Still here - you are missing out!

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Here is a taste of what you have missed out on lately

Win a trip for 2 to Gold Coast Australia valued at over $10,000. Yeah I thought that might get your attention - the good news is this is still open, and you can enter 20 times, but only on the Boarding Area site (follow the link - do it now).

Several more posts in the How to get to series with more good advice on how to get anywhere as cheaply and affordably as possible.

Reports on flying in comfort in a private jet to get the very best frequent flyer elite status benefits around, as well as flying in rather less comfort on a low cost airline redeye flight.

News on major changes to Air New Zealand shorthaul product coming later this year.

A series of posts answering dozens of frequent flyer questions, offering lots of snippets of advice and information.

Information and traveler advice on upcoming strikes at British Airways (mid and late March) and Air France (late March).

Ways to get the coveted exit row seats on many airlines.

Changes to USA passenger rights which come into effect next month. They are quite different to EU passenger rights.

Why you should avoid New York JFK airport until July (at least).


There are lots more posts. You can read them all at Musings of The Global Traveller.

Please switch to the new site

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Here is what you have missed at this old site this week

How to get to Zimbabwe

I never thought I'd be defending Ryanair

Complimentary Hyatt Platinum status for 180 days

Qantas first class on less routes from 2011

Lufthansa not on strike 23-25 February

Air France flight cancellations (French air traffic control strike) 23-26 Feb

British Airways probable cabin crew strike

How to get to Netherlands

15 of 16 flights on ticket change within a week

Update on British Airways cabin crew action

Upgrades

Itchy feet

Alliance updates

US visa waiver fee (aka tourist tax) closer to reality

How to get to Dominican Republic

This week on Musings of The Global Traveller

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Here is what you have missed at this old site this week

How to get to Tibet

Priority Club's hard IT lesson

Mileage earning & redemption for AA/BA US-UK flights gets closer

Welcome to the year of the tiger

Jetstar consumer guarantee is useless

How to get to British Indian Ocean Territory

First class lounge suites for ANA at Narita

Lufthansa pilot strike from Monday 22nd Feb

Why I need to book a hotel during 2 hour transit

BA wins cabin crew court case

Lufthansa strike 22-25 February update

It is time to switch

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Competitours - experience Europe in personalised "Amazing Race"

Last year I wrote about the launch of Competitours - a cross between the traditional European tours, independent travel and The Amazing Race. It seems the initial tours went well for Competitours is back again for 2010 with apparently not many tweaks, at least on the surface. Published dates run from May to August.

For frequent flyers and frequent stayers, there are now discounts available if using miles for the trans-Atlantic flights and points for a couple of hotel nights.

This will be great for the young at heart, with a sense of adventure, looking for a "safe" journey. For those looking for a greater challenge and to experience more of the world, there is an alternative - the Global Scavenger Hunt. Entries are still being accepted for the 2010 round which is in April.


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Changing flight loyalty

The other day a friend was commenting to me on how much his flying patterns had changed in the 8 months since Qantas was replaced with their low cost subsidiary Jetstar on New Zealand domestic (and some trans-Tasman) routes. Like me, he was on the final Qantas domestic flight last year. Well over 80% of his (extensive) domestic travel has switched to Air NZ.

It is not hard to understand why there is a big change. The domestic airline lounges are closed and replaced by pay per use lounges. The great Jetconnect crew are gone. The simple fares are replaced with a lower base fare and a vast array of surcharges and fees. The flight schedules are still not great. Customer service is poor, with many reports of passengers denied boarding due to check in queues, passengers misconnecting with Qantas international flights and left to buy a new ticket, difficulties in obtaining refunds, and so on.

I had a look at my own travel record and noticed I've not only flown much less Qantas group flights within New Zealand but also my international travel with Qantas has similarly mostly switched to other airlines. In the 3 years prior to the change, I flew 325 Qantas flights with a mixture of domestic, trans-Tasman and longhaul flights; and also a mixture of all cabin classes (almost all business or first class for the international flights). In the past 8 months I've flown just 7 Qantas group flights. Even if I add in the 4 Qantas flights I will take over the next 4 months, my Qantas group travel has dropped from over 9 flights a month to under 1 a month - a 90% fall.

It seems I'm far from the only passenger to switch loyalty. The few times I have flown Qantas internationally the lounge at Auckland has been almost deserted. Elite and premium passengers within and to/from New Zealand have deserted in droves.


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Win 1 million Miles and More miles

Come up with a catchy name for Lufthansa's A380 and you could win 1 million Miles & More miles. Good luck.




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Bomb joke backfires

Another day, another report that someone making a joke at an airport gets into trouble. This time it was an Australian visiting Hamilton airport (source NZ Herald), who was arresting for joking about a bomb in his temporarily unattended bag and who also lost a Swiss army knife in the process.

I can't help thinking there must be more to the story.

With so few jet flights, Hamilton does not have a lot of airport security (in NZ passengers flying prop aircraft do not need to clear security). Indeed on this particular day only the 6am departure to Sydney warranted screening.

Airport security staff in NZ, whilst being professional, generally have a great sense of humour.

The article refers to the man arriving from Sydney and the alarm being raised just before 8am. The Sydney flight arrives at 12:20am. While it is possible to remain in the terminal until morning, it is neither comfortable (see my sleeping in Hamilton airport post from 18 months ago) nor commonplace - when an airport shuts down most people do not want to be "locked in".

The airport would have been noisy by about 4am at the latest and transport options into town would have been available for some hours by 8am. The airport doesn't have much facilities - a cafe, newsagent and toilets. So there was no apparent need to be hanging around for an extended period.

Why was the Swiss army knife confiscated? Since the man was landside there shouldn't have been any issue in having one in his bag. Did the security staff think it would be used against them?

In summary, while on the surface this seems like just another bomb joke incident, there are aspects which do not add up.


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How to get to | British Virgin Islands

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.

British Virgin Islands

Visitors arrive by cruise ship, ferry from US Virgin Islands, or by air at Beef Island airport. International flights to Beef Island include American from San Juan and LIAT from Antigua and Sint Maartin.

TIP Air fares to Saint Thomas on US Virgin Islands are more competitive than fares to Beef Island, and there are plenty of ferries between US & British Virgin Islands (30 to 75 minute journey).


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Japan Airlines sticks with Oneworld

For the past few months I've been watching the Japan Airlines slow-moving financial drama from afar. Not only is the airline in need of significant short term financial support and a major overhaul to cut costs but they have also been flirting with an offer of assistance with Delta. This would have seen Japan Airlines leave the Oneworld alliance and switch to Sky Team.

Needless to say this would have left Oneworld with a big hole in Asia with intra-Asian flights limited to Cathay Pacific and Dragonair, ie almost exclusively all via Hong Kong.

Today, Japan Airlines confirmed it will stick with Oneworld. This is very good news.

However, those booked with Japan Airlines on future flights (this includes me) are not necessarily unaffected. Expect a culling of some unprofitable routes and probably service cutbacks also.


