Cranky Flier

Browse by Tags

• 757
• 777
• A380
• Advertising
• Air Canada
• Air France
• Air New Zealand
• AirTran
• American
• ANA
• BBG - Branson
• BNET
• British Airways
• Continental
• Delta
• Distribution
• Emirates
• Fares
• Frontier
• Inflight Entertainment
• JAL
• JetBlue
• LAX - Los Angeles
• Lufthansa
• Mergers/Finance
• MKE - Milwaukee
• Northwest
• OpenSkies
• Pinnacle
• Qantas
• Schedule Changes
• Singapore Airlines
• Southwest
• Swiss
• Technology
• Ted
• Trip Reports
• United
• US Airways
• V Australia
• Virgin America

• US Airways Announces an Impressive New International Business Class Seat

  US Airways announced this morning that they will be rolling out a nicer, more attractive version of the business class seat that was rumored to be coming back in June. Let’s be honest. You don’t think of luxury product innovation when you... Posted Sep 17 2009, 03:16 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: US Airways, Seats

• Delta Brings Business Elite to Domestic Flying (Again)

  In 2003, I found myself sitting in the Business Elite cabin on a 767 going from JFK to San Francisco on Delta. It was a very nice ride, but that service was soon discontinued. Delta has tried a few things between New York and LA/SF, but for the most part... Posted Sep 01 2009, 04:12 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Seats, Delta

• Are Coach Seats That Slide Forward a Good Thing?

  The big thing at NBTA seems to be showing off seats. Dozens of airlines seemed to have brought their seats with them to make the travel managers drool. While most simply showed off the best seats onboard, others brought everything from coach all the way... Posted Aug 28 2009, 03:34 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Seats, American

• Do You Really Hate the Middle Seat That Much?

  There was an interesting survey that came out earlier this month showing that people hate the middle seat far more than I could ever imagine. While I usually like to blame the surveyor, I think this is a case of the respondents not telling the truth.... Posted Jul 22 2009, 03:07 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Seats

• United Delays Premium Cabin Refurbishment Again

  Uh oh. It looks like United has decided to delay its refurbishment of the premium cabins on the 777 once again. Now they won’t even start until February 2010, so the problem of dramatically different premium cabin experiences is bound to continue... Posted Jul 13 2009, 04:01 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats, 777

• US Airways Installing New Business Class Seats, But Not Necessarily This One

  It looks like US Airways is planning on rolling out a new business class seat for its A330-200 aircraft. Runway Girl broke the news last week from the Paris Air Show when she sat in the supposed seat, but I spoke with US Airways and while they admit a... Posted Jun 26 2009, 03:27 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: US Airways, Seats

• A Peak at United’s Newly Configured 757

  Last month I mentioned that United was testing a new configuration on one of its 757s that included leather slimline seats and power outlets. Well, a friend of mine was recently on the aircraft and sent me some pictures to share with everyone. At left... Posted Jun 17 2009, 04:06 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats

• United Now Has New First & Business Class on Every International 767

  There’s some good news from United in their ongoing multi-year effort to put their new flat bed business class seat on their airplanes. As of now, every flying 767 that is configured for international service has the new seats. First Class travelers... Posted May 08 2009, 09:06 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats

• Airlines Start Getting Smart About Power Outlets Onboard

  It’s been incredible watching every airline scramble to figure out when and on what planes to install internet. As more and more airlines get wi-fi up and running on more and more planes, they need to address the closely-related problem that has... Posted May 04 2009, 03:02 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats, American

• Air France Rolls Out New Premium Economy Class

  The growing popularity of the premium economy cabin continues as Air France has decided that the time has come to roll out “Premium Voyageur” on their widebodies. Upon first glance, it looks like a strong entry. Premium Voyageur just sounds... Posted Mar 23 2009, 02:02 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Seats, Air France

• This Week on BNET (Feb 8 - 13)

  Should Continental Continue to Host Events for Its Best Fliers? Continental just finished up its annual FlyerTalk event. It’s not cheap, but should they continue to spend this money on their best customers? V Australia’s Decision on Which Business... Posted Feb 14 2009, 04:08 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: US Airways, Technology, Virgin America, Schedule Changes, Southwest, Seats, Continental, Inflight Entertainment, V Australia, BNET, Advertising, AirTran, MKE - Milwaukee

• V Australia Welcomes Us Onboard at LAX

  Friday marked the first aircraft delivery for V Australia, Virgin Blue’s long haul arm that will inaugurate service on February between Sydney and Los Angeles. On the way down from Boeing, V Australia brought the plane to LAX for a reception and... Posted Feb 09 2009, 03:52 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Seats, Inflight Entertainment, V Australia

• Followup on United’s 777 Reconfiguration

  Yesterday’s post on United’s upcoming 777 reconfiguration generated a bunch of emails and comments. After sifting through everything, it appears that things will be slightly different (and better) than what I wrote yesterday. Inflight entertainment... Posted Jan 07 2009, 04:23 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats, Inflight Entertainment

• This Week on BNET (Dec 6 - 12)

  November Airline Traffic Numbers Traffic numbers for November are in, and man is it ugly. Pinnacle Improves Delta Connection On Time Performance It wasn’t long ago that Delta was looking to ditch Pinnacle as a regional carrier due to poor performance... Posted Dec 13 2008, 03:22 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: Virgin America, Lufthansa, Schedule Changes, Seats, Delta, Northwest, BNET, Pinnacle, AirTran, BBG - Branson

• United Details Plans for Ted’s Death

  United has internally released its plans for how it’s going to handle the dismantling of Ted, and as usual, copies are circulating. I know that some planes have already been painted over, but that’s just the beginning. Here’s what we’re... Posted Oct 28 2008, 02:52 PM by The Cranky Flier Filed under: United, Seats, Ted