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Surviving the holiday travel season Cranky style
The Madeleine Brand Show Radio Appearance – December 7, 2011
I sat down with Madeleine for this five minute spot talking about airplane etiquette. We had some fun with this.
Friendlier Skies? Airline Passenger Rights
The Kojo Nnamdi Show Radio Appearance – November 22, 2011
I was one of the guest’s on an hour-long segment about passenger rights.
Taking First-Class Coddling Above and Beyond
Jad Mouawad – November 20, 2011
As a general rule, business class is five to 10 times the price of an economy ticket, while first class is usually twice the price of business. “First class,” said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, an air travel assistance Web site, “is status.”
. . .
In fact, business class has become so comfortable that, in many cases, it can rival first class itself. “People demand more from the business class than they used to,” Mr. Snyder said.
Should I feel guilty about flying out of Buffalo instead of Toronto?
Karan Smith – November 11, 2011
“You have some of the most expensive airports in North America for airlines to operate at,” says Brett Snyder, who runs the popular blog The Cranky Flier (crankyflier.com). “[Pearson International] has been at the top of the charts for years when it comes to charges. Passengers don’t pay this directly, but it just means the airlines need higher fares to cover their costs there.”
United, American airlines challenge proposed new fees (poll)
Alison Grant – October 19, 2011
“These are the dumbest things ever,” said the Cranky Flier’s Brett Snyder. “People say, ‘Oh, it’s only a couple of bucks.’ But remember, in this industry the (profit) margins are razor thin.”
How to Skip Long Security Lines at the Airport
Susannah Snider – October 10, 2011
The TSA hasn’t revealed the details, but the agency may “allow members to leave on their shoes, keep laptops in their cases, or not walk through the x-ray,” says Brett Snyder, of CrankyFlier.com.
The Price You Pay For An Airline Ticket Is All In The Timing
Sibila Vargas – October 6, 2011
United, Continental to roll out combined frequent-flier program next year
Gregory Karp – September 21, 2011
“There is tremendous passion around these programs,” said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge air travel assistance and writer of the “Cranky Flier” blog. “People get very angry. It’s a big deal for a lot of people.”
Southwest to transform AirTran hub into ‘megacity’
Kelly Yamanouchi – September 11, 2011
“The immediate danger is to smaller cities,” said Brett Snyder, a former airline manager and author of a blog at crankyflier.com.
Ontario officials concerned over continued dropoffs of passengers, flights at ONT
Liset Marquez – August 4, 2011
And there isn’t any relief in the near future. Southwest Airlines has announced it would be cutting two more routes beginning in January, said Brett Snyder, who runs the blog www.crankyflier.com.
And while Southwest has bought the airliner AirTran, it has not replaced the fleets it has removed from ONT, Snyder said.
The Cost of Flying Out Of Memphis Is On The Rise
Cameron Harper – May 19, 2011
Airline mergers push art of numbering flights the way of the Concorde
Emanuella Grinberg – May 18, 2011
Most airlines operate under a similar system, said Brett Snyder, who runs “Cranky Concierge” travel service and the “Cranky Flier” blog.
The occasional “legacy number” remains, such as American Airlines’ Flight 1 from New York’s JFK airport to LAX, but “most of the stuff is pretty random,” he said.
“They used to have more fun with these things in the past,” Snyder said. “They try to keep with legacy systems when they can, but the airline mergers have thrown them into disarray. Every airline used to have a flight 1, but when you have a merger, which one do you keep?”
United Continental integrates its new look at O’Hare
Julie Johnsson – May 18, 2011
But will travelers care? Probably not, unless the carrier eliminates a treasured perk, said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge air travel assistance, who writes the “Cranky Flier” blog. By gradually rolling out changes, United’s management has more time to respond if customers balk at a new or tweaked service.
“There are things that people are going to gripe about,” Snyder said. “But they’ll get used to it, forget that it was even an issue. If they don’t, then, hopefully, the management team is smart enough to adjust as necessary.”
