Tag Archives: frequent flyers

FAA Makes Decision on Cell Phones and Electronic Devices

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Today the FAA announced that they will allow passengers to play games, watch videos and read books on their electronic devices during take off and landing, effective as early as the end of the year.

Cellphone use will still be restricted to airplane mode or cell service disabled, according to the Agency.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx feels that the decision “honors both our commitment to safety and consumers’ increasing desire to use their electronic devices during all phases of their flights…”.

Debate on whether it’s a good idea has been on the table for years…ever since electronic devices became much more accessible by the general public and more sophisticated.  Although this is a new move by the FAA, it’s a small gesture towards the real want that many passengers want-the ability to make calls, on their personal cellphone while in the air.

Airlines debate cell phone usage

Should cell phone calls be allowed on air flights?

Being an International Entertainment Act, all of The Amazing Waiters travel frequently, on numerous airlines during the year.  “After taking an informal poll, most of us feel that allowing passengers to make calls during flights would be a bad idea”, states James Anest, Co-Creator of the group.  “Just close your eyes and imagine this…imagine being on a flight, already cramped (if you’re in Coach), and the guy in the middle seat starts chatting on the phone 10 minutes into your 6 hour fight.  He talks for 45 minutes.  He can’t hear very well, so guess what?  He talks loudly…just close your eyes and imagine this…now imagine 4 or 5 other people around you doing the same thing…make sure you buy a good set of noise-canceling headphones….”  It’s not hard to understand why some would not want this.  According to a USA Today article written in October of 2012, “Airline customers have commonly opposed in-flight Cellphone capabilities because passengers don’t want to endure listening to calls from their fellow travelers on a flight,” says Victoria Day, spokeswoman for the industry group Airlines for America.

Should in air calling be allowed?

Making calls could be a distraction on airline flights

Many travelers would argue it’s an efficient way to conduct business on longer flights, thus making air travel more viable in the age of telecommunication-lengthening the work day for air commuters and making them more productive.  According the aforementioned USA Today article, “There is a misconception out there that it is dangerous,” says Patrick Brannelly, spokesman for Emirates Airline, which began offering the service in 2008 and now has it on about 90 of 175 planes. “I think the real fear is people jabbering on the phone at loud volume, annoying people around them. That just simply hasn’t happened.”

What would the cost be?  We think that the only reason the FAA has not allowed cell phone calls on planes during flight is because Cell Phone companies have not found a way to adequately charge for them.  If airlines cannot get a piece of the action for cell calls placed on their planes, why allow it?  The FAA report, which surveyed airlines about how the services work, found complaints about the cost of service or uncertainty about its availability on some planes. Costs vary. One carrier charges $12 a minute, though the price typically is about $2.50 for an average two-minute call.  If the charge is this high, maybe it won’t be such a pain to everyone around them.

What do you think?

TAW

The Amazing Waiters are an international Singing Waiter act that provides customized singing shows for unsuspecting audiences.  For more information, visit their website, www.amazingwaiters.com

or call 855-899-7701

 

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TSA’s latest Frequent Traveler Option – PRE

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TSA and the PRE for Frequent Travelers

In an attempt to reduce long security lines at major airports, TSA has introduced its own version of a VIP Traveler.  Something similar to those lucky stiffs who get to pre-board on your flights-on that red carpet.  You know them, they wait comfortably in the seating area while you jockey for position at the gate, even though you are a Zone 3 and they haven’t even gotten to one yet.  You’re one of those, right? 

Well maybe you can join TSA’s PRE and at least feel like you know something about travel. 

With TSA’s PRE, certain airlines at certain airports will allow some of their frequent flyers, based on TSA criteria to opt-in to this program.  Those who are already NEXUS or SENTRI already have this privilege.  So, if you’re one of those, you might want to surf another BLOG page on here.

If you are interested TSA PRE for International Travel, you’re out of luck.  It’s not being offered at this time.  Also, if any leg of an itinerary is international, the passenger will not qualify for TSA Pre✓™ for that itinerary and will go through traditional screening.  So, needless-to-say, there are a lot of prerequisites to obtaining this privilege.  Our suggestion is if you don’t travel more than 80-100K year, just wait in line.  You will spend all your valuable time looking online, trying to figure out which airport and airline does this when you could have bought a nice sport coat for your trip online during that same time.  Shop online, it’s cheaper. 

TAW

*If you REALLY want to know more about TSA’s new Pre option, go here.   

 If you want more information on the World’s best Singing Waiter Act, go here.

Summer Air Travel “Musts” for 2013

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If you’re like us, we travel…we’ve pretty much seen it all while we have traveled.

Now that Spring has Sprung and Summer is just around the corner, the indicators are that traveling, Summer 2013 will be more expensive.

