Posted by Andrew Hickey on Sep 29, 2009 in
Travel
Overhead view of Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. This November both Virgin America and JetBlue will debut here within a 24-hour span.
Some people get all worked up over the new fall season of television shows premiering, certain individuals get excited about a new motion picture hitting the silver screen, while others might get overstimulated by the combination of baseball playoffs and the return of the NFL football. But yours truly could care less about all of those distractions. Why? Because the announcement of new airline routes tops them all. While my wife (and a few of you) may think I am a loon for caring so much about the debut of new itineraries at airports, I just can not help myself.
Living in such a busy area like New York, with major airports like JFK, Newark, and La Guardia, I guess you can say that I have pretty much every city in the world available at my fingertips. But what I look for is an airline adding service to my area. My reaction to the news of Southwest debuting at La Guardia a few months ago was easily comparable to a sports fanatic finding out that his beloved team just acquired the number one draft pick or received a great new pitcher as a result of a multi-team trade. Yeah pretty pathetic, but I admit to being a 100% “Grade A” travel nerd.
But that doesn’t make me a bad person does it? Well I do get some rather odd looks from the wife when all I can talk about over dinner is how JetBlue is now jetting to the Caribbean and Virgin America is possibly thinking of flying in and out of Chicago soon. In any event, here are some new airline routes debuting within the next few months. Enjoy.
JetBlue:
- Barbados (BGI) and New York (JFK) starts October 1, 2009
- Saint Lucia (UVF) and New York (JFK) starts October 26, 2009
- Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) and New York (JFK) starts October 30, 2009
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and San Francisco (SFO) starts November 17, 2009
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Virgin America:
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and San Francisco (SFO) starts November 18, 2009
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Los Angeles (LAX) starts November 18, 2009
.
Southwest Airlines:
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Tampa Bay (TPA) starts November 1, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Phoenix (PHX) starts November 1, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Orlando (MCO) starts November 1, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Kansas City (KCI) starts November 1, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Baltimore (BWI) starts November 1, 2009
- Denver (DEN) and Reno/Lake Tahoe (RNO) starts January 10, 2010
- Denver (DEN) and Spokane (GEG) starts January 10, 2010
- Denver (DEN) and Boston (BOS) starts January 10, 2010
.
United Airlines:
- San Francisco (SFO) and Kansas City (KCI) starts October 25, 2009
- Chicago (ORD) and Duluth (DLH) starts December 17, 2009
- Chicago (ORD) and Asheville (AVL) starts December 17, 2009
- Denver (DEN) and Midland/Odessa (MAF) starts December 17, 2009
- Denver (DEN) and Louisville (SDF) starts December 17, 2009
.
American Airlines:
- Miami (MIA) and Charleston (CHS) starts November 19, 2009
- Miami (MIA) and Knoxville (TYS) starts November 19, 2009
- Miami (MIA) and Treasure Cay, Bahamas (TCB) starts November 19, 2009
- Miami (MIA) and Governors Harbour, Bahamas (GHB) starts November 19, 2009
- Miami (MIA) and Eleuthers, Bahamas (ELH) starts November 19, 2009
- Los Angeles (LAX) and Santa Fe (SAF) starts November 19, 2009
.
Continental Airlines:
- Houston (IAH) and Edmonton, AB Canada (YEG) starts November 1, 2009
- Houston (IAH) and Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) starts November 1, 2009
- Houston (IAH) and Washington DC (IAD) starts November 1, 2009
- Cleveland (CLE) and Washington DC (IAD) starts November 1, 2009
- Honolulu (HNL) and Guam (GUM) to Nadi, Fiji (NAN) starts November 1, 2009
.
Delta Airlines:
- Memphis (MEM) and West Palm Beach (PBI) starts December 17, 2009
- Philadelphia (PHL) and Paris, France (CDG) starts October 5, 2009
- Atlanta (ATL) and Brasilia (BSB) starts December 17, 2009
- Atlanta (ATL) and Fortaleza (FOR) starts December 21, 2009
- New York (JFK) and Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) starts December 12, 2009
- New York (JFK) and Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) starts December 18, 2009
- New York (JFK) and Puerto Plata, DR (POP) starts December 19, 2009
- Detroit (DTW) and Punta Cana, DR (PUJ) starts November 21, 2009
- Minneapolis (MSP) and Punta Cana, DR (PUJ) starts December 19, 2009
- Cincinnati (CVG) and Punta Canada, DR (PUJ) starts December 19, 2009
.
AirTran Airways:
- Atlanta (ATL) and Aruba (AUA) starts December 19, 2009
- Orlando (MCO) and Aruba (AUA) starts February 13, 2010
- Orlando (MCO) and Key West (EYW) starts December 17, 2009
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Harrisburg (MDT) starts November 5, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Pittsburgh (PIT) starts October 6, 2009
- Milwaukee (MKE) and Indianapolis (IND) starts October 6, 2009
- Baltimore (BWI) and Indianapolis (IND) starts October 6, 2009
- Baltimore (BWI) and New Orleans (MSY) starts October 6, 2009
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Flint (FNT) starts November 4, 2009
.
