Upgraded: Refunds on Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines, perhaps America’s most hated airline, gives refunds to its passengers after all! But only under special circumstances… like being rebooked onto a flight that ditches into the Hudson River. Actually, no, that wasn’t enough:

Rob and Jeff Kolodjay were scheduled to fly on Spirit Airlines to a golf vacation with four other friends on Thursday out of LaGuardia in New York City. Their flight got cancelled, and they were rebooked onto US Airways flight 1549. When they tried to cancel the return tickets on Spirit they could not use because they never made it to Myrtle Beach, the company representative insisted on charging them a [$90] cancellation fee.

Wait, Spirit rebooks passengers onto other airlines? Who knew? Amazing!

But as for the cancellation fee, the airline eventually reversed itself. Only after the passengers got the local news reporters involved. Stay classy, Spirit! (via Consumerist)

Upgraded: Promises and threats of Ryanair in the USA
Ultra-cheapo Ryanair has been threatening to fly trans-Atlantic again. This time, from Ireland to … Niagara Falls! Ryanair promises/threatens a route over the Atlantic on a six-month cycle, it seems. And it never materializes. Let me know when they start actually flying this one…

Upgraded: Wi-fi on United, unless you’re a Chicagoan, apparently
I’m amused by this take-down of the introduction of inflight wi-fi on selected United Airlines flights by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism website. United is putting the $12.95 service on its JFK-SFO and JFK-LAX “p.s.” service. Notably not included: Chicago flights. The article’s negative angle toward the service may betray some sour grapes…

Downgraded: Luxury
It’s barely open for six months, but the Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle has “decided to no longer be a luxury hotel, and said that downscaling will help it attract more customers.” Their new target is the AAA 3-diamond level, and they’re hoping to partner with a major chain. Welcome to the new austerity.

Several readers have sent in e-mails, informing me of airfare deals they’ve gotten in recent days. They’re good, especially to Europe. A few examples:

Reader Diane found a deal from Denver to Amsterdam on US Airways in July: $2068.32 for a family of three, including all taxes and even travel insurance.

Reader Frank is taking his family of four to Paris in June. He’s leaving from the New York area — going over on Open Skies, coming back on L’Avion. It’s costing him more than it cost Diane, but it’s still a decent deal: $1479 per person for a cradle seat, booked on the L’Avion site. (As an aside, I don’t think L’Avion should be calling their product “business class” anymore, especially given that their corporate sister, Open Skies, is categorizing an equivalent seat as premium economy, err, “Prem+.”)

If you’re looking for some off-season discounts to Europe (say, February), and coach class is more your speed, then check Air France. $350 base fare ($490 all-in) from New York to Dublin, for example.

Finally, reader Aurelio booked a sweet spring break fare from Chicago to Last Vegas on United for $119, all-in, round-trip. Those are 2003 prices! Crazy-cheap!

To book some of these deals, you may need to be flexible with your dates or your connections. And be sure to comparison shop. Sites to consider as springboards include FareCompare, Kayak.com, and ITA Software, for starters.

Have you scoped out any good deals of late? Hit the comments with your savvy savings, especially if they might still be available for others to book!

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Reader Tom K. asks:

The US Airways landing in the Hudson was amazing. Thank God (and the captain) for such a great outcome. I’m curious, what happens to the luggage that people left behind? I assume they’re not getting any of it back. What’s the compensation they receive for it?

I suppose that luggage is not at the top of your list if you’ve survived a crash. But perhaps, once the euphoria of survival wears off, passengers’ thoughts will turn to the stuff they left behind, both in the overhead bins and the cargo hold. The answers are in the contract of carriage (PDF), the rules governing the ticket.

The contract states the limits of the airline’s liability. From the contract:

Total liability for provable direct or consequential damages resulting from the loss, delay, or damage to baggage in US Airways’ custody is limited as follows:

A. for travel wholly between U.S. points, to $3300 per customer

B. for most international travel (including domestic portions of international journeys), to $9.07 per pound ($20 per kilo) for checked baggage and $400 per customer for unchecked baggage in the custody/control of the carrier.