What’s new right?  Well, in the travel industry, much is new.  First of all, there have been mega mergers that are now in full-swing and others that are in their fledgling state.  According to ABC News, mergers which yields less competition equals higher fares and more fees.  Unless you’re that man from China who managed to dress himself in just about everything he owned, including 60 shirts and 9 pairs of pants to no have to pay some of those airlines ridiculous checked bag fees.

FEE FEE FEE

Watch out and read for fees

Pay attention to the fine print on airline websites!

We like to research flights before we fly.  Yes we are frequent flyers of the cheapest fare

but we still look for best routes and flight times…and we also have our favorite carriers (although some of our preferred are treading on thin ice) and will book with th

em if possible.  We still like to get our air miles, even though they are worth much much less these days.  We will discuss this in a minute.

Now, back to all these fees.  All one has to do is search major fare search engines like Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline or Expedia, type in your needs and you’ll get a plethora of results.  Depending on the service you are using, you’ll usually see the cheapest first.  We think most default to that.  But don’t be fooled!  Cheapest fares don’t always mean your out of pocket expense won’t exceed what you might have paid on another airline that has lower fees.  These cannot and should not be overlooked.  You must read the fine print on all airlines fare offers BEFORE you book.  Case and point…

We had a friend who wanted to fly from NY to Chicago.  He did his search on one of the servers mentioned above and got several hits.  One airline was by far the cheapest.  Almost too good to be true.  This particular airline has been popping up on several airlines search engines as the “lowest fare” and rightfully so.  Our friend, booked on this airline as he was strictly on a budget.  Luckily (depending on how you look at it), he was talking about his trip with his sister who just happened to have flown on that same airline a few weeks prior.  “She started laughing”, he said.  “She immediately told me that I should check any bags I had online prior to getting to the airport to avoid very high bag check fees.”  He did so, paying a modest $25 for a size of an overhead roller bag.  This particular airline charged for any kind of carry on.  “The closer you got to the plane, the more expensive the checked bag fees got…it was unbelievable!…if you had to check your bag at boarding it could be as high as $125 per bag, no matter the size!”  Unfortunately, the fun doesn’t end there.

FLIGHTS, ROUTES AND HASSLE

Our friend also pointed out that although his flight did get him to ORD (Chicago), his plane was not direct by any means.  He first had to fly to Florida, change planes and then lay over for 1 hour before re-boarding to continue his itinerary to ORD.  He eventually got there and swore that he wouldn’t fly with that particular airline again.  He actually did though…he had to get back home.  And of course, had to check his bag like he did before, on line, to avoid all those fees.  Beware!  Beware…BEWARE!

FEE BUNDLES

According to ABC Fee Bundles are where it’s headed this summer.  American did this last month with its Choice Essential and Choice Plus options (airlines love buzzwords like “choice”), which provide such options as early boarding and a free bag. Delta has something similar with its Lift and Ascend programs, which also began in December. Both can be great for frugal-minded business travelers who want some of the comforts of business class without the steep price tag.

SUMMER IS EXPENSIVE

Yes, it is.  And it will be this Summer.  If you want to circumvent that and you can travel before, you might have some time to book.  Just don’t expect any discounts when all those hormone-enraged college students hit their favorite destinations for Spring Break.

BEST TIME TO BOOK AN AIRLINE TICKET

According to SmarterTravel.com, the best day and time to book a domestic airline ticket is, Tuesday around 3PM EST.   How do people get these figures?

DON’T BOOK LATE

Summer travel won’t get cheaper the closer it gets to Summer.  Remember be sure to buy you air ticket at least 21 DAYS Prior to departure.  Inside 21 days you will pay dearly.  One week prior and it will be 3X what it was previously.

SPRINGTIME FOR EUROPE

Spring is a great time to go to Europe because the weather’s good and you can save a couple of hundred bucks over summer. Rule of thumb: peak pricing typically kicks in around May 15.

KNOW YOUR INTERNATIONAL GATEWAYS

Speaking of Europe, consider making Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, London, or Vienna your arrival city. These European gateways are served by major carriers from both sides of the Atlantic, and that generates enough competition to keep prices under control—relatively speaking.  Or, fly a lesser-known carrier hungry for your business. Consider, OpenSkies.  Find out which international carriers fly directly to their home country from your nearest international airport, and then follow the cheap fares.  For instance, Boston’s Logan International, generally offers great prices to Ireland because it’s served directly by Aer Lingus. Again, it’s all about the competition.

CONSIDER GOING DIRECT

While we primarily use Kayak and all the others listed above, remember that there are a few airlines that do not offer fares on these sites.  One is Southwest.  And that’s a biggie!  Southwest still doesn’t charge for up to 2 checked bags.  Consider that a round trip flight on say, American Airlines for the same two checked bags would be $65 each way, totaling $130.00.  That’s a lot more added to your ticket price, isn’t it?

