On the Fly - Airline Industry News, Airline Security, and Passenger Rights from Conde Nast Traveler on Truth.Travel

By Barbara S. Peterson on February 2, 2010 3:02 PM | 1 Comment

Where Eagles Drink: Hosting a FlyerTalk Meetup

(L-R) Shriram Krishnamoorthy (1.5 million miles), Adina Newman (922,000 miles), Seth Miller (1 million miles), Stephanie Baum (599,000 miles), Reb Baum, Randy Petersen of FlyerTalk.com (17 million miles), Tommy Danielsen

This morning’s unsurprising nod to Up in the Air as an Oscar best picture nominee means the exploits of the world’s most famous air warrior will be on theater screens for some time to come.

But the real inhabitants of “air world”--that bland universe so aptly limned by Walter Kirn in the 2001 novel of the same name-weren’t talking much about the movie when they met in a crowded basement bar in New York’s meatpacking district last night.

No, the chat revolved around far more important things, burning issues like-where’s the best mileage run these days (for non-road warriors, mileage runs are cheap flights that yield mucho miles)? Which airline has the best seats?

What brought 50 of these mileage addicts together was the publication of Greg Lindsay’s piece, "Triumph of the Air Warriors," in the February issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Lindsay had traveled with this gang of admittedly compulsive mileage freaks on a two day marathon organized by the Star Alliance, the giant airline fraternity anchored by Lufthansa and United, and the party was as much a reunion as it was anything else.

I felt like I was in an airport lounge with some 50 Ryan Binghams. Somehow the line “to know me is to fly with me” kept echoing in my mind.

Randy Petersen, Mr. Mileage himself, can take credit for getting the group together-they met, virtually, on his website, FlyerTalk.com, where they trade tips and horror stories and the like.

I got a kick out of meeting some of the personalities profiled in Greg’s story, such as Art Pushkin, described as a “legend in airline circles” for his formation of a group of rebels against poor airline service. It was called the Cockroaches--because that’s how USAirways made him feel.

Puskin told me about his new group, FFOCUS--or “Frequent Flyers Organized and Concerned about Unacceptable Service,” which he hopes will get the message to airline managers that it’s not acceptable to abuse their best customers.

I recognized Stephanie Baum, Adina Newman, Seth Miller and several others from their photos in our magazine.

I also met Tommy Danielsen, a Norwegian businessman who led the expedition and who promises an encore next year.

And lest anyone wonder about whether these mile-junkies aren’t just a tad too into their “air world” lives, Danielsen deadpanned: “We actually do have jobs.”

How do you think these people got to million mile status in the first place?

Related Stories
Triumph of the Air Warriors (Condé Nast Traveler)
10 FlyerTalker Tips to Maximize Your Miles (Condé Nast Traveler)
FlyerTalk.com

By Barbara S. Peterson on January 28, 2010 1:11 PM | No Comments

Where is the TSA Chief?

At a House Homeland Security committee hearing yesterday, ostensibly to examine the “lessons” of Flight 253, those of us in the audience got another lesson in dysfunctional government policy making.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat not known for mincing words, said it best: “We need a TSA Administrator,” he barked at a trio of witnesses who had the unenviable task of defending the administration’s response to the attempted Xmas day bombing of an airliner. “Can’t we just get it done?”

He's right! This isn’t the Farm Credit Administration we’re talking about here. It’s the agency that is supposed to protect our citizens from another 9/11 attack. It’s a critical post and needs someone with the expertise and political clout to get the attention of those who hold the purse strings.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines Battle for the Skies

Photo: caribb / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

All Nippon Airways blasted into New York City last night, entertaining contingents of journalists, travel agents and corporate biggies in back to back receptions at the Times Center. ANA, which had typically played second fiddle to flag carrier Japan Airlines, had obviously scheduled this event long before its troubled arch-rival had been forced to declare bankruptcy just days ago.

ANA was here to roll out a host of service upgrades that will start appearing on long-distance flights next month—everything from giving coach fliers a few extra inches of legroom (to 34-inch pitch, which ought to ease leg cramps on the thirteen hour flight from New York to Tokyo) to new first class and biz class flat beds.
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By Barbara S. Peterson on January 15, 2010 11:22 AM | No Comments

Miracle on the Hudson Anniversary

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger--aka "Sully"--is reuniting in a few hours with co-pilot Jeff Skiles and many of other 155 people aboard flight 1549 aboard a NY Waterway ferry--which will cruise out to the same spot where the Airbus A320 went down a year ago today. So.. can't we just finally put this story to rest? There have been umpteen articles, books, and now, documentaries, -- is there anything more to be said or done? Actually, today's event is to honor the rescuers--the Red Cross, the boat crews and everyone else who helped ensure that everyone got off the plane alive. Enough said.

By Barbara S. Peterson on January 13, 2010 3:58 PM | No Comments

Give the TSA Screeners a Break!

I was interviewed by CNN anchor Tony Harris earlier this week about the latest lapses in airport security-mainly the failure to catch the infamous underwear bomber before he attempted to bring down Northwest flight 25. But since the more recent debacle at Newark Airport was on our minds, we also talked about my stint as a screener at the TSA three years ago and whether I thought security had improved markedly since then. [See clip above for my answers]

From his questions-and what I’ve been hearing from readers and sources around the country, the screeners aren’t getting much more respect from the public than they did right after 9/11.

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By Barbara S. Peterson on January 4, 2010 2:34 PM | No Comments

New TSA rules: Déjà Vu All Over Again

The news about the “new” security rules that were rushed into being thanks to the would-be bomber in briefs is depressingly familiar. There will be more random searches, more bags will be swabbed for explosives, etc. It's the usual ratcheting up after a foiled attack.

International flights to the U.S. will get more scrutiny and a laundry list of countries whose passengers will get an extra frisking expands the axis of evil to include countries with no direct air service and few business ties to the U.S.-Cuba, Sudan, Libya, Yemen-as well as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and of course Nigeria, home of jockstrap jihadist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

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By Barbara S. Peterson on December 29, 2009 10:00 AM | No Comments

Passenger Privacy Gone in Jock-Strap Jihadist's Wake?

Soon he might be checking much more than your duffel bag
Photo: mrcrash/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The TSA’s response to the jock-strap jihadist is mystifying some passengers. According to one of my checkpoint sources at a major U.S. airport, passengers who expected to see a huge visible response were almost disappointed—“they’re asking ‘where’s the security?’" this source reports. But on inbound flights from overseas, it’s the opposite approach: passengers on flights must remain seated one hour before landing, they can’t access their carry-on bags, dthey can't have blankets or laptops on their laps, and those flight-tracking maps that are integrated into seatback entertainment systems must be turned off.

All this would prevent one thing: an exact copy of last week's attempted attack on board a Northwest flight from Amsterdam. True, copycat crimes are a plausible scenario, but this is also security theater carried to a ridiculous extreme. Any self-respecting jihadist would certainly find it easy to circumvent these safety measures.

But here’s the issue facing the security community in the longer run: privacy, if we thought we had any left, is sure to be surrendered almost completely—and the ensuing debate will get downright embarrassing. Here, again, the take of one of my former TSA colleagues:
“As long as we cannot pat down the private area, we cannot be 100 percent secure.” This brings back memories of my job as an airport screener, and that unnerving moment in the pat-down when we were instructed to say, “I am now coming to a sensitive area.”

The good news, if there is any, is that we already have better technology in the pipeline to detect explosives and new body scanner machines will probably soon be installed at airports. Screeners are being told that they will be doing more swabbing of passengers' shoes and hands, presumably because anyone dabbling in these substances will have traces clinging to them.

Meanwhile, Joe Brancatelli posted yesterday’s DHS memo to airlines that operate flights abroad. Read after the jump for an excerpt.

Listen to Peterson talk about the challenges of terrorism security on NPR's The Takeaway this morning. READ MORE >>

By Barbara S. Peterson on December 22, 2009 12:57 PM | No Comments

OJ Gate: When Flight Attendants Attack

American Airlines has finally apologized for the bizarre behavior of one of its flight attendants on a recent flight, but only after the incident became an internet sensation. Delta even took a swipe at its arch rival by giving elite status to the passengers aboard this particular journey from hell. But regrettably no one involved has addressed the most disturbing aspect of this flying farce: the use, or misuse, of federal security rules that were designed to protect flight crews from attack.

The saga began when John Reed, a first class passenger on the flight to Dallas—Executive Platinum, no less—was subjected to a scorching tirade when he asked for a glass of orange juice. No one knows what set off the flight attendant, who angrily slammed down the passenger's breakfast tray, and the airline and employee groups are all refusing to elaborate, calling it a "personnel matter."

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By Barbara S. Peterson on December 21, 2009 3:57 PM | No Comments

Passenger Rights a Reality!

Photo: gasi / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Air passenger rights advocates won a big victory in Washington this morning, with the Transportation Department ordering airlines to let fliers stuck on planes go back to the terminal after three hours or face hefty fines.

There were the expected exceptions for safety and security, but essentially the new rule gives the ‘rights’ crowd everything they wanted--and dealt a huge blow to the airlines, which had fought federal intervention, claiming that it will result in ‘unintended consequences’ because it could encourage airlines to cancel flights outright.

And it doesn’t just deal with the so-called tarmac strandings. It also prohibits airlines from operating chronically delayed flights which it said it would treat as an unfair and deceptive practice, again, resulting in costly penalties for the offending airline. And DOT said it would soon come out with rules on baggage fees and full disclosure of the price of an airline ticket, fees included.

“This is the Obama (administration) passenger bill of rights,” said DOT secretary Ray LaHood, the former Republican congressman from Illinois who’s clearly figured out where the public sentiment lays on this one. In fact he said it was the overnight ordeal of nearly 50 people trapped in a commuter jet that moved him to crack down on the airlines to this extent-well beyond the proposals now pending in Congress.

But will this really make a difference? Won’t airlines simply invoke the ‘safety and security’ exemption? We won’t know until after the rule formally goes into effect, in April, but judging from the reactions so far, industry insiders expect it could work as advertised. FlyersRights.org founder Kate Hanni crowed that it was a “wonderful Christmas gift” to travelers and the Air Transport Association, which represents most large US airlines, issued a terse statement saying it would comply, but that it anticipates “greater passenger inconvenience” as a result.

By Barbara S. Peterson on December 10, 2009 3:28 PM | No Comments

10 Nice Things to Say About the Airlines-Seriously!

Photo: James Willamor / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Here’s some shocking news: the airlines are getting some things right.

Yes, you read that correctly. Like most of my colleagues in the media, I spend a fair amount griping about air travel. And the airlines don’t help their cause, treating us like cattle and ignoring us when we speak out. But there’s evidence they’re listening to some of us, because lately they’ve come up with some new ways to restore civility to the ordeal of flying.

So in the spirit of the season, here are ten good things about air travel:

1) ONLINE CHECK-IN AND ADVANCED AIRPORT KIOSKS
Instead of having to queue up at the airport behind the Clampetts, you can check in from a personal computer or airport kiosk, print out a boarding pass and breeze past the waiting throng to the gate. Some airlines, including Lufthansa, are testing a new type of kiosk that will print out meal vouchers and other documents for travelers delayed at major connecting hubs.

2) MOBILE BOARDING PASSES
Your iPhone or Blackberry can do everything but brew coffee—so why not double as a boarding pass? American, Continental and Delta are testing this option at airports around the country; many European lines are, too. Just check in online and email your boarding pass to your mobile—then flash the bar code as needed for the security and gate agents to take your place on the plane.
READ MORE >>

Where Eagles Drink: Hosting a FlyerTalk Meetup

Where is the TSA Chief?

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines Battle for the Skies

Miracle on the Hudson Anniversary

Give the TSA Screeners a Break!

New TSA rules: Déjà Vu All Over Again

Passenger Privacy Gone in Jock-Strap Jihadist's Wake?

OJ Gate: When Flight Attendants Attack

Passenger Rights a Reality!

10 Nice Things to Say About the Airlines-Seriously!

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