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Upgraded: Seat pitch regulation?
Chris Elliott notes that European regulators are considering rules to require minimum seat pitch, though it’s not clear what that minimum would be. Some of the ultra-cheapo carriers have legroom below 30″, which is horrendous. (Skybus-esque, for an American equivalent.) The reason for the regulation? Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, a.k.a “economy class syndrome.” Maybe they should invest in this guy’s airline seat design while they’re at it.

Upgraded: Free wireless calling
Looking to cut down on the cellphone minutes? T-Mobile (aff) customers can sign up to make unlimited free calls with a compatible cellphone, if they’re in range of a T-Mobile wireless HotSpot or if you enable your home or office wireless router to link up with your phone. Brilliant. I’m a T-Mobile wireless customer myself, and I’ve been extremely satisfied with their service, both in terms of their network and their customer service. A few years ago, when wi-fi was less common in hotels, I sometimes traveled with a router and plugged it into the hotel jack, creating my own in-room hotspot. With T-Mobile’s new service, I’d strongly consider carrying a cellphone-linked router with me once again.

Upgraded: Paris Wi-Fi
Another city goes wi-fi. This time, it’s Paris. David Ourisman reports on the new arondissements electroniques.

Upgraded: American Airlines to London… Stansted?!
With open skies a reality between the US and Europe, airlines have been announcing new and expanded routes across the Atlantic. American Airlines announced a route from New York-JFK to London-Stansted, the airport that Ryanair made famous. This is interesting, since it’s the first (corrected below) a major network flight between the US and the more obscure Stansted Airport. (Maxjet and Eos fly there, yes, but American’s use of Stansted is big.)
Update: Joe Brancatelli writes in to point out that American Airlines has actually flown to Stansted in the past, with a Chicago-O’Hare to London-Stansted flight that launched in 1992. So now, with Maxjet and Eos eating American’s premium-cabin lunch on the London route, American makes its (triumphant?) return. Thanks, Joe!

Downgraded: Check-in? (or is that Upgraded?)
Jared Blank picks up on Spanish airline Clickair’s promise to eliminate the need for check-in. No real details, but it reminds me of train service, where you get on and have your ticket punched by the conductor. I’m too tired to figure out how it might work, but first come, first served seating is nothing new, and “shuttle” flights have existed for years, so there’s no reason this couldn’t work on heavily-traveled, high-frequency business routes.

Downgraded: Alitalia
Could Alitalia be downgraded any further? Already plagued by bankruptcy, strikes galore, and general incompetences for years, the Italian flag carrier is killing its frequent flyer program. And from its ashes will be reborn a new program, but you’ll only keep your miles if you fly the airline twice in the first half of 2008. Gary Leff has the story. I share his disdain.

Upgraded, in theory: Designer airlines that may never fly
From a Newsweek article on how the ultra-rich are finding ways to burn through their substantial cash: “Brands like Versace, under new leadership, are moving beyond red-carpet dresses into areas like interior jet and auto design. Last year Donna Karan went a step further, researching the launch of a branded airline.” Donna Karan Airlines?? Would the name of that airline perhaps be DKJFKSFO? DKDFWPHX? Yeah, sure. The ultra-rich don’t fly commercial. Good luck with that venture…

Upgraded: American Express’ Starwood card
I’ve long been a proponent of the Amex credit card that’s linked with the Starwood Hotels program. Several e-mails in my inbox have alerted me to the recently upgraded bonus offer: Get 10,000 bonus points with first purchase, and (here’s the upgrade) 15,000 bonus points for charging $15,000 in the first 6 months. Nice bonus, if you can get it. Click here for the latest bonus offer. (aff)

Upgraded: Boeing’s 787
With much fanfare, Boeing rolled out its first 787 Dreamliner yesterday (on 7/8/07, har har har). The plane has a lot of potential to revolutionize air travel, and I’m excited at the prospect of actually flying in one someday. Sure beats the regional jets I’ve sat in lately… MSNBC’s photo page of the 787 rollout is here.

Speed round of Upgrades and Downgrades
Upgraded: Zeppelins! (Beware if Christopher Walken is on board.)
Downgraded: Airport showers at LAX.
Upgraded, as much as possible: Regional jets.
Upgraded: Latin America; Downgraded: Easter Island.
Downgraded: Traveling bulldogs.
Downgraded: Business class meals at the hands of a NYT food critic. Shocking.