Since this was a domestic flight, the “A” rules will likely apply to most passengers — $3300 per passenger maximum. That’s not a guaranteed payout (though, under the circumstances, the airline might just go ahead and cut checks in that amount…) Internationally-connecting passengers would be subject to “B.”

That’s not the end of the rules:

Unless protection is purchased (excess valuation), US Airways assumes no liability for valuable/commercial items including but not limited to: money, negotiable papers, securities, irreplaceable business documents, books, manuscripts, publications, photographic or electronic equipment, musical instruments, jewelry, silverware, precious metals, furs, antiques, artifacts, paintings and other works of art, lifesaving medication, and samples.

Only a travel insurance policy might cover such losses. Might. The credit card used to purchase the ticket may have some coverage, too.

And passengers had better file their claims soon, or they’ll get nothing:

No action shall be maintained for any loss, damage, or delay of checked baggage, unless notice is given in writing to the airlines involved within 45 days (21 days international) from the date of incident and unless the action is commenced within two years from the date of the incident.

These rules in this example apply to US Airways only. Each airline publishes its own rules, so check the contract.

Here’s hoping that this question remains purely academic — and no accidents are in your future.

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The incredible ditching of a US Airways Airbus A320 has been all over the news, and the pictures are truly dramatic. I feel relieved, and amazed, in that no one died on board that flight. I admit I also feel lucky, in that I wasn’t on that plane — New York to Charlotte is a route I’ve flown more than once, and usually on US Airways. Yet, seeing the plane in the cold water of the Hudson River, with passengers standing on the wings or floating in rafts, I feel a strange sense of comfort. A plane went down, and everyone survived. That’s really incredible.

While it’s way too early to definitively describe what happened, the early reports are pointing to a bird strike in both engines. Lucky passengers, unlucky birds.

I’ve gotten some questions about a bird could take down such a big plane. I’m no expert on aircraft engines, but from what I can gather, the impact of a bird on the engine’s turbine fan blades can knock the blades off-track, damaging smaller parts inside the engine. The cascade of destruction can lead to a shutdown.

The force of a bird in flight, when hitting an aircraft engine, is astonishing:

A 12-pound Canada goose striking an aircraft going 150 mph at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to Bird Strike Committee USA.
[...]
Large aircraft are certified to be able to keep flying after impacting a 4-pound bird, however 36 species of birds in North America weigh more than this, according to the committee. Even smaller birds, such as starlings, can cause engine failure.

The first minute of the following video details how a bird strike can look in real-time. It’s a Thomsonfly Boeing 757 taking off from Manchester, hitting a pair of herons on the ascent. Thankfully, everyone was okay in this instance as well.

If you ever flew Southwest and had a particularly perky flight attendant who inspired thoughts of “What are they drinking?” then the video below may go some way toward explaining the “fun” at Southwest.

1980s-liciousness, with former CEO Herb Kelleher doing his best to try to be ironic/cool while bustin’ rhymes, a dancing guy in a plane suit, and human resources managers explaining employee insurance benefits through rap.

Wow. Just, wow.

Every company needs an employee rap video. Clearly.

Hat tip to Consumerist for digging this one up.

While drivers will still need to keep your eyes on the road, Avis and Budget are partnering with AT&T’s CruiseCast to beam television channels into rental cars.

For $8.95 a day, the passengers in the backseat will never need to part with their precious television. Sorry, no Tivo option yet…

Unsurprisingly, the channel lineup is heavily tilted toward kids’ programming. Disney Channel, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Mobile, USA, COMEDY CENTRAL, MSNBC, CNN Mobile Live and CNBC. Perhaps ironically, the Travel Channel is being added soon.

Cars will be outfitted with a roof antenna (pictured), and the streaming video will be cached for three minutes, to prevent signal drop when you lose a direct line of sight to the satellite.

Budget and Avis are pitching it to both vacationing families and business travelers. The family angle, I get. The business traveler, not so much. Keep CNN or the Colbert Report running in the background while you drive?

Is this something you’d opt for in a rental car? Hit the comments!

Hat tip Budget Travel