As the Regional Flight Market Shrinks, Airlines Need New Strategies to Survive – BNET
Regionals have had a rough few years, and now they need to plot their strategies for survival. Some are more creative than others.
Summer air travel’s up, and so are fares – Marketplace
It’s summer, so it’s time for the obligatory “summer travel woes” stories. When Marketplace calls (or anything else I hear on NPR), then I know it’ll be a more interesting piece. Of course, it was.
cranky flier + anti-bride toast swiss international inaugural sfo flight – AntiBride
I went up to SFO for the inaugural Swiss flight and met up with AntiBride.
Atlantic Southeast Rebrands Despite the Fact that It’s Rarely Seen in Public – BNET
Atlantic Southeast has just finished a massive rebrand. Even though you’ll rarely see them in public, this is a good idea.
American Flees Washington-Boston Routes As JetBlue Comes In – BNET
You knew that slot swap would make American reduce flights in Washington, but did you think they’d basically hand over Boston to JetBlue?
Can you charm your way into upgrade? – CNN.com
It’s the age-old question – how can you get upgraded? It’s not easy, but it does happen on rare occasion.
Frontier vs. Expedia and Orbitz: How It Hopes to Lure Travelers Back to Direct Booking – BNET
It’s really more about Frontier setting expectations better and trying to get people to book direct.
10 comments on “Cranky on the Web (June 1-4)”
Is regional American Eagle growing because AA is giving up more mainline flying for them or because AA is trying new ‘hit or miss’ markets and using Eagle?
Yes. Makes sense cause American is buying i believe 20+ CRJ-700 and putting first class on them. A lot of these flights are out of Chicago on routes that have been flown by MD-80’s and 737-800’s. Maybe AA is trying to get rid of those MD-80’s and doesn’t want to order more 737’s than it already has (maybe waiting for re-engining). So solution = use CRJ’s.
In fact, having flown on an AA MD-80 and a Comair CR7, I can tell you the CRJ-700 is a much nicer flight overall. Cranky once said that Douglas built airplanes like tanks. Well guess what, those aircraft also feel like tanks.
Yep, what Sanjeev says. Until these airplanes started getting First Class, American had nothing to compete with United’s fleet of 70 seat offerings. These will undoubtedly be mainline replacements.
Can you charm your way into upgrade? – CNN.com
It’s the age-old question – how can you get upgraded? It’s not easy, but it does happen on rare occasion
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Shame on CNN for stooping to what is really, theft of services. How do you get upgraded, you ask? PAY FOR IT. USE MILES.
This article is nothing more then how to get into first/business class unethically!!
Seriously, frank? It’s not stealing if someone gives it to you. It’s stealing if you sneak up into First Class and sit there without permission. If someone upgrades you as a passenger, then you absolutely have a right to it. There’s nothing unethical about it.
Not stealing if someone gives it to you????……Seriously, Cranky! Then, in most cases, the EMPLOYEE is the one who is giving away a “class of service” without permission or cause. Why schmooze a flight attendant? Offer cash? The article was based on, CHARMING YOUR WAY INTO FIRST CLASS.
You’re trying to obtain a class of service YOU DID NOT PAY FOR.
What unmitigated nonsense from you, Frank. I guess you’ve never worked in sales or any sort of public-facing business, because the art of the deal is the art of negotiation: prices are always relative, as are artificial barriers to get what you want.
Nonsense? Andrew. You dont negotiate, you PURCHASE or use MILES to upgrade. This ISNT negotiating a DEAL. It’s a product for purchase.
What YOU FREE LOADERS are doing is just that, getting something for free. Which in most cases is against company policy! Some employees do it, because the chances of getting caught is low.
Yeahhh, try upgrading on one of my flights, Andrew. I guarantee you, your schmoozing will get you NOWHERE!!
Upon the announcement of the B6/AA slot swap, I recall that a certain commenter from DC said that it looked like AA was essentially “outsourcing” its BOS-DCA flying to B6 and would let them have the O&D traffic while using them to feed DCA connecting pxs to their intl flights. Every now and then I get one right! :-)
Upgrade to 1st Class – can that really be done?? The most I ever hope for is to move out of economy into business or club and I still try the old faves – dress impeccably, speak clearly (offer greeting in appropriate language) and smile – try to engage with the desk clerk – as the CNN article says they can have real bad days and most of the time are dealing with anxious passengers.