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Volume 6, Issue 7, February 20, 2008 |
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Skiers know that “black diamond” routes are for the most expert of skiers, and that the green slopes are for beginners. Now a new TSA pilot program, code-named “Black Diamond Project,” is adopting that terminology in hopes that travelers can classify themselves by the type of security line they need.
In the plan, travelers are allowed to self-select the kind of security line that is appropriate to their kind of travel: green (novice), blue (intermediate) and black (expert). TSA says the green lanes should be for families with children, people with special needs, and anyone new to and confused by the system. Blue is for somewhat experienced travelers with multiple carry-on items, and black is for experienced travelers who arrive at the line with laptops out, shoes off, etc.
The program is launching first in two mountain states. The first two test airports are Salt Lake City (SLC) and Denver (DEN), which makes the skiing references appropriate — if not readily understandable to nonskiers. For example, it is hoped that black diamond lanes will both attract expert travelers and scare off novices.
The idea is generally being met with skepticism from travelers, for multiple reasons. One is the categories themselves: In terms of speeding time on line, wouldn’t the black lane be more appropriate for unencumbered average folks than for the road warrior with multiple electronic devices? And the other is human nature: Does anyone really doubt that, without “traffic cops” monitoring the lanes, inexperienced and loaded-down travelers will head for the shortest one, regardless of color?
If you flew British Airways or Virgin Atlantic between Aug. 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006, you’re due a refund. In a settlement regarding excessive fuel surcharges during that time period, both airlines have agreed to pay restitution to passengers in the amount of one-third the applicable fuel surcharge — typically $2 to $22 a flight. Americans are due a total of $59 million in refunds from the two airlines. To sign up for a share of the class-action settlement, or for more information, go to VirginBAPassengerRefund.com.
Sentient Jet, whose private-jet membership program allows members to use a variety of aircraft in its fleet on short notice, has signed a deal with HeliFlite Shares, a similar program for those who want access to helicopters. HeliFlite members can now use aircraft in the Sentient program, while the alliance gives Sentient customers the chance to use helicopter transportation on demand at New York City airports and most others throughout the Northeast.
Starbucks is sweetening the appeal of its WiFi program to travelers by removing some of the fees it used to charge for customer wireless access. Instead of the existing deal between Starbucks and T-Mobile whereby the coffee customer pays $6 an hour, $9.99 a day or $39.99 a month, Starbucks is now working with AT&T, whose customers will benefit most since subscribers to AT&T broadband at home won’t have to pay anything for WiFi at Starbucks. For everyone else, the first two hours will be free, and an additional two hours will be $3.99. A monthly access pass will now cost $19.99.
How’s this for high-tech: For fans of Hertz’s NeverLost in-car navigation system, it’s now possible to program it before setting foot in the car — in fact, even before leaving home. At www.neverlost.com, travelers can search directories, map various routes, enter destination points and addresses, and then upload the information to a flash drive or other USB device, which can in turn be plugged into the nav computer in the rental car. Previously, entering information once in the car, on a trip-by-trip basis, was required.
Hitting the road — or, actually, the sky — is getting easier all the time, as multiple airlines announced new route service this week. Among them: Emirates begins daily flights between Dubai (DXB) and Cape Town (CPT) March 30; Eos is adding flights between Newark (EWR) and London Stansted (STN) May 5, and between Stansted and Dubai on July 6; and Japan Air Lines will offer its Premium Economy cabin on flights between Tokyo (NRT) and Paris (CDG) as of April 2.
On the domestic front, JetBlue will begin flying into LAX sometime this spring; it has previously served the city via smaller satellite airports, which service will also continue. The airline also plans to beef up its flights along the West Coast. Why? Some say JetBlue is feeling the heat from upstart Virgin America in those markets — which, by the way, launched service between San Francisco (SFO) and San Diego (SAN) last week.