Reader Jeanette writes:

I am traveling to Europe this summer (June 2007) and I wish to travel in comfort without a great expense. I read that British Airways has a something between economy and business. How do I know which airlines have comfortably wide seats and room for long legs?

If you’re interested in wider seats, extra legroom, better recline, and potentially better food and drink on your trip to Europe, you might consider looking for so-called premium economy sections. They’re offered by British Airways (they call it “World Traveller Plus”), Virgin Atlantic, and SAS (”Economy Extra”).

Separately, bmi and United offer a section of the cabin with extra legroom, but no wider seats. Bmi offers improved catering in their version of premium economy, while United doesn’t. Zoom, a discount airline that recently started a New York-London route, also has an improved legroom offering to consider.

Premium economy is never as nice as the business class cabin — especially if a lie-flat sleeper seat is an option — but it’s nicer than regular coach. About an inch more width, 6 inches more legroom or so.

But don’t expect this to be a cheap ticket. I checked arbitrary dates in June for BA flights from Chicago to London, and found the lowest one-way base fare $466 in economy, $816 in premium economy. Still less than BA’s business class, but at that price, consider flying one of the all-business class airlines like Maxjet, Silverjet, or L’Avion.

The challenge is actually finding and booking these tickets. Since the major online travel agencies don’t sell premium economy (they sell only economy, business, and first) you’ll have to check fares at each airline’s own website. Even then, they don’t always make it easy. If you can’t find the premium economy option online, you may need to pick up the phone.

Alternatively, take your chances and ask for an upgrade from regular economy to premium economy at check-in. No guarantee, of course. You’ll likely pay for the privilege, but it could cost less than pre-reserving a seat. (See here for info on paid upgrades.)

Related:
- Virgin Atlantic (aff)

Downgraded: Lavender
Update: The controversial and lame American Airlines website for women got a minor redesign, as Meg at the Consumerist noticed. See the before-and-after screenshots above. The criticism must have gotten to them. Gone is the lavender flight search box, though it’s still a dumbed-down version with fewer options than the main search page. Is this progress?

Upgraded: US Airways, Downgraded: Southwestern temperance
The booze is back in the Land of Enchantment! US Airways is once again serving alcoholic drinks on flights to and from New Mexico. Recall that they got busted for serving liquor without a license. Tipple with impunity.

Downgraded: Late night arrivals at Detroit; Upgraded: Odds of a PBOR
It happened again. Passengers were stuck on a plane for hours, bathrooms had no water, etc. A late-arriving Spirit Airlines flight from Cancun couldn’t be processed after landing (at 11 p.m.), because Homeland Security’s Customs/Immigration agents had gone home for the night. It took until 4 a.m. the next day for passengers to be let out. Update: Or the plane landed early! And Customs’ computers were down. And passengers left the plane at 12:30 a.m., if you believe Customs. Or later, depending on who’s telling the story.

Upgraded: Lufthansa first class seating
No preview images yet, but Lufthansa is upgrading their first class cabins, beginning with winter 2008. The new seats were meant to debut with the A380, but given the delivery delays, they’re just rolling them out anyway.

Upgraded, potentially: Baggage screening
Assuming the bill survives a veto threat from President Bush, airports across America could receive new equipment that supposedly screens baggage faster and more accurately than previous versions. Why the veto threat? The bill also contains a provision permitting TSA agents to unionize.

Downgraded: Flights from LAX
United Airlines and Los Angeles World Airports are having a spat about the rent. United says the rent hike is a violation of the lease agreement, but until the dust settles, they’re charging passengers who board a flight at LAX an extra $10 to cover the difference, even though the actual costs to the airline are allegedly a lot less. Now Delta and US Airways have followed suit and raised fares out of LAX by the same $10. Lovely.

Upgraded: Baltimore!
Layover at BWI? Grab a glass of wine at the newest branch of Vino Volo, the chain of in-airport wine bars. Other locations include Washington Dulles, Sacramento, and Seattle. (Via Jaunted)

Oh no, here we go again. About a year ago we had the hub-bub over the standing seats (which, for the record, I still believe existed). Now, new and improved for 2007: Rear-facing seats!

