Ryanair has decided it doesn’t like having so many people fly on their planes. It must feel that in the great economic airline wonderland everyone is in, it can cancel passenger’s tickets and upset a lot of people.
The airlines has stated it will cancel all booking made through third-party vendor sites (ie lastminute.com, v-tours, tui and Opodo). The airline will give refunds to the websites directly and require the websites to be responsible for getting that money back to the customers.
The airline says that it feels it is unfair that these third party sites charge the customer so much more and it wants to save the customers money. However, it is more likely the airline wants customers to purchase hotels, rental cars, packages, etc through its own website.
Personally I have steered clear of using such third-party sites as Expedia or Orbitz, since most of the time the best deals are found at the actual airline’s website. However, some people only use those third party sites and feel they get a good deal (even if they really don’t), so it seems silly to me that if someone is only going to use the third party sites and if Ryanair doesn’t show up on the results, people will just pick another airline.
Source: Independent.ie Image: F18E777
A recent Department of Transportation survey finds that half of US resident airline travelers say they would be ok with having cell phones allowed on airlines flights, even if we knew they do not interact negatively with the plane’s electronics.
Really? I mean I have two cell phones (on a Palm) and a laptop that can connect to the internet pretty much anywhere. I love being connected. I would love to have the internet on airplanes, but please oh please do not allow phones. Do people really need to talk on a phone that bad? Can people not wait a few hours? Should planes maybe have a talking and non-talking sections?
Source: MSNBC Image: JohnKit
At first thinking of paying $7 for that itchy, too small blanket and a lumpy pillow that has had who knows how many heads on it seemed like a bad deal. However you will get a higher quality pillow and blanket (says JetBlue) and you will be able to keep it.
Yes, it seems as though it is another ploy to bring in more money (I just hope they don’t lower the cabin temperature to bring up sales) even though they sell it as trying to provide an “upgrade” for customers.
Even though these sorts of things might seem silly for customers, it is working. JetBlue plans to bring in about $60million from customers willing to pay for some of these extras. So really who can blame the airlines if this stuff is working?
THANKS JENNY FOR THE TIP!
Source: WSJ Post Image: spakletoe
If you have a pet and travel you know it can be tough. Sure a cat you can leave some extra food and water and they can manage for a few days, but if you have another pet or are going to be gone for a long time, you either need to sucker a friend/family member to watch them or board them. Dallas Forth Worth (DFW) Airport is looking to create a pet resort where pets can stay, be groomed, and swim around in a pool. There is talk of even having webcams so you can check on your fluffy loved one from online.
I think anything to make traveling a little easier is always a welcomed edition!
Source: Dallas Morning News Image: kla4067
I am kind of getting tired of all the extra fees making the news now-a-days. But this fee, I wouldn’t mind paying (I am guess it won’t be free). Quite a few airlines in the next year are going to be offering passengers different levels of internet access. I know I would love to have the ability to surf the web and kill a few hours while flying. Below is a list taken right from the Washington Post of what airlines are planning to do:
Delta: Plans Internet service on its entire fleet of 330 domestic aircraft by summer 2009, starting with 75 by the end of the year.
Northwest: Delta, which is buying Northwest, said it will equip Northwest planes with Internet service after the merger is approved.
American: Placing 15 jets in a three- to-six-month Internet service trial program. No launch date yet, but “dress rehearsals” were conducted on two flights in June.
JetBlue: Offered WiFi on one A320 in December. It allows e-mail, messaging and shopping on Amazon.com, but not Web surfing.
Southwest and Alaska Airlines: Testing a system that relies on satellites rather than cellphone towers. No date given for start of service.
Virgin America: The airline expects to begin testing Aircell Internet service in the fall and roll it out on its entire fleet by end of the first quarter, 2009.
Continental: Announced in January that it planned to offer onboard WiFi access using a satellite-based service starting in 2009, but the airline says it is still testing, which could push back the start date.
Source: WashingtonPost Image: neb_boy