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ESTA a year on

It is now over a year after ESTA (the US electronic visa waiver system) has started and worth a post on how it has developed.

Despite the initial promises of saving travellers time by replacing the green I94-W visa waiver entry form, for most the ESTA application is needed as well as an I94-W form. They are progressing slowly - a number of flights have a trial for not completing the I94-W form.

I was on one of the trial flights the other day. The immigration officer was not expecting a form and didn't even ask to confirm the flight number I was on. Perhaps this was because immigration at that time was quiet with no recent arrivals of other flights? I received a card "I-94W is going paperless" which explains to any check in or gate agent who expects to find a green stub from the I-94W that I legitimately don't have one.

Hopefully it will be paperless for everyone soon.

When ESTA was introduced, the legislation provided for future introduction of a fee for cost recovery. So far, ESTA is still free (unless you go to one of the many fake sites to register). However, a $10 tourism promotion fee will be charged later this year (date not yet confirmed).

When the fee is charged, effectively ESTA will have transitioned to become a visa, albeit lower cost than regular US visas.


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A great weekend trip

It was good to be back in the air again this weekend. So many things went well, which made the weekend far more pleasurable than it could have been. I took a longhaul run - about 24 hours of flying, 9 hours of lounge time and just 2 hours landside at the destination.

My upgrades cleared, albeit at the last minute. For the outbound flight the upgrade cleared at the gate - I love the magic of getting the beep to indicate a seat change. For the return flight the double upgrade cleared at the lounge. Both flights were very full and so the upgrades were very much appreciated.

Queues were non-existent with incredibly lucky timing throughout the weekend. Check in for the first flight took a minute and I also got the boarding pass for the return flight. The 3 visits to immigration on the trip took under a minute, 2 minutes and under a minute. The middle one of these three has in the past taken me an hour while travelling on the same flight.

Security queues were also very short, about a minute each time. For some reason the extra security check at the gate for flights to USA didn't apply to me - I was directed to bypass it.

The lounge visits were longer than I'd intended but it was good meeting up with people in a peaceful environment, with good wine and food on hand.

While landside I had a short hotel stay to take advantage of several concurrent promotions. I'll get well over 20k PC points for minimal cost and effort. The check in agent was nonplussed when I checked out so quickly. "Is there something wrong with the room?" Not at all.

With such a short trip, there are no jetlag issues and I got a reasonable amount of sleep on both flights.

There were lots of special touches by the crew. My favourite was that my drink selections on the outbound flight were relayed to the crew for my return flight. So I was asked if I wanted the same again!

The only problem with the weekend? I now realise I don't have any upcoming trips in the next several weeks to look forward to.


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How to get to | British Columbia

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.

British Columbia

Entry to British Columbia, Canada, is by land, by ferry or cruise ship, by train, or by air. Most international flights are to/from Vancouver airport, including the following airlines:

• Star Alliance - Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Continental, Lufthansa, United, US Airways
• Oneworld - American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Mexicana
• Sky Team - Delta, KLM, Korean
• Other selected - Westjet, Alaska airlines, some European and North American low cost airlines, EVA, Philipine Airlines

TIP Air fares to Vancouver are often considerably higher than to Seattle. However Seattle to Vancouver fares are very high so land travel may be best to take advantage - just watch out for border queues in weekends and at holiday periods.

TIP Distances can be large, so land travel to Alaska or other Canadian provinces takes considerable time.


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Airline schedule padding

The other day I came across a reference to a 1964 KLM schedule for London Heathrow to Amsterdam flight having 1 hour 0 minutes duration. The same route today has a scheduled time of 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes duration, despite aircraft getting considerably faster in the interim.

Scott McCartney explains at The Middle Seat that scheduled flight times are continuing to grow, reflecting:

• increased customer (and regulator) demand for on-time performance
• hubs are getting more crowded
• air space is getting more crowded
• airlines flying slower to save fuel
• in the case of Southwest a change in stance from being ambivalent about arriving a few minutes early or late to preferring to arrive a few minutes early

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My Mileage Expired (times two)

Despite recently outlining the mileage expiry policies for many frequent flyer programs, I've just lost a few thousand miles from 2 different programs.

I had a small balance of Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer miles from several Silk Air flights which cannot credit to any Star Alliance program and also some miscredited miles when the PPS double dip hasn't worked properly with amounts too small to chase up a reversal. Thanks to the helpful upcoming expiry tables provided I have known for some time these miles were about to expire. I don't have enough for any award, and no matter how I looked at topping up the account I could always find more value in crediting to another program instead. So most of my balance has gone. I still have a small residual amount from a recent Silk Air flight.

Emirates Skywards is even more user friendly about mileage expiry in that you can send yourself a reminder alert on a date of your choosing, and like an alarm can then snooze and send a new reminder on another date of your choosing. I'd previously cashed out most of my accumulated miles but had a small balance some of which was due to expire at the end of January. As with Kris Flyer, to avoid the expiry I'd need to add more points to redeem any award. Since Emirates significantly devalued their program the opportunity cost of the extra points was worth more than the value of any reasonably attainable awards. So I let those miles expire also.

Combining the mileage expiries with little travel, my net frequent flyer mileage accrual for the year to 1 February is the lowest it has been in many years.


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Badly targetted frequent flyer offers

In my email inbox today was the latest in a long history of badly targetted offers from Lufthansa Miles & More.

The email included as "selected offer for your mileage balance" the Silver Promotion. Frequent Traveller status (Star Alliance Silver) can be earned by taking 30 paid flights on Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT, Adria, Croatia, Brussels, Air Dolomiti or Luxair by 31 December.

This is wrong for me on a few levels.

1. As referred to at the start of the email I have a higher elite status.


2. Not only that but I've already requalified to 2013.


3. Since I'm not based in Europe, 30 flights on those airlines would be more than enough to qualify for Senator, not Frequent Traveller status.

An example of a previous promotional mis-step by Miles and More include offers of 10k bonus miles if I make 3 intercontinental round trips in first class on Lufthansa within 6 weeks. That bonus was paltry compared with the cost of achieving it and the huge amount of miles that would already be earned (rate of 325% times mileage).

Still, it is better than Virgin Blue Velocity Rewards, which offered gold status only to rescind the offer.

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How to get to | Slovakia

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Slovakia

Source: Maros

All neighbouring countries have bus and train services to Slovakia. There are also frequent boats along the Danube (from Vienna and Budapest). Airlines flying to Slovakia include:

• Star Alliance - Austrian (Kosice), LOT (Bratislava)
• Oneworld - none
• Sky Team - Aeroflot (Bratislava), Czech (Bratislava and Kosice)
• Other selected - Ryanair (Bratislava)

TIP Several low cost airlines fly to Bratislava (flights may be seasonal).

TIP Vienna has far more flight options and is a short bus, train or boat ride from Bratislava.

Attention all readers of my feed or email subscription.

