Air Travel News 3.20.11

Air, Air Travel News — By Nancy Y on March 20, 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.

Flying The Friendly Skies

As difficult and inhospitable as flying is today, there are some airlines who go above and beyond when it comes to their customers. JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America are 3 of the 50 companies rated the best in customer service by J.D. Power and Associates. Not surprisingly, these 3 airlines have probably the most laid-back, fun attitude in the sky. The uptight model that many airlines follow doesn’t seem to be working, at least when it comes to making the customer happy. Source: MSNBC

Higher Priced Flights This Summer

You’ve no doubt noticed that the cost to fill up your car’s gas tank has been rising steadily. Those same oil costs are going to be affecting airline ticket prices sooner rather than later. Analysts say that looking for an airfare deal this summer is all but out of the question. At some point you might have to make a choice: drive or fly; travel or not travel. Source: Yahoo

Direct Air Not So Direct

And the fuel costs are already affecting one airline – Direct Air. Based in Myrtle Beach, Direct Air unexpectedly cancelled all it’s flights on Monday, stating that the earliest they expect to be flying again is May 15. Stranded passengers were left scrambling to find alternative transportation to their destinations. Direct Air is a charter airline and is not subject to the same consumer protection rules as the major airlines. Source: USAToday

On Time Flights

January was a record month for on-time flights – 83.7 % to be exact. The exceptionally warm weather is partially responsible for this number – very few winter storms wreaking havoc on the air traffic system. Hawaiian Airlines – home of perpetually good weather – holds the top spot and Frontier is sitting in last place. Source: The Seattle Times

New Routes

This week’s new airline routes come to us from Emirates, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, REDJet and XL Airways. Source: Jaunted

Photo credit: maka/flickr

Check out these related posts: