Airlines

Luxe Travel Tip: JetBlue's New Direct Service to Turks & Caicos

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Thanks to JetBlue, it's now a whole lot easier to get to one of our favorite luxe travel destinations, the Turks & Caicos islands. The eco-friendly airline known for its style and value just introduced direct service to the Caribbean hotspot's Providenciales island from New York's JFK and Boston's Logan airports. The flights leave JFK daily.

Tags: airlines, beach, Boston, Caribbean, islands, JetBlue, jetblue+service+to+turks+and+caicos, jetblueservicetoturksandcaicos, JFK airport, Logan airport, luxury resorts, luxury travel, resorts, travel, Turks Caicos

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Tory Burch Travel Socks - No More Barefooting Through TSA

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels

It's disgusting, really. Despite paying outrageous prices for airfare, your luxury trip always includes padding in stockings or -- ew -- bare feet through TSA. Tory Burch, after gauging demand on Twitter, has invented a solution: Tory Burch Travel Socks. And they're pretty cute. Let's have a look and see if these are practical or just a gimmick.

It's certainly fun to open the bag. Like a care package on an international flight, the Tory Burch Travel Socks come in a neat little pouch, about 5" by 5", with a small, weighty goldtone clip, toggle and signature dangle. Would it be a pain to bring this pouch along on a flight? No. It squashes pretty flat, and if your carry-on is truly stuffed to the gills, you can just clip it to the strap.

Gallery: Tory Burch Travel Socks

Tags: airlines, airport, airport security, airports, product review, socks, Tory Burch, ToryBurch, travel, travel socks, TSA

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St Barth Commuter: Small plane, Short Flight and a Hell of a View

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

There aren't many ways to get to St. Barthelemy, and your range of options shrinks with season and income. So, if you're heading out to this Caribbean island for a few days or more in the warmer months, you have only a handful of choices that don't include private aviation or yachts. On my recent trip to St. Barths, I flew St. Barth Commuter, an experience I won't soon forget.

I stepped out on the tarmac in St. Martin, fully expecting to find a small plane waiting for me, but I wasn't prepared for the tiny six-passenger contraption into which I would climb (note: it is safe). The pilot smiled comfortably, putting me and the other passengers at ease as we pulled ourselves into the plane for a flight that would last only 10 minutes or so. He was an old pro: during busy season, he'll make this run up to 17 times a day.

Tags: airline, airlines, caribbean, St Barths

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Fly in Qantas Business Class Pajamas

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

What good is a lie-flat seat if you're going to muss your outfit as you slumber? That, at least, is the thinking behind international airlines that distribute pajamas to their upper class passengers, and, it's good thinking -- I've noted before that flying business class is like having the best sick day ever, and where would a sick day be without great pjs?

The last time I flew Qantas three years ago, they weren't on the pajama bandwagon, but it's now a standard in-flight amenity in Business and in First. (There are different pajamas by class, naturally, differences I shall delve into after the jump, so come along.) I was in business so the pjs I received were grey cotton, with the Qantas kangaroo logo on the shirt. They come with a little cotton pouch to store the jammies in post-flight, and the inside of the shirt bears this handwritten phrase: "I wish you wonderful travels to dream land - Morrissey, x. " (The x is a goodnight kiss.) I was a little confused about why the one time lead vocalist from The Smiths was involved with Qantas pajamas -- and isn't he a Brit? I've since learned that this Morrissey's first name is Peter, the Australian fashion designer who also handles Qantas uniforms, which makes much more sense.

Tags: airlines, australia, business class, pajamas, pajamas in public, PajamasInPublic, peter morrissey, qantas, toiletries

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The Best Airlines and Airports for Smooth Travel

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

There's never a good time to experience travel delays, but no matter how thoroughly and carefully planned a trip might be, hangups and slowdowns always manage to pop up somehow. Airline travel is particularly riddled with schedule-related frustrations, and although there's no 'silver bullet' solution you can minimize inconvenient delays by traveling through the airports and on the airlines that have the best reputations for being on-time.

The airline with the fewest delays (according to numbers gathered by Travel & Leisure) is Hawaiian, but unless you're traveling to Hawaii you won't be able to enjoy their lovely 89.5% on time average. Thankfully other top contenders are a little more accessible, however, with Pinnacle and Southwest bringing in the top 3 with 83.4% and 83% averages respectively. (See the complete best and worst airlines list here.)

As for airports, Salt Lake City (SLC) is the #1 place to leave from (or to stop over at, as the case may be) with only 12% of their flights experiencing delays or cancellations. Portland (PDX) comes in at number two with 15%, and both Washington D.C. (DCA) and Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP) score 16% and so are tied for 3rd. (See the complete best and worst airports list here.)

Unfortunately geography often limits what options are available to travelers, but with these numbers in mind you can make the best choice and avoid as many frustrating inconveniences as possible. And in case you're wondering (which I'm sure you are) the single worst airline for delays is Comair with only 70.1% of its flights arriving on time, and the single worst airport is a three-way tie between Philadelphia (PHL), Atlanta (ATL), and Washington D.C. (IAD) all with 22% delay averages.

Tags: airlines, airports, luxist-awards, main-pedia, summer-travel, summer-travel-pedia, winter-travel, winter-travel-pedia

Air France Plans Deeper Job Cuts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Air-France is planning its first cross-Atlantic flight with its shiny new Airbus A380 jumbo jet but not all is rosy for Europe's largest airline. Air France-KLM has announced plans to trim 1,700 jobs next year following a worse-than-expected quarterly loss. The company is blaming the numbers on fuel hedging losses and poor cargo traffic. Passenger revenues were also down 17.2 percent but the effects of that would have been offset partly by a reduction in capacity. Air France-KLM had previously announced earlier cuts so this new staff reduction means that the airline carrier will enact 4,500 job cuts in the year to March 2010, reducing its global workforce to 105,000. Another reduction by March 2011 will trim the workforce by a further three to five percent by March 2011 in an effort to lift profits by 500 million euros for March 2012.

Source

Tags: air france, AirFrance, airlines, jobs, klm

British Airways To Launch Luxury NYC-London Flights

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It was an idea that flopped phenomenally in the past (see Silverjet, MaxJet and EOS, three business-only London to NYC flight companies which all folded) but now British Airways is giving luxury all-business service between London and New York a shot. However the fact that the airline will fly just 32 passengers on an aircraft normally fitted for 100 people doesn't sit well with some environmental groups. The Guardian reports that environmental group Plane Stupid will stage a protest at London City Airport tomorrow as the maiden flight launches, angered by the fact that recently British Airways CEO Willie Walsh had pledged that the airline would do its part to fight climate change. The layout of the plane means that each passenger is basically responsible for three times the emissions of a regular flight.

British Airways will offer twice daily service on Airbus A318s with flat beds and access to the internet. Round-trip fares will start at around $3,00 but go up to nearly $8,000 for more flexible tickets. Flights leaving from London will be forced to make a brief refuelling stop at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland because the London City airport's runway is too short to handle an A318 aircraft with a full fuel load. In order to ease the journey, BA is arranging for passengers to use the Shannon stop to clear US customs and immigration.

Source

Tags: airlines, british airways, BritishAirways, business class, BusinessClass, flights

Update: Air Tahiti's Balenciaga Uniform Controversy

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Last week, I told you about Air Tahiti's new designer crew uniforms. While I was more concerned about mid-air wardrobe change logistics, and noted only in passing that the new togs didn't look so-very-Balenciaga to me, Jeffries Blackerby of The Moment was right on it. He reports that the outfits were designed by Balenciaga Uniforms, which is a division of a company that apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the design sensibility of Nicolas Ghesquière, Balenciaga's creative director. Blackerby advises Air Tahiti: "let's not get all excited", presumably about being associated with Balenciaga.

Now, let's take a step back. Blackberby is right to point out that Balenciaga Uniforms, which handled the design of Air Tahiti's new uniforms, is owned by a French company called Creation & Image. (Wheras the fashion house Balenciaga is owned by PPR, which also owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and many others.)

But licensing of a designer's name is what makes the fashion world go 'round -- should you need a little brush-up on how this works, here's a nice article from the New York Times (and of course The Moment is a New York Times' blog) concerning Vera Wang. I'll grant that some designers retain more control than seems to be the case at Balenciaga Uniform -- which is apparently absolutely none. (And that's despite the smoking gun that some commenters at The Moment think they've discovered when they point out that Nicolas Ghesquière apparently once worked in the uniform division -- an amusing, if meaningless, sidenote, absent any evidence that Ghesquière is keeping a loving and attentive eye on all the rungs of the ladder he's climbed.)

Still, I submit that Air Tahiti should get every bit as excited as it wants over its Balenciaga uniforms. If we're only going to allow purchasers to take credit for the designer items that they buy that are not made by license, the licensing business ceases to have all value, and really -- do we think our economy can take that? Leaving aside world economic well-being, for the more important fashion issue, I agree with a point that Danica Lo made over at The Haute List: Designers need to keep more control over their name.

Tags: airlines, balenciaga, licensing, tahiti, uniforms

Air Tahiti's Balenciaga Mid-Air Wardrobe Switch

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Picture of Air Tahiti Nui's New Crew Uniforms

While Delta is still catching heat for offering its newly-designed flight attendant uniforms -- a red sexy Richard Tyler wrap around dress -- in sizes 18 and lower, Air Tahiti Nui is also tinkering with crew uniforms.

The airline commissioned Balenciaga to design new uniforms in honor of its 10th anniversary. There are twenty new uniform styles in total, including those for pilots and ground personnel. One is a more traditional flight attendant outfit, a suit or suit-like affair, rendered in a solid ocean blue and a lighter "lagoon" blue, sort of an aqua. It's pretty, if not envelope-pushing (and I'm not completely sure I see the Balenciaga look to it) but the good news you only see it when you're boarded and de-planing, in-flight, because sometime after take-off the cabin crew does a take-off of their own -- they slip into something more comfortable.

Women can choose between a "porotu" or "pretty girl" dress, which is long and tight fitting, or on days when they're presumably feeling less svelte, a "mamaru'au" or a grandmother dress, which is long and flowy -- that's what's pictured here. Male attendants change into a short-sleeved Tahitian shirt. Sexy, grandmotherly, or male, the collection is all tropical colored and with floral accents.

Now, I'm all for everything being lovely down to the smallest detail, but I've sat through enough in-flight safety demonstrations to be able to do them myself, or at the least to mumble along: Flight attendants are here for your safety first, you are required to comply with crew member instructions... We're used to seeing authority figures in uniform, that's partially why they wear them in the first place. I wonder how seriously people will take a crew member's instructions when they're wearing an outfit more typically worn to a cocktail party (in the case of Delta) or at a beach picnic (in the case of Air Tahiti). And who's minding the cabin during the wardrobe change? Will auto-pilot bring me my champagne?

Tags: airlines, delta, tahiti, uniforms

Russian Billionaire Threatens To Cancel Billion Dollar Plane Order

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Wealth

You don't get to be a billionaire without playing a little hardball. We've covered Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev before for his interest in publishing but Lebedev also owns the airline Blue Wings. This week Germany revoked his company's operating license meaning that the budget carrier can no longer transport passengers in Germany. Lebedev's response was quick and brutal. As Bloomberg reports, he has said he will have to cancel $1 billion order for Airbus SAS planes.

German's aviation officials stated that Blue Wings has "business problems." Lebedev has said he will appeal the decision. Currently Blue Wings has 10 Airbus A320s that fly between Germany and Russia with additional charter flights to Turkey and the Middle East. The Airbus order would have added 20 more A320s to the fleet allowing Blue Wings to increase its routes. Certainly Airbus can't be thrilled about the prospect of losing such a large order so it's a shrewd move on Lebedev's part to potentially pressure Germany to reconsider.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reveals that speculation about that state of Lebedev's finances continues. He has said he will sue Forbes for saying that he had lost $2.5 billion in the economic crisis.

Source

Tags: airbus, airlines, germany

US Airways Brings Back Free Beverages

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Just seven months after US Airways began charging customers $2 for sodas, coffee, and other beverages, it is reversing its policy and will now serve drinks for free.

MSN Money analyzed the situation and noted, "What happened? Well, in this airline's case, it was more about what didn't happen. First, other airlines didn't follow US Airways' lead. Sure, they were fine with fees for checking bags and other things, but they drew the line when it came to charging for drinks. Second, passengers didn't accept the fee. It became about more than a soda."

If you normally fly first class and don't ever pay for beverages, this won't affect you. But if you are watching your money a bit more and may now fly coach, at least you'll have a few extra dollars to spend on other things.