If you received this post in your feed reader or email this means the switch to the feed for the new Boarding Area site of Musings of The Global Traveller has not worked automatically for you. We're sorry about that. Please switch to use the new feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/MusingsOfTheGlobalTraveller. So you don't miss any content, we'll repost at the old Musings of The Global Traveller site for the next few days at least. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Coming soon - a new home for Musings of The Global Traveller

As mentioned a few days ago, Musings of The Global Traveller will soon have a new home.

While there are still a few more toys to play with buttons to press to complete the move, with the considerable help of the fantastic team at Boarding Area, Musings of The Global Traveller is almost ready in the new home. Go on, take a look, I know you want to.

For readers who follow by reader or email subscription, I'll advise when the feeds have switched over. You won't miss any content during the move.

Avoid 32B if flying Club Europe on British Airways

If flying Club Europe on British Airways look out for aircraft code "32B", for that is an A320 with no business seats, instead of the wider convertible seats on their other aircraft.

At the moment only the latest addition to the fleet, G-EUYF has this aircraft code. Keep an eye on the Flyer Talk end of Club Europe? thread for developments.

How to get to | Mozambique

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Mozambique

Source: Paulo Oliveira

Entry to Mozambique is by bus from all neighbouring countries, by train from Johannesburg or by air. Flights to Maputo include:

• Star Alliance - South African, TAP
• Oneworld - none
• Sky Team - Kenya
• Other selected - LAM Mozambique, Air Zimbabwe

TIP Mozambique is tricky to include on an longhaul itinerary due to the limited options and low availability for awards (particularly in premium cabins). If there is no availability to Maputo try Harare or Johannesburg with separate land travel to Mozambique.

Frequent Flyer Mileage Expiry

Edited to add - this post is no longer being maintained. However, my new site at Boarding Area has a mileage expiry post which is being regularly updated.

Prompted by US Senator Charles Schumer's attempt to regulate frequent flyer program mileage expiry, the latest Inside Flyer includes a piece on mileage expiry of frequent flyer and frequent stay programs.

They not only look at the expiry policy, which varies widely between programs, but also at how well it is communicated. I agree with Randy's wish that programs simply state the facts as they apply to each member.

Your miles will expire on {date} unless you {do this}.

Far too many programs either do not make the expiry explicit (forcing their members to hunt for the policy) or just state the policy and leave it to their members to work out what the expiry date actually is.

Here is a quick summary of frequent flyer program mileage expiry policies, in a subjective ranking from least to most restrictive. I've included rather more frequent flyer programs than are included in the Inside Flyer article, but I have not included any of the frequent stay programs expiry policies.

No expiry
Shanghai Airlines
TAP (with fee every 3 years)

No expiry for grandfathered miles
Asiana (miles earned before 30 September 2008)
Korean (miles earned before 30 June 2008)

No expiry with program issued credit card
Lufthansa et al

No expiry with elite status (any elite status unless otherwise mentioned)
Air France/KLM
Air New Zealand (gold and gold elite only)
ANA (diamond only)
Lufthansa et al
Malaysian (platinum only)

3 years after last activity
British Airways
Czech Airlines (redemptions do not count as activity)
Midwest
Qantas (until 30 June 2010)
Spanair
Virgin Atlantic

2 complete calendar years after last activity
Frontier

2 years after last activity
Alaska (account cancellation is not necessarily enforced)
bmi
Delta (12 months for brand new members)

18 months after last activity
American
Continental (account cancellation is not necessarily enforced)
Hawaiian
Mexicana
Qantas (from 1 July 2010)
United
US Airways (can pay fee to extend 18 further months)

10 years after earning
Gulf Air

7 years after earning
Asiana elite members (miles earned before 1 October 2008 are grandfathered)

1 year after last activity or 7 years after earning, whichever comes first
Air Canada (at 7 years after earning can be extended for a fee)

5 years after earning
Asiana non-elite members (miles earned before 1 October 2008 are grandfathered)
Korean (miles earned before 1 July 2008 are grandfathered)
SAS

4-5 years after earning
Air New Zealand
Qatar

3-4 years after earning
Emirates
Malaysian (can be extended 12 months for a fee)
South African
Thai

3 years after earning
Cathay Pacific
El Al
Lufthansa et al
Singapore Airlines (can be extended up to 12 months for a fee)
TAP (can be extended indefinitely, by 3 years at a time, for a fee)
Turkish Airlines

2 years after last flight activity
Aeroflot

2 years after last status earning flight (on own metal)
Aeromexico

20 months after last status earning
Air France/KLM

1 year after last earning
JetBlue (only earning from JetBlue flights or JetBlue Amex counts)

2-3 years after earning
ANA

2 years after earning
Air China
Southwest

2 years after earning with elite status or airline issued credit card
AirTran

18 months after earning
Virgin America

1 year after earning
AirTran

6 months after last time earnt 2000+ miles
Spirit

I'm not sure why Aeromexico got an Inside Flyer thumbs up when Air France/KLM got a thumbs down. Sure Aeromexico has 24 months expiry versus 20 months, but neither are particularly long and Aeromexico requires earning on an Aeromexico flight in that period whereas Air France/KLM's requirement is for any Sky Team flight.

I don't think the Inside Flyer explanation of how Singapore Airlines miles expire is clear or correct. Expiry is based on the date each mile was earned, regardless of how much or little other account activity there has been since then.

Summary

Some of these expiry policies are downright mean. Anything tied to date of earning, or requiring activity more often than once every 2 years has the effect that the frequent flyer program provides very little value for infrequent flyers. It is natural and right for the programs to concentrate on members who are high value to the airline and try to save costs by eliminating low value memberships. However, it is worth them remembering that travellers' circumstances change and an unduly harsh expiry rule can jeopardise a potentially valuable future relationship. Or, if Sen Schumer has his way, result in government interference. No one wants that!

Updated for Aeroflot and Mexicana.

Reader question - Tahiti

Melissa asks for information on Tahiti.

"We’re off to Bora Bora & Moorea for 10 days – we’re lucky enough to be able to stay in the OWB at both Hilton’s but, not into posh places to eat within the hotels. We’re more into eating where locals go – will have a car in Moorea and will venture around the island, however, got any recommendations for Bora Bora. Also, just how light should we pack? Any info you can throw our way is greatly appreciated!"

Congrats on securing some nice rooms over the water. I can't help you with current suggestions for local eateries, however on the baggage front I have this info.

Air Tahiti, which operates the inter-island flights, has a baggage allowance of 10kg checked (or 20kg if you buy the more expensive fares) and 3kg cabin. Excess baggage is around US$5 per kilo for the round trip if pre-paid.

Can any reader (perhaps Tahiti expert Gary Leff of View from the Wing) help Melissa with more information and advice?

How to get to | Afghanistan

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.



