United Airlines

Travel tibdits: live livery & a pop-up pool

Events, , , ,

United Airlines is scheduled to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in September, but if you’re near your computer early Tuesday morning you’ll get to see a live webcast of the plane – and its livery – as it rolls out of the paint hangar in Everett, Wash.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner will look like this when it rolls out of the paint hangar. Photo courtesy Boeing.

The webcast will air on the United Hub website beginning at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

And if you’re cruising around New York City on Tuesday, head to the pool at Union Square (17th & Park). Yes, the pool.

From noon until 6 pm on Tuesday, July 31st, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will be hosting a party at a pop-up pool, complete with DJs, salsa dancers, chaise lounges, beach balls, Cuban coffee, a fashion show, culinary demos and more. There’s also the promise of “trip giveaways and swag.”

Sorry, no live webcast of the pool party is planned.

Scarf & tie-swapping flight attendants making friends

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A small gesture is getting big raves from flight attendants who now work for the company created by the merger of United and Continental Airlines but who continue to fly separately—in their traditional United or Continental uniforms—while final union and contract issues are  were being worked out.

Flight attendants who came from the old Continental Airlines recently ratified a new contract, which means attendants can now negotiate a joint contract to cover the combined group of about 24,000 flight attendants – including about 9,000 U.S. flight attendants who came from Continental.

“We have to two diverse cultures with completely different work rules, wants and needs,” said Sara Keagle, a Continental flight attendant who blogs as the Flying Pinto.

The two teams will eventually be blended and issued new matching uniforms. But as a symbol of friendship and bridge-building, flight attendants from each airline have been swapping their regulation neckwear for the scarves and ties worn by the other team.

The informal program was started by Kathe Hull, a United flight attendant who was reading through messages on a flight attendant Facebook page on June 29th. “It’s sort of been like the first day of school; we’ve all been eyeing each other, wondering if we were going to be friends. I was checking in on the page and I thought that instead of just posting a comment here and there I would make a gesture to my peers at my sister airline,” Hull said.

She asked if a Continental flight attendant would be willing to trade scarves. “I wanted it to foster a friendship beyond Facebook,” said Hull, who has been a flight attendant for United since Valentine’s Day 1991.

Hull kicked off the program by putting two of her United scarves in a small plastic bag with her name, base city and a note to a potential “scarf-sister” from Continental. She left the bag in a swap box she set up in the Newark domicile, one of the briefing rooms where flight attendants check-in before their flights.

Courtesy “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties”

 “I have no idea who got my scarves,” said Hull. But she does know that the idea has spread like wildfire.

With the help of an enthusiastic “scarf squad,” swap boxes with plastic bags of scarves, ties and some wings have been set up in domiciles all over the United States. And through a new Facebook page set up for what has been now been dubbed “The Sisterhood and Brotherhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties,” Hull has learned that swap boxes have been set up at the airline’s bases in Guam, Narita, Japan and Frankfurt, Germany.

“It’s like pen pals meet The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” said Hull, referring to the popular young adult books and movies about a group of friends who must be apart but stay in touch by sharing a magical pair of blue jeans.

“It’s an uncertain time. Bases are opening and closing. People are shifting around,” said Hull. “This is a good way to begin feeling like a family.”

The uniforms worn by both United and Continental flight attendants are navy blue, but passengers who look closely should be able to spot the swappers, who have cleared the non-regulation accessories with United management.

Courtesy “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties”

“Hull’s idea is about camaraderie and the bonding as one team,” said Sam Risoli, United Airlines senior vice president of inflight services. “It a terrific idea that’s simple, personal and very genuine. A perfect example of being positive and doing the right things.”

(My story “United, Continental flight attendants swap scarves, ties for friendship,” first appeared on NBCNEWS.com.

Fly much? Not as much as this 10 million mile flier

Air Travel, Airplanes, Mileage Programs, , ,

I joined United Airline’s Mileage Plus frequent flier program back in November, 1982 and since then have logged more than 1 million “butt-in-seat” miles.

Nothing to sneeze at, really, unless you consider the flying record of Tom Stuker.
He also signed up for Mileage Plus in 1982 and this weekend clocked his 10 millionth actually-flown mile.