Rob at the Airline Hub pointed to this article in the Times of London last night, and the folks at the IAG blog posted the above image today.

This configuration makes me practically pine for standing seats! Can you imagine crawling out from the window in such a configuration? According to the Times, this is a real possibility:

Ten airlines, including one British carrier, are considering turning half their economy-class seats to face the opposite way to the other half to squeeze in an extra column of seats along the aircraft.

Airlines could add up to 50 seats to each aircraft and increase the seat pitch, the gap between one seat and the seat in front, by four inches (10cm).

Rear-facing seats aren’t new, per se. Business class seats on British Airways have alternated between forward and reverse-facing seats for some time. But such an arrangement is new for economy.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the new economy option is designed by the Premium Aircraft Interiors Group (PAIG), the same company that designed the BA Club World seats.

But business class seats have a degree of privacy that economy seats simply don’t have. Not only will crawling over your neighbors be harder, but you’ll be staring at your neighbor’s face. And romantic couples won’t be getting too frisky in this configuration.

So, who are the ten airlines that are reportedly considering this puzzle-piece seating arrangement?

The ink had hardly dried on their announcement last month that they would be charging $10 for a second checked bag. Now, Spirit Airlines has rolled out a range of changes, converting the airline into a European-style discount carrier, similar to Ryanair or Easyjet.

The key changes, effective June 20, 2007:

• $5 flat fee for EACH checked bag, up to 50 lbs., if arranged in advance online
• $10 flat fee per checked bag, up to 50 lbs., if you wait until the airport to pay the fee
• All beverages such as coffee, juice, and soda will cost $1 (water is free)
• First class is downgraded to premium economy. It’s renamed “the Big Front Seat.” No more free booze.

Why am I reminded of Andy Borowitz’s “Airlines to Offer Fuel-for-Purchase Option” satire?

Obviously, it’s all meant to reduce costs. But the positive spin that the airline is trying to give these “reforms” doesn’t always add up. In this account, the Spirit chief marketing officer Barry Biffle said that “by having a one-class plane, we can provide better service to all our passengers, not just those sitting in the front.” That makes no damn sense. Just because there’s no first class anymore doesn’t mean that the service in the back will improve! Ahh, marketers.

Adding a fee for all checked luggage is certain to be unpopular. And as Chris Elliott recently suggested, other airlines might be loath to charge for luggage, because it could confer greater liability on them for lost or stolen goods. I’m not sure this is right, since the contract of carriage could nix that, but people coughing up a fee could well be under the heightened impression that the airline owes you more reliable luggage handling.

To “prove” that these provisions lower fares, Spirit is running a fare sale right now. Obviously, it’s too early to know if the changes have any long-term effect on fares.

If fares actually DO go down more than, say, $20 or $30, to cover the cost of checked luggage each way, a few cups of juice, and the value you assign to your own time for making calculations like this one, then this might be okay for consumers.

But it’s still not consumer-friendly in the grand scheme of things: The online travel agencies aren’t yet equipped to show you a real total price, including the add-ons like luggage fees. This means that Spirit will, for the moment, appear cheaper than other airlines on the booking sites, whether the actual final price for you and your needs, once luggage, drinks, etc., are factored in, is cheaper or not.

Comparison shopping just got harder.

Hat tip to to the folks at FlightWisdom!
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Shop-a-rama: Get more miles
Airlines have long offered their own “shopping mall” websites to give you frequent flyer mile kickbacks when you place your online orders through their links. There’s a competitor, though: Shop4Miles lets you search for specific products across a range of sellers, and then earn miles on either Alaska, Delta, or United. It’s a hybrid of a comparison shopping site and a mileage mall. Bring on the bonus miles!

The guru defeats the scorecard
The field of websites devoted to choosing the best airline seats just got smaller, as two controversial seat selection websites are now defunct. It appears that SeatGuru won its lawsuit against the people behind LoveMySeat and SeatScorecard. The suit, filed last year, argued that the newer sites stole SeatGuru’s copyrighted content and represented it as their own. Looks like crime doesn’t pay: LoveMySeat.com and its duplicate site SeatScorecard.com now both auto-forward to SeatGuru.com. (For what it’s worth, I reviewed the different seat selection sites nearly a year ago, before any of the legal fracas had started.)