Afghanistan

Source: USAID

There are buses to Afghanistan from Mashhad in Iran. Taxis operate to the border on both sides with Pakistan (the border itself is sometimes closed) and also Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Airlines flying to Kabul include:

• Star Alliance - none
• Oneworld - none
• Sky Team - none
• Other selected - Ariana Afghan Airlines, Kam Air, Pamir, Safi, Indian, Pakistan

TIP Delhi and Dubai have the most flight options to Afghanistan.

TIP Border rules and travel options can change quickly due to safety and political concerns. Allow sufficient flexibility in your plans to cope with last minute changes.

Not Up in the Air

I haven't yet seen Up in the Air, starring George Clooney as the mileage-obsessed frequent flyer. This delay is not due to lack of interest. Rather I was expecting to see it on the inflight entertainment of one of my flights - I could watch Up in the Air while being up in the air. However, checking the online listings of movies for my upcoming flights I see it isn't included.

Looks like I'll have to go to the movie theatre to see it after all. With over 100 longhaul and mediumhaul flights a year on airlines with fantastic in flight entertainment I normally get to see all the movies I'm interested in while airborne. I think I last saw a movie in a theatre about 4 years ago.

My travel week

Despite now having endured 4 weeks without a single flight, this past week was a good one for travel stuff.

Attend the media launch for Air New Zealand's new longhaul product - skycouch and space seats being the major innovations. See my posts on high level summary, detail of the new longhaul seats, and some implications of the changes.

Have a second look at the Air New Zealand new longhaul product - invited as one of their top frequent flyers.

First hotel stay for the year - initial step for requalifying.

Article for Indietravelpodcast on flight security rule changes.

Book some tickets for travel later in the year.

Prep for the upcoming move of Musings of The Global Traveller to Boarding Area. I hope you'll like the new location and fresh new look.

Work on a new series of posts answering frequent flyer questions.

Count down the days until my next trip. I can't wait - the travel sirens dominate my dreams.

How to get to | Palau

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Palau

Source: Peter R Binter

Options to get to the Palau island state are very limited. Continental flies to Koror from Guam and Manila. There are sometimes charter flights from Taiwan and South Korea.

TIP - air fares are high. Star Alliance awards and around the world fares provide affordable alternatives to regular fares, but have limited availability - book as far ahead as possible.

Flying or booking on JetBlue on 29-30 January?

The Wandering Aramean reports significant disruption for JetBlue flyers this weekend due to major reservation system upgrade. This will also affect anyone wanting to make or change a booking. The disruption is expected to start Friday afternoon and finish (hopefully) on Saturday.

Allow lots more time to check in for flights and expect flight delays.

Air New Zealand new longhaul product - some implications

I've already posted some information on Air New Zealand's new longhaul product. This post will cover some of the implications.

Effect on Air NZ

Firstly, I think Air NZ is to be congratulated. They are trying something new to improve the comfort of longhaul non-premium flyers. By differentiating the products they have also acknowledged that not all travellers are alike, and by offering passengers more choice they hope to be more successful. More people attracted to fly Air NZ and more revenue from skycouch and premium economy, means it should be a success. Since they own the intellectual property for the new skycouch (and possibly also the new premium economy seat?) there is also potential for licensing revenue if other airlines decide to take up the same seating.

There are some downsides. The seats cost more and are heavier (thus require more fuel to carry). Instead of managing inventory in 3 separate cabins they have a more complicated job to manage 4 types of seats, with the skycouch being able to be sold as a couch or as normal seats depending on loads. Since it is tricky to predict how well this will sell, and because Air NZ is a fairly conservative airline (despite the apparent contradiction with this revolution), initially the number of skycouch seats is low. This will probably be increased later (as premium economy has been).

There will be a period where Air NZ will have multiple longhaul product offerings which provide vastly different comfort levels.

• Business class - improved business premier on 777-300ER, original business premier on 777-200ER (until refit) and 747-400, old business class (non-lie flat) on 767. This is not much different from the current status.
• Premium economy class - new space seats on 777-300ER with high degree of comfort, economy seat with slightly more width and significantly more legroom on 747-400 and the less comfortable version on 777-200ER (until refit), no premium economy on 767 however space+ economy seats are available to elite status frequent flyers and passengers on full fare and provide more legroom than economy. A wide range of product & comfort levels.
• Skycouch - available only on 777-300ER and refitted 777-200ER.
• Economy class - 34" pitch & 18" width on 747-400, 32" pitch & 18" width on 777-200ER (until refit), 33" pitch & 17" width on 777-300ER, 35" pitch & 17.5" width in space+ on 767 and 32" pitch & 17.5" pitch for the rest of economy on 767. While 1" doesn't sound like much, every little bit counts for passengers who are tall &/or big, particularly on long flights.

Air NZ will need to work out how to handle customer expectations. Some of this is common sense - not promoting the new product on a route until every flight has the new longhaul product. They also need to consider how to deal with aircraft substitutions. Just as today a flyer who has booked premium economy and chosen a flight operated by 747-400 will be disappointed to end up flying on a 777-200ER, someone who picks 777-300ER for the new premium economy or skycouch seating and gets an inferior option will also be disappointed. A cautious approach is likely, and this means savvy travellers can take advantage (more on this below).

Effect on flyers

Buried in the detail of all the positive news are some negative effects. Economy class will be 3-4-3 across which means a narrower seat. The legroom will also be slightly less than on the 747-400 aircraft which will soon be retired, although I don't see that as problematic given the 777-200ER already has less legroom.

The configuration has more middle seats. Since 22 middle seats are reserved for skycouch customers, the chances of an empty adjacent middle seat elsewhere in the cabin is reduced. The chances of being seated in a middle seat are increased with 44 window and aisle seats taken up with the skycouch. Available window seats in particular, and to a lesser extent aisle seats, are further back in the cabin which may be important to some frequent flyers used to getting seats in the first rows of economy.

Getting a row of economy seats to yourself (the budget skycouch) will be very unlikely on most routes since Air New Zealand's load factors are typically high. This is good for the airline, since those wanting more space are encouraged to pay for it upfront (by skycouch supplement or by upgrading to premium economy) instead of taking a gamble.

For those flying alone, the skycouch is not a good option. For a similar price (ie around 2.5 times fare) they can buy premium economy and get better comfort in seat mode, better food and drink, and more frequent flyer miles. The only advantages skycouch has over premium economy for a single flyer is the couch is flat whereas premium economy only has 9" of recline, and skycouch gives more personal space.

In premium economy, the outer space seats are intended for single flyers with the inner space seats best placed for couples. I doubt there will be any restrictions on selecting your seat based on how many passengers there are in a booking.

The number of premium economy seats are higher than the current configurations. Whether the greater number of seats being sold at much higher fares than economy is enough to offset the greater space per premium economy seat is not yet known. However, despite Air NZ's claims the premium economy fares will not rise with the introduction of the new seat I expect the fares will be higher within a few months, at least once enough aircraft are available to guarantee the new product on a given route. I hope I'm wrong on this, but when premium economy was first introduced Air NZ made strong claims about relative pricing (only 20% above economy fares) which were quickly ignored as fares climbed.