LIQUIDS

Don't delay other passengers. Pack your liquids under the guidelines

Stuff, pack but it has to zip in a 1 Quart Bag for TSA to be happy.

The TSA is constantlychanging the rules on carry on liquids.  One rule that has not changed is that all of your liquids you are bringing on to the plane must be in a 1 Quart Ziplocbag.  And they all must fit inside that bag and zip.  Don’t be stupid and have a ton of travelers behind you annoyed with you by having TSA confiscate your expensive face cream, sun tan lotion, or even tooth paste.  You won’t be able to argue with them and ignorance is not a defense.

 

 

OVERHEAD BAGS

Yes, many airlines like Spirit charge out the wazoo for any kind of carry on.  The link we just mentioned, notates that these are the fees if you do it online, they get higher as you ignore and wait until you get to your plane.  Remember our friend?

American Airlines also has gotten stricter on the size of bag you can bring on.  Ever seen those little metal boxes at the plane entrance?  Well, gate agents for American have gotten very good at spotting most potential over-sized bags and WILL ask you to make it fit.  If it does not, they will make you check it.  You won’t get charged, but you will have to wait for it at your destination’s bag claim, delaying your trip, sometimes considerably.

MIDDLE SEATS – THE BANE OF ALL TRAVELER’S EXISTENCE

Yes.  We all know this.  And as the bean counters at all the airlines have also surmised, you will pay to NOT have that dreaded middle seat.  As most of our travelers are over 6′ tall, we understand your pain.  The seats have obviously gotten smaller and narrower.  So, airlines like United and Spirit give you an option to pay to insure you don’t get it.  Most of these fees start at $15 per flight.  Some think this is money well spent.

TRIP INSURANCE

We don’t recommend this.  But if you’re not sure about your travel plans but needed to book to insure a price you can live with, get it.  Just read the small print on this.  If you have to cancel you better have a good excuse that falls under the guidelines (small print).  Remember, these underwriters have done their research.  You do yours.

CHECK IN ORDER/PRIORITY CHECK IN

Some of our travelers are premiere flyers.  Good for them.  But some are not.  And here’s the deal on that.

Southwest Airlines:

Check in right at the 24 hour mark prior to your departure time for Southwest.  You probably won’t have to check your bag.  Get a mid “B” or “C” on your ticket, and you might.  If you are checking in a few hours prior to your flight and will be under a time constraint at your destination, consider paying a few bucks for priority access and you won’t have to check your bag.  You’ll board early and won’t even have to be stuck with a middle seat.  Most Southwest flights are booked solid.  Board late and you’ll have to suffer.

American and United…and most other airlines:

You get what you pay for on airline flights

Flying Economy can be hard on your legs

Doesn’t matter what time you check in.  Just make sure you have a seat assignment and you can usually do this when you purchase your ticket.  Make sure you check this and click on the seat area  you want.  Also, at that time, you can decide if you want that added leg room or seating towards the front (with an extra fee).  Don’t know what seat to get, go to Seat Guru, other travelers have assessed which seats are best on most planes in the world.  They even compare various ways to fly and the amenities available to you on  those flights.  Here’s an example of “Long Haul Economy Class Comparison of Flights”…Already done for you.

FLIGHT INTERNET ACCESS

Some airlines like American, Delta, Alaska and Air Tran offer in flight internet.  You will pay but if your flight is over 4 hours, you might want to do it.  We don’t think you can Skype but you can Facebook and Tweet…or actually work. Expect most airlines to follow suit.  This is the wave of the future.  And we think it’s WAY better than having in-flight phones.  Imagine this now…There are now ways to purchase your internet time prior to flying.  Gogo Air is one of those offering to save you money for the convenience.

Recomended on older planes and flights over 4 hours

Pay for the service but be entertained without kinking your neck.

INFLIGHT MEALS

The first kitchens preparing meals in-flight were established by United Airlines in 1936.  They reached their Heyday arguably in the 1960’s.  Since then, the “meal” has dwindled to a rarity.  Be lucky you get nuts.  Frankly, the dreaded in-flight meal was a lucky strike in our book.  Bring your own meal and forget it.  If you did forget to bring your meal, one can still buy one for a modest price on most airlines and flights usually over 2.5 hours.

855-899-7701

Amazing Waiters travel tips

BE A GOOD  TRAVELER

You are not entitled.  If you take the mentality you will be hassled, jostled and treated like a passenger on a New York Bus, you’ll be fine.  Everyone is in the same “boat” and you got what you paid for.  You are still traveling on the fastest mode of transportation or you would have chosen something else.  Be kind.  Everyone is trying to get somewhere. Instead of getting irate, be amused.  People are weird.

 

 

TAW