Attention would-be vacationers: go ahead, find that cheap airfare and get on a plane.
There are good reasons to do so.
I found six, and you may know more; mine include better passenger protections, lower airline fees and occasionally free pizza.
And that reminds me – I’ll save a slice for that alert TSA screener at the Indianapolis airport security line, too.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says 300+ body scanners are on the way to an airport near you, so – get used to it.
Or get used to a patdown – your choice when it comes to going through these body imaging machines (you may remember, I went through an airport body scan machine and, no complaints here).
Meanwhile, the controversy continues – including an ugly episode of alleged workplace violence involving TSA employees; check it out in, “Security Update: More TSA Body Scan Machines Coming to an Airport Near You”.
Ever been on a plane with a really “bad passenger”?
I’m talking about the kind that gets your flight diverted – like the passenger who thought he was an alien and want to fly the plane (make that, spaceship)?
Or maybe you’ve sat in the gate area as two female passengers attempted to take a corpse on a plane.
I think you’re starting to get the idea why I ask, “Should Airline Passengers Undergo IQ Tests before Flying?”
We are starting to hear more about the new Arizona immigration law and how it may (or may not) impact travel – for some anyway.
Municipal governments including San Francisco and St. Paul have moved to ban official travel to Arizona – though it’s not clear how much “official travel” these cities actually conduct in “The Grand Canyon State”.
We also spoke with a spokesmn for Tempe, Arizona-based US Airways, and s James Olson told us this issue is “not impacting us and we don’t expect any impact.” He added that no flights have been canceled, and while the airline has heard of concerns from a few individuals by email (concerns that he did not characterize), the number of these emails “is less than the fingers on your hands”.
However, there are calls to yank baseball’s 2011 All Star Game out of Phoenix – not unlike the NFL’s decision to pull Super Bowl XXVII out of Arizona in favor of Pasadena’s Rose Bowl during the Martin Luther King Day holiday boycott back in 1993.
Meanwhile, protests are expected in more than three dozen cities this weekend, including New York and Los Angeles.
So tell me – is this law impacting your travel plans in any way – either for business or leisure?
Tomorrow – Thursday, April 29 – a new Dept. of Transportation rule called, “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections” goes into effect.
You know it better as the “3-hour rule” – and it means no more passengers getting trapped-on-the-tarmac in planes going nowhere, after a wait of three hours.
It also means, while you are on that plane, waiting for those three hours, medical attention will be available to anyone who needs it, and after two hours, food and water will be available as well.
Plus, the lavatories will have to be in working order (don’t think this hasn’t happened before).
The airlines don’t like this rule – and some passengers say, three hours is too long. I take a look at this angry debate (and more) in my latest column for ABCNews.com.
Here’s an irony: the new three hour rule could wind up delaying your plane a lot longer than three hours – or at least, that’s what some experts are saying. Is that argument valid? I’d love to hear what you think.
I’m sure the PR marketing masters over at Spirit Airlines aren’t paid nearly enough – after all, they’re forever waging uphill battles, what with spinning disasters like the discount carrier’s new carryon bag fees (“Everybody wins!”) and their new airplane seats (“They’re pre-reclined!”).
Plus, they get bloggers like me to write about them, thus, spreading the name of Spirit (“There’s no such thing as bad publicity!”).
Haven’t heard about the new, pre-reclined seats that Spirit is installing? Well, Spirit has two new Airbus 320’s with these seats, which the Palm Beach Post says are “seats that don’t recline”. That’s a bit different from “pre-reclined” wouldn’t you say? But maybe Spirit fliers don’t care – two cited in the article noted that the carrier’s seats that do recline are already pretty uncomfortable.
But Spirit says these seats have advantages in that they weigh less so they provide the airline with better fuel economy (here’s where the Spirit PR whizzes should be proclaiming, “They’re greener!”).
Okay, that aside – Spirit Airlines is what it is – a low cost carrier with rock bottom prices, little in the way of perks, and a whole lot of fans who love those cheap flights. Oh, and one heck of a marketing team.