US Airways:
- Phoenix (PHX) and Montego Bay (MBJ) December 17, 2009
- Philadelphia (PHL) and Barbados (BGI) starts October 1, 2009
- Charlotte (CLT) and Honolulu (HNL) starts December 17, 2009
- Charlotte (CLT) and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) starts December 15, 2009
.
Alaska Airlines:
- Atlanta (ATL) and Seattle (SEA) starts October 23, 2009
- Oakland (OAK) and Kahului (OGG) starts November 9, 2009
- Oakland (OAK) and Kona (KOA) starts November 10, 2009
- Portland (PDX) and Chicago (ORD) starts November 16, 2009
Tags: airtran airways, american airlines, aruba, atlanta, baltimore, brazil, california, colorado, continental airlines, delta, Denver, detroit, dominican republic, florida, fort lauderdale, georgia, indianapolis, jamaica, jetblue, jfk airport, key west, kingston, los angeles, maryland, memphis, michigan, milwaukee, minneapolis, minnesota, new york, orlando, san francisco, southwest airlines, spokane, tennessee, united airlines, virgin america, washington, west palm beach, wisconsin
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jul 21, 2009 in
Travel 
To say that the airline industry is going through some tough times would be one hell of an understatement. With various airlines reporting their second quarter earnings today, while others implemented new fees and cut service, I thought it would be helpful to get you up to date with what is going on with some of your favorite (or least favorite) airlines.
With fewer people flying these days due to the poor economy and analyst predicting an extremely weak fall travel season, airlines are preparing for the worst. When airlines do bad, three things usually happen – new fees, service cuts and layoffs.
- Continental Airlines: The fourth-largest U.S. carrier, reported a $213 million second-quarter loss and will wind up cutting 1,700 more jobs and increase some fees due to a decrease in customer demand.
- Southwest Airlines: The largest low-fare carrier, reported a $53 million second-quarter earning, which is way down from last year’s $321 million. Southwest had an 83 percent drop in second-quarter profit and stated that 1,400 workers have accepted a buyout to leave the company.
- United Airlines: The Chicago based airline announced earnings of $28 million. That was largely due to fuel hedge gains and various other smart moves made by the carrier. However, the airline will cut international travel by an extra 7 percent for the last four months of 2009.
- Delta: The Atlanta based airline announced it will start charging a $5 surcharge for bags checked at the airport. This will go into effect August 4 and applies to tickets purchased after July 15. Delta currently charges $15 for the first bag checked and $25 for the second bag. So starting August 4 you will now shell out $20 and $30 respectively. Fees for bags checked online will remain the same according to Delta.
- Republic Airways: The little that could has shocked many airline insiders with acquisition of Frontier Airlines for $108.8 million(pending a federal bankruptcy judge’s approval). It was just last month that Republic bought Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines. (Courtesy of USA Today)
- All of the bad airlines news is not just happening in the United States. Just a few days ago many numerous carriers raised fuel surcharges. Lufthansa, Thai Airways, India’s Jet Airways, and airlines in Taiwan cited higher costs, less than stellar revenue, and poor demand as the main reasons they needed to raise fees.
- RyanAir: The Dublin based low-cost carrier announced plans to cut back on 40 percent of its planes at Stansted airport in London. Of course the outspoken CEO of RyanAir Michael O’Leary is not blaming the recession on the drastic decision to chop 15 percent of its fleet this winter, but instead says it is the British Government and the take-off/landing fees that the BAA charges airlines. The cutbacks at Stansted come on the heels of the cheapo planes plans to freeze additional services at eight other UK airport bases. RyanAir even drastically slashed service at it’s home base of Dublin, as well as its other major Irish airport Shannon.
Tags: airline, atlanta, chicago, continental airlines, delta, dublin, frontier airlines, ireland, midwest airlines, republic airways, ryanair, united airlines
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jul 1, 2009 in
Travel 
A US Air passenger stripped nude on a Tuesday flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles. You see what happens when you do not offer WiFi on board?
Tuesday had to be one of the weirdest news days for the airline industry in sometime. Here are two very disturbing stories that occurred within a few hours of each other at 30,000 feet in the air:
- United Airlines worker accused of touching 16-year old boy: On Tuesday, United Airlines flight attendant Jaime Daria Samia, 57, of Long Beach, California was arrested after he allegedly stroked the hand of a 16-year old male passenger and made inappropriate comments to the boy during a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. Samia was charged with misdemeanor battery and released on $100 bond. He was arrested at O’Hare International Airport about 1:05 p.m and is scheduled to appear in Cook County Criminal Court on August 11. The boy’s father told police that Samia rubbed his son’s hand and made inappropriate remarks. The flight attendant supposedly continued the crude behavior throughout the four-hour flight. The boy pulled his hand away from Samia and told him to stop.