Transit and Taxis, mapped
I was peeking around the Google Labs and found a pair of interesting travel related sites in a beta-test. (They’re not new, per se, but if I may borrow from NBC’s simultaneously obnoxious and brilliant tagline for airing reruns, if I haven’t seen it, it’s new to me!) First is Google Transit, a site that helps you plan trips on mass transit systems. Much like driving directions, the system guides you from point A to point B. Many cities’ transit systems have a similar system in place already (for example, here’s Chicago’s trip planner), but Google is trying to become a one-stop shop for multiple transit systems. In the future, it will apparently offer a price comparison between driving and using mass transit. (Fare information is missing completely at this point — that’s a major gap.) The number of cities included at this point is fairly limited, but if your travels take you to Portland, Oregan, Honolulu, Seattle, or (wait for it) Duluth, Minnesota, you’re in luck.

Second, Google Ride Finder, which tracks taxis in major cities. Only large cab companies are included, seemingly, and I assume they’re tracking GPS locations. I’m not sure of the lag time between the info on the site and the actual physical location of the taxi. I saw a cab indicated on my street, so I looked out the window. No dice. Still, a neat idea.

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Reader Raul S. asks:

You’ve mentioned paid upgrades at check in, but how much does that actually cost?

The price depends on a variety of factors, such as the route, how full the plane is, and possibly other, secret factors. It’s impossible to accurately predict an offer of a paid upgrade, but it can never hurt to ask. Not all airlines offer upgrades for sale at check-in, either; in fact, I’d say the number that DO sell them is in the minority.

U.S. carriers are far and away the most likely to try to squeeze out some extra revenue if business or first class seats remain available.

Alaska Airlines is the most explicit in describing their paid-upgrade policy, and they’re also the cheapest. As outlined in their chart, upgrades only cost $50 for every 1250 miles flown. US Airways charges a little more. United has lately been selling domestic upgrades at check-in at a rate of $65 for every 500 miles (or portion thereof) flown. I’ve seen higher, too, but $65/500 is the normal rate.

Internationally, it seems to vary more. On United, I recall being offered an upgrade from coach to business for $550 on the Washington-Amsterdam route — on award tickets — and $450 on paid tickets from Chicago to Frankfurt. $550 is a seemingly magic number that comes up a lot for trans-Pacific routes. American’s upgrades are similarly priced — and considering they charge a fee to use miles for upgrades, the all-cash upgrades are a decent deal. British Airways also occasionally offers upgrades for sale — even on board. I’ve heard of upgrades from regular economy to premium economy for about $250, but that was several years ago.

All these upgrades are one-way, of course. If it’s available on the return flight, you can expect to pay up again. And it may not be the same price. Crapshoot!

Note also that you don’t earn any class-of-service bonus miles for sitting in the bigger seats, even if you’re paying money for it. It’s still an upgrade from a lower booking class, not a purchase of a premium-class ticket.

Is it worth it? Depends on you. But at least you’ll be sitting up front.

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Remember when jetBlue announced it would take out a row of seats, primarily to save on labor costs, but simultaneously adding a few inches of legroom? I noted at the time that the front of the plane was getting the bulk of the benefit. More room than the back, plus easier boarding and exiting (at least at airports where the airline didn’t use the air-stairs.)

I predicted then that jetBlue would “eventually start charging a premium for the seats in rows 1 through 11.”

Looks like my prediction was right:

JetBlue is working on a plan to reserve some of it roomiest seats for higher-paying passengers after it completes the reconfiguration of all of its A320 aircraft next month.
[…]
[CEO David] Neeleman said JetBlue management is convinced some of the public’s highest-paying travelers don’t fly JetBlue today because it doesn’t provide a first class section or a way to get the better seats at the last minute. Neeleman said the airline is working on a program to make up for that.

“To the extent we hold out a few of the 36-inch seats for the highest-paying customers, that’s probably the smart thing to do,” he said. But Neeleman added, with 34 inches of pitch for the rest of the seats, he’s not worried other customers will feel short-changed.

It may not be a full-fledged first class cabin, but the front of the plane is now effectively premium economy. You can’t pre-reserve seats there on a cheapo ticket. Unlike United’s Economy Plus, which is reserved for United elites until the day of the flight, jetBlue’s system doesn’t rely on status.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but face it, the days of egalitarianism at jetBlue are over. JetBlue is becoming a more “normal” airline every day.

