Uzbekistan Airways is the flag carrier of (can you guess?) Uzbekistan. It was founded in 1992 and is owned by the government. They fly to about 50 destinations, mostly into Europe, although there is a flight to New York.
They have a very diverse fleet of aircraft including: A300-600RF, A310-300, A320-200, Boeing 757-200, Boeing 767-300ER, Il-76, Il-114, Tu-154, and Avro RJ85. They also have an order in for two Boeing 787 Dreamliners. There are rumors Uzbekistan Airways might be joining the SkyTeam alliance, allowing its passengers greater reach around the world.
This video was created using FAA data for flight traffic for a 24 hour period over the United States. You can learn more and see some awesome stills of the project on their website.
Electronic boarding passes are probably the future of airline travel. Image from Alaska Airlines.
The future is nearing. A little over a year ago I talked about electronic boarding passes becoming a reality. Today, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are launching both a mobile-friendly website and electronic boarding passes for passengers flying from Anchorage, Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle and Spokane. There are already 30 airports and six airlines testing out this technology: Continental, Delta, Alaska, Horizon and American. Surprisingly, Alaska and Horizon are the first non-legacy airlines to test out the new technology.
Travellers are able to check in using their mobile phone up to 24 hours in advance of their flight. They are given an encrypted barcode along with the passenger and flight information. While going through security, TSA will be able to scan the electronic ticket, check id and the passenger is good to go.
“Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air’s electronic boarding pass and optimized mobile Web site meet the needs of today’s high-tech traveler, ” said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience. “Starting today, our customers can expedite the airport check-in process even more and get from curbside to planeside in record time.”
In the next few months, the service will be spread to other Alaska and Horizon cities. In the future, they told me we, “will see more mobile device enhancements to make travel more convenient.”
Is this the future of airline travel? I really think so. No more having to double check to make sure you have your boarding passes. No more having to track down a departure screen to see what your flight status is. The biggest problem will be remember to charge your phone before leaving. Nothing would be more frustrating than waiting in security for 30 minutes, have your phone die, having to go wait in line to get your boarding pass, then get through security again.
Personally, I haven’t been able to test out this new technology. Have any of you been able to? What are your thoughts?
Allegiant Air has been very successful over the last few years. They fly a fleet of about 45 older MD-80’s (their average age is about 20yrs), but they fly to smaller airports around the country and concentrate more on leisure passengers than business. Allegiant Air has been around since 1998 and currently fly to over 70 destinations.
Ben Mutzabaugh, who writes Today in the Sky for USA Today, was able to sit down with Allegiant’s CEO Maruice Gallagher for a unique inside look of the airline and its future. Be sure to check out his multi-part interview:
With so many fees coming from airlines, it is difficult for one to catch my eye anymore. I have come acustomed to them and realize they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Now, American Airlines will start charging passengers to fly stand-by. Previously if a passenger got to the airport early and there was another flight leaving, they could catch the earlier flight for no additional charge.
That model makes sense. You already paid to fly on the exact route, there is an empty seat on the flight before yours, why shouldn’t you be able to cut down on your travel time a little bit?
Any ticket bought after February 21st, passengers will have to pay an additional $50 to fly stand-by. However, American Airlines states this is more than just making some extra money.
“You get one of those Friday afternoon scenarios when you have more than 100 people standing by for a flight out of a business market.It really does become chaotic getting everyone processed. You have to process each and every one of these people individually. Those who don’t make it, then you have to roll them over onto the next flight and start it all over again,” Tim Smith, American Spokesperson said.
Smith states that getting a lot of people on an earlier flight, can delay flights. He stated that “Premium” (Executive Platinum, Platinum and Gold members of the AAdvantage frequent-flier program and passengers flying business or first class) passengers and their guests won’t have to pay anything additional. He also admits this is not just to cut down on rare stand-by related delays, but to make additional revenue for the airlines.
The additional $50 ticket-change charge has been around American since 2005 and flying stand-by has always sort of circumvented the fee. Are passengers going to pay this new fee? If history shows us anything, yes they will. Will it be worth $50 to get home a few hours earlier? Probably depends on the situation and if the airport has a good bar.