I had a chance to chat with Stuker on Monday and swap some “those were the days” stories while putting together this article for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog:

When Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) hit the 10 million-mile mark in the 2009 film “Up in the Air,” audience members may have gasped.

Tom Stuker, who surely first watched that film on an airplane, probably laughed.

Like a fair number of other frequent fliers, Stuker had already accumulated more miles than that through various credit card purchases, hotel stays and other partnership programs. But the Chicago-based automotive sales consultant had his heart set on reaching a more elusive milestone: to be the first person to accumulate 10 million “butt-in-seat” miles.

United Airlines says Stuker is the airline’s first customer to rack up 10 million miles on its frequent flier program, which started in 1981.

“We do have several customers who are above 5 million miles,” said United/Continental spokesperson Rahsaan Johnson, “but we don’t have anyone else about to get to 10 million.”

Stuker, who said he got the mileage “bug” first with hotel and car rental points programs in the 1970s, joined the United’s Mileage Plus program in 1982. “I didn’t get really serious about frequent flier points until the very end of the 1980s,” said Stuker. “I started doing a lot of international travel and fell with love with Australia and the people there. So I kept booking trips to Australia.”

He’s since logged close to 6,000 United flights, including travels to all 50 U.S. states, 200 round-trips to Australia and nearly 30 round-trips to Asia.

Stuker reached 10 million flown miles on Saturday, somewhere over Des Moines, Iowa, on United Airlines Flight 942 from Los Angeles to Chicago.

The milestone didn’t go unnoticed. There was champagne and other festivities during the flight, and when the plane arrived at O’Hare International Airport, United CEO Jeff Smisek and other airline executives and employees were on hand with a few gifts.

In addition to the airline’s first titanium Mileage Plus membership card, the airline put Stuker’s name on the fuselage of a Boeing 747 airplane. (He already has his name on one of United’s 777s.) He also received a special shipment of his favorite wine and commemorative book listing every single United flight he has flown since he joined Mileage Plus, with personal messages from long-time United employees and executives.

Stuker, who is getting ready for another trip to Australia next week, said that unlike many other frequent business travelers, he still loves being up in the air. “I love the solace and peacefulness at 40,000 feet. That’s where I do my best creative work writing my training materials.”

During the first part of each month, Stuker says he looks forward to doing the Sudoku puzzle in the back of the in-flight magazine. And while he’s looking forward to having in-flight Internet access more widely available so he can take care of business in the air, he also admits to watching a lot of movies and TV shows on the in-flight entertainment system. “I’ll say, ‘I hate this show,’ but I watch it again anyway.”

Tidbits for travelers: Free drinks for fliers; Flying car tweaked

Air Travel, Airplanes, Design, Free Stuff, Technology, Transportation, , , , ,

If your Mileage Plus status on United Airlines lands you in the Economy Plus section, or if you pony up some extra bucks and buy your way into the seating area that promises 5 extra inches of legroom, the airline will buy you a drink.

Beer cans

Free drinks in Economy Plus on United Airlines

According to the airline website, anyone sitting in the Economy Plus section August 6-16, 2010 will get a free drink.

But you may have to ask for it. According to the Terms and Conditions of the offer, the complimentary beverage is only available during the first beverage service and is “upon request.”

The Transition flying car

Flying car design gets updated

And it seems there’s news about design changes for The Transition, the “roadable aircraft” that the folks at Terrafugia claim is the world’s first flying car.

According to Adam Hadhazy’s TechNews Daily story, mild design makeovers to the car include “a more car-like front courtesy of traditional headlights and a license plate holder” and “On the engineering side of things, the next generation of the vehicle has an improved wing that folds up smoothly per a command from the cockpit, rather like a convertible.”

And in the in-dash espresso maker?

College-bound? It’s time for Travel Deals 101

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Heading to college or sending a kid off to school?

back-to-school

Once tuition, room, and board bills are paid, there may not be much cash left over for actually traveling between home and the college campus.  But, as I write in my Well Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com today, some airlines offer a little help.

abcs

Lufthansa, Air Tran, United, JetBlue and American offer some sort of perks for students.

Here are some of the more popular travel discounts:

AirTran Airways has a discount standby program not just for college students, but for anyone 18 to 22 years old. (College student or not: on your 23rd birthday, you age-out of the program.)  AirTran U lets young people fly standby for $69 on short segment flights and $99 on long-haul segments.  There are some blackout dates and a variety of restrictions, but during 2008, more than 83,000 young people took advantage of the program.

