Airline cabin -- where all the action happens. Pic by The Airline Blog
The annual survey of frequent fliers conducted by Seatguru.com is out and it doesn’t look so great for some domestic airlines compared to their international counterparts. About 1,600 frequent travelers (most of whom fly 8 or more times per year) were asked to rate their airline experiences.
When a domestic airline actually serves a meal, it is rated among the lowest. Meals on United Airlines, US Airways, and American Airlines fared the worst. The best were Singapore, British Airways, Air France, and Continental Airlines (the only U.S. airline to make the top 4).
American, United, and US Airways are seen again on the bottom for comfort in economy class seats, while JetBlue made it to the top of the list.
Unfortunately for American, United, and US Airways they also topped the list for “rudest flight attendants” while Singapore and Southwest Airlines made top marks.
Matthew Daimler, founder of Seatguru.com stated, “Domestic airlines have been making strides in recent years to better compete with international airlines, but it is clear that they still have a ways to go in the eyes of fliers.”
Other interesting results:
* 13% of fliers say they have knowingly transported banned items through secuirty
* When asked which celebrities a person would want to sit next to, 56% said none
* 42% are willing to shell out 10% more for more legroom
* 26% think the front of the plane is the safest, 17% middle, and 6% the back.
* 17% of travelers self-medicate before a flight
Source: Seatguru.com
US Airways tails.
Cuts, cuts, cuts. Airlines cutting routes, planes, and people seem to dominate the airline news. However this cut, has a little positive spin to it.
In 2008 US Airways had to let go over 1,300 positions, something no company enjoys. With declining revenues, US Airways had to make additional cuts, but didn’t want to resort to laying off additional people. Instead, the airline is asking flight attendants to volunteer to take 4 to 16 months off to allow the airline to save some cash.
The airline currently has over 6,600 flight attendants among their 33,000 employees.
I wasn’t able to find anywhere if the employees would be paid, so I contacted the kind folks over at US Airways. They stated that the leave is an “unpaid furlough”, but “flight attendants will be able to keep their flight privleges during the furlough.”
US Airways are not the only ones talking about future job cuts. Air France is looking at 3000 cuts, Delta 2000, American 1600, and on and on.
Part of me wonders how many of these cuts are needed and how many are these just an opprotunity to eliminate people at a time where it is becoming more and more accepted to lay off large numbers of hardworking people.
Image: Tomcatgeorge
A Continental Airlines Boeing 777 landing at Newark
Details are still sparse, but what is known is a pilot died on Continental Airlines flight 61 from Brussels to Newark. The plane landed safely at Newark.
Yes, having a pilot die during the flight is never a good thing. However, the flight had two co-pilots who were more than qualified to land the plane. The plane was even able to land at its original destination.
Why is the media covering this story so much? Is the coverage related to the Air France flight 447 crash? It seems the mainstream media is picking up on any little plane incident since the Air France accident. Yes, stories like this are interesting, but it can become bothersome when it causes fear in readers about flying.
I wish all the best for the family of the pilot, but I hope everyone else realizes the plane was safe and co-pilots (even if there was only one) are trained to take over and safely land the plane.
Follow the most recent details…
Image: hornet517
A nice mesh-type curtain.
Have you ever flown in first class and felt bad about having to look at the people sitting in the back of the plane? Ever been in the back of the plane and hated seeing the treatment that the front of the plane received?
Worry no longer, the class divider (aka cabin curtains) is making a comeback.
After the September 11th attacks, the TSA mandated airlines lose their curtains, allowing easy plane visibility. Passengers (presumably from the front of the plane) have complained and want to have more privacy and airlines are responding.
American Airlines is in process of adding new curtains to recreate the class separation. United Airlines started earlier, installing mesh-type curtains over three years ago.
As time goes on, more and more airlines will most likely follow. Even being in the back of the plane, this can be a good thing, since I don’t enjoy seeing what I am missing.
Source: Chicago Tribune Image: olton
Some creative United Airlines and American Airlines liveries
I am one that enjoys following all the airline liveries and get excited when a new one comes out. Sometimes I shudder when seeing a new livery that just…well isn’t that great.
While surfing around, I found a website that allows people to create their own liveriesand some are not half bad. Kind of wish more airlines would take a look to get a better idea of what possibilities are out there, since creating a new brand is not cheap.