Posted in
Swag by
admin on November 17, 2009
Many of you have asked about Aircomplane.com merchandise (swag) and when it might be available. The good news is we believe we have identified a reliable, quality vendor. The slight delay is in finding out “who’s minding the store.” But we’re closing in.
Yes, flyers (or in many cases, airport fixtures), you will soon be able to proudly display your discontent and determination not to be just part of the herd. Rather, you will be part of “the herd getting heard.” Here’s our logo and slogan that will be featured on most items:
Aircomplane.com™
“The herd getting heard.”
When the t-shirts, caps, travel bags, and other merchandise is ready, we believe we may be holding a contest of sorts for anyone photographed wearing or holding Aircomplane.com swag at an airport or on a plane. If you prefer, we can protect your identity (and maybe superimpose the head of an airline CEO on you). More soon.
So, check back here or drop us a line atinfo@aircomplane.com if you want to be notified personally. We’re pretty excited.
Posted in
Humdingers! by
admin on November 17, 2009
Dear Aircomplane.com Readers:
Just when we thought we’d heard it all, Jeff Fowler of Decision Software found a new way for airlines to make our lives unnecessarily complicated — and potentially expensive. We may have an award-winner here. Thanks, Jeff. Your Spite Attendant Crew will e-mail you shortly with some suggestions.
Dear Aircomplane.com:
My company booked a flight for a sales consultant to meet with us and discuss a large opportunity. Because (a) the meeting seemed fairly solid, (b) it was not billable, and (c) full fare tickets were $600 (vs. $138), we decided to purchase nonrefundable tickets from Continental. Sadly, the consultant cancelled (OK, I’m a sucker) and our fun began.
I was shocked to learn that even though my company purchased this ticket, the consultant can apply the fare towards another trip anytime within a year without our consent. Worse, unless we specifically remember to call to tell them otherwise, if the traveler books a trip that’s more expensive, Continental will let him keep it on the same credit card (ours)! I spoke to the representative myself, basically telling her to cancel the reservation and keep the money, but there’s nothing she could do about it. Picture a situation where you’re bringing someone in for an interview, or perhaps you book a flight for an employee who quits, then they turn around and use the fare towards a ski vacation. Ha ha, joke’s on you!
I contacted the FAA who redirected me to the DOT, who basically gave me lip service, saying Continental is within their contractual rights and next time we should book full fare, etc. etc. ad nauseam.
Quite a little racket, eh?
Jeff Fowler
President
Decision Software, Inc.
P.S. I’ve been amused with the responses advising me how to avoid this situation. These include (a) force the traveler to make their own reservations and apply for reiumbursement, (b) book full fare at over 4 times the price, (c) use Delta instead of Continental, (d) have the traveler sign a contract agreeing not to reuse the tickets, and (e) use teleconferencing rather than flying. All of these are simply ways to cure or avoid the effect of the problem rather than the cause, and none will work in every circumstance. Continental (and other airlines) should simply allow the party that purchases the ticket indicate that it cannot be reused upon cancellation. That corrects the root of the problem, then we no longer have to deal with the effect.
Posted in
Airline Frequent Flyer Miles by
admin on November 17, 2009
“I wanted to thank the staff of Aircomplane.com for helping me get these miles credited. After I had posted my message I got a message from Aircomplane.com just hours later with phone numbers and email addresses of people at US Airways to contact about this. And sure enough, the next morning at 8 am my phone rang and US Airways apologized and said they’d everything to resolve the issue. About three weeks later, my miles were credited. Again, thanks a bunch to the crew of Aircomplane.com.”
Andreas Kraemer
See the entire story here.
Posted in
Holiday Travel Horrors by
admin on November 17, 2009
Happy New Year from your Aircomplane.com Spite Attendant Crew.
Well, one would have to live in a cave (or a snowbank) to have missed some of the travel nightmares that took place across the country. Blizzards and other bad weather certainly wreaked havoc with thousands of flights, and more than one of you probably spent the night in an airport.