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American Airlines is refreshing the interiors on its Boeing 767-200s, the planes they use for cross-country flights like JFK to LAX.

It’s not a route I fly, but from what I hear, it’s about time for a revamp. The planes’ seats and decor have reportedly been looking rather run down lately, so this is a welcome change. United classed it up a couple years ago on their so-called “ps” flights out of JFK, so the back-and-forth competition between the #1 and #2 airlines in the U.S. continues apace.

The new three-class planes will feature motorized seats in first class, new handheld video players, and a general sprucing-up of the cabin’s carpets, walls, etc. The airline recently changed some menus and is offering fluffier pillows in first class. (But good luck getting a pillow in the back!)

JetBlue is removing a row of seats from each of their Airbus A320s, giving passengers more legroom: at least 36 inches of seat pitch in rows 1 through 11, and at least 34 inches in rows 12 through 25.

The move, which is expected to be implemented by March 2007, isn’t entirely charitable. Taking out seats allows them to cut the number of flight attendants on board each flight:

JetBlue estimates a net savings of $30 million over five years by removing six seats from the A320 fleet, as a result of reducing the inflight crewmember team to three, and by reducing the weight of the aircraft by approximately 904 pounds, which will lower the fuel burn. That figure includes lost revenue opportunities as a result of selling six fewer seats per A320 flight.

Stinks for flight attendants, who just had their available positions cut by 25%. But it’s good for passengers, who see two inches of extra legroom. This is about the same as Economy Plus on United, which is reserved for United elites and those willing to pay a small premium to get the extra room.

But hold on: This turns the front of the cabin into a premium section, something the airline never had before. The old configuration has more legroom in the back of the plane, as a sort of tradeoff: The back rows get more room, but the front rows get to exit the plane faster (and less engine noise).

Now, however, the new layout means the front of the plane gets both the benefits of being in the front of the cabin AND the best legroom. Effectively, it’s a premium economy section.

Will JetBlue eventually start charging a premium for the seats in rows 1 through 11? I’m betting yes.

Following up Friday’s post on the next generation of United’s first class seat, here’s the photo, and the press release.

It looks nice, but it also resembles a lot of existing business class seats out there, such as Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, or even the forthcoming Delta seat. Increasingly, first class isn’t looking that different from new-generation business class (unless, of course, you’re Singapore Airlines…)

At the end of the day, if first class seats are only marginally better, the difference between business and first class comes down to service in the cabin (and on the ground, for that matter). But I have my doubts; consistency and top-notch service are necessary, and I haven’t seen a consistent level of service on board United in a while.

(Thanks for the heads-up, Benet!)

No image of the new equipment, unfortunately, but some specific information about United Airlines’ next-generation first-class seat (or “suite,” as they call it). (UPDATE: See here for image of new seat.) The new seats will be installed on 3-class widebody planes, which primarily fly internationally but occasionally show up on domestic flights.

But don’t expect to sit in one of these seats anytime soon: The first installations will be “live” in the 4th quarter of 2007.

Here are some details, from an in-house release:

* The United First Suite reclines to multiple angles or serves as a fully flat 6-foot, 6-inch long bed which fulfills requests by customers for more privacy and a versatile area to work or relax.

* The suite also provides a cutting-edge entertainment system, with an individual 15.4-inch widescreen flat panel monitor and an on-demand digital video and music system that offers multiple selections of movies, TV programs and video games.

* Customers will have their choice of 50 channels of XM-branded audio delivering more than 3,000 songs and a jukebox to create customized playlists. Both the entertainment system navigation controls and content will be offered in several languages.

The suites also provide:
* a 110-volt universal plug for laptop power, compatible with power outlets for 145 countries;

* a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port to charge personal electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants, cell phones and digital cameras;

* multiple stowage compartments to accommodate a laptop bag and other personal items;

* noise-canceling headphones; and

* an Apple iPod connector that enables customers to play their own music and video content through the suite’s entertainment system, as well as recharge the iPod unit.

So we know the length, but not the width of the new seats.

No details either on any service changes (e.g., meals, wine) to accompany the improved equipment.

If anyone is willing to share photos of the prototype seats, which were apparently debuted in-house earlier this week, I’ll be happy to post them. (anonymity assured…)