airlines

A Reason To Read Your Tray Table

Filed under: Wings

If you hate being stuck on a plane with nothing to read, fret no more, you will soon be able to enjoy BusinessWeek content on your seat-back tray tables. Starting next month, BusinessWeek columns will be stuck on seatback tray tables on domestic air carriers. The aisle, middle and center seats will each feature different BusinessWeek content that will be updated monthly. Ads equivalent to the size of a two-page spread, will be placed next to the BusinessWeek columns on the tray table surface.I wonder if there will be some sort of special treatment to keep the columns from looking ragged after weeks of flying.

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Tags: airlines, businessweek, flight, flying, tray tables

Planes Give Back Perks

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

When you fly in a private plane, you can provide as many or as few perks to your co-passengers as you like, from drinks to entertainment to a catered dinner. Passengers on commercial flights, even those in first class, have rapidly seen perks stripped away over the past couple of years, which makes flying a bit disappointing - especially during the holidays when everyone is traveling to visit family and friends. The WSJ reports (subscription) that some airlines are starting to give some back to passengers, though. American Airlines "added back silverware and hot cloth towels" to first class, as well as "baked on board" cookies. Northwest Airlines has fresh fruits and muffins to offer to their first class passengers, and United is planning "iPod connectivity" for international passengers. The changes are coming slowly, but steadily and are even reaching back to coach, as Delta has "reintroduced mid-flight snacks" for all their passengers.

Tags: airlines, airplanes, first class, fly, perks, planes, travel

Braniff Uniforms to be Auctioned

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Mary Sue Seibold remembers how glamorous she felt when she started to work for Braniff International Airlines in the early 1960s. The uniforms were multi-layered affairs, by designers like Emilio Pucci and Halston, and their unveiling at the beginning of each flight was as good as any fashion show. During the course of the 20 years she worked for the airline, she collected the uniforms that she wore and stashed them away. She has decided to put her collection of 19 complete uniforms up for auction. The collection has 86 pieces, including accessories like boots, handbags and hats, and will be sold as one unit by Chelsea Marketeers in June of this year. The minimum bid is $100,000.

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Tags: airline, airlines, airplane, auction, braniff, fashion, flight attendant, flying, pucci, stewardess

Standing Room Only?

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Better start saving up your frequent flier miles because in the not-too-distant future, you may really need them. It is possible that air travel will no longer be an issue of first class versus coach and how much leg room you'll have, but whether you'll have leg room at all.

Some airlines are toying with the idea of eliminating seats from their economy classes and having the section be standing only. Instead of seats, there will be padded boards for patrons to lean against during takeoff and landing, as FAA regulations only require passengers to be "secure," not seated. Airbus, which is the airplane manufacturer heading this movement, has been pitching the idea to several carriers, mostly those in Asia that they perceive as more likely to accept the sardine-like travel arrangements than Americans. The capacity for a flight on an A380 is 500 passengers, but the standing configuration would boost that number to 853. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines reported hearing of the plans from Airbus, but said they had "no interest in increasing seat capacity to [that] level."

There is little doubt that first class seats would be unaffected by a move towards this configurations, perhaps even increasing in size, as airlines add chairs than recline into beds and a wider than ever before.

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Tags: air, airbus, airline, airlines, airplanes, coach, economy class, first class, flying, seats, travel

Eos Airlines Offers Curb-To-Plane Service

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Eos Airlines has a new plan to make their customers feel a little more like they are on a private jet rather than a business jet. The airline will greet each guest curbside at both JFK and Stansted Airport in London and stay with them through check-in and a fast-track security. Eos already offers a similar service for travelers who are running late and this is just an expanded version of that. The service means that you can arrive 45 minutes before your flight. Eos uses Boeing 757 airlines configured for only 48 passengers so that each person has their own pod space which can extend to a full six and a half feet for napping your way overseas. Their larger overhead compartments also mean that most luggage can be carried on. Eos also offers concierge service from Quintessentially. With many other New York-to-London airline options now crowding the field, Eos is working to make their service more appealing. Managing to shave off how much time you need to wait at the airport is a pretty good place to start.

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Tags: airlines, business class, eos airlines, EosAirlines, flight, jfk airport, new york airport, wings

Hooters Air Goes Charter Only

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It has been announced that Hooters Air will be ending regularly scheduled passenger flights as of April 17. High fuel prices are suspected to be one of the reasons for the airline's problems. Hooters only flew a limited number of passengers to a few airports but for the some markets like Myrtle Beach, SC they brought in many much-needed tourists. The airline will still offer charter flights for sports teams and tour groups so if you want to fly with the lovely ladies of Hooters you are going to have to gather a group of people to fly with you.

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Tags: airlines, flight, hooters air, HootersAir, wings

United Throws Money at Premium Passengers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

In an effort to draw customers to their airlines, United Airlines announced today that it will be upgrading the international first and business class cabins in a program that will cost $165 million. They've partnered up with B/E Aerospace, a manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products to design new premium seats. Don't go looking for these seats yet, the new premium cabins will come out in 2007 and reconfiguration of United's entire international wide-body fleet will take a few years.

[via Airline Travel News]

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Tags: airlines, flight, united airlines, UnitedAirlines

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