The Philadelphia Inquirer reports this week that an American Airlines baggage handler lifted four new articles of clothing from a passenger’s bag at Philadelphia International Airport. As it turns out the pieces still had their Nordstrom price tags on them, totalling $550 in value. After a quick call to the local Nordstroms, inspectors were able to pinpoint the items, the thief who returned them, and promptly arrested perpetrator, Christopher Shaw, on two theft charges. Justice is served and another rat is thrown out of the airline nest.
I know we have been writing about them often, but jetBlue is in the news again this week with their latest ad campaign, Welcome Aboard Bigwigs campaign.Hoping to steal business from private jet companies, jetBlue is welcoming CFO’s not wanting to claim a charter flight on their expense report, broke hedge fund managers who aren’t used to flying commercial and any other big-wig wanted to dabble in the public domain.
I have missed my flight back home to San Francisco in the past, so I can relate to this woman. If you have not seen this video on the news or YouTube, you may view it here. The first 30 seconds are really all you need..
I imagine TSA and airline employees who are viewing this don’t understand the big deal as they see this reaction every day!
With the high gas prices, decrease in demand for air travel and the “Staycation” trend of 2008 in our rearview mirror, some analysts are hopeful that 2009 will be a better year for the airline industry.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, author Paulo Prada reports that we have already accepted the losses reported by AMR and UAL and are now looking for a better 2009.
According to the article, cheaper fuel, better projections of demand, grounded aircraft and a reduction in flights should help airlines stay in business, despite the current economic recession. That is, as long as fuel prices remain low.
At the start of summer, we reported that the TSA was instituting “self-segregation” airport security lines at twelve airports across the country.
For the un-initiated, this means that you as a traveler get to decide which line you should be in: Family/Special Needs, Casual, or Expert. Here is a video tutorial from the TSA.
The program seems to be a success in places like Denver and Salt Lake City, with record numbers of people passing through these airports everyday. The end of summer report is in, and believe it or not, 32 US airports already offer self-segregation, with the 33rd announced today at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. I fly through in two weeks and am excited to test it out. Is it presumptuous to assume the Expert Lane?
Anyway, we think this is great and truly applaud the TSA for engaging with travelers to work towards a solution to make travel fast, safe, efficient and fun again!
