Spirit Goes to Denver, ...

The next stop for Spirit’s growth train here in the US is in an unlikely place . . . Denver. Why would Spirit go into a market where there’s certainly no shortage of capacity? Something tells me that the airline wants to send Frontier a message. Spirit will begin daily...

We complained, they lis...

Filed under: Europe , United States , Airlines , Airports Airline passengers have complained about a variety of things over the years but some nagging topics rise to the top and just won’t go away, prompting airlines to do something about them. Eventually. Common to surveys of...

Cranky on the Web (Febr...

“Cranky Flier” Explores Decline in Small City Airline Service – Part 2 of 2 – ExpertFlyer Hot Topics In part two of this series, I look at the government programs to help keep small service, primarily Essential Air Service. The conclusion? These aren’t going to cut it...

Topic of the Week: Are ...

We’ve had a couple of interactions with upgrades lately and more often than not, mileage upgrades are becoming less useful. First, we had someone flying Delta to Europe. The “M” fare that Delta requires you buy to use an upgrade with SkyPesos was so high that it was...

Visiting American’s F...

American recently decided to revamp its check-in lobby at LAX, and the result is going to be the blueprint for all of American’s hubs. American invited me to come on up and take a look last week. The highlight? The Flagship check-in service for the fancy pants travelers. I also got...

Couple to visit most of...

Filed under: Arts and Culture , History , Learning , Africa , Asia , Europe , North America , Oceania , South America , Antarctica , Ecotourism , Cruises , Middle East , Central America , Caribbean Darren and Sandy Van Soye, a couple from Southern California , have started on a global...

Southwest’s Uniquely ...

Today is Valentine’s Day, so how about a little LUV story? One of the things about Southwest’s takeover of AirTran that I like the most is the transition plan. The way it’s being done is incredibly customer-friendly, and it’s likely to have a very minor impact on...

Frontier’s New Plan S...

Frontier has been moving on its plan to reinvent itself very quickly, and last week it rolled out some big changes that will fall into place over the next few months. In short, the old Midwest Airlines hubs are shrinking while it grows its presence in Colorado where competitors...

Cranky on the Web (Febr...

Jetwhine Tries to Out-Cranky the Cranky Flier – JetWhine Rob over at JetWhine had a painful experience dealing with American/Iberia on a codeshare so he gave me a ring to vent. You can listen to the 11:27 podcast over on his website. New DOT Regulations Could Kill This Annoying...

Topic of the Week: Fuel...

People love to claim that Southwest’s fuel hedging strategy was brilliant last decade for keeping costs low. Others say it was terrible because it postponed Southwest from having to face a new reality of higher fuel prices. In the last quarter, Southwest paid 20 cents more per...