Well, the e-mails to us about the bad behavior perpetrated by many of the airlines has started to come in. And while we are sorting through and answering them, it occurred to us that we can share the benefit of our experience with you here if you encountered some particularly horrific treatment by the airlines. And we’re not sure we have to say this, but keep in mind that bad weather is not their fault. Responding to bad weather and how any changes affect you IS their responsibility. Snow wasn’t just invented yesterday, and weather reports are increasingly reliable. It’s part of that industry. But from our mail, however, some fright attendants just seemed to make matters worse. Keep in mind that you are the customer. Be reasonable and expect reasonably professional and respectful behavior and service. Those airline employees working the aisles and the counters are there because you bought a ticket on their airline (theoretically). Demand respect.
That said, here are some guidelines that may help you in the event you encountered a particularly gruesome or abusive trip.
1) Follow the rules one more time. If you have a complaint, file it in accordance with the airlines’ policies. Get on the record, and mark the date. Make at least three sincere attempts to reach them by phone, and log everything.
2) Record the circumstances of your event while they are still fresh in your mind. Write them down or audio or video record them. Things get fuzzy later.
3) Take names. Many people who work for the airlines try very hard to be accommodating and helpful. You are doing your fellow travelers a service by helping to identify the other ones. Include names in your correspondence to the airline.
4) Wait a reasonable amount of time for a response. Let your impatience be your guide.
5) File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division. Here’s the form. It is also located on Aircomplane.com’s home page off to the right.
6) Write your Spite Attendant Crew here at Aircomplane.com. We post many of the episodes we receive, and having your complaint as a link on Aircomplane.com makes it a tad easier to include in on-line correspondence and to share with “others.” Try to keep it somewhat clean and constructive, and let us know if we can use your name.
We’ll be posting more soon. Remember, you are the customer. You spent your money for a service, and you should expect respect and to have every attempt made to fulfill that which you contracted for. Would you expect anything less from a car dealer, homebuilder, retail establishment, or medical or legal professional? Some airlines will continue to feign immunity to civilized and professional behavior while hiding behind bailouts and threatened bankruptcy, but don’t let them. They were not DRAFTED into the airline industry. They are there by choice. If they can’t or won’t do the job while treating customers with the respect they deserve, then they should eject.
Posted in
On the ground by
admin on November 13, 2009
Aircomplane.com realizes that not everyone who is potentially affected by airline news has time to source and read all that is printed about the airline industry. Therefore, we will post relevant articles here as they become known to us. Please feel free to suggest any that you encounter.
Del Quentin Wilber of The Washington Post recently wrote an article on December 13, 2006 on the possibility of a Continental Airlines and United Airlines Merger. You can take a look at Mr. Wilber’s article here: “Continental, United Discussing Merger: More Industry Consolidation Possible.”
(NOTE: Many publications, The Washington Postincluded, offer “Comments” areas following the online versions of their articles. Please take a moment and let your thoughts be known there, too.)
Posted in
Aircomplane in the News by
admin on November 13, 2009
As you know, Aircomplane.com™ is mainly focused on giving airline passengers a voice. Yes, we know we are consumers. Yes, we have “options.” Yes, we are aware of caveat emptor. (It just shouldn’t be the slogan for an industry…) Many of us, however, wish that the same airlines that spend millions of dollars trying to REACH us to sell us their services wouldn’t spend so much effort trying to AVOID us when we have a legitimate concern. By far the greatest number of complaints and concerns to Aircomplane.com™ revolve around unreturned phone calls, e-mails, letters, and various elaborate and diabolical versions of voice mail hell. ‘Dem sure are purdy full page advertisements in all da noosepapers, doh. We’re not stupid. We just really weren’t that organized — until now.
Read the fine print. Know what your tickets and frequent-flyer memberships offer and what they don’t. Protect yourselves. Many, many, many of you share the same problems and concerns.
And on the subject of voice, Daniel Beckmann is a reporter with ABCNews.com. He has asked your Spite Attendant Crew here at Aircomplane.com™ to notify you that they are looking for people to send in their video comments for a show they do each week called “Be Seen, Be Heard.” [According to Mr. Beckmann, they occasionally use these comments on other shows within their network, too.].
