Lost Passengers, Death and Fees on Fees. Oh my!

It hasn't been a pretty week for the airline industry. First as the height of UM (unaccompanied minor) season kicks off, Continental sends two girls to the wrong destinations, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LOST_GIRLS_CONTINENTAL?SITE=RIPAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.

Unfortunately for Continental, when it rains it pours. During a trans-Atlantic flight on Thursday, Captain Craig Lenell passed away mid-flight, much to the surprise of passengers on board who only learned of the death upon arrival in Newark, NJ, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WHEN_PILOTS_DIE?SITE=RIPAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.

And finally, United announced they are adding fees to their bag-check fees, http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12651689. On top of the $15 fee to check a bag, if you pay at the airport, you'll be charged an additional $5. So, what is that, a bag check fee-fee? Nice job with the Saturday morning announcement too...hardly anyone will notice, I'm sure.

IATA: Airline Revenues Will Tank

Even with crude oil at $56 a barrel, the forecast for the airline industry is grim. According to the International Air Transportation Association, airlines around the globe stand to lose $9 billion collectively this year. That's nearly double the estimate just three months ago.

In lighter news, more air carriers are opening the cabin to four-legged patrons. Southwest Airlines recently announced that they will allow pets on board for a $75 fee if the owner is also on board. No unaccompanied pet program is in place currently.

And when the airline industry is hemorrhaging money it's hard to believe a pet-only airline would actually take off. The brave souls behind Pet Airways, the only pet-only air carrier, are giving it a go.

At any rate, Petflight.com is a good place to start if you need to make arrangements to fly with your pet.

Make the Leap Frontier

With a name like Frontier Airlines, you'd expect the company to be on the leading edge of the industry. Quite a firestorm has kicked off due to their absence from social media networks. After one bad experience, entrepreneur and social media guru Andrew Hyde took things into his own hands. He created a Twitter account (@frontierair) and started monitoring and responding to Frontier customers' comments. He was clear from the beginning that @frontierair was a fan account, not managed by anyone at Frontier. Things came to a head and Andrew offered to turn the account over to Frontier's communications department so they could take up the torch and communicate directly with their customers. Shockingly, Frontier refused. Here's the beginning of the story: http://andrewhyde.net/bad-move-frontier-airlines-sean-menke/, the middle: http://andrewhyde.net/frontier-airlines-customer-service/, nearing the end: http://www.prsacoloradoblog.org/?p=428, and what story would be complete without the final word: http://andrewhyde.net/frontier-airlines-customer-service/. And the buzz is spreading: http://econsultancy.com/blog/3975-frontier-fail-customer-service-choices-in-the-more-important-with-the-internet.

Although it took 10,000 page views of Andrew's post before Frontier was moved to respond, it behooves them to reconsider their "no interacting with customers outside of the already existing @frontiersale and @frontierstorm" policy.

Beantown Weekend

There's nothing like escaping the doldrums of suburbia for a long weekend in a new city. A three-day weekend, a best friend's relocation to Boston--a city I had yet to explore--and 50,000 airline miles about to expire lead to the obvious conclusion: it was jet-setting time.

My crash pad for the weekend was a quaint third-floor condo in a converted house in Cambridge. And crash I did, arriving in Boston at 1 a.m. We were up and at 'em by 8 and headed to Sarah's Market and Cafe for breakfast. You can't be shy here. The tables are almost always full so play the game, pick a table and stand behind your desired seat until the other patron either a.) finishes their meal, or b.) scoops their unfinished meal up and stalks off in huff because someone's been looming over them for a touch too long.

A quick tour of my friend's generous employer followed. The grounds are gorgeous; people are jogging and walking their dogs over rolling emerald hills and tree-lined paths. Not many people would recognize McLean's for the psychiatric hospital that it is. Really, the movie Girl, Interrupted took place here.

Next was Chinatown and dim sum at the China Pearl. The doughy BBQ balls were tasty and I nibbled on a chicken foot. It's true, here I am:

Full of dim sum, we headed to the Freedom Trail. Sadly, we did not toast the venerable Samuel Adams in his resting place with his namesake's beverage from the tavern overlooking his headstone, but we dutifully followed the painted red stripe through the streets of Boston.

A quick jaunt past Paul Revere's house and we were in the North End, Boston's version of Little Italy. The fried, cheese-stuffed zucchini flowers on the rooftop of Fiore are a must have.

Mini-trips to Plymouth and Salem filled day number two. Plymouth rock was actually bigger than I expected. I think after witnessing the Liberty Bell in all its diminutive glory I was able to talk myself down from my great expectations of what became the cornerstone of many families' roots in the U.S. I still don't understand why they had to go and stamp 1620 into THE rock...in 1880. Was there a sudden tide of concern that washed over Plymouthites? Were they afraid that people would forget the year the pilgrims landed in Plymouth even though that horrible tragedy had been averted year after year for 160 years? We may never know.

We toured the Mayflower II. It's hard to believe the original carried one hundred passengers and their animals and belongings, a crew and provisions for all the passengers and crew. Not exactly standing room only, but can you imagine not being able to bathe or sleep laying down for 66 days? And, we had a little body art done not 20 yards away from the Mother Puritan statue.


Salem is a worthy day trip from Boston. Be sure to stay for an evening ghost tour though. I can recommend the Spellbound Salem Ghost and Vampirism Tour. Spellbound owner Bonnie is quite passionate and outspoken about the hysteria and history of Salem, and Tom was a brilliant tour guide.

We also found an amazing used book store there. I couldn't tell you the name, but it was the kind of place you walk into wondering if any of the floor joists or walls are plumb. The book shelves are all cattywampus and where no shelves exist, books are piled vertically and held together by bungee cords. Transactions take place through a six-inch gap between two seven-foot tall stacks of books.

We ended our whirlwind Beantown weekend with a Duck boat tour. This was a great way to see the highlights of the city by land and by sea. Here's a gem of a photo from the tour: the Old Hancock Building reflected in the glass windows of the New Hancock Building.

We toasted each other, long weekends, cheesy tourist attractions and future fun-filled trips with rose champagne over deathly rich chocolate torte and tiramisu at Finale in Harvard Square to cap off our adventure. Fitting name, don't you think?

Bad News Passengers

Yes, airline passengers really are misbehaved sometimes. And for flight attendants there's no escape until the jet bridge is attached and someone opens the door from the outside. No wonder a bag of chocolates from the occasional passenger can mean so much -- take note, frequent flyers.

The Six Worst Airplane Passengers of 2009 (so far)

Priceline tweets away

Brilliant campaign from Priceline.com starring William Shatner. It's amazing how offering something for nothing (or a simple Twitter follow) incentivizes people. Check it out: http://travelweekly.com/article3_ektid193738.aspx

Now the trick is to capture the actual ROI for Twitter outreach. Suggestions? Leave a comment.

Ice cream hot spots

Interconnectivity is the wonder of social media, is it not? Which brings me to my point. I just became a fan of Ralph's Italian Ices on Facebook. Therein lies the inspiration for this original content post. For all two of you reading this here they are in extremely important order -- the best ice cream joints in the world are:

Giolitti, Rome, Italy
Ralph's Italian Ices, Staten Island, NY
Leopold's, Savannah, GA

And winners for best local ice cream hot spot goes to Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Boulder and the Walrus in Fort Collins, Colo.

Staycation, business trip or romantic honeymoon, these fine establishments belong on every must do list.