This week, Consumer Reports has shed some light on the variations of the flying experience that can be found on different airlines. The publication has ranked U.S. airlines from best to worst in its latest issue of Consumer Reports magazine. The rankings are based on a survey of 16,000 people conducted in February. The survey included questions about comfort, baggage handling, check-in service, fees, and in-flight entertainment.

The top-ranked airlines will come as no surprise for frequent flyers. Virgin America topped the list due to its leather seat cushions and free bag checking. Jet Blue and SouthWest also placed highly for their baggage handling and service, though Jet Blue scored higher than SouthWest for cleanliness and comfort.

On the other side of the list, Spirit Airlines scored what Consumer Reports says is one of the lowest overall scores it has ever given. Though Spirit charges much lower airfare than almost any other airline, the company makes up for its low ticket prices by charging flyers for nearly everything they can. This includes fees for flight booking, carry-on bags, checked bags, in-flight snacks, and having a ticket agent print a boarding pass,

Turkish Airlines says that several low-level managers put together a document saying that red and pink lipstick and nail polish would be banned for all female flight attendants without consulting the management. Chief Executive Temel Kotil responded to the document after receiving several complaints that the airline was moving too close to Islamic values for comfort.

“As you know, some in Turkey are a little bit keen about these issues,” said Kotil. “We are a great global carrier and we know what we are doing. As to the lipstick, we had no problems but somehow low-level managers put together a paper without asking us and that paper leaked to the media and became a big issue.”

Kotil now says that flight attendants are free to wear the lipstick and nail shade of their choice.

“Staff can use the colour they want. This measure was not approved by the hierarchy,” Kotilo said.

While they may not be getting that conservative, the airline has imposed a recent ban on alcohol served during flights.

The deal is actually a renewal, as the airline was one of ITA Software’s first QPX customers in Asia.

“ANA launched QPX in 2008, utilizing our advanced airfare shopping tools to provide international airfare search on www.ana.co.jp,” says technical account manager Lewis Chang, Sr. “ANA has since expanded their international search capabilities to incorporate calendar, flexible date shopping and multi-city. Most recently, ANA added slice-by-slice search capabilities which allows travelers to customize their itinerary by selecting departure and return options separately.”

“Headquartered in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, ANA operates service to 49 destinations in Japan and 31 international routes,” adds Chang. “They’ve been a great partner and we’re excited to continue supporting their growth and expansion into other international markets over the next several years.”

ITA Software powers Google’s Flight Search feature, which was recently expanded both in terms of geography and devices, having launched internationally and on tablets this year.

Google’s acquisition of ITA Software, as you may know, was the event that led to the formation of the FairSearch coalition, a lobbying group comprised of Google competitors, which sought to see the deal blocked, claiming it was anti-competitive. The deal got by regulators, but the group is still at it, as regulators continue to investigate the company for broader issues. The group has picked up some members outside of the travel industry since the early days.

“Emirates constantly seeks ways to enhance our customers’ experience,” said Kevin Griffiths, senior vice president of Cabin Crew at Emirates. “We selected the HP ElitePad 900 to power KIS because of its sleek design and light weight, which allows our staff to provide the highest levels of service to our customers, whilst maintaining the ruggedness and security measures needed from an Enterprise class device.”

HP made it clear that Emirates is now the first global customer of the ElitePad 900, which was announced back in October and is currently scheduled to launch sometime in January. The device is a Windows 8 tablet aimed at business and government customers.

“For its advanced KIS concierge service, Emirates Airlines needed an enterprise-grade tablet,” said James Mouton, general manager of the Personal Computer Global Business Unit at HP. “In the HP ElitePad, it found a compact, powerful and stylish business tool ideally suited to meet the needs of its staff and customers, both on the ground and at 40,000 feet.”

This year, airlines have been looking to implement touch device technology on flights and the FAA has been reviewing the rules on how such devices can be used during flights. American Airlines announced in September that it had chosen Samsung’s Galaxy Note to function as a customer service device, and Apple’s iPad was recently cleared to take the place of bulky paper manuals in American Airlines Pilot flight bags.