The ratio of the number of premium economy to economy seats is much higher with 777-300ER than the other aircraft. 1 premium economy per 4.5 economy seats (assuming all skycouches are sold) on 777-300ER vs 1 per 6.7 on 777-200ER and 1 per 7.5 on 747-400.

The ratio of the number of business to premium economy seats for 777-3o0ER is in between the other configurations. 1 business per 0.9 premium economy on 777-300ER vs 1 per 0.7 on 777-200ER and 1 per 1.2 on 747-400.

These ratios are of interest to frequent flyers, particularly for those wanting an upgrade. The upshot is there is a higher proportion of premium seats.

How to get to | Panama

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.


Panama

Source: Stan Shebs

Visitors to Panama arrive by cruise ship, by bus from Costa Rica or by air. There is no land transport across the Darien Gap to Colombia. Airlines flying to Panama City include:

• Star Alliance - Continental
• Oneworld - American, Iberia, Mexicana
• Sky Team - Delta, KLM
• Other selected - COPA, TACA, Avianca

TIP Double check tickets to Panama City are to the Panamanian city (airport code PTY) not the one in Florida (airport code PFN).

TIP Fares from southern hubs in USA are relatively low. Look out for sales by COPA - other airlines often match.

Air New Zealand new longhaul product - the details

After the brief summary yesterday this post will have lots more details of Air New Zealand's revolutionary new longhaul product, which I had the pleasure of attending their launch at Hangar 9 and seeing and trying out the cabin mockup for myself.




Intro

For the past three years a small team at Air New Zealand, iconic design firm IDEO and several New Zealand design companies have been plotting a step change in comfort for longhaul flights. They profiled different customer types based on characters from The Simpsons. Frequent flyers are represented by Monty Burns, because we know what we want and have high expectations!


A number of innovative designs have been considered and rejected - bunk beds are currently impractical and staggered seating gives a sense of "crowded isolation". Having flown Emirates A380 in business class with it's staggered seats and experienced the penned in feeling, I'd agree that an economy version would be awful.

Prototypes of the short-list concepts were created and tested by actors. Apparently they can be better trusted not to blab secrets than staff or regular flyers. The products they have settled on are described below and give greatly improved comfort, more flexibility for dealing differently with different types of flyers, and potential for Air NZ to enhance their revenues (more on this later).

Economy class & the sky couch

There are 2 different economy class seats - the regular one, and the sky couch version.

Sky couch is a new variant on the old trick of lying down on an empty row of seats. A large leg rest folds up to add 50% to the length of the seat. 3 seats together thus make a flat couch (arm rests go all the way up) which can fit 2 smallish adults or one adult and a couple of small kids.

Blankets and pillows will be provided. For those who are big or tall the sky couch will be uncomfortable.

While pricing details have not yet been finalised, Air NZ indicated that couples can book the sky couch for a fare of about 50% for the third seat, and families of three can pay a NZ$200 surcharge to get the sky couch. While in theory this sounds good for a parent with two small kids, they aren't buying any extra space, so I am unsure how many will stump up just to get a little bed for their children. For couples, the 50% fee for an empty seat sounds good, but potentially this could be 50% of full fare and not 50% of the discounted airfare most travellers pay. One thing is certain - the cost will be much more than the NZ$75 fee Air NZ currently charges to reserve an empty seat (subject to availability).

Initially there will be 22 sky couches, taking the outside blocks of seats in the first 11 rows of economy. When Air NZ introduced premium economy they took a similarly cautious approach and have since expanded the cabin. I expect the same will happen with sky couches and more will be added later.

The regular economy seat is not much different from the current Air NZ economy seats. Slightly narrower at 17" so they can squeeze in 3-4-3 layout, pitch is similar at 33" and recline is 6". A pillow sits over the winged headrest. Unlike the current seats the arm rests fully fold up.



All the economy seats have personal screens 2" larger than the current model. Due to the larger screen the tray table has a double fold down design (which is convenient for snacks and drinks).



Premium economy class enhanced - new space seat



Enhanced has a negative meaning for some, but the new Air New Zealand premium economy is a genuine improvement. It aligns the seating with the food, beverage and service offering in making the cabin business lite rather than economy extra. Seating switches from 3-3-3 to 2-2-2. Hooray. I see it as a great response to criticism of their current seats (especially in 777-200ER aircraft) as well as a counter to Qantas' premium economy seat which is much more comfortable than the current Air NZ equivalent.

The picture shows an inner pair of premium economy seats, which Air NZ calls space seats. The seats have a shell with much more personal space than any other premium economy seat I've tried. Like the new Cathay Pacific economy seat, the seat slides forward in the shell to provide 9" of recline.

The inner space seats are ideal for a couple. The scallop design means you can sit in the standard alignment, angled out towards the aisle or slide around with back against the shell to face in towards your partner or travelling companion.

The woman's feet are on an adjustable armrest. This can be lowered as shown to make a curved bench seat, higher in armrest mode and higher still to make a little table. In table mode the couple can turn to face each other, although if long legged the space underneath the table is a little small. Note this is additional to the regular table, which means you do not need to put away your laptop or papers while dining.

There are also outer space seats, which are more suited to individual travellers. The basic seat is the same except they are both angled slightly towards the window. The shell then provides a (very small) modicum of privacy by virtue of the small offset within each seat.

All the space seats have one armrest which is fixed and another which adjusts. They all have reading lights as well as big screens. Instead of a normal footrest there is a footwell in the back of the seat in front, with a bean bag to put your feet on for personalised adjustment.

Business class largely unchanged

Business premier is already a world-leader and so only minor changes will be made here. A slightly bigger screen, better padding in the seat and mattress.

Other product changes

All seats will have in seat power supply and USB ports. They've also copied from Virgin America the option to order food and drink through the IFE to make it more efficient and less disruptive to nearby passengers.

New ovens will be installed in the galley so that food is cooked instead of being reheated. Air NZ claims this will allow lighter, healthier food to be provided; although I'm not sure the example burger shown yesterday fits that bill.

The new colour schemes were announced. As hinted with the recent release of new pink uniforms, the colour scheme is similar to Virgin America's one, with dark purple ink and chalk colours predominating.

When can I fly it?

In December this year the first 77W aircraft will arrive with the new product, and will initially fly Auckland to Sydney and also Auckland to Los Angeles as NZ6 (NZ5 in the reverse direction). Over a period of about 4 or 5 months next year the current fleet of 777-200ER will be refitted. The 747 and 767 aircraft will not be refitted with the new product. When it (eventually) arrives, the 787 will have the new product. So, for the next few years Air NZ will have multiple longhaul products which means they need careful management of expectations and their flyers will need to be savvy to avoid disappointment.


Other thoughts


This post is rather long so I'll save my thoughts on revenue generation, effects on frequent flyers and other consequences of Air New Zealand's revolutionary new longhaul product for another post.

