Air Travel/Airlines

All about airlines, airports, flying in general. How to navigate them, get the best airfares, maximize your experience in a sector that hasn't exactly been a joy in recent years...come fly with us!

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Getting the best possible airfare deals from the USA with Google Flights

If you’ve ever gone down the rabbit hole of searching for flights, you know how overwhelming it can get. Prices jump around, deals disappear, and it’s easy to spend hours refreshing tabs. That’s where Google Flights comes in—it’s one of the most powerful (and free) tools for finding cheap airfares. Here are a few strategies travelers swear by: read post

Started by Tripatini

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Flying smarter: 10 money-saving tips for budget travelers

Airfares in 2024 have been a something of a mixed bag - generally down to/from/within Europe and the United States, but pricier when it comes to Africa and parts of Asia, as well as the Middle East and South America. Regardless, to make the most of your travel budget and leave you more for enjoying destinations once you get there, here are a handful of proven strategies read post

Started by Tripatini

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Avgeek alert: the various stages of flight

You get on the plane and, while you listen to music, read a book or rest, there are messages that are heard through the loudspeaker. Often these messages have to do with each phase of the flight of the plane that takes you from your holiday or work destination to home (or vice versa). Today we are going to learn about each of these phases a little more in depth and also about which professionals contribute to each one.Read post

Started by Iberia Airlines

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The top 10 of the world´s most expensive/luxurious airlines

Daniel Gillaspia Luxury abounds in the arena of commercial aviation, luxury abounds, from comfortable, stylish cabins to gourmet dining to private accommodations, all complemented with superlative service. These airlines are the standouts which routinely appear on the annual surveys of the world´s best, and which make the journey itself a big part of the pleasure of travel. read post

Started by Tripatini

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Comments

David Lawrence October 8, 2010 at 8:31pm

Funny. But all publicity is good publicity.
Vintage Travel October 8, 2010 at 7:48pm

It seems the Cebu Pacific dancing safety announcement was made just before Cebu Pacific's IPO this next week, according to the USA Today article today.
Northeast News October 7, 2010 at 5:04am

David, the airline cannot appear to be joking about safety.
David Lawrence October 7, 2010 at 12:27am

The crew on Cebu Pacific that performed a Lady Gaga safety dance is getting flamed by both management and the union. Fair or unfair?
Ed Wetschler October 3, 2010 at 6:37pm

Great explanations of an all-too-hazy situation; thank you both. Meanwhile, if I go to amazon.com to buy one of Charlie Leocha's ski guides, they tell me exactly what I'm paying before I complete the transaction. That sounds about right to me.
Charlie Leocha October 3, 2010 at 6:33pm

They know the day is coming. Ironically, the airlines are the ones who own ATPCO, the system that distributes airfares to the GDSs and that has been modified and tested to handle fees as well. If airlines want to have thousands of fees, fine. But they have to let consumers know how much these fees will cost.

Also, the airlines are not getting a tax break. Passengers are. The tax everyone is talking about is the transportation excise tax -- it is paid by consumers and only consumers.
Anil October 3, 2010 at 5:46pm

Ed: What Orbitz/ITA show is /11,User fees,airport taxes. However the farebasis - for example TKXSL94 for JFK-AMS-JFK, has a fare prices associated with it plus fees & taxes. Everyone wants the breakdown of this piece TKXSL94.

This fare has 21 pages of rules and restriction, but no where does it mention handling fees, baggage charges, beverage charges, reservation charges etc. Since the airlines do not pay taxes on baggage fees and reservations fees, they will be loath to disclose the exact breakdown.
Charlie Leocha October 3, 2010 at 5:22pm

The online sites are revealing taxes and government fees. They can not tell customers the baggage, reservation, and other fees, because the airlines will not release the fees to them. Hard to believe, but true.
Ed Wetschler October 3, 2010 at 5:18pm

Charlie, I haven't booked through Orbitz in several years. As I recall, they were revealing fees anyway, but are they doing so now? Put another way, which sites/airlines that are showing and adding up all the fees at present?
Charlie Leocha October 3, 2010 at 5:07pm

Ed,
We actually ended up with more than 61,000 signatures by the end of the day.
It was a great success. Thanks to the members of this list who passed on the information.
My prediction: Definitely all fees will be spelled out on airline sites in one place. But I think DOT will mandate that the airlines file fees at the same time they file airfares in a manner useable by the GDSs. That will change the way we buy airline tickets.