This week, they are looking for comments on airline mergers and service, and they want you to consider responding. Please go tohttp://abcnews.go.com/US/BeSeenBeHeard/story?id=2573119 and if you have something to contribute, submit the form. It asks:
“How do you think you and your family will be affected by big airliner mergers? Do you have any suggestions for fixing a broken airline industry? Do you have comments or questions about the situation or what could improve your flying experience?”
If you submit a video or are featured on the program, let us know here at Aircomplane.com™ and if ABC.com permits it, we’ll post the video clips.
This is a tremendous opportunity to get your/our opinions on the record and broadcast widely. Don’t be afraid of talking to a camera or being on the air. Just pretend you’re talking to one of the geniuses running an airline. Thanks.
Posted in
On the ground by
admin on November 13, 2009
Thank you for your continued positive comments and feedback. For those of you who haven’t had an opportunity to review some of the links related to the pending airline mergers, please do in the posting below. The SEC and other information may affect you in a number of ways. If anyone feels we overlooked something and we can research and post it for you, please e-mail us or post a comment at the end of this one. We will respond.
Also, thanks to contributors and sponsors who’ve contacted us. Although this is truly a labor of spite, that support keeps us going. Any individuals, businesses, or organizations interested in learning more about sharing in our visibility, check this out.
We’ll be launching our inaugural Aircomplane.com™newsletter shortly. We know everyone gets more e-crap than they know what to do with, so we promise it will be brief, concise, interesting, and relevant. There’s a “Subscribe me” box off to the right.
Special thanks to Bob Sirott and his “One More Thing” program on NBC5 in Chicago. His program this week features not only Aircomplane.com™, but some remarkable lost luggage and (NOT!) “on-time” coverage. Our favorite is the one he describes as mentioned in theWall Street Journal this week regarding American Airlines flight 1914 from Chicago to Newark. It was reported last month to only be on time only 14% of the time — with an average delay of 67 minutes. Watch the video featuring Aircomplane.com here. And if you’re in Chicago, catch Bob Sirott on NBC5!
Posted in
Airline Frequent Flyer Miles by
admin on November 13, 2009
(This Aircomplane.com blog entry originally posted on December 13, 2006.)
We know that our Aircomplane.com™ readers are a pretty well-read and sophisticated audience, so we won’t pretend for a second that we in any way “broke” the story surrounding the potential mergers, takeovers or other high-flying drama taking place within the airline industry. But we know you are all busy (ironically) sitting in an airport somewhere, so we will give you a rundown based on news reports as of this morning:
- Of the six major airlines now in operation (and many needing one), three may soon be gone.
- Consider the US Airways bid for Delta last month.
- UAL, United’s parent (think more the Osbournes rather than the Cleavers) was in talks with Continental Airlines.
- And even the “discount” airlines are getting in on the action with AirTran’s reported hostile bid for its competitor, Midwest Express.
Now, if any of you happen to have one or more of those airlines on your credit card statements, travel itinerary or worse, frequent flyer cards in your wallet, you may want to start thinking about how to protect yourselves.
What’s fascinating about all of this is that with the general oligolopolistic control so few have over airline travel, one would think they would be better at extorting profits from the public and ACTUALLY MAKING MONEY. If Enron taught us anything, it’s thatsomeone is.
Anyway, as your Aircomplane.com Spite Crew, we are here to help you, not [ahem] speculate wildly. So here is what we suggest:
If you are a shareholder or have a history, relationship, flyer miles, or any other connection to a specific airline involved in this latest drama, go to the websites of the airlines that might be affected. We’ll make that easy for you. They are here:
o SEC filings page Also see 12.13.06 filing
Keep an eye on their “news” and customer pages, and don’t hesitate to check in with their press offices. Look for how they are going to address the issues that concern you. Yes, much of this may be preliminary, but you have a vested interest. Show it! Demand to be kept informed about your “assets” and interests – including frequent flyer miles. You can Google search here from our Aircomplane.com home page and monitor such terms as “airline mergers,” and “airline takeovers.” Use the Google “News Alert” feature to be notified when something on these airlines hits the Internet (which is what we use).
And, please feel free to POST your concerns here onAircomplane.com™ . If you don’t see a main posting concerning your topic or question, just e-mail us, and we’ll put it up for you. We’ve made it easier to do so with the links on the right as well. Chances are many of you are asking the same questions and have the same concerns. You are the reason thatAircomplane.com™ exists.