(Image courtesy wikimedia and omeyamapyonta)

There’s an announcement out from Cape Air today, talking about how the airline is debuting a new airline reservation system powered by Google and ITA. The airline says its customers will be benefit by:

Effortless shopping of one-way, round-trip and multi-city flights and fares.

A system comprised of flexible reservation features designed with one idea in mind – to ensure the customer’s booking flow is easy and secure.

“Our team at ITA has been working to build a modern airline platform from scratch on open systems technology,” said Jeremy Wertheimer, Vice President, Google, Travel, “Cape Air has been the perfect partner in helping this effort”.

“Today’s announcement is an important step for the future of Cape Air. We’re proud of the achievement made by our teams to build the next generation in travel technology,” says Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf. “Our customers expect the best from Cape Air, and by investing in technology, our passengers and employees will benefit by faster and easier handling of booking and changing reservations”

I would imagine that we’ll start seeing similar implementations from other airlines in the future.

In January, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Malaysia Airlines made it possible for passengers to share photos, social networking profiles and have even gone as far as letting them pick their seatmates prior to takeoff. These social seating programs are viewed as a dream come true for social networkers although some passengers are concerned about privacy issues and even possible stalkers. KLM calls their voluntary social seating plan “Meet and Seat,” available on flights between Amsterdam and New York and San Francisco and Sao Paulo. Malaysia Airlines call their program (also voluntary), “MHbuddy.”

Here’s how it works. On KLM’s “Meet and Seat,” once passengers have booked their flight, they can access the option through “Manage my Booking” on the airline’s website. They have from ninety days to forty-eight hours to get to know their potential seat mates. Social networking flyers can share their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles with other passengers and the information shared in the profiles and their photos can even be edited.

Seating maps display seat choices and Facebook or LinkedIn profiles of other passengers who want to participate. Passengers can contact each other before the flight and choose their seating assignments ahead of time if the seat is available. Participating passengers are notified via e-mail when other passengers select the option to share their social network profiles. Prior to takeoff, travelers can change their seat or withdraw their social media profile and after the flight, profiles are deleted.

MHbuddy, Malaysia AIrlines’ program is a Facebook application. Passengers can book their flights and check in on Facebook. They have the ability to view photos and seat selections for any of their Facebook friends on the flight. MHbuddy also lets passengers know if any of their Facebook friends are planning on traveling to the same destination in case they want to meet.

JetBlue, American Airlines and Delta are all showing interest in the social-seating trend. A JetBlue spokeswoman, Allison Steinberg said, “We haven’t ruled out social seating or similar concepts, but it’s not something we’re actively pursuing. We’re conscious of some of the privacy concerns it might raise and are careful to listen to cues from our customers on what they want.”

Fasten your seat belts.

The first improvement we may benefit from is the appointment of an Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections. This group would advise officials on customer service improvements and monitor changes.

Also there will be mandatory timeframes for follow-up on customer complaints combined with new regulation for how the complaints are handled. A study currently underway will increase the possibility of the airlines reimbursing travelers for delayed or lost baggage.

Another item on the bill would offer discounts to military passengers and their families. If you travel with a carseat or child safety seat, the airline will be required to post the maximum dimensions prior to a flight on their website. It will also be decided shortly, if travelers with smaller musical instruments can avoid checking them and take them aboard as a carry-on.

Cell phone users will be happy to know that the new bill requires the airline to begin a study that reveals whether usage actually has an impact on airline communication and decides if cell phone use will be permitted during flights. Of course the new bill reasserts that no smoking is allowed on any flights.

Customers who do have complaints can file them with the new DOT hotline, a dedicated line right to the department from the airline.

All and all it sounds like the new bill orders that many things be studied and investigated rather than calling for immediate change. The good news is that it does cover some legitimate territory. Hopefully the friendly skies are about to become a lot more friendly.

