohno will join you at the luau. .  The contest runs through April 15th and you can get lots of extra entries by connecting through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Enter the Follow Apolo to Hawaii contest here.

Good luck! And if you win, please send us some souvenirs.