Upgraded: This blogger
Back on the beat after a restorative vacation. Tanned, rested, ready. Bring it. Anyway, back to business:

Upgraded: Odds of chip-and-PIN in the US
A month ago, I blogged about the United Nations Federal Credit Union bringing chip-and-PIN credit cards to its American customers. That isn’t a huge customer base to be pushing a new technology. But what if a bigger player made a push for the increasingly-globalized payment technology? What if that player were Wal-Mart?…

Upgraded: Demand for parked airliners
When air travel slowed with the recession, the airlines parked a number of their planes in the desert. According to Rockwell Collins, the recent increase in demand will lead to airlines recalling those planes and putting them back into service. This may be wishful thinking by Rockwell, which services planes and spruces them back up for action, but if true, it could mean some respite from jam-packed flights, with planes flying at record loads.

Upgraded: Opportunities for speaking your mind to the TSA director
John Pistole, the recently-appointed TSA director, wants to hear from you. The TSA has a new comment/complaint form, and you’re invited to use it.

Upgraded: The male of the species
British Airways has been forced to pay restitution to a male passenger who was forced to change seats by flight attendants because he was seated next to an unaccompanied minor. BA admitted to sex discrimination against the man and paid £2,161 in costs and £750 in damages. I understand that airlines are worried about children being molested by strangers, but please: not all male travelers are child molesters. By the same token, neither are all female travelers drug-addled nymphomaniacs seeking mile-high-club entry with 14-year old male travelers… like this woman. (Thanks for that latter link to Mike Maddaloni!) Kinda puts the whole discussion of unaccompanied minor fees in some perspective…

Upgraded: First-mover disadvantage
The new Conservative-led British government has halted plans to expand Heathrow Airport, and has preemptively banned additional runway construction at Gatwick and Stansted. While I appreciate the sentiment and intent of a move by the new British government to discourage “binge flying” on environmental grounds, I fear that the net carbon footprint of the aviation industry won’t change much: Since many flights are through the UK, and not to the UK, the traffic will simply shift to Amsterdam, Paris, and Frankfurt.

In the U.S., airlines don’t typically charge a fee for using a credit or debit card to purchase a ticket. (Allegiant is an exception, by charging a $14.99 “convenience fee” for online bookings with credit card payment. Other U.S. airlines have tried, but failed thusfar.)

In Europe, a credit card fee is more of a norm. But Ryanair, which has been charging a fee for years, was just slapped down by the German courts for charging the fee:

Germany’s federal court of justice found yesterday that Ryanair placed consumers at a “disproportionate disadvantage” by offering no way to pay for flights without incurring a fee.

“By charging the fee is shifting in a one-sided manner on to customers the costs of fulfilling its own legal obligations … without bringing any service in return,” said the court, a practice at odds with German law.

The case against Ryanair was brought by Germany’s leading consumer organisation. It complained about the fee, which ranges from €1.50 to €4 per flight and passenger.

By not accepting cash payments, it argued, Ryanair offered customers no opportunity to pay for flights without paying extra.

I can understand the motivation behind this fee: Merchants accepting credit cards give up a piece of each transaction to the credit card processing bank. (The percentage varies according to card brand and total transaction size.) But there are rules to which merchants are required to adhere. I couldn’t find a European merchant agreement. But in the US, for example: “Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items. They also are not permitted to charge a surcharge fee when you use your Visa card.”

It will be interesting to see if other European countries see similar cases. Credit card fees aren’t limited to Germany, after all.

The UK Met Office has launched a website to help travelers — or just the curious — keep track of the spread of the volcano ash cloud.

The site maps the predicted spread of the ash cloud, and details the areas where travel will most likely be halted or reduced, for five days out. Here’s a sample:

The site assumes continuous eruption at the same rate, which is, of course, a big assumption.

This might be useful for those making last-minute plans to or within Europe, but it won’t help you any more than five days out.

Now if only we could get Chicago’s meteorologist extraordinaire Tom Skilling, who refuses to restrain himself to the analysis of Midwest weather patterns, to weigh in…

(Via Musings of the Global Traveller)

Bonus: Gratuitous video of bubbling lava below. Yes, I know, the problem with the Icelandic volcano is dust clouds, not lava. But dagnabbit, I have a space in my heart for lava.

Downgraded: Ryanair paying its fines
Ryanair is appealing a 3 million euro fine levied against it by Italian regulators, for failing to meet obligations to passengers during the first round of the Icelandic volcano delay fiasco. You may recall that Ryanair has argued that the EU rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations are tilted too far in the consumer’s favor.

