Southwest to implement no-show fee

Southwest Airlines has always been known for its customer-friendly policies. It remains the only major U.S. airline that does not charge customers to change flight plans. Although this policy will remain, Southwest is beginning to tighten some of its other rules.

Southwest has announced that sometime next year they will begin to implement a “no-show” fee to customers who miss a flight but fail to cancel their seat before takeoff. Southwest’s current policy allows for no-show fliers to apply the full value of the ticket towards purchasing a new ticket. As you can imagine, too many no-show fliers are leaving too many empty seats on Southwest flights.

Southwest has responded to the increasing number of no-show fliers by adding this no-show fee to its cheapest “Wanna Get Away” fares. The exact price of the fee or the date it will go into effect have yet to be determined.

Southwest hopes this new fee will add revenue and also promote customer behavior that will allow for Southwest to sell open seats. There will still be no fees for changing flights or for your first two checked bags. Customers just need to make sure to cancel their flight in time in order to avoid this new fee. You can be assured that when you book with POTHOS, we will always make the proper arrangements in order to avoid such fees!

Three biggest U.S. airlines to offer internet service on international flights

The three biggest American airlines have announced that Internet service will soon be available on international flights. United, Delta, and American Airlines have all announced that they are a few weeks away from having their first international flights with internet connection.

Passengers can already enjoy internet service while flying over the U.S., but the air-to-ground signal used by those planes does not work overseas. To make this service overseas possible, the airlines are installing satellite-based systems.

Those of you who are now looking forward to streaming Netflix or watching YouTube videos on an international flight will most likely be disappointed. While speeds on airplane Internet connections are getting faster, they are most likely only good enough for basic Web browsing and emails. However, most of the international Wi-Fi systems will have computer servers on the plane with movies and TV shows that passengers can view for a fee.

This news should bring a smile to the faces of many business travelers who will soon be able to access important business emails while traveling internationally. All three airlines will have this service within the next 2 months, with fees for this service yet to be determined.

Domestic beer sales up more than 1% this year

Domestic breweries can revel in the fact that beer sales are up by more than 1% in the U.S. this year. However, the driving force for this resurgence in sales is not coming from the traditional, full-calorie beers that have historically been the focal point for most domestic breweries.

It seems that the 2012 American palate now craves more of the specialty, craft, and small-market beers than ever before. Even more so, Americans prefer light beer over any other type of beer. It is of no surprise, then, that the leading selling beer in America last year (by a long shot) was Bud Light. Bud Light sold 39.15 million barrels last year. To put that into context, that is more than double the amount sold of Coors Light (#2 in domestic beer sales) and Budweiser (#3 in domestic beer sales).

As the beer industry continues to change, breweries constantly have to adapt in order to stay competitive. Larger breweries are banking on the popularity of craft brews by marketing their own specialty beer. Innovation in the market place is vital for some of these breweries to stay competitive.

Some breweries and beers are finding it difficult to stay relevant in the beer market. In a study by 24/7 Wall Street, nine domestic beers were identified as beers that Americans no longer drink. Each beer on the list has declined in sales by 30% or more since 2006, with #1 on the list having declined by 72% since 2006. Who tops the list of beer with the biggest sales decline since 2006? To find out, check out the article and full list: Nine Beers Americans No Longer Drink.

American Airlines introduces self-bag tagging

On November 14^th, American Airlines introduced self-bag tagging for travelers flying out of Orlando. This comes after a successful trial run at Austin Bergstrom international Airport earlier this year. According to American Airline, check-in times were reduced by as much as 55% in Austin.

The way it works is that travelers are allowed to use a kiosk to print and attach baggage tags. The traveler enters all their flight info, pays any necessary charges, and then prints their tag and attaches it to their bag. They then take their bag to a drop off area and show ID to an airline representative.

American plans to expand self-bag tagging to Chicago O’Hare and Washington Reagan Airports in the coming months. The airline also expects to debut this service in up to 8 more U.S. cities within the next 2 years.

