Items tagged with airlines
Although in-flight Internet access has existed for a handful of years now, it's still pretty rare to board a flight and find out that it's offered. In the dozen or so times I've flown in recent years, none of my flights had it, much to my chagrin. Although, I have to admit that after learning of a recent experience by a Singapore Airlines customer, I'm starting to think that I might be better off without it. Once in the air, Jeremy Gutsche plunked down $28.99 to experience the wonders of in-flight Internet. I doubt it needs to be said, but $29 for a service like this is really high - it's almost as if the charge is $1 for every 1,000 or so feet in the air. Nonetheless, the asinine charges didn't...
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Now that folks are able to read their Kindles and continue racking up high scores in Fruit Ninja while their plane is taking off and landing, we suspected that it was only a matter of time before the deaded "10,000 rule" was axed for in-flight Wi-Fi. That said, we didn't see it happening so quickly. Starting today, Southwest Airlines flyers will be able to keep their tablets, smartphones, and other WiFi enabled portable devices connected to the aircraft's internet service for the entire duration of the trip, which includes takeoff and touchdown. As Southwest puts it, customers will have the ability to remain connected "from the time they step onboard a Southwest plane to the time they exit."...
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Google today announced a new flight search feature that makes it easy to look up specific flight schedules. If you have the urge to march on down to the the airport on your lunch break and hightail it out of town -- maybe to the Bahamas? -- you can easily see a list of all the flights going where you want to go, as well as other helpful information. "If you have a particular destination in mind, you can now quickly find out which airlines serve that specific route and when they fly. For example, if you search for [flights from san francisco to minneapolis], you’ll see a selection of non-stop flights and the airlines that offer them. To see a full timetable, click on 'Schedule of non-stop...
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Remember the Twilight Zone episode, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet? If only Facebook, digital cameras, and the Internet as we know it today had been around in the 1960s, William Shatner, who played the part of a nervous salesman on his first airplane flight since having a nervous breakdown, could have posted proof that there was a gremlin on the wing trying to tear the engine apart. We're not saying that gremlins remain a problem for domestic flights (they've all but been eradicated since the 1980s), but just in case, we're stoked to learn that Gogo Inflight Internet is running a promotion with seven major airlines to offer free access to Facebook. The social networking service is available starting...
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If you travel as much as we do, then you have to be nearly sick of hearing the promises that airlines keep making about upcoming WiFi but not delivering. We feel your pain, and have actually managed to find a timetable that covers at least a few airlines for you. Keep in mind these are projections and subject to change:“Southwest said it would begin trials this summer with high-speed Internet service on four of its 737s. Alaska has said it would launch a trial in the same rough timeframe on one plane. Also this summer, American will launch onboard Internet service on its entire fleet of coast-to-coast 767s, and Virgin America plans on rolling out the service on all of its planes....
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Wow, soon we won't even need to show up. Oh wait, we still have to show up so we can be searched, x-rayed, prodded, and take off our shoes.Major airlines have agreed on a standard that will allow travelers to check in using a bar code sent to their cell phones, the International Air Transport Association said Thursday.Passengers will register their cell-phone number when buying a ticket and receive a bar code by text message, the group representing most commercial carriers said.That's actually very cool, and we understand the IATA wants to completely phase out paper tickets, but what happens if you leave your phone at home?...
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Alaska Airlines today announced plans to become the first U.S. airline to offer in-flight wi-fi. While this would keep people like us from becoming bored on a flight, it does have its downside.Seattle-based Alaska plans to install Westlake Village, Calif.-based Row 44's broadband service on one Boeing 737 jet next spring.Row 44's system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. is designed to work over water and across international borders. Alaska Airlines said the service is intended to work on all its routes, which include flights within the lower 48 states and to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.If it works, Alaska may add the service to all 114 of its aircraft.So...
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The paperless office was forecast years ago - and never happened. But the global airlines body IATA has set the stage for the paperless air transit system, by placing what it called the last order for paper tickets, ever. "In just 278 more days, the paper ticket will become a collector's item," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association. The changeover from paper would not only cut airlines' costs by $9 for every traveller but would also mean the industry -- criticized by environmentalists for its part in global warming -- would save 50,000 mature trees a year, he added. It's great that it will save trees,...
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