Downgraded: Volcano scams
For those who really have had their travel plans affected by the volcano, be aware that there is a scam afoot that seeks to bilk you out of your money. Spam e-mails suggest that passengers are eligible for a substantial claim if they file an application fee with the British Civil Aviation Authority. Of course, the site is bogus, and the money goes to a scammer. Avoid.

Downgraded: Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines pilots are threatening to strike, and now the company is threatening to lay off up to 1583 of its 2300 employees. It’s an oddly precise number. The pilots’ union has taken their fight with management public, by purchasing billboards warning customers not to book with Spirit.

Upgraded: Fuel efficient aircraft design
MIT scientists are working on an aircraft design for NASA that would burn 70% less fuel than current-generation Boeing 737s, emit 75% less nitrous oxide, be quieter, and take off from shorter runways. A design is being floated:

In today’s commercial airplanes, air flows directly into the engines located on the plane’s wings. That undisturbed, high-speed air flow drags on the plane, and requires more fuel to overcome the design inefficiency.

MIT’s design changes all that. By moving the engines to the plane’s tail, they take in slower moving air present in the wake of the fuselage. Less drag means less fuel is needed to get the plane the same distance.

I love some good hypocrisy: The airlines are complaining that fees “would raise travel costs, thereby harming both consumers and the travel/tourism industry.”

But they’re not talking about baggage fees, overhead bin fees, ticket change fees, blanket fees, online etc. The’re talking about a proposed increase of up to $2.50 in passenger facility charges (PFCs), which fund airport infrastructure.

Charlie Leocha sums up the hypocrisy:

At the same time airlines are decrying the increase in the PFC they are raising their baggage fees, instituting seat reservation fees and charging for carry-on luggage. The airlines have also found ways to reduce the air transportation excise tax revenues through their unbundling of airfares.

(You can read the entire letter, signed by CEOs of 10 U.S. airlines here.)

The hypocrisy is delicious. And, it’s potentially the kind of phrasing that can turn around and bite these airlines in the butt. Seriously, who is doing the PR for these folks? If you just replace the word “taxes” in their letter and replace it with “seat reservation fee” or “checked baggage fee,” you’ve got a ready-made argument for why the airlines’ fees are hurting America. And if I were a Congressman, I’d throw this language back in their faces.

Air France has an interesting feature: In some markets, you can reserve a low fare for up to two weeks, without buying the ticket, for €10. (Thanks to Raphaël Mazoyer via Twitter for pointing this out to me.)

Here’s the English text, copied from the Dutch site:

Need time to think
When reserving online, you can choose the Time to Think option*. Starting at €10 per passenger, this new option lets you hold your reservation and fare for up to 14 days**.
To purchase your ticket, simply visit the “Manage your reservations” section.
If you decide not to confirm the reservation, it will be cancelled automatically when your Time to Think period expires.

* This option is offered on our flights within metropolitan France and from France to Europe and North Africa.
** The period allowed varies according to your reservation date, destination and travel fare conditions. Option non-refundable and in addition to your ticket price.

Hopelessly addicted to the romance of French? Authenticity fetishist? Well, here you go, in the original tongue:

Besoin de temps pour réfléchir ?
Lorsque vous faites votre réservation en ligne, vous pouvez opter pour un Délai de réflexion*. A partir de 10 € par passager, cette nouvelle option vous permet de garantir votre réservation et votre tarif jusqu’à 14 jours**. Pour payer votre billet, il vous suffit ensuite de vous rendre dans la rubrique “Gérer vos réservations”. Si vous ne souhaitez pas confirmer votre achat, votre réservation est automatiquement annulée à la fin du Délai de réflexion.

* Cette option est proposée en cabine Voyageur sur nos vols en France métropolitaine, de/vers l´Europe, Israël et l´Afrique du Nord.
** La durée du Délai de réflexion varie selon la date de votre réservation, la destination et les conditions tarifaires. Option non remboursable et en sus du prix du billet.

Given the geographic restrictions in the fine print, the US site doesn’t include this text (in either language) on the booking page. But there remains a hold option:

When I do a test booking of an itinerary between Charlotte and Paris (via Detroit and/or Atlanta), I’m given an option of holding the itinerary for over 24 hours — until 10 pm the next night — at no cost. It’s not 14 days of hold time, but it’s not 10 euros, either.

The policy isn’t new. I missed the 14-day 10-euro hold fee when it was first announced in late November 2009. (Dan Webb caught it.) And while I recognize this is yet another fee, I don’t really mind this one.

Holding the seats — and the fare — for two weeks is worth 10 euros. If you find a great fare, you can book and hold a fare for minimal investment, while making your other plans. (The overnight hold, as available in the US, is a nice feature, too, but it wouldn’t be worth 10 euros to me.)

So, what would a 14-day hold be worth to you?