September 2006

Tired of not having anyplace exciting to go with all those extra miles you’ve earned? Virgin Atlantic recently offered Alan Watts, who had stored up over 2 million frequent flier miles, an interesting option in cashing in his points: go to outer space.

Mr. Watts will receive a three-day training session in 2009, and be among the first 1,000 people to float in zero gravity above the earth as space tourists. Not a bad reward for all those hours slogged in the air. Its enough to make me want to start saving up my skymiles.

The World Travel Awards were announced today, with American, Delta, and Visa all cashing in:

American Airlines was recognized for its top-notch First Class service as North America’s Leading Airline award.

Delta won honors as “North America’s Leading Business Class Airline”, thanks to its “exceptional service and distinctive amenities both in business class.”

Visa was honored as the “World’s Leading Credit Card” for the ninth consecutive year.

It’s common knowledge among frequent fliers that departing earlier in the day will lead to fewer delays. According to Joe Brancatelli, statistics support what most of us have known all along.

Across the board, from major hubs like Atlanta to more remote airports like the Sea-Tac, an earlier departure time means a much higher likelihood of an on-time arrival. As the day progresses, airports get more backed up. For example, travelers arriving in Atlanta after 8pm have only a 50% chance of arriving as scheduled.

But sometimes you just can’t schedule a flight to leave first thing in the morning. And sometimes delays happen even when your flight takes of at 5 a.m. In theses cases, attitude is everything. My father likes to quote Kurt Vonnegut, who said that “unexpected travel plans are dancing lessons from God.”

Chances are that even with a delay or a cancelled flight, your business trip will still be a success. Keep cool, work with the folks from the airline and all will be well.

Two quick tips for the next time you are about to be passing through six different time zones and trying to figure out how much things cost in five different currencies.

First, set up a Time Zone Converter Reference Card before you go, so that you will know what time it is everywhere in the world you care about.

Second, a Currency Converter will help you figure out how much that Sushi is really going to cost you.

The US Department of Transportation announced this week that it is considering plans submitted recently by four major airlines to offer a new flight path from the US to China. There are currently only four direct flights offered from the United States to China: in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. The fifth route would likely be in the Central or Southwest part of the US, where China has become the top foreign trading partner to many states.

American Airlines gave its first public demonstration yesterday of its new and improved business-class seating in the lobby of Radio City Music Hall. The new seats recline to 77-inches, and come with removable 10.5 inch screens with headphone earpieces by Bose. American Airlines also plans to eventually offer lie-flat seating and swivel seats so you take a nap or can have a nice conservation with the person next to you.

JetBlue and American Express recently announced a new JetBlue Business Card, which, among other features, offers small business owners a 5% discount on all JetBlue flights. New card users will also be eligible for awards travel, and a 3% discount on JetBlue flights purchased with American Express purchases.

That’s right, Teresa can finally takel her hair gel, facial scrubs, and other various liquids and gels with her the next time she flies. As can you. Airports announced today that you can bring toiletries, lip gloss, and lotions in a clear plastic bag as long as they are 3-ounces or less and fit in a 1-quart plastic bag.

Additionally, you can take anything you buy at the airport shops with you on the plane. While this is only a partial lift on the liquids and gels ban, it nonetheless comes as good news to frequent fliers who want nice-looking hair, skin, and teeth.

That’s right, the awards you’ve been awaiting all year are back; the 17th Annual Avion Award Winners have been announced. Among the leaders was American Airlines, which won best Best Single Inflight Audio Program and Best Inflight Video Programming – Short Haul.

Since it’s Friday, here’s a lighthearted air travel story from Freakonomics author Steven D. Levitt.

Apparently, the flight attendant came on the loudspeaker just before takeoff and said, “According to the reading on my equipment up front, there is still one cell phone turned on, so please check that you have turned yours off.”

According to Levitt, half the plane started rummaging through their carry on.

Arizona’s Sky Harbor airport is looking to join the growing number of airports nationwide to offer remote check in at popular local hubs such as hotels, conference centers and bus stations. Similar services already exist in Chicago, Los Angeles and a number of other major airports.

Some travelers say this is a real value-add for them, while others don’t see it as helpful. What do you think? Would you use this service if it were provided in an area convenient for you? If you’ve already used the service, what do you think of it?

Flight Blog has a good list of tips for what to do when bumped from a flight. Nothing earth-shaking, but good to keep in mind.

If Glenn Fleishman knows anything (and he usually does), Panasonic is stepping into the void left by the end of Connexion by Boeing, by opening their own in-flight WiFi operation.

According to Fleishman:

Panasonic wants commitments within 60 days from airlines for 500 planes to be equipped; they say they have 150 committed now. Lufthansa has over 60 planes with Connexion and SAS with about 20; I suspect both airlines have signed on.