Lufthansa’s GenerationFly program offers any U.S. college student with a valid .edu email address discounted fares to Germany and most every destination the airline flies. As a nice bonus, part-time students, teachers, and faculty members are also eligible to participate in the program.

bag

Several other programs have special airline offers for students as well.

The discounts promised by the Student Advantage Card (about $20/year) include a 10% discount on American Airline flights. And on its Web site, American Airlines offer discounts on vacation packages to students at about two dozen participating universities.

JetBlue offers an 11% discount to students who have an ISIC card (International Student Identity Card), which costs $22 a year. Holders of that card can also book special discounted fares with STA Travel, one of the major discount student travel agencies, which offers tickets that allow changes for just $50.

And, while United Airlines United Airlines doesn’t offer any special discounts for college-age students, the carrier’s College Plus program gives students enrolled in both the College Plus program and the Mileage Plus frequent flier program a graduation present of 10,000 bonus miles.

The deals for student travelers don’t end at the airport. Amtrak and Greyhound and even some hotels also offer discounts to students who have either the ISIC or Student Advantage card.

schoolbus

To find out more – and learn about some hotel deals for parents of college students, see the full column Travel Discounts for the college-bound on MSNBC.com.

Tidbits for travelers: parks, pillows and perks

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A couple of fun and possibly useful notes:

Southwest Airlines begins service between New York’s LaGuardia Airport and both BWI and Chicago’s Midway airport at the end of June (2009). To celebrate, the airline is sponsoring the Southwest Porch in New York City. It’s in Bryant Park, at appropriately enough, the park’s southwest corner and has porch swings, rocking chairs, Adirondack chairs, umbrellas, and space for about 175 people.

Southwest-Porch

Also, those crisp white Westin Heavenly blankets and pillows that travelers on some United flights have been getting to snuggle up with are now being made in a travel-size version that the rest of us can buy.

Westin travel blanket

And, if you’ve been irritated by all those new (and old) checked baggage fees airlines are now charging, keep in mind that some hotels, most notably the nationwide chain of Kimpton Hotels,  offer a $25 room credit if you show a receipt for a checked bag.  Kimpton’s “We’ve Got Your Bag” promotion has been extended indefinitely.

Good, bad and just plain wacky air travel fees and amenities

Fees, Free Stuff, , , ,

Heading to the airport this holiday weekend? Check to make sure you’re up on the latest changes.

screening_shoes

Shoes out of the bin, buddy!

Like what? Well, the TSA has decided that you still need to take off your shoes and send them through the X-ray machine, but now those shoes need to ride on the belt on their own, outside of the plastic bin.  Got that?

There are other changes to make note of. Some are good, some are bad and, as I outlined in my Well Mannered Traveler column this week on MSNBC.com, some are just plain wacky.  Here’s what I mean:

No Kiss ‘n Drop tax; for now

In April, London’s Luton Airport announced that it would soon be charging a fee for the privilege of dropping passengers off outside the terminal. That “Kiss ‘n Fly” tax is now on hold.

kiss_pic

(O’Hare Airport has a Kiss n’ Fly drop-off spot with a free shuttle)

Ryanair’s “let just say everyone’s fat” tax

Ryanair was going to institute a large-passenger charge, but instead decided to just go ahead and charge everyone a new fee.  Print out your boarding pass before you go to the airport and you’ll pay a fee of about $5.  Forget to print out your boarding pass before you get to the airport and pay a much fatter fee of close to $60.  Ouch.

Loads of reasons to lighten your load

You’ll soon pay an extra fee on United and US Airways if you don’t go on-line and pre-pay the charge to check your luggage.  And Air Jamaica will soon begin taking your money for checking a second bag, but in return only promise to deliver it within seven days.

Pillows, snacks, fee-waivers, refunds, and perhaps a marriage proposal

pillow

There’s  some good news. Experts predict that on-line travel booking agencies will continue to waive booking fees. Air Canada may bring free pillows back.  And JetBlue is extending the “Lose your job, get your money back” program through the end of the year.