Ted/United Airlines Economy Plus
Tampa-Chicago
www.united.com
I had a perfectly nice flight on United’s Ted from Tampa to Chicago this past weekend. A weather delay was posted, of under 10 minutes; we pushed off at the newly appointed time, and made up the time in the air. Instead of sitting in my assigned seat in the back of the plane, I ponied up the extra $39 for a seat in the front of the plane, where the little blue sticker on the seatback in front of you tells you that you are in Economy Plus.
I’ve flown Economy Plus before, and this seemed a bit better than I remember. On the Airbus A320, there is only one cabin, economy, but on this flight the first 12 rows were Economy Plus. Seat width is the same throughout the entire cabin, but there is about six inches more pitch. I didn’t find the seats as noticeably narrow as I had before, and my seatmates agreed that the width was tolerable.
On board, the flight was smooth and the staff pleasant. But at the Tampa end, the United desk personnel were certainly not representative of the “friendly skies.” Without exception they all seemed hassled, harassed and short-tempered, and mostly treated passengers as if the staff were conducting a cattle drive. Three different United desk people cut off my questions by either guessing (wrongly) what I was going to ask, telling me they weren’t going to answer any questions about my flight until all the previous flights took off, or talking to me as if being in a wheelchair meant I was mentally deficient.
It wasn’t much nicer at the Chicago end, but that wasn’t United’s fault — in fact, the United ground personnel there were pleasant enough, if clueless. But instead of being met with a wheelchair, I was told to walk quite some distance to the electric cart, whose driver was extremely rude and kept stopping the cart to chat to her friends. She passed me off to a wheelchair pusher who kept telling me she didn’t want to do this as something had been stolen from her locker and she wanted to go find it. Finally I flagged down a fellow pushing an empty chair and, promising a $20 tip, made my connecting flight with just minutes to spare. In all fairness, he was quite charming.
My flight was a Star Alliance connection to partner BMI’s transatlantic flight, and except for through ticketing and being able to check my luggage through, I didn’t think United held up their end of the bargain; its personnel couldn't tell me anything about the BMI flight times or gates — and didn’t seem to care, either.
Score: ••••• Mary Hunt
American Airlines has good deals for flying through June — as long as you book by midnight Feb. 21. It’s a very large sale, between seemingly a hundred or more city pairs, and the tickets are good for travel until June 25 (although March 7-April 8 is blacked out). Sample round-trip fares are: Dallas (DFW)- New Orleans (MSY) $118, Philadelphia (PHL)-Orlando (MCO) $148, Buffalo (BUF)-San Francisco (SFO) $198.
If you’ve been putting off that trip to Tahiti, here are some deals that are hard to beat. Air Tahiti Nui is offering round-trip fares of $788 from either Los Angeles (LAX) or New York (JFK) to Papeete (PPT) for stays of under a week. A package including round-trip airfare, ferry to Moorea, and five nights at the InterContinental Moorea Resort and Spa is $1,399 per person. The New York package is good for either Monday or Friday departures; the Los Angeles version is $1,329 less for three nights, or $
1,469 for four nights over a weekend. The sale fare and the packages are good for travel through the end of May, and again between Nov. 1 and Dec. 10.
Ticket agency par excellence Keith Prowse is offering special rates on London shows, available by phone only. The prices, primarily for midweek shows but some for weekends, reflect up to a 42 percent discount off regular ticket prices, and are not shown online. The number to call for special pricing is 800 669 8687.
Book by Feb. 29 to take advantage of a package on Silverjet: round-trip airfare between New York (EWR) and London (LTN), plus three nights at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, for $2,216, based upon two people traveling together. An extra night costs $252 per person. The package is good for travel March 13 - 29. To reserve, call 877 FLY SILV.
Spring is blooming early for Lufthansa, which announced a fare sale for spring travel from 18 U.S. gateways to many European cities. Fares start at $458 (New York [JFK]- Frankfurt [FRA]) round trip, plus some taxes. You must book by midnight Feb. 21 to guarantee these fares, but travel can begin between March 25 and May 15 and needn’t be completed until June 14.
