Air travel scams, rip-offs and rackets

Virgin America Ranks Number One

Or rather, the flyers they surveyed like Virgin America. As always, Consumer Reports doesn’t do things by half. They polled more than 16,000 travelers who took nearly 32,000 flights in February of this year and the overall consensus was Virgin America is number one.

Virgin America – they’re hip, they’re funny

The Northern California-based airline got high marks in every category including baggage handling, in-flight entertainment, onboard service and much more but what passengers really liked was, well, just flying with them. As one Virgin America fan told Consumer Reports the leather seats in coach are so nice, “There’s no reason to fly first class.”

Runners-Up – JetBlue and Southwest

JetBlue and Southwest also did very well in the Consumer Reports survey, no doubt partly because each one gives travelers at least one free checked-bag. JetBlue was singled out for its legroom, seatback entertainment systems and even the cleanliness of its planes, while Southwest scored especially high when it came its staff’s onboard service.

Spirit Airlines – Dead Last

The airline ranked lowest was self-styled ultra discounter Spirit Airlines. In fact, Consumer Reports made a point of noting that the Florida-based carrier “received one of the lowest overall scores for any company we’ve ever rated.”

Spirit - crazy little airline that breaks all the rules

Spirit CEO – Delusional?

Our friends at Consumerist posted an amusing article on Spirit’s reaction to its dismal showing, which pretty much consisted of Ben Baldanza touting his airline’s low prices over and over – although at one point he said with a straight face, “We have great customer service.” The headline of this Consumerist story? “Spirit CEO Still Delusional”.

How to find a deal for a long weekend

31 Million Will Hit the Road

As always, most will drive – to a nearby beach or a campground or maybe just to a friend’s BBQ bash. AAA estimates more than 31 million in the U.S. will get behind the wheel sometime between Thursday through Monday (May 23-27) for a drive of 50 miles or more.

The auto group also says the number of people boarding planes during the holiday will decline by about 8% and they explain this drop as a result of “fee fatigue” and higher fares.

Single most important tips for summer airfare shoppers

209 Million Will Fly U.S. Airlines Globally

Wait just a minute, says the airline group. According to its chief economist, “It’s a great time to fly as airfares remain a bargain.” The airline folks say they expect a typical Memorial Day travel pattern – which apparently means about the same as last year – but they also forecast an overall increase in summer passenger traffic about 1%. However, that figure – an estimated 209 million passengers – includes travelers from around the world who will be flying on U.S. airlines.

Cheapest summer destinations, region-by-region

Will You Fly or Drive on Memorial Day

We’d love to hear about your plans for the Memorial Day weekend. What’ll it be: Flying, driving or sticking close to home? If you do want to get out of town, check the Deals Blog for any last-minute specials – there are still a few cheap flights out there.

Find cheap flights right now

When to Shop

There are two methods of weekend getaway shopping: the smart way and the procrastinator’s way. Let’s review.

Smart way to shop:

• Purchase tickets between 3 months and about 2 weeks before departure
• Makes time to peruse the Deals Blog for upcoming specials
• Can investigate potentially cheaper routes to a variety of airports

Pitfalls of Procrastination:

• May pay significantly higher prices normally paid by last-minute business travelers
• May find last-minute deals (see Deals Blog) but these are often limited to just a few destinations

Tip: Don’t put this off – the money you save can be better spent on your mini-vacation.

When to Fly

Here are three of the better options for weekend trip scenarios, from least expensive to not-so-cheap.

Cheapest option: Depart Wednesday and return Tuesday. This is long enough to be considered an actual vacation.

Next cheapest option: Depart early Saturday (or late evening on Friday) and return Tuesday. A nice long weekend that only involves taking a couple of days off work.

More expensive option: Depart Friday and return Sunday. This is the automatic choice for many weekend shoppers but airlines know these are popular travel days and raise prices accordingly.

Tip: The cheapest days of the week to fly are typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays and sometimes Saturdays. The most expensive days to fly are usually Fridays and Sundays.

Where to Go

Deals vary by routes but look for deals on popular hub-to-hub flights such as Los Angeles-San Francisco, Dallas-Houston, New York-Boston.

Tip: Also see Rick Seaney’s Cheapest Destinations for Summer which gives a region-by-region breakdown on cheapest cities.

Find the Cheapest Flight and Other Tips to Save

Shop Tuesdays: This is the cheapest day to shop for airfare; by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, most airfare sales are available to you.

Connect: If you can afford the time in the air, choose connecting flights over non-stops since they can save you as much as 60% on airfare.

Red-eyes: Look for overnights to your destination; the difference in price could make it worth the inconvenience.

No checked-luggage: It’s just a weekend trip. No need to pack everything you own. Use a carry-on bag to avoid the fees.*

*Just remember that Spirit and Frontier (for some passengers) now have carry-on bag fees.

Shop One Day Earlier

“Think about which day you plan to shop for your flights,” said Seaney, “then move that up at least one day earlier.”

According to the air travel expert, most people in the U.S. procrastinate when it comes to shopping for plane tickets. What procrastination does, explained Seaney, is real simple: “It basically puts you in the hands of the airlines because when you delay, they get to call the shots, price-wise.”

Where to go this summer? Some cheap destinations

Worst Time to Shop

Most of us delay too long, says Seaney which means there isn’t enough time before our departure date to find the best deals available. The clock begins ticking on the worst shopping windows – meaning most expensive – as follows:

• Legacy carriers (American, Delta, United and US Airways): About 14 days before departure
• Discount carriers (Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest): About 7 days ahead of departure

Shop during the time frames above and you will generally pay more than you have to. And sometimes you will pay the grossly inflated prices that last-minute business travelers are accustomed to.

Don’t Procrastinate

“Do yourself a favor,” says Seaney, “Do not procrastinate.” He suggests perusing the Deals Blog for upcoming specials and also checking out FareCompare’s Cheapest Destination for Summer Vacation Flights.

Did they really wear girdles on Pan Am?

New Outfits: Same Old, Same Old?

This is the first new look since United merged with Continental and it’s notable for its lack of risk-taking: dark colors, standard silhouettes and pant suits prevail. This is not to say any of it is bad – just that the clothes are not especially chic. But perhaps it’s another story for those who must wear these uniforms. A United flight attendant was quoted by a New Jersey paper as saying her new dress “very, very comfortable.”

The strange and colorful collections of travel fans

Pretty Ugly, Pretty Good

Reactions on the frequent traveler site FlyerTalk were all over the map, ranging from “pretty ugly in person” to “they look pretty good.”

You be the judge. See the photo of United’s new uniforms, followed by iconic styles from the old Braniff Airlines circa late 1960s and early 1970s (Braniff ceased operations in 1982). Photos of the vintage uniforms are courtesy of the amazing archives at KLM purser Cliff Muskiet’s site, UniformFreak.

Today’s United vs. Yesterday’s Braniff

Which do you prefer?

United’s New Uniforms (Spring 2013):

Braniff’s Uniforms (1960s – 1970s):