Earlier this week, police nabbed a Phoenix couple suspected of stealing over 1,000 pieces of luggage from airport carousels and selling the contents at yard sales and flea markets.  The arrests come on the heels of October’s similarly startling admissions by a Northwest Airlines baggage supervisor in Oregon who pled guilty to stealing $10,000 worth of checked luggage (subsequently hocking the loot on eBay) and a Philadelphia TSA officer who heisted multiple laptops while screening passengers’ bags. With luggage theft cases involving everything from switched destination tags to underwear burglars hitting the news lately, concerned fliers are now questioning the security of their belongings from check-in to carousel.  Read the rest of this post »

The holidays are shaping up to be a bit more merry and bright for flyers this year, now that a number of major airlines have announced free in-flight WiFi deals. While 2009 has seen all the usual suspects (Delta, Virgin America, JetBlue, etc.) rolling out en-route service on most or all flights, the cost of upwards of $10 a pop on longer trips (half the price of my monthly at-home bill) has left only the most email-addicted passengers biting the bait. Thankfully, just in time for air travel’s busiest time of year, discounts seem to literally be falling from the skies, with many airlines offering Internet passes completely free of charge. Read the rest of this post »

If you’re one out of the every three Americans who break out in a nervous sweat before take-off, relax. Sir Richard Branson has come to your rescue! Virgin Atlantic’s valiant chief unveiled the company’s first iPhone app, Flying Without Fear, yesterday. Based on Branson’s own course of the same name (which boasts a near-perfect success rate – just ask spokeswoman Whoopi Goldberg), the $5 app is designed to help anxious fliers overcome their fears by providing in-flight video explanations and answers to frequently asked questions about flying, plus relaxation exercises (there’s even a panic button for emergency calming methods if you start to, say, hyperventilate during a bit of turbulence). Since every aerophobe’s nerves vary, a custom “My Program” section allows users to rate their personal fears and offers advice on how best to prepare for your next flight, based on your individual info.

Click here for our list of Essential iPhone Travel Apps.

The holidays are just around the corner, and if you’re anything like us, you’re probably hoping you won’t have to pay an arm and a turkey leg to get home to celebrate. Happily, the travel forecast for 2009 is looking much merrier than that of 2008’s “bah humbug” holiday season, when the cost for airline travel soared in the face of the unfolding economic crisis, sky-high fuel costs, severe capacity cuts, and the introduction of a slew of then unheard-of airline fees. With at least jet-fuel prices presently back down to a digestible level, industry experts have analyzed holiday airfare rates to be anywhere from 7 to 20 percent cheaper than they were last year. Perfect timing for the recession-hit, once-reluctant travelers who are slowly edging their way back into the market. Still, don’t expect bargain-basement fares for this premium travel period and, by all means, leave procrastination to only the most coolheaded of gamblers. Savings are slimming as the holidays near, and with the copious number of routes that have been grounded since last year (in response to the recession), there are fewer seats for sale – and less desperation on behalf of the airlines to fill them.  Read the rest of this post »

We all loathe luggage fees, but United Airlines is the first to make the burden easier to bear for frequent travelers, with a new offer putting a cap on the sky-high charges of checking bags each time you check-in. Today, the airline unveiled its Premier Baggage program that lets continuous checkers pay $249 up front, then fly their bags fee-free for a full year (both on the homefront and to destinations abroad). Not for everyone, the offer makes the most sense for families who often fly domestically (where the highest bag fees are incurred), as it allows two checked bags per person, for up to eight people per reservation.

My husband and I just got back from a long weekend trip to Taos, and were able to enjoy the flight in maximum comfort (or at least in the most comfort you can find outside of business class), thanks to the three-seat row we had just for the two of us. I fly quite a bit, and 9 times out  of 10, I’m able to secure the extra room - and some additional comforts (like getting the seats nearest the TV screen and furthest from the smelly lavatories), too - by strategizing ahead of time with the following two-prong approach. Read the rest of this post »