Southwest, AirTran merger may mean changes for Northeast Ohio airports
Phil Torres – May 5, 2011
Brett Snyder is an analyst with Cranky Concierge Air Travel Assistance, which helps airline passengers find and monitor flights. He expects Southwest will continue flights out of both Akron and Cleveland. [includes audio clip]
Alaska to compensate fliers caught in computer outage
Carol Pucci – March 28, 2011
Brett Snyder, author of the Cranky Flier blog, gave Alaska and Horizon credit for communicating well with passengers via Facebook and Twitter.
He said it’s not unusual for airlines to sort out compensation after the fact.
“When something like this happens, it’s awful,” he said. “You have cancellations, people missing connections. What you have to do is get people where they need to go. The customer, of course, wants something done right away, but the reality is that there are 100 people waiting in line behind that passenger who want to get somewhere.”
Allegiant asks if a low fare is worth a gamble
Scott Mayerowitz – March 9, 2011
“It’s an airline based in Vegas, so people are in a gambling mood I guess,” says Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, an air travel assistance company.
…
“A lot of people have issues with the ways they display their fees today,” Snyder says. With the new ticket option, “will people really know what they are getting into?”
Weather, tarmac rule irk airlines
Megan Neighbor – March 6, 2011
“When airport operations are so fluid, it’s hard to justify having this rigid rule when everything else is moving,” said Brett Snyder, founder of air-travel-assistance site crankyconcierge .com.
As Southwest Airlines tries to cope with its success, problems at Midway will get team’s attention
Julie Johnsson and Jon Hilkevitch – March 3, 2011
“But the recent series of uncharacteristic lapses — the December on-time numbers, Tuesday’s computer outage and problems with its Rapid Rewards revamp — could damage the carrier’s image over time if left unaddressed, said Brett Snyder, who runs a travel concierge business.
“If these things start sticking in people’s minds,” Snyder said, “it’s going to get to the point where people are going to think twice about dealing with them.”
Southwest recovers from 2 glitches, snarled flights
Julie Johnsson – March 2, 2011
“My general impression of Southwest is that they were absent, just everywhere,” said airline blogger Brett Snyder, who also runs Cranky Concierge, a business that assists travelers.
Snyder said that he was unable to call up a customer’s reservation details online or log on to SWABIZ and faced waits of 30 minutes to an hour to reach a Southwest representative via phone. Since Southwest is known for stellar service and good communications, Snyder said he was puzzled that it didn’t mention the outages on its site and shared only limited information on Twitter and Facebook.
“When things go wrong, it’s all about how you communicate with people,” Snyder said. “In this case, they just failed.”
Low-fare marriage of Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways may be a plus for Northeast Ohio
Alison Grant – February 14, 2011
“I think it’s more of a strategy issue than anything else,” said Brett Snyder, author of the Cranky Flier blog. “It could be about not the number in front of them, but rather — ‘Our strategy going forward says these are too close together. Get rid of one of them.'”
Delta ranks near bottom in on-time performance
Kelly Yamanouchi – February 10, 2011
For Delta’s most lucrative customers — frequent business travelers — on-time performance i of utmost importance and could affect airline choice, said Brett Snyder, author of crankyflier.com. “In a place like Atlanta, does that make them consider AirTran more if Delta doesn’t perform as well?” Snyder asked. “You would think probably yes.”
Airport’s staff size surfaces as an issue
Liset Marquez – January 29, 2011
“It seems fairly large for anything that size. The number is similar to what San Diego has, which is much bigger,” said Brett Snyder, author of CrankyFlier.com, who has been following the issue at ONT for more than a year.
A straight comparison of staffing levels is difficult because outsource levels differ from airport to airport, Snyder said.
. . .
With lower-wage jobs such as janitorial services on the payroll, Snyder said he thought the average salary would have been lower.
“How is that possible?” Snyder said.