There are still many travelers who remain wary of the self-serve options and its uncertainties. One issue in particular is that of lost and mis-routed bags due to passenger self-service error. What happens then? Is the passenger at fault? Does the airline take responsibility? Nobody knows.

The truth is that there is a first time learning curve for airlines when it comes to dealing with this new service. Bags get lost or mis-routed fairly regularly when trained agents from the airlines are tagging the bags. It is only natural to assume that this would be compounded by your every day traveler tagging their own bags.

This self-bag tagging system sounds good in theory but it feels too impractical. I am a firm believer that the customer/client should be able to choose when they want to serve themselves and not be forced into it if they desire to interact with a real person. It is, after all, the "Service" industry.

Virgin America to launch status matching program

Good news for travelers who have status with American Airlines or United Airlines: Virgin America has announced a status match program. Flyers from United Airlines and American Airlines’ frequent flyer programs can receive matched status through Virgin America’s Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver Status now through April 30, 2013.
 
United’s Mileage Plus and American’s AAdvantage flyers will get to enjoy nearly all of the benefits currently offered to Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver members. Some of these benefits include: priority check-in, free checked bag allowances, priority security clearance and boarding, and private discounts. Furthermore, if you apply for the Elevate program, you will have the opportunity to retain your status through the end of 2013 by earning points on flying Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia. 

If you have never flown Virgin America, now is a great time to familiarize yourself with this popular airline. Virgin America has won many awards, including 2012’s “Best Domestic Airline” by Conde Nast Traveler. Virgin America  is usually among the top rated domestic airlines year in, year out.

To book a flight on Virgin America contact your POTHOS travel team.

Epic Russian traffic jam strands drivers for 3 days

I think it is safe to say that none of us like being stuck in traffic. We have all been in a traffic jam at some point in our lives that really drove us crazy. It is very doubtful, however, that any of us have ever seen anything like the traffic jam that occurred this past weekend in Russia.

After a few days of heavy snowing, part of the main highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg was backed up 125 miles. Traffic was at a complete stand-still with the only movement being foot traffic, not vehicular. The Emergencies Ministry reported that traffic would return back to normal by 6 PM on Sunday. However, the traffic jam still spanned 34 miles long on Sunday night.

The traffic woes began on Friday after one of the heaviest November snowstorms in the last 50 years pummeled the Moscow area. When everything was said and done, three feet of snow had fallen in western Russia.

Drivers complained that authorities weren’t offering enough assistance to the stranded travelers. Restaurants reportedly tried to take advantage of the situation by increasing their prices and gas stations ran out of fuel. The Emergencies Ministry soon stepped in to assist with food distribution and setting up warming stations. Traffic started clearing up on Monday, with cars being able to travel at speeds of 3-6 mph for large sections of the highway.

Although this traffic jam sounds horrific, it pales in comparison to some of the worst jams we have seen recently. In 2010, drivers in China were stuck for 10 days waiting for a 60 mile back up to clear near Beijing. In 2009 there was a reported 183 mile traffic stoppage during an evening rush in Sao Paulo, Brazil. So the next time you’re cursing the world while stuck in light traffic, just think of how much worse it could be.

JAL to serve KFC on international flights

Japan Airlines (JAL) and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) have partnered up to bring Air Kentucky Fried Chicken onboard select international flights.

Customers flying in Premium Economy and Economy Class from Narita to New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, London, Paris and Frankfurt will be served KFC’s Original Recipe 2-piece chicken meal. The meal will include one drumstick, one boneless chicken breast, flat bread, and a cup of coleslaw and lettuce. JAL and KFC have also created an exquisite packaging that is exclusively available on JAL flights.

KFC is widely popular in Japan, especially during Christmas time. Now these KFC enthusiasts can enjoy KFC’s tasty chicken on a trans-Atlantic flight. This service will go into effect starting December 1, 2012 and will last through February 28, 2013.               

Air Kentucky Fried Chicken meal