You can read Cranky Flier's take on the new product here.

All pictures supplied by Air NZ.

Changes to flight security rules

This week I did a guest article on IndieTravelPodcast about increased security hassles in the aftermath of the underpants bomber.

Air New Zealand new longhaul product

I'll post more information later when I have time. Here is a very brief summary.

Regular economy seat - minor changes.

Sky couch economy seat - 3 seats sold as a pair with a mini bed. A new twist on the old standby of using an empty row to lie down.

Space seat premium economy - a business lite product with two variants. One for couples with more access to each other, and one for single travellers with slightly more privacy. Unlike the existing premium economy seating is 2-2-2.

Premier business seat - minor changes.

There will also be changes to IFE, amenities and food.

Some further information and pictures in the Flyer Talk new Air NZ longhaul discussion.

How to get to | Peru

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Peru

Source: Allard Schmidt

A number of airlines fly to Lima, Peru, including:

• Star Alliance - Air Canada, Continental
• Oneworld - American, Iberia, LAN
• Sky Team - Aeromexico, Air Europa, Delta, KLM
• Selected other - most Central and South American airlines

TIP With relatively high fares, Peru is a good option for including on an award, round the world ticket or Oneworld South America pass.

TIP Check connections via Central America and Colombia for cheaper fares.

Air NZ new longhaul product

To coincide with the arrival later this year of new 777-300 aircraft, Air NZ will be introducing new longhaul seating. The new product is being unveiled on Tuesday (NZ time). Eventually the new seats will be available on the 777-300 and 787, and will also be refitted to the 777-200 aircraft.

Since Air NZ has some very long routes, including the flagship Auckland to London and Auckland to London route which takes between 24 and 27 hours, I'm expecting seating which has been designed with passenger comfort in mind. Given the hype Air NZ is building (eg NZ Herald and again with some tantalising hints), I'm expecting something amazing.

Non-contract alliance lounges

Elite frequent flyers look for lounges operated by alliance airlines to maximise the benefits. Elite status passengers can be flying any alliance airline to gain admittance to the appropriate airline operated lounge subject to lounge access rules and access to the portion of the terminal, whereas contract lounges are only available to those flying the specific airline(s) which has contracted for access.

Despite flying to 700 destinations in 142 countries (as at December 2009), Oneworld has about 300 non-contract lounges in only 133 destinations. I've visited 63 of these lounges, in 19 different countries.

It is similar with Star Alliance - they have 1077 destinations in 175 countries (as at December 2009) but only 350 non-contract lounges in 165 destinations. I've visited 109 of these lounges, in 35 countries.

Despite the gaps (some of which do have contract lounges available to elite and premium passengers), the global coverage of airline lounges is rather good. This is invaluable to people who are always on the move, although I wish more lounges have my two "necessities" - showers and internet computers.

Star Alliance Gold Plus

The majority of Star Alliance frequent flyer programs (FFPs), including all the main ones, have more than one elite status level that is Star Alliance Gold. Oneworld has 3 elite status tiers across the alliance (although some programs do not have every alliance tier represented), so I'm not sure why Star Alliance couldn't also introduce an extra tier with additional benefits over Star Alliance Gold.

Star Alliance Gold Plus

(AC) Aeroplan - Air Canada Super Elite
(NZ) Airpoints - Gold Elite
(OZ) Asiana Club - Platinum
(US) Dividend Miles - Platinum Preferred
(MS) EgyptAir Plus - Platinum
(SQ) KrisFlyer - PPS Solitaire, PPS
(NH) Mileage Club - Diamond
(UA) Mileage Plus - Premier Executive 1K
(LH) Miles and More - HON Circle
(TK) Miles and Smiles - Elite Plus
(CO) OnePass - Platinum Elite
(CA) Phoenix Miles - Platinum
(SA) Voyager - Platinum

Programs with only one Star Alliance Gold status

(FM) Crane Club
(BD) Diamond Club
(SK) Eurobonus
(TG) Royal Orchid Plus
(JK) Spanair Plus
(TP) Victoria

Lifetime elite airline status

As part of a review of my frequent flyer strategy for the year ahead I have been thinking about lifetime elite status. If one year of elite frequent flyer status is good then a lifetime is better - travel can be focussed on purposes other than requalification of elite status.

As the term suggests, lifetime elite status gives status benefits for the rest of your life, or the life of the frequent flyer program, whichever ends first. In respect of alliance benefits there is an additional caveat that the host airline remains in the airline alliance.

In 2007 I achieved lifetime Oneworld Sapphire status through Qantas Frequent Flyer. I was also well on the way towards lifetime Star Alliance gold status through Singapore Airlines before they pulled the plug by grandfathering existing lifetime PPS Solitaire members and stopping any new qualification of the status. Since then I haven't paid too much attention to lifetime statuses, since most of the programs I use either do not have lifetime elite status, or have a long time period qualification (in one case decades for me).

The last couple of years my travel patterns have changed markedly, and as I continue to seek out more difficult to reach places they will keep changing for the foreseeable future. Thus, removing the requalification hassle will be welcome. I haven't yet finalised my approach but in the meantime, here are some lifetime elite airline statuses that are available together with their requirements.

Lifetime status earned by a period of time with high status

Air France/KLM - 10 years platinum for lifetime platinum (Sky Team elite+)
bmi - 10 years gold for lifetime gold (Star Alliance gold)

Lifetime status earned by a period of time with high status and minimum status mileage

Lufthansa - 10 years senator/HON circle at or above age 60, and 1 million status miles for lifetime senator (Star Alliance gold)
SAS - 10 years gold at or above age 60 for lifetime gold (Star Alliance gold)
South African - 6 years of platinum earned by flying 100,000 miles per year on South African or by the requisite tier points (only South African flights count) for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)

Lifetime status earned by lifetime status mileage (restricted)

Air China - 1 million status miles on Air China for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)
Alaska - 1 million status miles on Alaska and Horizon for lifetime gold
Asiana - 1000 flights on Asiana for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)
EgyptAir - 1 million status miles on EgyptAir for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)
Philippine - 1 million status miles on Philippine for million miler
United - 1 million status miles on United for lifetime premier executive (Star Alliance gold)
United - 2 million status miles on United for lifetime premier executive (Star Alliance gold) and lifetime Red Carpet Club membership
United - 3 million status miles on United for lifetime 1K (Star Alliance gold)

Lifetime status earned by lifetime status mileage (unrestricted)

Asiana - 1 million status miles for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)
Continental - 1 million status miles for lifetime silver (Star Alliance silver)
Continental - 2 million status miles for lifetime gold (Star Alliance gold)
Continental - 4 million status miles for lifetime platinum (Star Alliance gold)
Delta - 1 million status miles for lifetime silver (Sky Team elite)
Delta - 2 million status miles for lifetime gold (Sky Team elite)
Delta - 4 million status miles for lifetime platinum (Sky Team elite+)
Korean - 500,000 status miles for morning calm premium club (Sky Team elite+)
Korean - 1 million status miles for million miler club (Sky Team elite+)
Qantas - 7,000 status credits for lifetime silver (Oneworld ruby)
Qantas - 14,000 status credits for lifetime gold (Oneworld sapphire)

Lifetime status earned by lifetime mileage (any source)

American - 1 million miles for lifetime gold (Oneworld ruby)
American - 2 million miles for lifetime platinum (Oneworld sapphire)

Comments

Sky Team appears to be the easiest to earn lifetime top tier status. For me that isn't much help as I very rarely fly Sky Team airlines.