- US Air passenger disrobes during flight: A Charlotte to Los Angeles airplane was diverted to Albuquerque Tuesday evening when a man aboard the flight stripped down to his birthday suit to the horror of fellow passengers. The US Air flight attendant on board the plane asked the man, who has been identified as Keith Wright of New York, to put his clothes back on, but the man did not comply. The flight attendant then placed a blanket over the nude man. The man proceeded to throw it off, which then prompted the US Air crew to hold down the man and handcuff him to his seat. Wright is now in federal custody. The plane landed in Albuquerque at around 6:30pm, dropped off the nudist and then continued on to Los Angeles by 8pm.
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Makes my Tuesday flight from Dublin to New York sound like a real snooze fest. The most interesting thing to happen on board my flight was some lady asking to change her seat before take off.
Tags: united airlines, us air
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Mar 26, 2009 in
Travel 
JetBlue: Wednesday the lowcost carrier Jetblue announced a sweet deal to frequent flyers in the Northeast. Simply purchase three roundtrip flights between any of the cities below through June 17, 2009 and receive a fourth trip on the house. The list includes such cities as Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Raleigh and Buffalo. You must be a registered trueBlue member in order to enjoy this offer (It is simple and free to join on their site).For full details click here and get jetting!
United Airlines: It is getting warmer and the spring airfare deals are aplenty. United is offer a deal with a long window of opportunity to get in on some low fares. Simply book by April 6 and travel by August 12 to cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Houston and Los Angeles for as low as $49 each way! Click here for more details.
Southwest Airlines: Wanna Get Away? Well with the unbelievably low deals currently advertised with Southwest, you just might. Fares are as low as $49-$99 each way to such destinations as Las Vegas, Nashville and West Palm Beach to name just a few of the many cities offered in this sale that ends April 6 for travel through August 14. Click here for more details.
IcelandAir: If you are looking to get out of the country in April or May, then look no further than Iceland. As you might have heard, unless you live under a rock, the country is in financial disarray. The bad news for Iceland is great news for U.S. travelers. If you book by March 31, you can grab fares for as low as $437 roundtrip (plus taxes/fees). Departing cities to Reykjavik include New York, Boston and Minneapolis. Other destinations on sale through IcelandAir include European cities Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Click here for more details.
Twitterific:
- Tweet…tweet…tweet. Over 200 followers and counting.
I have to admit that when I first heard about this new internet phenomenon Twitter I was skeptical. I mean why on earth would someone use this website? Well I caved, signed up and tested it out. Within days I had people following my tweets (text updates) and even made some friends in the travel industry due to it. Plus traffic to The Brooklyn Nomad has steadily increased since I introduced myself to the rest of the Twittering world. If you have not checked out what everyone is tweeting about, click here. To follow me simply check out my Twitter profile.
Yay For Yapta:
Finally, I mentioned earlier how I made some friends through Twitter. One of them includes the people over at Yapta.com. This stellar website, which stands for “Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant”, was nice enough to mention us in their March 23 blog update on the site. That is not all my friends, just hours ago I received my very own official Yapta t-shirt in the mail. I will wear it proudly as I am a true travel geek. Thanks guys!
Tags: boston, buffalo, copenhagen, iceland air, jetblue, Las Vegas, nashville, new york, Oslo, pittsburgh, raleigh, Reykjavik, san francisco, seattle, stockholm, twitter, united airlines, Washington DC, west palm beach, yapta
Posted by The Brooklyn Nomad on Mar 1, 2009 in
Uncategorized
If you have boarded a United Airlines flight recently and noticed a certain shine to the windows and the aroma of Lysol in the air, it is because the airline is taking the task of keeping their fleet squeaky clean very serious these days.
In an effort to boost customer morale, United is now going the extra mile to clean its planes thoroughly and more often than it had in the past. I mean it is no secret that airplanes are germ infested flying capsule shaped machines with wings. Especially now with airline cutbacks, many passengers are now seeing dirtier planes when traveling.
United Airlines however will make flying the friendly skies much cleaner. The airline is now steam-cleaning as many as eight wide bodied jets a night and a deep cleaning every two weeks. Planes will be sprayed down and washed from floor to ceiling. Seats will be lifted and checked for garbage. Tray tables will get some disinfectant sprayed on them and windows will shine from the Windex treatment. On domestic flights, which have a faster turn around time, United will employ more cleaners to get the job done faster.
Something about a freshly cleaned airline that just makes me all happy inside.
Tags: united, united airlines
