Cranky Flier

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• Virgin America Tries Letting People Without Carry-Ons Board First

  We’ve seen a million different boarding schemes over the years. First there was boarding by rows, then came group boarding, and now many are going to the all-at-once cattle call strategy. But Virgin America is trying something different. They want... Posted Oct 19 2009, 03:53 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, Virgin America

• Cranky on the Web (September 14 – 18)

  Why Comair’s On-Time Performance is More Concerning Than Atlantic Southeast’s – BNET Comair and ASA both sat at the bottom of the July on-time performance derby, but the airlines appear to have two different problems. Meaningless Mishandled... Posted Sep 19 2009, 03:42 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: American, Atlantic Southeast, Baggage, BNET, Comair, Delta, JFK - New York/JFK, LGA - New York/La Guardia, Midwest Airlines, PHL - Philadelphia

• Cranky on the Web (August 24 – 28)

  United Aggressively Responds to “United Breaks Guitars Part 2″ – BNET Part 2 of Dave Carroll’s musical crusade against United is out, but this time, United responded well. NBTA Day One Wrap-up – BNET It was a busy first day... Posted Aug 29 2009, 03:10 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, BNET, Continental, PR, Southwest, United

• In the Loop Radio Guest and This Week on BNET (July 6 - 10)

  I’m hijacking my usual “This Week on BNET” post with a brief plug. Minnesota Public Radio puts out a weekly podcast called In the Loop, and I was one of the guests for this week’s production. I usually do interviews on the phone... Posted Jul 11 2009, 03:28 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: 787, Baggage, BNET, Boeing, Customer Service, Delta, Mergers/Finance, Spirit, United, US Airways, Virgin America

• Southwest Introduces Unique Ticket Counter at LaGuardia

  Last week, Southwest’s big news was that it began service to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. For me, the interesting piece wasn’t in the air but rather on the ground. Southwest has introduced a pretty interesting looking ticket counter... Posted Jul 06 2009, 03:28 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, Southwest

• Ryanair Wants To Let People Bring Unlimited Carry On Bags

  It’s incredible to think about how the title of a post or article really sets the tone for a story. For example, if you saw the recent Dow Jones article entitled “Ryanair To Ban Check-In Baggage And Airport Check-In,” you might be surprised... Posted Jun 30 2009, 02:55 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Airport Experience, Baggage, Ryanair

• Congress Tries to Regulate Carry-On Size

  Regardless of whether or not you’re a believer in big government, can we all agree that the government’s latest effort to regulate carry-on size should be outside their jurisdiction? Somehow I doubt we’ll all agree here, but at least... Posted Jun 18 2009, 03:24 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, Government Regulation

• US Airways Now Scanning Bags at Planeside, Improving Bag Tracking

  It seems like a simple request. All we want as customers is for an airline to take as much responsibility for our bags as FedEx would. We want to see our bags scanned everywhere so we can see where they are, and if they do get lost, we want to know when... Posted May 06 2009, 04:32 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, US Airways

• Is There Such a Thing as a “Good” Bag Fee?

  In general, baggage fees make people cringe. I don’t think it’s that it’s because charging for a checked bag is bad in theory, but rather it’s just that everybody was used to getting a couple bags included in the price of the ticket... Posted Apr 28 2009, 03:50 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Alaska Airlines, Baggage

• This Week on BNET (April 20 - 24)

  Cranky is on vacation, but I did pre-schedule some posts on BNET. Here are the ones from last week. We get back in town tonight, so I’ll be back live on the blog on Monday. — Airline Executives Discuss Foreign Ownership, Unbundling, Partnerships... Posted Apr 25 2009, 03:15 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Alliances, Baggage, JetBlue, Operations, Southwest, US Airways

• Stolen Souvenirs and Other Embarrassing Baggage

  Cranky is on vacation, but I’ve lined up some excellent guest bloggers for you while I’m gone. Today I have The Traveling Optimist, who is a frequent commenter and previous guest poster on the blog. — Recent articles have highlighted... Posted Apr 23 2009, 03:55 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, Guest Posts

• This Week on BNET (Jan 26 - 30)

  Southwest Reports Q4 Loss on Hedges Hedges and other “special items” brought Southwest down to a Q4 loss, but it was the announcement on growth that had people turning their heads. Southwest Sees Strong Revenue Performance in Fourth Quarter... Posted Jan 30 2009, 03:01 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Allegiant, American, Baggage, BNET, Customer Service, Delays/Cancellations, Delta, Fuel, IND - Indianapolis, Mergers/Finance, Schedule Changes, Southwest, United, Virgin America

• This Week on BNET (Nov 17 - 21)

  AirTran Follows Delta with First Bag Fee It wasn’t much of a surprise when AirTran followed Delta’s fee for a first checked bag, but it is surprising it took nearly a week to do it. Attending PhoCusWright This Week I’m spending the week... Posted Nov 22 2008, 03:50 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: AirTran, Baggage, Delta, Technology

• Heathrow Terminal 5 After The Dust Settles

  A friend of mine who frequently flies out of London/Heathrow wrote to me recently and wondered why my coverage had been so light on the new Terminal 5. I guess I was just waiting to see when things calmed down. I mean, everyone has been talking about... Posted Apr 07 2008, 03:44 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, British Airways, Delays/Cancellations, LHR - London/Heathrow

• $25 to Check a Second Bag, United Tightens the Rules

  So, it now looks like most legacy carriers have adopted the $25 fee for checking a second bag. Though United originally carved out some high fare customers from paying the second fee, most other airlines did not. Of course, seeing an opportunity for a... Posted Apr 06 2008, 06:55 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Baggage, United