Have a seat: How to get a better reservation every time

by Ned Levi

Last week, I heard from a young man who returned from a trip to Europe. He had a great time, but was upset with the airline. On his outbound flight he didn’t have a power port at his seat that he’d expected, and on his flight back he had to complain to have his original seat assignment restored.
The airlines fly a variety of airplanes, each with an assortment of cabin configurations. The configuration of a plane such as the Airbus A330 can vary from airline to airline, and each airline may have more than one configuration themselves. For example, Air France flies the Airbus A330–300 in two different cabin configurations, which are both significantly different than the A330–300 cabin configuration used by US Airways.

Not only can the cabin configurations differ, and therefore the seating, but the seat amenities of a particular plane can be significantly different from plane to plane between airlines and within an airline.
Seat amenities include the type of entertainment system available, if any, and EmPower Ports to supply in-flight power to electronic devices such as laptop computers.

The young man flew to Europe a couple of years earlier on the same airline, in the same type of plane (A330) as this trip. He had an EmPower Port available for his seat in coach. He assumed he would have the power port again, to run his laptop. Unfortunately the airline, in what they termed “a cost-saving measure,” pulled the ports out of coach in some of their A330 planes. He didn’t know that, but he could have.

Prior to making a airline reservation and choosing my seats, I check the plane’s configuration.
c My favorite is SeatGuru. I find their information more complete. For example, only SeatGuru noted that some of A330’s, on the airline the young man flew, had the EmPower Ports removed from coach.
SeatGuru and SeatExpert provide other excellent information about the cabin configuration and individual seats on planes, such as if the seats don’t recline as much as other seats in their class, how close they are to the galley or lavatories, if the tray is in immovable arm rests reducing the width of the seat, etc.

On his return flight, upon checking-in, the young man found his seat had been reassigned from an aisle seat near the front of the coach section, to a middle seat toward the back of the plane. He was extremely unhappy, especially considering he had paid the airline extra to reserve an aisle seat.
In the airlines’ “Contract of Carriage,” you can generally find a section concerning the assignment of seats, similar to this one in US Airways “Terms of Transportation,” their name for “Contract of Carriage.”

Seats assigned in advance are not guaranteed and form no part of the Terms of Transportation. Seat assignments may be subject to change and/or may be released for reassignment.

Of course, now that some airlines are charging extra for seats they call, “Premium” or “Choice,” due to their location, can they reasonably reassign you to inferior seating, if you have paid extra for it, and if they do, don’t they have an obligation to make you whole, in that case?

He complained, and asked for a supervisor. He was polite, but firm in his stance that he be reassigned an aisle seat toward the front of the plane, for which he paid extra. Fortunately for him, the airline agreed that he did pay extra. They apparently still had available aisle seats toward the front of coach. He got his seat back.

I know others who haven’t been so lucky.

Sometimes, when there is only one flight a day to your destination, and you’re on a tight schedule, if the airlines reassign your seat without prior notification, it’s possible you’ll be out of luck. You may need to seek redress some other way, such as a refund, which would have been the young man’s second choice.

You can improve your odds if your seat is reassigned. Most airlines let you check-in online 24 hours in advance. You should check-in as early as possible. If the seat assignment is changed, you can call to rectify the assignment and have a better chance of doing so, as many if not most other passengers will not have yet checked-in.

I also periodically check my reservation online, prior to my flights, to make sure the reservation is in order, and flight times haven’t changed. That saved me once when I discovered our flight times had significantly changed and we didn’t have enough time to make our connection. We were able to change flights.

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO STAND ON A SHORT FLIGHT?

By Kelly Evans

Irish-based discount airline Ryanair recently polled 120,000 passengers on its Web site with the following question: would you be willing to stand on short flights?

The answer was an overwhelming “yes” — if the tickets were free. Two-thirds of respondents said they’d stand on flights of less than an hour if their tickets were free; 42% were willing to do so for tickets that were half-off.

According to Marketwatch.com: A spokesman for Ryanair, Stephen McNamara, said the airline is looking to replace traditional seats with “vertical ones,” which on a typical flight would allow between 50 and 60 additional passengers.
The vertical seats sound like something you might find in an amusement park: Mr. McNamara said the airline envisages having the passengers supported and restrained, and not simply holding a rail, so they could handle turbulence or an emergency landing safely, Steve Gelsi reports.

Ryanair would need approval both from U.S. and European Union authorities, as well as Boeing, which makes its aircraft. Mr. McNamara said it could take three years before they could even pilot the program, and then additional time to launch it.
Ryanair, which yesterday reported that it will cut capacity at Stansted airport by 40% this winter and reduce weekly flights by 30%, is no stranger to experimenting with ways to shake up air travel. Another controversial idea -– charging for toilet use on flights –- is “still under consideration,” according to Mr. McNamara

Airport Food And Pricing

USA TODAY has a good article today on airport food and its pricing. Different airports have different ways of calculating food costs and many have adopted so-called street pricing policies. They require airport shops and restaurants to charge prices comparable with similar stores in town. But many haven't. That leaves many travelers with the impression that they're going to pay more if they grab something to eat, drink or give as a gift at airports regardless of where they are. The story gives examples of different airport's pricing and a chart showing pricing of similar items at different airports.  Read the story at http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-08-06-cost-food-airports_N.htm

The Head Of IATA's Baggage Improvement Program Has Had Lost Luggage

IATA   International Association of Travel Agents…
In fact, Andrew Price says, airlines have lost his bags seven times. The Baggage Improvement Program is a five year global campaign launched by IATA to help airline members improve their baggage handling. In his first year on the job his luggage was lost 7 times. At least he would understand the problem. On a three-day trip to Canada from Switzerland last year, his bags landed on the final day -- when he was already at the airport. He sent them straight home. They arrived a week after he did. Baggage is one of the aviation industry's great unsolved problems. Engineers have built jets that can soar at twice the speed of sound, carry almost 900 people and stay aloft for nearly 24 hours. But the industry has yet to ensure a piece of luggage reaches its destination along with its owner. Last year, more than 31 million bags -- around 1.4% of all checked luggage -- arrived late, industry officials say. Roughly 1.8 million bags never arrived. Some take unexplained detours. Price designed baggage systems for BA about 10 years ago and that led to his job at IATA. The article appears in today's online version of the Wall Street Journal so I can't give you a link but it will probably be available on another media channel later to day or tomorrow. It makes interesting reading.

New Website Offers Free Search Tool For Flight Specific Baggage Information

Detailed baggage allowance information is available on all routes and ticket classes for over 55 airlines! All of the information you need to avoid airline luggage fees is provided along with helpful airport specific links. Using Luggage Limits is simple: just select an airline, select departure and arrival airports and hit search. You can also search by ticket class, weights and dimensions permitted for checked and carry-on baggage, number of bags permitted, fees for overweight baggage and much more. It's certainly easier to use than most of the airline sites and worth bookmarking. Go to www.luggagelimits.com http://www.luggagelimits.com

Dallas Fort Worth Airport Announces Major Renovation Plans...

...It is already unmanageable to get around, just be aware.
The airport has just announced an eight-year major renovation program to all four of its original terminals. The cost will be between $1.5 billion and $20 billion. The airport opened in 1974 with four terminals, A,B,C and D. The four terminals will be given facelifts as well as work on electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, security, conveyance and telecommunications networks. Funding will come from bond sales and other available capital. Construction is to begin early in 2011 with Terminal A completed in 2014 and the others in phases till the end of 2017. One third of each terminal will shut down at a time until the work is completed.

Frontier Also Raises Baggage Fees

Frontier raised the fee on the first checked bag from $15 to $20 and on the second bag from $25 to $30 for tickets purchased on or after today. It is also reducing the change fee on economy tickets from $150, down to $100. The airline will allow passengers to confirm a seat on a different flight the same day for $100.

Delta Is Flying Ghost Planes Across The Atlantic

Envionmentalists have attacked Delta for flying empty planes to Heathrow from the US in able to meet Australian Quarantine regulations. Australia requires inboard flights to be sprayed with insecticide to ward off malaria and dengue fever. Delta is not allowed to carry out the treatment in the US and the nearest airport with facilities sanctioned by the Australian quarantine and inspection service is Heathrow, requiring the carrier to make a number of trips to the airport since starting Australian service in July. A Delta spokeswoman said: "Materials used for this process are approved and available for use in the US however, according to US regulations, these treatments must be carried out at designated AQIS locations outside the United States." Delta is planning to stop its disinfection trips to Heathrow at the end of the month, but is expected to switch to a Chinese airport. The Campaign for Better Transport, an environmental group, said the round-trip taken by Delta's Boeing 777 jets operating the Los Angeles to Sydney route summed up the "wanton" attitude of airlines towards global warming.

Which airlines charge the most in ticket cancellation fees?

by Christopher Elliott

United Airlines and US Airways lead the pack, according to the Transportation Department, charging their customers $78 million and $66 million, respectively. (The figures on the chart are for the first quarter of 2009, and are in millions.)

Conspicuously missing, of course, is Southwest Airlines. It doesn’t play that game with its customers.
Also noteworthy is Delta Air Lines’ low number. Is it waiving the fee for more travelers? And will its acquisition of Northwest Airlines, which charged nearly $40 million, encourage it to do the same?

Hope everyone is well…………take care   LIL

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