American Airlines

Clowns, chimps and, yes, squirrels at the airport

Weird, , , , ,

squirrel

It’s getting sort of silly out there in air travel-ville.

A while ago the folks at Kansas City International Airport (KCI) hired a chimp to show how easy it was to use that airport:

Then the airport hired a bunch of clowns to help promote the economy parking lot.

And, now American Airlines is rushing to remind everyone that the company’s commercials were “squirrelized” long before an inquisitive squirrel horned in on a photo a couple was taking at Canada’s Banff National Park.

The airline is rolling out a photo contest that will award airline tickets to some lucky duck who submits a squirrelized photo, but in the meantime, they’ve made a few squirrelized samples of their own:

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And you thought a naked guy on an airplane was news!

Tidbits for travelers: Cashless cabins, clothes-free CEOs, and goopy garages

Fun Stuff, , ,

Cashless:

credit-card-imageOn Monday, June 1st, American Airlines becomes the latest airline to go cashless. If you’re flying on an American Airlines flight in the continental U.S. or on a flight to or from Hawaii, Alaska and Canada and want to buy headsets, meals, snacks or alcoholic beverages, you’ll need a credit card to do so.

The new policy does not apply to American Eagle or AmericanConnection flights; there, it’s still cash only.

Clothes-free

Air New Zealand is getting a lot of attention for this fun commercial in which the airline’s CEO and several employees are pretty much naked.  They’ve got clothes painted on, so at first glance they don’t look naked. But they are. The  “making of” video is also fun to watch.

Goopy garages

rdu-goop

According to an article in the News & Observer, some cars left in the parking garage at Raleigh-Durham International Airport have been getting slimed. The airport can’t quite figure out where the goop has been coming from, or what’s in it, but since 2004 the airport has spent more than $20,000 reimbursing parking garage customers who have had to repaint gunk-splattered cars.

Prize patrol: airports and airlines giving away great stuff

Contests, Free Stuff, , , ,

Wish you could drive a cool car or fly to some cool places? Then stop playing solitaire on your computer and enter some of these contests:

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Through June 29, 2009, American Airlines is running a “Capture the Flagship Experience” game.   Top winner gets two round-trip Business Class tickets to anywhere American flies in Europe, Asia or South America and a HD video camera.  21 first place prizes come from this list:  membership to the airline’s club, 50,000 AAdvantage miles or Bose headphones.

Nuts About Southwest

Southwest Airlines is giving away a family four-pack of airline tickets to any destination the airline serves.  To enter: let them know you’ve posted one of the airline’s “My Peanut and I Fly Southwest” buttons  on your blog, Facebook profile, and/or other social media sites. Contest ends May 31, 2009.

camera

Each month through August, 2009, the folks at Airport Parking Reservations.com are giving away prizes (cameras, cashmere travel pillows and solar chargers) for the most creative parking lot photos. (And if you have a photo of the person who scratched my car at an airport parking lot in Seattle, let me know….)

alfa-spider

And, for those who don’t have cool cars to take pictures of, the folks at Frankfurt Airport are giving away an Alfa Romero Spider. Go on a virtual shopping spree before May 31, 2009 to get a chance to enter.

Good luck! Let me know if you win!

What would/should you pay for in-flight Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi, , ,

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Air travel used to be so easy:  Pick a destination, call a travel agent, buy your ticket, pack, get dressed up, go to the airport, fly.

Now? It’s much more complicated:  Choose a destination. Scour the Internet for tickets. Decide: pack a carry-on or pay to check a bag?  Dress for success at the security checkpoint. Stock up on food and water.  Then, settle in and elbow your seatmate for a piece of the armrest.

Soon: All of the above; plus deciding if you’ll pay for in-flight Wi-Fi and, if so, which plan to buy.

Find out what airlines are charging for sky-high Wi-Fi and if those prices are likely to stick in my Flying the Wi-Fi Skies story posted on MSNBC.com today.

And let me know: what WOULD you be willing to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi?

Fiesta-time at DFW

Free Stuff, Fun Stuff,

Hola!

It’s fiesta-time at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) this month  in preparation for May 1st, when American Airlines begins non-stop service from DFW to Madrid.

Last week, passengers in Terminal D got to nibble on free tapas.  For the next few weeks, the party will feature Spanish dancers, musicians and entertainers performing in Terminal D every Thursday and Friday.