Tags: airlines, airplanes, beverages, drinks, free, travel, US Air, US Airways, UsAir, UsAirways

Emirates Plans Cross-Polar Green Flight

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Green

Luxury airline, Emirates may be slow to jump on the green bandwagon but now the airline is trying to do eco-friendly in a rather dramatic way. On December 15 Emirates Airline will undertake what they call the Environment flight, which they are saying is the world's first cross-polar green flight heading from Dubai to San Francisco. Emirates is working with government agencies in Dubai, Russia, Canada and the United States to plot the most environmentally-sophisticated trip possible to save fuel and carbon emissions on the 16-hour non-stop service.

The airline will fly the Boeing 777-200LR to service the San Francisco-Dubai route. To ensure a more fuel-efficient route, the flight will utilize new corridors of Russian airspace. The EK225 Emvironment flight will depart Dubai at 8:55 a.m.on 15th December and land in San Francisco at 1 p.m. local time the same day. The fuel and emissions savings features including washing the plane before the flight to minimize drag, using electrical power on the ground in Dubai rather than running its auxiliary power unit, getting priority clearance from Dubai Air Traffic control and real time updates of current weather and wind conditions to allow the flight crew to modify their flight path on route. The flight will track close to the North Pole and flexible routings will be pursued over Canadian airspace. Sounds more like clever than green to me but it sounds like those passengers are going to great some great views of the icy north.

Source

Tags: airlines, emirates

Delta Shows The Love To Frequent Fliers, Cuts Fees

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The latest news from Delta Air Lines is a bit win some, lose some depending on how often you travel. Delta has said that it will charge $15 fee to check a first bag but that it will be cutting certain other fees. USA Today reports that as of December 5, customers flying within the U.S. will be charged $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag which is consistent with the policies of Northwest Airlines which they recently acquired. Those who purchased Delta tickets on or before Wednesday, and who are traveling on or after Dec. 5, will be charged $50 for a second bag, but can still check their first bag for free Delta's previous policy.

Good news for customers flying in first or business class, including SkyMiles Medallion members and WorldPerks Elite members, you can still check up to three bags, up to 70 pounds each for free. Delta is also eliminating the $25 to $100 fuel surcharges assessed for SkyMiles and WorldPerks award ticket travel now that fuel prices have declined. And if you purchase tickets over the phone versus online (which is free), you'll also save a little, the fee for tickets purchased over the phone from a reservations sales representative has been dropped from $25 to $20. Delta will also drop the $3 curbside check-in fee.

The news follows the announcement that Delta CEO Richard Anderson will get stock awards worth almost $13.6 million, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by some angry about the baggage fees.

Source

Tags: airlines, delta, flying

Karma Partners with Virgin America for High Fliers

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Karma, the elegant California brut-style sparkling wine in modern single-serving bottles, has partnered with Richard Branson's California-based Virgin America airlines on upscale cocktails for high fliers. Created by San Diego native Patrick Wilson, the premium ready-to-drink treat is packaged in a glass bottle resembling a champagne flute.

Virgin America flights feature moodlighting, custom-designed leather seats and the only on-demand, in-flight food ordering system via a video touch-screen at every seat. Karma, made from hand-selected California grapes, is clean, crisp and dry with subtle hints of melon and pear. Wilson decided to package it this way to further the concept that every day should be a celebration. We're with him there.

Tags: Airlines, Champagne, Karma, Sparkling wine, SparklingWine, Virgin America, VirginAmerica

Does Delta's First Class Shuttle Cabin Signal The End of Shuttle Flights?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Back in March I reported on the fact that it seems that shuttle flights between cities on the East Coast like New York, Boston, and Washington haven't been faring too well in recent years. Joe Brancatelli who writes the Seat 2B column for Portfolio says that the recent news that Delta will add first-class cabins to its shuttle flights between New York, Boston, and Washington isn't a positive sign; it proves that the shuttles may well be on their way out. The shuttles have become less profitable and the shuttle aircraft which are equipped with standard first- and coach-class cabins can now be used on any flight path. In the 1980s large shuttles used to run every hour and promised no reservations needed. Now the remaining shuttles use smaller aircraft and fly less frequently especially on weekends and non-peak times.

Is this the last gasp of the shuttle flight? It certainly seems like it, the rise of technology, the high-speed Acela train, private jet charter services and even luxury bus lines have made shuttle flying less and less attractive. Like Joe Brancatelli, I'm a little nostalgic for the shuttles of my youth but in these days when it seems that hardly any flights go smoothly and airlines are struggling to stay afloat it seems like the shuttle is an idea whose time is long gone.

Source

Tags: airlines, delta, flights, shuttle

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