Thanks for your patience while the missus and I took some time off. Like Richard Nixon in 1968, I’m tanned, rested, and ready, as promised. Some observations on the trip itself — which was to the Turks and Caicos, incidentally — later. I don’t normally give trip reports, per se, but this one will deserve some special comment.

While in the T&C, I was blissfully disconnected. No laptop, no e-mail, and only one unfortunate check of the cellphone’s voice mail. The occasional TV showing CNN was too much information.

But even in this low-information environment, I learned about American Airlines’ imposition of a $15 fee for the first piece of checked luggage, effective June 15, 2008. In the a-la-carte travel environment we’re increasingly living in, this is no surprise, alas.

But it’s still stupid, especially doing it piecemeal, with a new fee every month. It’s bad PR, it cheapens the AA brand (making them seem even more like the much maligned Spirit Airlines, which has been charging for all luggage domestically for a while now), and it has negative ramifications for anyone getting on an American Airlines plane.

Anyone? “But hold on, I never check luggage! This won’t affect me!” you exclaim. So you would think. But you’re wrong: Now EVERYONE will be trying to squeeze their junk into their carry-ons to avoid the fee. The one-carry-on business traveler is now competing with the fee-avoiding vacationer. The battle for the bins is about to get much, much worse.

(FYI: While Alaska and Delta have said they don’t plan to follow suit, we’ll see how long that promise lasts. Read Chris Elliott’s post to see why others — such as Continental and United, who are considering it — are likely to add the fee soon.)

But wait, there’s more devaluation of the travel experience! It’s minor, but perhaps a suitable coda to our vacation, which had us flying on US Airways, not the aforementioned American. US Airways, never content to be left out of a story of PR or declining customer service, has eliminated the free 12-gram packages of pretzels from its domestic flights, effective June 1.

Isn’t air travel glamorous?

—–
…And a housekeeping note:
It turns out I wasn’t the only one to take a vacation, recently. My e-mail inbox took a vacation without letting me know it, and also came back from holiday this weekend. That is to say that my “unread” folder has ballooned to several thousand messages, with some messages going back several weeks. Not sure why they weren’t delivered until now, but I’ll be slogging through in coming days. I was wondering why there weren’t any outraged messages re: the luggage fees when I checked mail on Saturday, but now I know. (The messages are all there now.) If you were expecting a reply to something and didn’t get one, this may be why.

Last weekend, the missus and I went out to see a film about a font. Yes, a font.

“Helvetica” was really a quite fascinating flick, and it’s got me noticing streetsigns, logos, and other public typefaces with a greater awareness. At least for the next few days, before the film “wears off.”

Why am I mentioning this? Because at one point in the film, in discussing the rise of the sans serif font in corporate literature, the film spotlights the designer Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli is the mastermind behind the New York City subway signage, as well as the American Airlines brand and logo. The AA logo was meant to convey modernity, and in contrast to some of the earlier iconography, it was a pretty revolutionary change.

But notably, American Airlines is cited as the only U.S. airline to keep the same logo and visual identity for the last forty years. If you review the timetable covers over time you’ll see the shift from the busy, 1950′s style to the modernist Helvetica base design you still see today. (Vignelli apparently was forced to include the eagle in American’s logo, despite his numerous objections.)

So what does the persistence (or lack thereof) of a logo say about a company? Consistency? Dependability? Dynamism? Conservatism?

Either way, there’s a whole lot of Helvetica out there.

American Airlines’ logo may seem staid by today’s corporate design standards, but it is positively gorgeous compared to some other logos in the travel industry. Here’s the lowest-hanging fruit:

Just awful. What says “luxury hotel” about that logo? Blechh.

Maybe they need a little Helvetica.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. And I’m giving thanks that I’m not traveling this holiday. But in the spirit of the season, how about an upgrade/downgrade cornucopia:

Downgraded: Hooters Style
Kyla Ebbert, the Southwest miniskirt bandit, has posed for Playboy. Glad to know she wasn’t in it for the publicity. Nah, never… What took her so long?

Upgraded: Carry-on rules for UK travel
The UK may — may — allow passengers to have more than one carry-on item again, if airports demonstrate their ability to handle the load. If they pass muster, airports will be greenlighted starting January 7, 2008.

Upgraded: Weight-based airfare proposals
An Australian doctor is proposing airfare based on your weight. Not a particularly practical policy for advance purchases, but heck, hotels have tried it, so why not.

Downgraded: American Airlines’ flight tracking
What did AA do to keep up with the list of 130 diverted flights on December 29, 2006? It kept a list on a legal-sized notepad. Way to work the high tech! (via Consumerist)

Upgraded: Elitism on Greyhound
Greyhound, taking a page from the Skybus playbook, is charging $5 for early boarding on its buses. It’s not a bus with free wifi, but it’s a start, I guess.

Downgraded: Merger Mania
Yes, Delta and United are in play for a merger. Sure, Delta said the airlines weren’t talking. But their stockholders (hedge funds) were. So who the heck knows if this will actually happen. We’ve seen this thing before (United-Continental? US Airways-Delta?) and it hasn’t happened. Bottom line: airlines are making record profits, despite record fuel prices, and yet they still keep arguing for a need to cut capacity and raise fares, which is most easily effected through a merger. This makes no sense on so many levels. I remain opposed to airline mergers, like a broken record.