Fortunately for Alec Baldwin and the rest of us, Google and Virgin America airlines have partnered to provide free Chromebooks for passengers to use during their flights. And yes, that means you get free in-flight Wi-Fi as well. Louis Gray, the Google+ Product Marketing Manager, posted about the deal yesterday from his account:

The response was pretty positive in the comments section of his post, but then again, who’s going to complain about getting to use netbooks and Wi-Fi during a flight for free? Don’t get too excited about the free Chromebook because you do have to give it back once your flight lands. Google might be cool, but they’re not Uncle-Scrooge-at-the-end-of-A-Christmas-Carol cool. Still, this is a pretty fantastic deal although it does have its limitations. For now, the only Chrome Zones, as they’re calling the locations from which you can borrow a Chromebook, are located in Chicago (ORD), San Francisco, Boston, New York (JFK), and Dallas-Fort Worth. Additionally, the offer is only valid through January 15 so get going somewhere soon if you wanna take advantage of the free Internet and Chromebook. One lingering question that will remain after the 15th of January is: now that its been demonstrated that using Wi-Fi on an airplane doesn’t cause Jerry Bruckheimer-levels of catastrophe, will airlines be more likely to let people use their electronic devices during flights? Since almost all airlines are trying to make flying as uncomfortable as possible, my Spidey Sense is telling me no.

The maps will show viewers (almost) exactly where they’re at as they fly as usual, but it now features terrain view and new data showing elevation, mountains, etc. "In other words, it more closely matches what you’d actually see if you had cloud-penetrating eyesight and looked out the window from 35,000 feet," writes Google Product Marketing Manager Jesse Friedman.

"One of my favorite truisms is, ‘no matter where you go, there you are,’" says Friedman. "Call me sappy, but it’s a nice way to remember that every place on Earth has meaning, history and identity. But let’s face it: when you’re on an airplane, traveling over unknown lands at triple-digit speeds, it’s hard to get a sense of where you really are."

In addition to the new Google Maps data, Virgin America has also announced that it will be ordering 60 new planes, tripling its size. This means the airline will be traveling to new destinations.

Last winter, Google and Virgin America teamed up to offer passengers free wi-fi during the holidays.

If they’re not breaking guitars, their pilots are missing airports, or they’re berating people that are trying to help them.

Well, we have one more reputation disaster to add to the list, courtesy of American Airlines.

You may recall the open letter web designer Dusting Curtis wrote to the airline. In it, Curtis suggested that AA was losing millions because of its poorly designed web site. He even went as far as suggesting a new design for the site.

Shortly after, one of AA’s designers took it upon himself to reply and explain the complexities of AA web site design decisions. His reply was open, honest…radically transparent.

American Airlines has allegedly fired him for it!

This may have happened back in May, but it’s only just come to light that the AA designer was apparently fired an hour after he wrote his reply.

AA searched their exchange database for the text I posted, found the guy, and fired Mr. X on the spot. From what I have learned, they also threatened him with legal action if he spoke to me again. Apparently he broke his non-disclosure agreement by discussing the design process at AA.

OK, so maybe he shouldn’t have broken his NDA with the airline. But, maybe AA shouldn’t have been so near-sighted and pedantic about its employee policies. Surely the airline is aware that it’s industry hardly has the best reputation for caring about its customers. Heck, even Jet Blue–the poster child of airline awesomeness–has screwed-up royally in the past.

In some ways, you can’t blame American Airlines. It is completely ignorant of how customers want to interact with the airline. We don’t want to hand flight attendants slips of paper that say “well done”–something AA encourages me to do as a frequent flier–we want to engage with the airline. We want it to do better, and we have ideas. Ideas about clean blankets, baggage fees, and yes, web site design. How does AA marry its apparent openness on Twitter, with this crackdown on a real employee that wants to help?

Yes, you should have guidelines in place, but those guidelines should be designed to encourage thoughtful customer interaction, not prevent it! If we hear that you’re firing employees because of their transparency, how are we supposed to take your official social networking efforts seriously? What, do we now assume that everything that is shared on Twitter or Facebook is nothing more than sterile, PR sanctioned, sound bites?

The airline industry may well be the very last to “get” the concept of Radically Transparent. When they do finally have that “aha!” moment, we’ll know that we’ve finally entered the age of open, honest, dialogs.

Andy Beal – AA Platinum Card Holder; Million Mile Flier.

(via)

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