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Photo: Micheline Gaudin and her husband, Rod Myers of Dallas enjoy complimentary tapas last week at DFW. Photo courtesy of Sarah McDaniel, DFW International Airport

Tidbits for travelers: airfare refunds, prizes, free stuff and special deals

Contests, Deals, Free Stuff, , , , ,

Here’s a quick round-up of recession specials for air travelers and other tidbits you might find useful:

American Airlines has kicked off a Milestones contest: One first-place winner will receive 275,000 AAdvantage miles; 10 second-place winners will each get 1,000 AAdvantage miles.   To enter: register and post an interesting tidbit about a cool place somewhere in the world.  Winners will be announced on or around May 15, 2009. Details here.

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Jet Blue Airways has announced a promotion offering to refund (most of) the price of your ticket if you lose your job between the time you pay for your ticket and the time you’re scheduled to take your trip.  Here’s a link to the offer and the restrictions.

Canada’s WestJet is celebrating the fact that U.S. President Barack Obama is visiting Canada by offering a little one day discount sale. Use the code “Obama” to book a ticket today (Feb 19th) and get $50 off.  Details here.

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And travelers passing through New York’s LaGuardia Airport will now find organic foods, healthy treats, fruit, vegetables, deli items, sandwiches, salads and other items at Angelina’s Metro Market, pre-security in the Central Terminal. Angelina’s Panini Bar, a satellite of the Metro Market, will open post-security at the B Gates,  later this month.

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See anything fun, new, interesting or strange while you’re stuck at the airport?  Let me know and we’ll add it to the blog.

So that’s where they went: Carbyé JFK murals moving to Miami

Art, , ,

Maybe you remember the two giant murals by the Brazilian artist Carybé that used to be in the American Airlines terminal at JFK airport in New York.

At 16.5 X by 53 feet they were hard to miss.

The murals (below), titled Discovery and Settlement and Rejoicing and the Festivals of the Americas, were installed back in 1960. But when it came time to demolish and build a new American Airlines terminal, the site-specific murals were not part of the plan.

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Happily, the murals have found a new home – at a different airport.

American Airlines donated the murals to the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department and Odebrecht, the Brazilian company building a new terminal at Miami International Airport (MIA), arranged to have the murals removed, restored, and transported to Miami.

This spring, when MIA’s new South Terminal opens, the murals will be on permanent display.

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Can’t wait to see these for real!

Delta will filter in-flight Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi,

According to this report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Delta Airlines will block some Web sites when the airline launches in-flight Wi-Fi later this year.

I wrote a Well-Mannered Traveler column on this topic last week and, at that time, no one from Delta had the time (or the inclination?) to answer my inquiry on the filter-or-not topic.

Now, the AJC is reporting that, while the airline had originally planned to ask flight attendants to monitor inapprpriate in-flight surfing, it will now ask the Wi-Fi provider, Aircell, to block inappropriate content.

American Airlines is also considering filtering in-flight Wi-Fi.

Airlines offer early Valentines and free books

Free Stuff, Music, , , ,

Beating up on the airlines is highly entertaining – and way too easy these days.

But let’s give credit when credit is due.

This week, Alaska Airlines plucked a popular Pacific Northwest jazz festival from the clutches of death.

For several years now, Oregon’s Portland Jazz Festival has been one of country’s top jazz showcases, featuring more than 150 performers in a 10 day city-wide event. This year, after one key corporate sponsor failed to renew its support, festival organizers canceled the show.

But then Seattle-based Alaska Airlines came to the rescue with a $100,000 commitment over two years. Now the 6th Annual Alaska Airlines Jazz Festival, honoring the 70th anniversary of Blue Note records, will go on as scheduled February 13-22, 2009. Heartwarming, right?

And in another nice touch. Yesterday (October 2) many passengers setting out from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on American Airlines flights found a copy of the classic children’s story, “Corduroy,” in the seatback pockets.

The books were part of the Jumpstart Read for the Record campaign, which was trying to break the world record for the most people reading the same book on the same day. The Pearson Foundation bought 1500,000 copies of the book for the Jumpstart program and gave American Airlines 5,000 books to put in the seatback pockets of 25 American Airlines and 15 American Eagle planes.

Don’t have a copy of the book? There are on-line versions, in English and Spanish. You can even follow along as celebrities such as Emmylou Harris, LeVar Burton, and Efren Ramirez read the book out loud.

Heartwarming, right?

Jay Leno’s take on the naked American Airlines guy

Celebrities

I’m not sure how Terry Maxon and the folks at the Airline Biz blog do it. But long before the Tonight Show airs out west, they’ve got the (very funny) text of Jay Leno’s take on the American Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing because a guy took off all his clothes and went running up and down the aisle.

On behalf of those of us who have to get up early in the morning, thanks!