Upgraded: Government bloggin’, government surveillance
Move over, Kip Hawley! Now there’s something bloggier! Hawley’s boss, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, has started a blog. No, wait, it’s a “leadership journal.” This blog leadership journal has nothing but eyerolling snark for that self-aggrandizing title. Maybe he could show some actual leadership by answering why the government has been collecting and preserving all sorts of minutiae about travelers who aren’t on anyone’s watch list. (Hat tip to Benet Wilson for pointing to the DHS blog. Yes, blog. We shall never refer to it as a leadership journal again.)

Downgraded: OneWorld cooperation
American Airlines AAdvantage members will no longer earn elite-qualifying elite-bonus frequent flyer miles when they fly on oneworld partner British Airways. Lovely. Remind me why we have alliances, again? Updated: Several readers have written in (and the Global Traveller has written in comments) that the linked article by Tim Winship is wrong: Elite bonus miles are cut. Elite qualifying miles remain. I note that smartertravel.com pulled the article down from their site. Thanks to all who wrote in!

Upgraded: Motel 6′s reputation
Arthur Frommer offers this tip on finding “a stunning value for the price” in hotel accommodations: Look for ones that feature an interior corridor. “Stunning value”? That’s really quite an endorsement. I appreciate the sentiment — and yes, those with interior corridors are newer than those with exterior corridors — but isn’t it still just a Motel 6? The walls are thin and the bed isn’t that comfy. Sure, it’s better than some alternatives, but “stunning value”? I’ve stayed at Hyatts for $37 a night via Priceline. THAT’S “stunning value.”

Upgraded: In-flight service, Sesame Street style
Next flight, remember: Your flight could always be worse. You could end up with Grover as your flight attendant. Video below… (via FlyAwayCafe)

Internet addicts, take heart: American Airlines says it will be the first U.S. airline to bring inflight internet access to domestic skies.

The airline said Wednesday that it will test the service next year on some Boeing 767-200 jets that mostly fly transcontinental routes.

American will charge a fee for the hookup but said it did not know how much that would be.

American, a unit of AMR Corp., said it signed a memorandum of intent with AirCell LLC to provide the service.

AirCell will build cellular towers throughout the continental United States to transmit the signals. Planes will have three antennas, two on the bottom and one on top.

Notice that there’s a whole lot of future tense in there. “Next year.” “Will build towers.” Where’s the beef?

We’ve been hearing about the buildout of AirCell for well over a year now, and it hits the news about once per quarter. (Scott McCartney’s last piece on it was on April 3 of this year, if you’re keeping track.)

Boeing tried its hand at a satellite-based system, Connexion, but that folded. Maybe AirCell will do better: Inflight internet would be nice on longer domestic flights, and I’m happy to see an American commit to it. But I’ll believe it when I see it.

Thanks to reader Paul, who quips: “No word yet on whether they’re forcing AirCell to change their name to ‘AAirCell.’” (ThAAnks PAAul!) Sorry.

Related:
- Inflight internet moves closer to reality in American airspace
- “No Cellphones” light to be added to aircraft interiors
- It’s official: Boeing pulling the plug on its inflight internet service, Connexion

Downgraded: Any last smidgen of credibility for inflight radio interviews
If you’ve ever flipped through the inflight audio dial on American Airlines, you’ll know that there’s a channel (#9) devoted to “interviews.” University of Chicago economist and Freakonomics author Steve Levitt was invited to participate… for the low, low price of $3995.00. I honestly never gave those interviews advertorials much of a listen, but the participants pay-to-play? And for that much?? Wow. ZERO credibility. (Thanks, Dr. Vino!)

Upgraded, possibly: The international airport welcome wagon
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill expanding the “model airport” program to other international ports of entry.

In April, the DHS designated Houston’s Bush International Airport as the first “model” port of entry, adding multilingual signs and informational videos narrated in Spanish, French, German and English to guide arriving travelers through the customs and immigration process. Arriving visitors are also presented with a “Welcome to the U.S.” brochure.

Unclear if general tone of the arrivals halls will feel any less like a police station, what with the fingerprinting and generally gruff attitude of every employee, but here’s hoping it helps.

Downgraded: British Airways’ standing among royal Qataris
Members of Qatar’s royal family were kicked off a British Airways flight for not following safety procedures, when they refused to take their seats. Why wouldn’t they sit? “After boarding, the women complained about the seats they had been allocated because they were next to men they did not know.” Setting aside the culture clash: None of this would have happened if British Airways would actually allow advance seat assignments for passengers on fares lower than the most expensive tickets. (Given their seating concerns, I imagine the royals flew discounted business business class.)

Downgraded: Your privacy (who knew it could be downgraded more?)
Under an expanded security agreement between the US and the EU, gobs and gobs of personal data can and will be shared with governments. If asked, airlines will be required to hand over any information they collect from you. Ask for a king-size bed as part of your package? Homeland Security will know. (Via Consumerist)

Upgraded: TSA Chief Kip Hawley’s internet presence
Downgraded: Logical explanations
Security guru Bruce Schneier is running a multi-part interview with TSA Director Kip Hawley this week. The first part is here. Bruce questions the logic of the 3-ounce liquid restrictions, etc. I’m happy to see Hawley reaching out again, but some of the answers just don’t cut it. For example: “If a TSO finds you or the contents of your bag suspicious, you might get interviewed and/or have your bags more closely examined. If the TSO throws your liquids in the trash, they don’t find you a threat.” Huh? What? Read the whole thing.

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