Posted in
Aircomplane in the News by
admin on November 13, 2009
As we were writing the posting somewhat jokingly called “We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.” it has since occurred to us that we involuntarily perpetuated a meta-truth. Regardless of how tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic it was, our statement is in cyberspace.
What is a meta-truth, and why should we be worried? Well, it is nothing new…although the name may be. Basically, it is something that may only be true in the mind and from the mouth or pen of the source. But, when repeated or disseminated enough it becomes, in a sense, a “truth.” When written or spoken, it is on the record numerous times and it is moving too quickly through cyberspace and in the public consciousness to correct, address, verify, or stop. And meta-truths are dangerous. Thinking about it. We can name, um, ABOUT A THOUSAND airline meta-truths including “Sir, I’m doing everything I can to help your with your flight.” and “I AM the manager.” (Whoops! I meta-truthed again.) OK, that’s the bad news.
The GOOD NEWS is that successful major corporations, politicians, and airlines no longer have complete control over what is perpetuated as a “truth.” We do! Bloggers, you, some of the media, and other independent people can challenge what we do not believe to be true. Use the privilege.
Make your voice heard about what’s being said, and if you don’t buy it, challenge it. And we realize Aircomplane.com™ is not for everyone, but use blog search engines like Technorati to find and participate in ones that are important to you. No politics here. Just fulfilling our mission, the airline industry needs significant improvement and taxpayers are tired of paying for arrogance and ineptitude. If perpetuating our message happens to cross with some new terminology that needs clarification in order to protect us, we’ll mention it. Damn, maybe we should have a meta-truth contest, too!
Your Spite Attendant Crew at Aircomplane.com™has an exciting announcement for you. An unnamed airline has offered us $1,000,000 to pull down the website… Just kidding.
Actually, we are VERY excited and pleased with the bloggership feedback we’ve received, and we appreciate your input, attention, and interest. AND, let this posting serve as the first official announcement of the Aircomplane.com™ Video Contest! Yes, you heard us right.
Aircomplane.com™ is now looking for entries from readers highlighting any aspect of our mission: poor and/or disrespectful service, polyester Philistines on power-trips, or classic cases of how an airline’s refusal to communicate with you as a customer seems counter to the basic tenets of good business.
And besides, what’s more patriotic than challenging an arrogant, broken industry that ultimately costs the U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars? Highlighting such attitude, ineptitude and malfeasance should be our civic duty.
As always, Aircomplane.com™ will not post any clips that could be construed as criticizing or overtly showcasing security proceedings. We are all about taking the proper safety precautions here; we just don’t like being pushed around.
Now, there are two video categories for the contest: Provable and Parable.
Parable: For those who want to have some fun, do it here. Send us your (fictitious) salute to airline service. YouTube.com has some remarkable parodies and commercials from the past that may inspire you. Have at it, but keep it clean(ish). Despite being treated like children by many of the airlines, very few ACTUAL children read this blog.Sample Parable.
Provable: Arrogance in action. Ineptitude. Power trips, condescension, and basically treating a PAYING CUSTOMER like, well, cattle. Or a young child. Or young cattle… I guess that’s a calf. Anyway, you get the idea. And don’t feel you have to do any masterful editing, titles, or fancy graphics. Just make sure we can see it, hear it, and have some idea of how it demonstrates poor customer service by an airline. Sample Provable.
There will be at least one winner in each category. They will each receive, we kid you not, a travel package for two on Amtrak! What better way to show them you don’t want their “friendly skies” than by remaining firmly on the ground!
(NOTE: Amtrak is not a sponsor of this contest. We will be buying the winner’s their tickets. We can do that, right? Sure we can.) Yes, the glorious days of rail travel, once again. Relax, walk to the club car, and be greeted by employees who smile because they WANT (and NEED) your business.
PLUS, the winning entries and runners up will be featured here with great aplomb onAircomplane.com™…and other stuff.
So, get thinking, and get started. Oh, and try to keep it under five minutes. Good luck!
(further rules & regulations will be posted shortly)