There’s more.  To find out about matchmaking flights and on-board weddings, see my Well Mannered Traveler column this week on MSNBC.com.

Tidbits for travelers: Swine flu, busted baggage handlers, & fresh art

Baggage, Cancellations, Health, Theft, , , , ,

So many people are canceling trips to Mexico because of worries over swine flu that United Airlines and Continental Airlines are significantly cutting out flights to that country. No doubt other airlines will also cut flights, so if you’ve postponed your Mexico trip, check back with the airline to see if you need to change plans again.

For more details about the cuts, see this article in the Chicago Tribune and this article in the Wall St. Journal.

aiga_baggage_check_in1And after you read some of the details about a Northwest Airlines luggage theft ring busted at Oregon’s Portland International Airport, you’ll probably want to figure out how take that next trip with just a carry-on bag.

And – just so this isn’t a post full of bad news – the Miami International Airport officially opened the new South Terminal Art Gallery with a new program called Hand Made, which will feature handcrafts from around the world.

mia-siesta-one

The first exhibition is Siesta, a collection of hand-woven products featuring ceremonial hammocks and bags by the Wayuu people from the region of La Guajira in northern Colombia.

mia-siesta-two

Portly passengers may pay twice on United

Obesity, Seatmates of Size, , ,

This week United Airlines joined Southwest and several other airlines in formalizing and posting a  “seatmates of size” policy on its website.

seatmates-of-size

(From a 2007  Well-Mannered Traveler column on this topic, courtesy MSNBC.com)

Although the policy was quietly posted on the airline’s Web site some time ago, it went into effect just this past Wednesday, April 15th.

The policy will please passengers who find themselves squeezed in next to someone who doesn’t really fit in their own seat and will disappoint travelers who feel that, rather than charging large passengers for more space, airlines should just be putting larger seats on all airplanes.

You can read the current policy here but, in a nutshell, the policy states that if you don’t fit into your seat with the armrests down, if you need more than one seat belt extender to buckle your seat belt, or if you simply do not fit into a single seat in your ticketed cabin, then you may end up having to purchase a second seat and fly on a later flight.

The key word here is may.  Which is not what the policy first stated.

Last Wednesday, the policy United posted on its Website stated that passengers falling into certain categories MUST by an extra seat.  By the end of the day, however, the wording had been changed to better reflect the policy an airline spokesperson  said was the “real” policy: that before charging anyone for a second seat, United flight crews would try to find two adjacent seats for the large passenger at no extra charge

I think that’s a big  difference.  And I’m glad they changed the wording. Read about how the wording got changed in my Well-Mannered Traveler column, The Skinny on United’s seatmates of size”, on MSNBC.com.

And tell me what you think….

More rooms with a zoo

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Last summer I flew cross-country to escort retired guide-dog Joplin (below) from Montreal to her new family in Seattle.  The airline misplaced the dog carrier and the dog only understood French, but with the help of about a dozen United Airlines employees at Montreal Airport, Joplin made her flight and arrived “home” safely.

joplinNow, after holding the bone just out of reach for months now, the folks at Pet Airways announced they’re accepting reservations from folks who want to book “seats” for their pets on the animals-only airline.  I’m not sure if Joplin is up for another trip, but if you  send your pet on an adventure on this new pet airline let me know.

In the meantime, if you must fly somewhere without your pet, you may want to choose a hotel that will loan you a pet during your stay or let you hang out with an on-site pet.  More than two-dozen properties that offer that option are included in my Room with a Zoo story that officially posted on MSN.com this week.

Here are just two of the more than two dozen places included.

kimpton-fishAll Kimpton Monaco hotels offer the “Guppy Love” program.  Guests can request a loaner goldfish (more entertaining than a guppy?) during their stay.  I still have fond memories of perky Panchita, the fish assigned to my room during a stay at the Monaco hotel in Portland, Oregon.

billy-the-sealAt the Bahai Resort Hotel in San Diego, rehabilitated seals like Billy (above) spend their days in their own on-site pool.  They’re entertaining, but quieter than 600-pound male seal lion who lived at the hotel in the 1970’s and enjoyed “singing” along with the band in the bar.

For more hotels with resident animals, please see my Room with a Zoo story on MSN.com. If you know of other hotels with cool, cute on-site animals, please let me know!