Category: Travel and Transportation

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Frontier Airlines flight not as nice as others

I choose to fly Frontier Airlines as much as I can. They are a localDenver airline that has good customer service and they have TV on the
flight.

Having TV on a flight makes the time go by so much faster. A three-hour
flight just does not seem as long when there is something mindless on.

In addition, Frontier Airlines oversold the flight and people were not
happy. For example, a couple had bought a seat for their infant and
because the flight was oversold they took that seat.

As a parent who travels with young children and I purchase seats for
them, I would not be happy if they took the seat from me. It looks like
they compensated them, but they still shouldn’t have taken their seat.

On a good note, the crew was quite friendly and the plane was nice. It
is a new Airbus that they just took delivery on. So that is why there
was no TV. They hadn’t installed the hardware and software to make it
work.

Let’s hope the rest of my work trip goes well.

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Delta’s pre-flight safety video a hit

Delta Air Lines has a new safety video that it shows before flights and it is becoming quite the hit on YouTube. It currently has over 460,000 views.
I am not sure what is causing it to get so many views, but it was entertaining and different than what you currently get.

Check it out:

The only thing I noticed is that I never see that much room in between seats anymore on flights.

You can read more about the video on Delta’s blog, Who Says Safety Can’t Be Sassy?.

Update: I improperly used the term Delta Airlines instead of Delta Air Lines. I have fixed this in the post.

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Airplane fights wind and almost crashes..

All I have to say is wow.
This is one of the most amazing videos of a near plane crash that I have seen. Those pilots were amazing to keep it flying and get it up in the air to try and land again.

Check it out.

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United Airlines to Charge $25 for Second Bag

Well that does it, I won’t be flying United Airlines for personal travel anymore. If they are going to charge my $25 for a second bag, then they don’t deserve my business.
In an article in the Denver Post, United Airlines says that it costs more for them to handle a second bag so they need to charge for it. They need to charge $25 for a second bag? That is ridiculous.

Since they are going to be charging that much for a second bag, I don’t need to fly them. There are many different airlines that I can fly out of Denver International Airport that won’t charge me additional money for a second bag, that I can take them.

United, You just lost a customer that has flown over 200,000 miles on your airline. Get a clue and stop milking your consumers because you were negotiated bad contracts and can’t afford to compete in todays market even after getting concessions from your employees.

Personally I like Frontier Airlines. They are treating their consumers well and provide a lot of destinations for where I want to travel to. If you are looking for an alternative to United Airlines, fly on Frontier.

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DIA de-icers get faulty training : Airlines & Aerospace

DIA de-icers get faulty training : Airlines & Aerospace : The Rocky Mountain News
This is a report that aired this evening on CBS 4 News and was put together by Brian Maass.

This is appalling to me.  I fly a lot, including in the winter, and rely on de-icers to make sure that my flight is safe.  I also rely on the airlines and Federal Air Administration to ensure that my flight is safe.

Because they were not checking up on their contractor, Servisair, they passed everyone by giving them the answers.  That is not acceptable.  It shouldn’t take an investigative report from the CBS affiliate in Denver to uncover this.

The company should be checking up on their instructors, including planting people in the class, to make sure they are following the rules.  In addition, the FAA and the airlines (who hired Servisair to de-ice planes) should do independent checks to ensure that make sure Servisair is doing their job.

I must let you know Servisair was appalled by what they saw on the tape and suspended and eventually fired the person who administered the tests and called everyone back to take a refresher course and re-take the tests.  But to me, it is a little late.

Let’s just hope that there are no problems this year with de-icing planes.

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Holiday Inn – Midtown, Grand Island, Nebraska

I am on some travel for work and I am in the metropolis of Grand Island, Nebraska.  Overall, the town is really nice and the hotel I am staying at, Holiday Inn – Midtown, is ok.
It is only ok, because when I am traveling for business and personal reasons, one of the big things I look for is a hotel that has good internet access.  Well it has been a struggle with this one.

It has been extremely slow, both the wired and wireless connections.  It is just taking forever to get to pages and anything to load.

They must have a real limited bandwidth or a bunch of people downloading music at the same time.  What they need to do is to study and look at what they have so that it won’t be a negative experience in the future.

The rest of the hotel is good and the front desk staff was helpful.

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DIA looking to ease security lines

9NEWS – Article – DIA looking to ease security lines
The problem is not the lines or the people in the lines, it is the people that are hired by the Transportation Security Administration  to watch the monitors and make sure that nothing bad is getting on.

Most of them are rude and have a power complex.  They have power over you.  They can make your life hell.

In one experience I had going through DIA security, there was a couple from Denver who spoke very little english and they were going on a visit to their former home in Bulgaria.

To try and communicate with them, the TSA person just spoke louder.  She never tried to slow down and speak calmly and try to understand where these people were coming from.  It was quite rude. Continue reading “DIA looking to ease security lines”

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At my high school reunion…

Well, I took the big plunge this weekend and headed to my high school reunion to see everyone. I can’t believe that it has been 20 years since we all graduated from high school, East Union High School in Manteca, Calif., class of 1987.
It began as a fun evening at a local brew pub in Manteca at Kelley Brothers Brewing Company. The company was great and the band that was playing was incredible, it helped also that one of our fellow graduates was playing also, but the beer was horrible. Continue reading “At my high school reunion…”

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Pilot a rarity at United

The Wall Street Journal‘s column, The Middle Seat had a great article today on a pilot at United who goes the extra mile in providing service on United Airlines.  The column, To a United Pilot, The Friendly Skies Are a Point of Pride, describes how Captain Denny Flanagan takes the extra step to make kids and travelers feel welcome and appreciated on his flights.
The problem is that this person is few-and-far-between at United.  I have flown United a lot the last several years and have noticed a tremendous decline in the service that they provide.  So much so, that I have started flying Frontier Airlines for my personal travel because they take the extra step to make me feel welcome. Continue reading “Pilot a rarity at United”