American Airlines

Swank new ways to fly + cool new places to fly to

Airlines, Uncategorized, , , ,

This week there was news about new planes with upgraded interiors and a bevy of “let’s go!” new routes.

Earlier this week we shared photos and notes about the new seasonal Edelweiss Air flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Zurich.

Alaska Airlines also announced that flights between Seattle and Rome will begin in May 2026. The carrier points out that the ‘Emerald City; will be connected to the ‘Eternal City’ for the first time.

With Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines recently launched flights to Tokyo Narita and in September will begin flying to Seoul, South Korea.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) celebrated new seasonal nonstop service to Athens Airport (ATH).

American Airlines woos with the ‘premium’ Boeing 787-9 aircraft

And this week, to much hoopla, American Airlines began flying one of its new 787-9P ‘premium’ aircraft, with an inaugural flight on June 5 from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Sadly, the Stuck at The Airport team, sadly, wasn’t on that first flight. But we look forward to hopping on board soon to experience all the new creature comforts.

Here’s a short video of the new interior that the airline shared a few weeks back.

And here’s an important public service announcement

(Image courtesy Clark County Dept of Aviation)

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and the #WhatsMyName Foundation introduced a safety campaign that is important to remember every time and anywhere you hail a rideshare.

The foundation was created to honor Sami Josephson, a young woman kidnapped and murdered by a fake rideshare driver in 2019. The campaign uses the letters of Sami’s name to spell out the tips that could save your life.

Here are the tips to remember:

S: Stop before you get in a vehicle and go over the safety rules in the app

A: Ask your driver “What’s my name?” to confirm that they are the driver assigned to you. (Don’t say, “Are you ….”)

M: Match the make, model and license plate of the car with the one displayed in your rideshare app.

I – Inform a friend or family member of your ride details. Rideshare apps offer a real-time tracking app. Use it.

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

Airlines, , , , , , ,

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.

Airlines offering heat waivers & banning pets from cargo

Weather, , , , ,

A heatwave in the Pacific Northwest and some other parts of the country is adding another challenge to air travel as we head into a holiday weekend.

As a result, some airlines, including American Airlines and United Airlines, are offering fee-free travel waivers. And Alaska Airlines has put a ban on pets traveling as cargo to and from more than a dozen cities until at least after the July 4th weekend.

Here are some of the details, and useful links to policies as of Monday evening, June 28:

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is ‘pre-canceling’ some flights and has travel advisories posted for many cities experiencing heatwaves, including Burbank, Fresno, New Orleans, Ontario, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Portland, Redmond, Sacramento, Seattle, Spokane, Texas, and Tucson.

And while Alaska Airlines isn’t offering change fee waivers as of Monday evening, it is pre-canceling some flights.

“While we never want to let our guests down, only a small fraction of our flights have been pre-canceled and we are doing our best to re-accommodate those guests,” the airline said on its website, “

And, because of the heat, through July 7, Alaska Airlines is not accepting animals for travel in the baggage departments to or from most of the affected airports listed above. Ticketed pets are still permitted to travel in the cabin with their owners.

Waivers offered by American and United Airlines

American Airlines’ change fee waiver offer is in effect for ticketed travelers through June 29 for trips to, through, or from the cities below. The airlines’ website notes that this information was current as of June 25, 2021, so if record-breaking heat continues in these areas, the waiver could be updated or extended. Check the website for details.

  • Billings, Montana (BIL)
  • Boise, Idaho (BOI)
  • Bozeman, Montana (BZN)
  • Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
  • Eureka Arcata, California (ACV)
  • Idaho Falls (IDA)
  • Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)
  • Kalispell, Montana (FCA)
  • Medford, Oregon (MFR)
  • Missoula, Montana (MSO)
  • Portland, Oregon (PDX)
  • Redmond / Bend, Oregon (RDM)
  • Reno, Nevada (RNO)
  • Sacramento, California (SMF)
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)
  • Seattle, Washington (SEA)
  • Spokane, Washington (GEG)

The heat-related travel waiver on United Airlines also currently covers travel booked through June 29 and includes this long list of cities:

  • McKinleyville, CA (ACV)
  • Boise, ID (BOI)
  • Bozeman, MT (BZN)
  • Cody, WY (COD)
  • Eugene, OR (EUG)
  • Everett, WA (PAE)
  • Great Falls, MT (GTF)
  • Helena, MT (HLN)
  • Idaho Falls, ID (IDA)
  • Jackson, WY (JAC)
  • Kalispell, MT (FCA)
  • Medford, OR (MFR)
  • Missoula, MT (MSO)
  • Moab, UT (CNY)
  • North Bend, OR (OTH)
  • Pasco, WA (PSC)
  • Portland, OR (PDX)
  • Redding, CA (RDD)
  • Redmond, OR (RDM)
  • Reno, NV (RNO)
  • Sacramento, CA (SMF)
  • Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
  • Seattle, WA (SEA)
  • Spokane, WA (GEG)
  • Twin Falls, ID (TWF)
  • Vernal, UT (VEL)
  • West Yellowstone, MT (WYS)

Airlines, airports go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month

Health, , , , ,

Airlines and airports are going pink to promote Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Throughough October, Tampa International Airport is lighting up its SkyConnect stations in a shade of pink. TPA’s Guest Service Representatives are all wearing pink scarves and ties and airport police officers are wearing pink ribbon-adorned badges.

Miami International Airport is also going pink during October.

Travelers will see pink signage on MIA’s Central  Boulevard welcome sign,  flight information screens, ticket counter monitors and more.

Last year, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) raised more than $35,000 for the American Cancer Society’sMaking Strides Against Breast Cancer (MSABC) Walk – the most of any Miami-Dade County department – through employee-led food sales, raffles, auctions and activities. This year, MDAD has partnered with concessionaires at Miami International Airport to raise more than $16,000, with the goal of surpassing its 2017 total.

Airlines are also going pink.

To raise awareness and support for breast cancer research, Delta Air Lines employees will wear pink uniforms and sell pink products, including pink lemonade and pink headsets, on board and in Delta Sky Clubs throughout the month of October.

This year, customers can also purchase Pink Boutique merchandise through the Pink Boutique online store. Proceeds from the onboard sales and online Pink Boutique benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s research projects and the overall mission of finding a cure. Delta will also donate 10 percent of all on-board sales directly to BCRF during the month of October.

American Airlines is also participating in Breast Cancer Awareness month by raising fund for the Susan B. Komen group:

  • AAdvantage customers can receive 20 AAdvantage miles for every $1 donated to Susan G. Komen with a minimum donation of $25 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.
  • Team members who are survivors of breast cancer will be prominently featured on aa.com, on AA flight and gate information display screens and in Admirals Clubs.
  • On planes, there will be pink beverage napkins and pink inflight menus, amenity kits, Wi-Fi portal and more.
  • Passengers will also be invited to donate directly to Susan B. Komen during flights. flight.

Other airlines and other airports will be marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month as well with fundraising efforts, information campaigns and lots of pink. If you know of a campaign, let us know.

Alaska Airlines adds 40 west coast flights for CES 2019

Flights, , , ,

Alaska Airlines joins the list of airlines adding extra flights to Las Vegas for CES 2019, the big electronics show.

Alaska Airlines plane

Alaska Airlines is adding 40 additional flights to Las Vegas from west coast tech hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose for people traveling to CES 2019 (the Consumer Electronics Show) next year.

The extra flights are scheduled from January 7 to January 12 and represent approximately 6,000 additional seats to and from these cities for that week.

While hotels will be very full and hotel room rates may will surely spike during the CES 2019 week, you don’t need to be attending the show to take advantage of these extra flights to and from Las Vegas.

But since these flights just got loaded into Alaska’s system, you might want to book them soon.

Other airlines are adding temporary flights for these days as well. American Airlines and Japan Airlines recently announces extra CES flights between Tokyo and Las Vegas.  Delta Air Lines, which has added CES flighs in the past, will likely announce this year’s batch shortly.

Heading to Las Vegas for CES 2019 or some other event? Be sure to make some time to visit the Neon Museum.

The museum tells the history of Las Vegas through classic, cast-off neon signs and is a great place to visit in the evening when many signs are lit.

Neon Museum Las Vegas

Neon Museum Las Vegas