Star Alliance has a number of options for lifetime top alliance tier status. Easiest would have been bmi, if you've already had bmi gold status. The expected merge into Lufthansa Miles & More within the next year scuppers hopes of lifetime status for most people. For someone starting now Asiana may be easiest except for those who predominantly fly United.

Oneworld has no lifetime top tier status. Lifetime middle tier status is most easily earnt with American since all mileage counts.

In all cases lifetime status requires a significant commitment and a lot of flying (except for American). So an important consideration is whether or not the lifetime status benefit will still be available for long enough to earn it, and whether the requirements may go up significantly in the meantime.

Something for me to think about.

Lack of travel

Just a few weeks into the year (which for me started on another continent), and less than a week since my last (land-based) trip, and I'm already getting itchy feet waiting for my next trip. I've resisted the temptation to book some last minute flights, so far. If Qantas was still flying domestically in NZ I probably would have booked something cheap by now, but I can't bring myself to do it on Jetstar.

Perhaps a little road trip is in order?

Number one tip for making travel easier – pack light

I was recently asked how to make travel easier. The best thing travellers can do is to pack light.

Almost everything you might need on a trip is available at the destination if required. Travelling with light luggage has 5 key advantages.

1. Avoid luggage fees.
2. Flying without checked bags means no time waiting around baggage claim, and no risk of lost bags.
3. Greater flexibility during irregular operations (when things go wrong) as well as opportunities for (well compensated) voluntary denied boarding if there is no checked luggage.
4. Easier travel. A light bag can easily be carried up or down a hill, or over cobblestones if required (eg if the road outside your accommodation is closed).
5. More room for shopping.

More changes at bmi and Diamond Club

bmi has announced some changes to UK and Ireland product and to their frequent flyer program Diamond Club (a favourite among many on Flyer Talk for the ease of getting elite status and the generous redemption rates).

From 27 January 2010, business class on UK domestic and Ireland flights will be replaced with Flexible Economy. The main changes here are that business class mileage will not be earned unless crediting to Diamond Club (and then only while they have special earning rate), seating is no longer 3-2, higher rate of APD tax will no longer apply (because there will no longer be a separate business cabin), and heavily discounted business class fares are gone.

Passengers who have business class tickets should not only get the extra APD refunded (as advised in the bmi notice), but also 30% refund of the fare as compensation for the downgrade under EU regulation 261/2004.

Also on UK domestic and Ireland flights the free meal for passengers with bmi elite status is gone. This was a prime differentiation with Aer Lingus on the Dublin to London route for example, and so the removal is rather unpopular.

The other change announced was that Blue Plus status will be removed. As this status provided few benefits other than the free meal which is now removed, this makes sense. The Wandering Aramean thinks the closure of Diamond Club will not be long in coming.

Update on possible (probable?) British Airways strike in March

Talks between a cabin crew union and management at BA have so far failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion and yesterday the union advised the re-vote for strike will be proceeding (BBC). The first strike attempt for 12 days at Christmas failed due to a court ruling that the vote was improperly conducted.

This time the union will take more care, and their rhetoric suggests there is a high chance it will go ahead. The earliest possible strike date is about 2nd March with the latest possible strike commencement date of 29th March, just in time for Easter break.

Time to start looking at alternatives.

US Passenger Bill of Rights

When the US Passenger Bill of Rights (PBOR) were published last month I posted a brief mention but did not explain how they benefit flyers and how they have some limitations.

Overall approach

The US rights (link to full text here) are less comprehensive than the corresponding EU rights (EU regulation 261/2004) in that certain standards are left up to airlines to define and publish as policies. Ie the rule is there must be a policy and it must be published, but airlines are free to set their own standards in some respects.

That is not good for consumers. We already have variability in airline contract of carriage which also must be published, but such a miniscule proportion of flyers read them that there really is no competition between airlines to provide terms that are great for their customers.

Onboard on the ground time limited to 3 hours

There are some parts of the PBOR which are relatively set. Airlines cannot keep passengers onboard on the ground for more than 3 hours for domestic flights, or more than a time of their choosing (which must be published) for international flights. There are exemptions where the airport agrees that immediate disembarkation will be highly disruptive to airport operations. This clause is open to interpretation - it could be that airlines routinely are exempt due to inconvenience, or perhaps not.

At congested airports, in poor weather, and in unusual circumstances a rigourous enforcement of the time limit may result in more crowded terminals (boarding delayed if a risk of exceeding the 3 hours), more flight cancellations and reduced flights more generally. I'm not sure this is necessarily good for travellers.

Publish contingency plans

The PBOR has a requirement for airlines to publish contingency plans for every airport they fly to including any diversion airports, and to be accountable to passengers for following those contingency plans.

This seems to me to be a complete waste of time. Either the contingency plans published will be specific and then result in messy litigation afterwards when they are not followed properly, or they will be written as vague as possible to ensure the airline has sufficient flexibility to deal with varying circumstances and thus the airline can never be held accountable for errors in dealing with irregular operations. I much prefer the European approach which sets out what airlines must do at a minimum, for passengers affected by cancellations and delays. The question of how that is achieved is left to each airline to resolve.

Publish on-time performance

Every flight bookable on the airline website must include reference or a link to information on on-time performance of that flight. The PBOR sets out the required stats which includes cancellations as well as significant delays. The Department of Trade (DOT) will monitor flights which have excessively bad on-time performance and take punitive action against the airline (after 4 months with 50+% of flights 30+ minutes late arriving).

It is pleasing to see that DOT recognise that arrival time is more important than departure time. However, these requirements are likely to see even more schedule padding than already exists. While this makes valid connections easier to be made, it does have the disadvantages of making some connections which are currently legal (ie more than minimum connection times) illegal and thus reduces options for travellers.

How much benefit for flyers?

As with the EU regulation 261/2004, how well the US Passenger Bill of Rights works in practice will depend on interpretation by airlines and by the regulator, as well as the regulator's enforcement (or lack of) of the rules. In the EU the general impression is initially the regulations were not well enforced (airlines routinely using safety and circumstances out of their control exemptions) but it seems to have improved slightly over the past year or so. However, still many airlines do not meet the requirements - for example in the recent weather disruptions there are reports several airlines did not provide their customers with information on their minimum rights nor did they provide those automatically.

So, it probably is up to all the travelling public to be aware of our rights and demand airlines provide them when they are supposed to. Hopefully DOT will publish a handy leaflet which we can carry, much as EU has.