The antennae used for the Panasonic operation will weigh less and rely on better technology than the Connexion antennae did, giving Panasonic a distinct advantage in a market that has yet to prove profitable.

What I want to know is whether Panasonic has addressed the very real question raised by Robert Scoble about access to electrical power. Who wants to pay $15 for a day of WiFi only to have their computer run out of battery after 2-3 hours?

When retrofitting the aircraft with their antenna, Panasonic should think about throwing in a few power strips as well…

In the ever-growing world of niche-oriented credit cards, business travelers have a number of options to choose from. Here are some of my favorites:

• Travelers using the Visa Business Travel Card earn two travel points for ever dollar spent on travel and lodging expenses in addition to one point for all other purchases. Travel rewards kick in at 25,000 points.
• The Advanta Rewards Credit Card offers holders 25% off on all stays at Ramada hotels nationwide and up to 2% cash back on all purchases.
• The CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Points offers 3 thank you points for every dollar spent on business purchases. Points can be redeemed for handy tools for the business traveler: 9,600 points gets a two-piece luggage set from Samsonite and 12,000 points redeems for a jWin 7″ Portable DVD player.

There are a lot more options where these came from, and they’re becoming more granular by the day. Within the next couple of years, I’d say that credit card companies will start offering “configure your own card” options, so that potential cardholders can pick features that work for them. All of this means that if you’re willing to take the time to look, you can cut your bottom line and provide valuable rewards to your company.

Got some great coverage today in the NY Times article Blogs About Business Travel Begin to Feel the Power. Reporter Christopher Elliott did a nice job of describing how travel bloggers are starting to influence how businesses treat their customers. I tried hard to plug the Blog Business Summit (Oct. 25-27,) and stressed how the the experience Elliott described in the article inspired the creation of a conference (and book) to help businesses deal with bloggers, but those tidbits didn’t make the cut.

So I’m shamelessly doing it here.

A ruling today by a federal judge prohibited the flight attendants union from creating a labor disruption against the bankrupt airline.

About a month ago, I blogged about Qantas Airlines’ ban on Dell laptops after Dell recalled over 4 million batteries that they said had a risk of exploding. Soon after that recall, Apple announced that they would also recall a number of at-risk batteries for some of their older iBook and PowerBook laptops.

Now Virgin Atlantic Airways has restricted the use of Dell and Apple laptops aboard its flights. Under the new rules, passengers in first class may plug the laptops into their seat-side power supplies, but those seated in coach are SOL.

Batteries must be wrapped and carried separately from the computer for the entirety of the flight. The airline says it will lift the ban as soon as all safety issues are resolved.

J.K. Rowling was returning from a business trip to the United States to do a charity book reading when airport officials detained her. They didn’t like the “big box bound up in elastic bands” that she was carrying with her.

Rowling refused to check the box, which is now believed to contain the manuscript of the much-anticipated seventh (and final!) installation in her epic Harry Potter series.

Eventually, after much discussion, she was allowed to board the plane box in hand. Of course, if she hadn’t been allowed aboard, she could have whipped out her broomstick and flown herself back to the U.K.

But what does this mean for the Muggles among us? What would you do if the airline demanded that you check something truly valuable, like your laptop?

Just ran across a promising new beta service called Bringo. The idea is they do all the hard work of calling a company, waiting on hold, and navigating the system to get to a human — so you don’t have to.

Here’s how it’s intended to work: From their directory, you find the company you’d like to call, enter your phone number and then wait while they navigate the phone tree. At the right moment, they call you back, you then pick up your phone and voila! You’re talking to a human at the desired company.

I tried the service with three companies to see just how effective the system is:

First AOL customer service. Since at least one research project has indicated their wait times are longer than many others, I figured they’d be a reasonable test. Result? My phone rang in less than two minutes, and within seconds I was greeted by a human being.

Then United Airlines. Same result!

Finally the big test, Dell customer service (for home users.) Result. My phone rang and when I picked up I was on hold, being prompted to enter a numeric choice of options — no human. I hung up. Perhaps Dell, in their never ending quest to minimize support expenses have found a way to counter the Bringo system…

All in all an encouraging new tool for road warriors. I’d love to hear from others if the system has worked for them.

Microsoft unveiled its new Zune player today to much fanfare. The player has all the features of Apple’s video iPod, plus an AM/FM tuner and wireless networking capabilities. Users can even use the device to send one another songs wirelessly.

Whether the Zune will rival iPod sales this holiday season remains to be seen, but you can bet that a few of these devices will pop up in lieu of iPods on your upcoming flights.

What I want to know is, does the device have an “airplane safe” mode for its AM/FM tuner?