Airports in the U.S. and abroad are preparing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
Big thanks to @thepraties for bringing the Irish spirit to LAX and performing for our travelers as part of the #LAXPresents Winter & Spring 2025 season! You’ve definitely helped us get into the festive mood! 🍀🎶 pic.twitter.com/39m7r0w0Ab
We can’t wait to welcome tens of thousands of tourists to Ireland over the coming day and a true Céad Míle Fáilte awaits with our buildings – both inside and out – lit up in green, white and orange!
And check out this special livery coming to JetBlue
In February, JetBlue invited customers to vote on which of three special livery designs created by Puerto Rican artists will be painted on a JetBlue Airbus A320 to honor Puerto Rico’s rich culture.
The winner is the design created by Juan Gutierrez, better known as The Stencil Network.
The design embodies the spirit of Puerto Rico and features the proud jíbaro (Puerto Rican farm worker) on the tail and images of Puerto Rico’s fruits and flora on the body. On the plane’s belly is the phrase “Yo Soy Boricua” (I am Puerto Rican).
Look for this colorful plane to be flying this summer.
Southwest Airlines has been in the news lately for the carrier’s decision to end its open seating policy, add premium-style seating and begin flying red-eye flights.
So, it’s a good time to look at another Southwest Airlines seating story. This one is all about what the airline has been doing with old aircraft seat leather.
After a seat refresh in 2014, Southwest Airlines had 43 acres of surplus seat leather. Rather than throw it in the landfill, the airline created the Repurpose with Purpose program.
The ongoing program not only recycles and repurposes Southwest Airlines’ old seat leather, but it also provides employment, skills training and other community benefits.
Through October 2024 an exhibit at Denver International Airport (DEN) displays some of the diverse and creative items being made.
Look for the exhibit at DEN Airport on Concourse C, Mezzanine (upper level), and at Baggage Claim 1, East Side.
Here are some travel tidbits from the Stuck at the Airport inbox to help you ease into the week, including music and travel advice, contests for travel adventures and, of course, airport news.
Hello Kitty Day coming to Oracle Park
EVA Air is teaming up with the San Francisco Giants to host Hello Kitty Day at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
As part of Hello Kitty Day, the first 15,000 fans to enter Oracle Park on May 11 will each receive a Hello Kitty Bucket Hat. On that day, EVA President, Clay Sun, will throw out the first pitch while Hello Kitty and the Giants Mascot Lou Seal mug on the field.
For planespotters: EVA’s Hello Kitty “Shining Star Jet” is flying between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) in Taipei, Taiwan. The Boeing 777-300ER is flying two days a week, on Fridays and Sundays, now through May 26. It will then shift to Sundays only, from June 2 to June 23.
Musical Travel Guides for Europe, courtesy of Air Canada
Air Canada asked three Québec artists – Charlotte Cardin, Alexandra Stréliski and Sarahmée – to create music playlists to go with their favorite European cities.
And Alexandra Stréliski shares her faves in Amsterdam.
The playlists are available on the Air Canada website and Spotify. Give a listen.
Airline Satisfaction Study: Niceness wins.
J.D. Power’s 2024 North American Satisfaction study is out and concludes that investments some airlines have been making in trying to improve the overall flight experience with friendly, attentive service are paying off.
“The big takeaway from this year’s study is the power of people to positively influence the overall flight experience,” said Michael Taylor, J. D. Power senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service. “Airlines investing in staff training and recruitment are finding ways to overcome the negative effects of crowded gates and planes simply by being nice to their customers.”
The North America Airline Satisfaction Study measures performance in seven categories: airline staff; digital tools; ease of travel; level of trust; on-board experience; pre/post-flight experience; and value for price paid. Scores are tallied on a 1,000-point scale.
Here are the top lines in Customer Satisfaction, but segment.
First/Business: Delta Air Lines ranks highest with a score of 743. JetBlue Airways (736) ranks second.
Premium Economy segment: Delta Air Lines ranks highest for a second consecutive year, with a score of 716. Alaska Airlines (687) ranks second and American Airlines (684) ranks third.
Economy/Basic Economy: Southwest Airlines ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment for a third consecutive year, with a score of 685. Delta Air Lines (651) ranks second and Allegiant Air (633) ranks third.
How to see the eclipse from a Southwest Airlines flight
Much of the United States will be able to see a total or partial eclipse on April 8, 2024.
But wouldn’t it be great to see the eclipse from the air?
Some lucky ducks will get that opportunity. Including the winners of a “Solarbration” sweepstakes hosted by Southwest Airlines and Omni Hotels & Resorts.
Entering is free and the two winners will each get a prize package for two that includes air travel on a Southwest Airlines flight from Dallas or Austin that is predicted to be in the direct path of the eclipse. Winners will also get to stay in an eclipse-themed Omni Hotels & Resorts hotel room. If you don’t live in one of Dallas or Austin, Southwest says it will get you there too. (See the rules and restrictions)
Qantas has a Leap Day Sale sale running for 24 hours – from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm PST on February 29, 2024.
The sale offers $250 off round-trip economy cabin flights to Australia and New Zealand from the carrier’s U.S. gateways. Some restrictions and blackout days apply. To take advantage, enter the code ‘LEAPDAY’ in the ‘have a promo code?’ prompt at the top of the flight search results page. This could help you save on these flights:
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.
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.
