Air Travel News 2.28.12

Air, Air Travel News, Love on the Road — By Nancy Y on February 28, 2012 at 6:00 am

by Nancy Yeomans

LG Air Travel Editor

Look up in the sky! It’s a bird….it’s a plane! No….it’s your weekly air travel news! Here’s what’s happening in the world of aviation, from the ground up.

Join The Mile High Club In Style

So maybe it’s something you’ve always thought of doing, but the logistics of it have made it seem out of reach – that sexy, elite Mile High Club. Well say goodbye to cramped airline bathrooms and nosy flight attendants. For the low price of $425 ( and, actually, that doesn’t seem too bad!) you too can be a member. Included along with your hour long flight is an inconspicuous pilot, a bed, champagne and chocolates. Bottoms up! Source: Chicago Tribune

Teamwork In The Cockpit

With any good relationship, trusting your partner’s judgement is paramount. It’s certainly no different in an airplane’s cockpit. Perhaps it’s even more important there. So much goes on and so many variables come into play during the course of a flight that it’s close to impossible for one person to keep track of and do it all. Some decisions require a bit of brainstorming. Source: Gadling

Up, Up and Away

With airfares that is. It’s not even March yet and some airlines are already on their third rate hike. United Airlines was the impetus behind this latest gouging, but many of the other major airlines are quickly following suit. How many more will there be? Well, last year there were 22 attempted price increases with 9 of them being successful. If this year keeps on the way it’s starting, we could pass that number pretty quickly. Source: USAToday

Quick Way Out

Apparently, there’s more than one way to deplane a flight. A passenger on a flight in Vietnam thought he was doing the chivalrous thing by assisting another passenger. His seatmate was having difficulty with her screaming child and he helped out by opening the emergency exit chute while the plane was on the tarmac. Nobody actually used the chute, but a fine and repacking fee – to the tune of $10,000 – was the result. Source: MSNBC

New Routes

This week’s new route announcements come to us from Alaska Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Etihad, Germanwings and United Airlines. Source: Jaunted

Photo credit: Tiger Girl, Kjunstorm/flickr