Another terminal evacuated due to entry through the wrong door

For the second time in two weeks an airport terminal at a major airport has been evacuated due to someone walking through the wrong door. This time it was New York's JFK terminal 8 that has been evacuated after a passenger went through a staff door (which shouldn't be possible if it is a secure area airside). Earlier this year it was Newark terminal C that was evacuated when a TSA agent failed to stop someone entering through an exit door.

In both cases many flights were disrupted across USA and around the world.

These incidents are good news for would-be suicide bombers. No need to die for their cause when chaos can be caused by something as simple as going the wrong way inside a terminal.

The year has hardly begun but already it is shaping up to be a bad one for TSA and also for the many travellers inconvenienced by ineptitude and poor security systems and processes.

9 hours onboard to go nowhere

I'm not referring to a flight returning to origin but one that didn't even leave.

The information from flightstats on British Airways flight BA227 to Atlanta makes for sorry reading. Scheduled departure time from London Heathrow was 2:05pm. My comments are enclosed in [ and ].

At 1:10pm, arrival time updated from 6:31pm to 6:29pm.
[An hour before departure the flight is on time.]

At 1:40pm, departure time updated from 2:05pm to 2:30pm (with corresponding adjustment to arrival time).
[A minor delay, perhaps due to use of a remote stand.]

At 2:35pm, departure time updated from 2:30pm to 2:45 pm.
[Another minor delay.]

At 3:05pm, departure time updated from 2:45pm to 3:00pm.
[The update has occurred a bit late but BA confident delay is not serious.]

At 10:54pm, flight status changed by London Heathrow airport to cancelled.
[Oops. 9 hours after boarding the airport records the cancellation of the flight instead of the airline.]

At 11:10pm, departure time recorded by BA as 6:52pm.
[End of flightstats record.]

The last record clearly is inconsistent with the previous one. Departure time being recorded many hours after the supposed time of departure is suspicious. It indicates the aircraft pushed back but didn't actually depart.

A passenger account on Flyer Talk is consistent with this, and reports that they were onboard for about 9 hours before the flight was cancelled.

Under EU regulation 261/2004 passengers are entitled to care under Article 8, Article 9(1)(a), 9(1)(b), 9(1)(c) and 9(2), and Article 7. Out of hours crew is not a valid exemption to Article 7 under the extraordinary circumstances waiver, but maintenance might be. The other Articles have no such exemptions and so must apply. Article 7 provides 600 euros compensation. Article 8 provides right for passengers to choose between refund of fare or relevant portion of fare (plus flight to return to origin for those who are in the middle of their tickets), or a re-routing under comparable conditions (ie same class of travel) at earliest opportunity. Article 9 requires free meals for the waiting time, hotel accommodation, transfer to and from accommodation, and 2 phone calls/faxes/emails.

Under the new USA passenger bill of rights, passengers would almost certainly have been returned to the terminal around 4:30pm or 6 hours earlier than they actually were.

TSA disowns problem of children prevented from flying

Today's TSA blog post is on the topic of recent media attention (eg NY Times) - children getting extra security attention because they match a name on the watchlist.

The TSA post says correctly the children are not on the watchlist but are caught due to having similar names, but then goes on to say SecureFlight will solve all once it is fully in place. (SecureFlight it has been partially rolled out.)

This completely misses the point. As I posted back in mid 2008, the watchlist catches many innocent people - with several million false matches. Since then the lists have gotten bigger - eg this Congressional Report in the wake of the Dec 25 underpants bomb attempt cites 540,000 names, apparently as at August 2008 (with a subset on the no fly list). A list with half a million names equates to tens of millions of false matches. Needless to say, this crude method of having a huge trawl-net of names to watch out for is completely ineffective as a means of security.

By devoting more resources to SecureFlight in an attempt to reduce the impact of false positive matches, TSA is in my view worsening security. The money could be much better spent on other true security initiatives. Indeed culling the watchlist would save a fortune too.

Around the world in 80 words

RTW fare plus side tickets. Very nice sales due to travel downturn.

New (to me) places, new faces, new airlines.

Old friends, returning places, familiar airlines.

All cabins from everyday economy to the luxury of first class.

Lots of flights. Local buses. Lots of walking.

A quasi-divided city (not Berlin).

Broad plains, high altitude mega-city, sea-side community, Mediterranean hillsides, urban overdose.

Inconvenience – new travel rules, computer breakdown.

Crazy fun. Bring on the next trip.

The downside of tight flight connections and complex itineraries

I do have a crazy schedule - flitting here and there across the globe, sometimes spending several nights in a row in the air as I try to get the most of my limited time available.

Small things have the potential to create significant disruption to my travel itineraries. I try to allow for contingencies as best I can, but there are limitations. There is no point in an overabundance of caution because that certainly means missing out on lots of fun & interesting stuff - the cost of the "insurance" is too high. Nor can every contingency be allowed for - no one anticipates being caught up in New Zealand's first and only hijacking attempt, or on another trip being stranded in Invercargill. So I attempt to achieve a balance - having somewhat risky itineraries (risky in the sense of having tight connections and complicated sequences of flights across multiple tickets) but also have worked out there are somewhat acceptable options available to me if things go wrong.

The easiest way to deal with this I have found is to be prepared and to be prepared to change.

In my recent trip I was very lucky. Things went relatively smoothly but it could have easily ended up missing out on half of it.

First, the British Airways strike was called off. If it had gone ahead I would potentially have been stranded in Spain, United Kingdom or Cyprus. While that isn't bad in itself (more time to enjoy those places) it would mean ditching a significant portion of the next part of the trip (ie not going to Cyprus or missing my southeast Asia legs) and also time wasted on rebooking flights and accommodation across multiple airlines, hotels and countries spread halfway around the world.

Second, through sheer luck I avoided the travel chaos in Europe (and particularly to London Heathrow) caused by the snow and cold this winter. Indeed I travelled through Europe without even carrying a heavy coat.

Thirdly, I managed to limit disruption caused by immigration computer failure to an inconvenienced transit instead of being stranded for days.

I have an upcoming trip I'm currently in discussions with the airline about. A cancelled British Airways flight means my booked itinerary is now impossible - the alternative later flight arrives too late to take the connecting flight, the alternative earlier flight means a risky 60 minute connection at London Heathrow (BA to BA but still high risk) which I'm not prepared to accept and there are no other airlines that fly the route within my time window. Due to the complexity of my itinerary and incredibly tight timeframes this one flight change will affect anywhere from 3 to 7 or more flights, across 3 continents. Some of the places I'm visiting only have 1 flight a day so coming up with a new routing is proving challenging. However, there are options open to me and I can choose the best one for my needs.

Despite these travel inconveniences I won't change my hectic approach to travel because compromise means missing out on great experiences, sights and learnings. I still have many to meet, and much to see and do. That means I'll keep on going full paced with no regrets.