Just sharing this here.
United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website.
— United Airlines (@united) February 24, 2018
Delta is reaching out to the NRA to let them know we will be ending their contract for discounted rates through our group travel program. We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from their website.
— Delta (@Delta) February 24, 2018
Delta Air Lines celebrated being named the “Official Airline” of UCLA athletics, the Rose Bowl Stadium and the University of California Alumni Association with roses, special guests and a performance by the UCLA Marching Band in LAX Airport Terminal 5 on September 21.
Don’t be surprised if you see more university partnership like this. Delta has a new program designed to go “beyond traditional stadium signage to embed the airline and its employees in campus and alumni events… in an effort to become a lifelong travel partner to future customers,” the airline said in a statement.
In addition to this list of April 1 travel tidbits sharing April Fools’ Day announcements from WestJet, Richard Branson and Denver International Airport, you should know about these April Fools’ Day announcements.
Southwest Airlines released a video saying “all the other guys are doing it,” so they were beginning a “bag fee bandwagon bonanza” based on bag color.
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Unsure what our new multi-colored bag fee entails? Take a pic of your bag! We’ll give a price quote. Bartering accepted. Tag: #AprilFools
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 1, 2015
Virgin Australia announced a special pre-flight lounge for pets.
Qantas Airways posted a note on its Facebook page announcing a slight change in the spelling of the carrier’s name:
“Putting ‘U’ in QANTAS! So excited to today be adding a ‘U’ into our name, QANTAS, to acknowledge all of our passengers worldwide. Look out for the QUANTAS name change as of midday today!”
Delta Air Lines announced it would begin serving a version of its popular Biscoff cookies – made with kale.
In an effort to offer healthy snack options onboard, we now offer Biscoff cookies made with locally-sourced kale #nom pic.twitter.com/hy23iwtNMO
— Delta (@Delta) April 1, 2015
Spirit Airlines announced Spirit Superiority Boarding at all U.S. airport locations.
Because “the boarding process for most airlines can be lengthy, confusing, and frankly insulting…these new boarding procedures will clear things up,” the airline said it a statement announcing a new line-up of boarding priorities that starts with gluten-free customers, members of the Illuminati, those with O-negative blood type and ends with people who eat kale and, finally… everyone else.
And, in Seattle, the Museum of Flight announced plans for adding real personality to some exhibits.
“Traditionally, an aerospace museum accessions an aircraft or spacecraft at the end of its service life to conserve and protect it for the enlightenment of future generations,” said museum spokesman Ted Huetter, “we now aim to treat the people in aerospace the same way. It’s that simple. And thanks to recent advances in the art of preserving human tissue, the exhibition of an aviator is no different from that of an old propeller or clock.”
Huetter noted that the museum has planes dating back to the 1920s and 1930s and that there are people alive today who flew in these planes. “When they pass away we will reunite them with the aircraft forever,” he said.
What can you do when you’re stuck at the airport? Eat!
Lucky for you there are some new dining options at several U.S. airports.
If you’re hungry at JFK’s Delta Terminal 3 and don’t want to give up that seat you finally found by the power outlet, starting Thursday, May 5th they’ll be an app for that.
HMSHost and Airside Mobile are launching the B4YouBoard iPhone App that will let you use your smartphone to order food, pay for it and have it delivered to you within 20 minutes (they promise) at six delivery zones inside the terminal.
The service will expand in the future, but for now the app will only work at JFK’s Delta Terminal 3, only on iPhones and only if you want to eat something from Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market or Chili’s Too between noon to 8 pm.
Still, if it’s a busy afternoon and you’ve finally found a seat and spread out your stuff, you can see how having in-airport food delivery – to eat there or take on the plane – might be very convenient.
Elsewhere…
Eat up!
Yesterday Google Chrome announced that it is partnering with AirTran Airways, Delta, and Virgin America to offer passengers free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011.
That’s great news, of course, but I had a few questions:
What about those folks who’ve already purchased monthly “Gogo Unlimited” packages?
Not to worry, say the folks at AirCell, who have so far installed the Gogo inflight internet on 1033 (and counting) aircraft:
“During the Google promotion, we will work with each individual to meet their upcoming travel needs. We encourage Gogo Unlimited customers to contact our Care team at customercare@gogoinflight.com.”
OK. But what airports?
Last year Google’s Holiday Wi-Fi program sponsored free Wi-Fi at close to 50 airports. Some of those airports were already offering free Wi-Fi and over the past year a few airports have switched from paid to free Wi-Fi service. But there are still plenty of airports where sending a few emails requires the purchase of a 24-hour Wi-Fi pass.
Earlier this year there was talk of Google partnering with airports to offer not only free Wi-Fi, but free long distance phone calls and other sure-to-be-appreciated perks. Today a Google spokesperson told me that’s not going to happen.
But Santa-Google, we’ve been good. As long as you’re sponsoring all that free in-flight Wi-Fi, why not throw in a bit of free Wi-Fi for travelers who will find themselves stuck at the airport this holiday season?
