Tagged With "coach seats"
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Re: Airfares have remained flat for 20+ years
I'm with 90% on that survey. Domestic Airline prices did rise steadily from 2009 to 2014 (even adjusting for inflation) according to the DOT. I do think we've had a price break this year because of the steep drop in oil prices. I'm not surprised most customers feel like they are paying more because of what they are getting now. Planes are packed, there's less seat space and a whole array of fees. http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/airfares/national/chart
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Re: Discounts top all in passenger perks survey
Everything has relative value -- a hungry person would pick the free meal, for instance -- but at some point people pay for comfort. Many already pay a little extra for legroom by sitting in the exit row (or use points to do so). There comes a point where, especially on longer flights, you want to be comfortable and are willing to pay a little more to achieve that. I definitely consider the pitch and width of airline seats when making purchases, especially overseas purchases. I'll pay a...
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Re: Discounts top all in passenger perks survey
I'd agree...in fact, the issue of space is what keeps me from considering some longer flights...and I have been known to change flights for the possibility of a 2-seat row rather than 3...better an aisle and a window without a middle!
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Interesting topic and rather timely as I am in the midst of finalizing my plans for my upcoming trip. Hotels: This upcoming trip the first I've used Booking.com. I have used a variety of sources in the past (i.e. Travelocity, Expedia, etc.) and have also found that booking directly through the hotel is sometimes cheaper...sometimes. But, I love the option to be able to change or cancel my reservation, if needed. Flights: I prefer to book directly through the airline. Have never used a...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Hi TravelGirlJenn, I've used Expedia to buy tickets a number of times, only once or twice with Priceline, never with Kayak. The big advantage is that you get to see often hundreds of competitive prices, not just the few the airline sites directly show you. And often they are cheaper than directly buying from the airline. Whether or not you can pick your seat in advance is completely up to the airline, not to the online travel site (eg. Expedia). Some airlines (eg. United, Alaska) do let you...
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
I use booking.com the most for hotels and apartments because I can cancel. Sometimes I can't decide what part of town I want to be in, so I book more than one and keep researching until I have found the right spot. (I don't hold extra reservations long...just sayin'.) I love that booking.com now shows apartments and houses via villa.com because I always refer having a kitchen when I travel. I, too, use OTAs to see prices and schedules, and then I go to the airline's web page for booking.
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Re: How do you buy your travel?
Few more thoughts, following HistoryDigger and DrFumblefinger... 1. Definitely check all your affiliations on car rental; after years of getting better price through AAA than any other way I knew, I recently found that going to the same vendors through USAA (my car insurance) gets me even better. 2. Not only does Priceline have good pricing on cars, I've often found I can get 30-40% lower through their blind-bidding (Name Your Own Price) service. 3. RailEurope is something of a red flag for...
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Re: A new (better?) seat configuration?
I like the idea. My main concern would be about how this staggered seating might make it more difficult to get in and out of the rows. For example, the window seat might be a chore to get to and it might be difficult to evacuate the plane as quickly in an emergency. But if that works okay, I'd like to see this tried. Overall I like the idea.
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Re: A new (better?) seat configuration?
Since one of the benefits of a window seat is something to lean on while (trying to be) asleep, the extra headrests look good to me... Also, the idea of using the space under the seat in front rather than the lap space of the seat behind seems worth exploring!
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago.
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Re: I get to Boomerang to Spain ! Cheap !
Originally Posted by WorkerBee: It required 40,000 miles for a round-trip economy ticket. All were in-seat miles and all were from a few years ago. That's one of the things I like about AA...aside from the one-way awards. When everyone else was 50K to Europe, they were 40K offpeak and 60 peak. Now everyone else is 60K peak, and AA still has the winter bargains. Hope it lasts!
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Re: La Dolce Vita (Part 6) Murano and Burano
Dr. Fumblefinger, Nice slideshow with great pics. We were in Venice in 2012 for 6 or 7 days and made an excursion to Burano as a day trip. The first thing we noticed was that tourism has reached the tiny island. There was a new docking station for the vaporetti and all sorts of kiosks selling the usual stuff. The first time we were there was in 2008 and it was a sleepy island that time seemed to forget. In fact, we came across four elderly ladies sitting on a bench gabbing and knitting. I...
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Re: The least loved airline fee is...
I think you're right that unavoidability is a big factor in the hatred of bag fees. As you point out, not everyone cancels or bothers to pay a seat fee, and many people carry their own food. The other factor is the sheer size of the fee. A couple with two suitcases, round-trip, have added $100 to their cost (regardless of distance). If they decide to take a bigger case and share it, they save $50, but are now condemned to drag an oversize bag as they go. No wonder some of the loyalty credit...
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #17
Two other "road" books I've enjoyed...Where the Old Roads Go: Driving the First Federal Highways of the Northeast and The Old Roads of the Midwest. Both are by George Cantor, and suffer the same fate: Much of what he described in 1960 is gone 50-some years on. I did a bit of road-dripping with Cantor open on the seat in the late 1960s. Scary thought: It's 54 years since WTORG was published; 54 years before that, most of them didn't yet exist! The automobile age is both so old, and yet so new.
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Re: The airplane seat of the future
Good design is always encouraging, and some of this looks great (especially the cup-holder…no-brainer!) But I notice that the designs use the under-seat space for legroom, which would be great, but only if the airlines can provide enough overhead space that your bag doesn’t need to go there…
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 29, 2014. Shira Plateau, Tanzania
I think I'd go to the Zoo with your family Dr.F. Cola and some popcorn ! I believe if you join the Army you can run up these mountains for free ! I'm taking an easy seat until my pension starts. Take my hat off to you for this one !
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All the Tea In...Charleston?
Tea gardens, as the farms are traditionally known, no matter the size, have been seducing me for over a decade. In Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces of China, Himachal Pradesh and Darjeeling in Himalayan India, in the Cameron Highlands of...
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Charleston's Grand Mansions: Aiken-Rhett House
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
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Please Don't Squeeze the Passengers: Airbus
Airbus, the big European planebuilder has urged airlines to go with 18"-wide seats, up from the standard 17" in use now. Their studies indicate that the extra width makes a BIG difference in passengers' ability to sleep on long flights (which are...
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So cool ! MicroTheater !
What a cool concept! Quick inexpensive plays in various locales in Spain.A good way to keep see great theater at cut rate prices. The Spaniards know how to make the most of the recession. Grab a front row seat...
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In wake of terror, EU considers airline security
Proposals in the EU Parliament calling for more information about airline passengers to be made available to national authorities are on the table; they would make the Passenger Name Record (PNR) of all passengers arriving and departing EU available....
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Google vs. Uber? With no one in driver's seat?
Wait for it...Google is on the verge, apparently, of offering a ride-share app that would compete with Uber (a company it previously invested in). In the long run, Google hopes to pair it up with its longstanding driverless car research, which company...
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Frontier's raising bag fees; will the other "low-costs" follow?
Frontier Airlines, which last year joined Spirit and Allegiant in the ULCC (ultra-low-cost-carrier) class that seems to mean ULC (ultra lots of charges) for most folks, is raising its fees for checked bags. The only checked bags that will not go up by...
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Controversy for New Concert Hall in Paris
Photo from Philharmonie of Paris / W. Beaucardet The €390 million Philharmonie of Paris opened in January of 2015, after delays and cost overruns with controversy. Its star...
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Are you a chatty seat-mate?
Modern travel often makes complete strangers sit in close proximity for hours at a time. This has the potential to be a very pleasant possibility, or very annoying. So how likely are you to have a chatty seatmate? Not very it...
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Boeing's 'Cuddle Seat' tackles the economy snooze
A new Boeing patent promises a better sleep situation for economy passengers. For those who can't afford the lie-flat seats in business or first, sleep is often an issue. It's not easy finding a position in which you can lean or curl or contort...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 4, 2015: Take a Seat, Please!
A stack of chairs turns into an abstract display of color simply by turning a digital camera dial. At the other end of the spectrum, with color limited to shades of black and white, they are equally abstract but quite different! Both images...
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United "right-sizes" its fleet; who's next?
United Airlines has just announced a whole bunch of swaps and changes in its fleet, based on changed priorities and preferences. Among the key changes: more wide-body domestic service, swapping some 787 orders for 777s, and phasing out the 50-seaters...
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Bid for Airline Seat Upgrades
This, from Condé Nast Traveler's Daily Traveler Newsletter... The chance for a surprise upgrade to business class from steerage just become even more remote with the appearance of Plusgrade , a bidding site offering an...
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Bombardier's new plane takes off into murky skies
Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, which along with Brazil's Embraer, has dominated the market for 100-seat and under regional jets for years, has completed the first successful test flight of its CS300, a plane that can be configured for...
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Family kicked off flight
A three year old child refused to take his seat and buckle his seat belt on a return flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Staff on the Cathay Pacific flight demanded that safety required the child to be buckled. For a half hour the father...
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OpenTable "re-brands" and spreads its reach
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service acquired 9 months ago by Priceline, is starting to show off its new directions and ambitions. First up, a new logo and slogan. The logo is a stylized round table and seat; the slogan gives a broad...
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Amtrak's Auto Train - Relax your way to Sunshine
There is a rhythm to train travel that is different. This is especially true when you are taking a train for a long distance. I recently took a round trip excursion on Amtrak’s Auto Train. And it immediately reminded me why I enjoy train travel...
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AirBerlin's new fares: JustFly, pretty cheap
Returning a bit to its roots as a discount carrier, AirBerlin is introducing a number of new fares starting May 5 (with some previews already for lucky travelers). The key one for bargain hunters is called JustFly; it comes with a seat and that's it....
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 12, 2015: King Kamehameha Statue, Kapaau, Hawaii Island, Hawaii
King Kamehameha I (1758 - 1819) conquered the Hawaiian Islands and united them to formally establish the Kingdom of Hawai ʻ i in 1810, thus founding the Kamehameha Dynasty. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha...
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United testing revamped boarding areas...and scents.
Gotcha on that last one. Yes, United's plan to re-invent boarding areas includes a signature scent that you'll get a whiff of as you approach the plane! On a more down-to-earth basis, the new areas being built at several Chicago O'Hare gates,...
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AA-USAir loyalty merger...and a maybe last chance
American Airlines will merge its two loyalty programs "within 30 days" according to e-mails sent yesterday to all members of the USAir Dividend Miles program, which will be folded into the AAdvantage program. All existing miles will transfer; for some...
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The Future: A plane with NO window seats?
That could happen. Advances in electronics, combined with a goal of reducing aircraft weight and therefore fuel consumption, could bring us windowless planes within a decade, according to this article from the GUARDIAN (UK). In the...
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Welcome to the town of Dawson City, Yukon
Dawson City owns its existence as a direct result of the Klondike gold discovery in 1896 in the nearby creeks. Dawson was founded in 1897 and incorporated as a city in 1902. By 1898, the population was almost 40,000. It was the largest...
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Jerez Cathedral and Neighbors: Where Gumbo Was (#75)
Frequent-solver Roderick Simpson identified Gumbo's locale as the Cathedral of Jerez, in Spain. Another frequent contributor to the solutions spotted lots of clues: Spanish garb of non-angel statues, size not huge and cathedral not wealthy...
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For $345 you can fly back to the 70s on Pan Am
Well, sort of. The pricy ticket actually buys you a seat on the Pan Am Experience, a 4-hour simulated flight on a realistically simulated 747, complete with staff in period uniforms and a luxurious first-class meal...sourced from an actual airline...
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Budget airlines pushing seat squeeze on new planes
Think your airline seat is tight now? Wait for the next generation of planes being bought by Ryanair and other budget/short-haul carriers. They're adding seats, and the space for them has to come from somewhere... And, for the Airbus...
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Crowded planes a safety hazard? Witnesses say so...
Flight attendants, at a Federal hearing, pointed to "legroom wars" and increased air rage. A safety expert pointed out that the FAA's evacuation tests use planes with more legroom than you're likely to get, and Charlie Leocha of Consumer Traveler...
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Can 'smart' seats make crowding bearable?
That's sort of the idea behind some new design initiatives for airline seating. Panasonic, and some others, are betting that by designing all the elements of a seat together (seat, inflight entertainment screen, power outlets and more) the elements...
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Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily (Where Gumbo Was, #102)
I've visited dozens of wonderful churches in my life, some vaste and grand like St. Paul's in Rome or Westminister Abbey in London, others smaller and with a more intimate feel. As a rule, I'm partially to smaller chapels and...
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Yellowstone National Park in Winter
Seeing all fifty-nine national parks was never a dream of ours--especially not in fifty-nine weeks. We'd call it more of a whim, an impulse or an inspiration. Going to Yellowstone National Park in the winter was something we had...
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BA to squeeze passengers on 777
British Airways is planning to squeeze another seat into this picture for flights from London Gatwick.