The pretty girl at the Kingfisher counter said Sabre does not accept international credit cards [ I had 8 on them, on my person] nor a debit card [I had 1]. She fiddled with my debit card, called a colleague and both of them tried to swipe my debit card, and came back and said sorry. So what was I supposed to do? She said well, I could go inside the terminal and withdraw money from an ATM [20K INR, mind you] and then return to her. I was angry, but didnt have a choice.

So I go to the guard at the entrance of the terminal and ask him to let me in so I could withdraw money. Guess what I hear? ATM not working.

This is India gallopping, I guess.

I went and thanked the Kingfisher girl in any case.

P.S. Later, in the hotel room, I bought a ticket online, on the same Kingfisher flight, using one of the several international credit cards. No problem. In fact, I am happy about Vasant hotel - free wi-fi.

In the U.S., there was a call for controls on energy speculation while an analyst predicted that a huge international aviation show may not produce the usual rash of aircraft orders.

In Washington, a spokesman for the Stop Oil Speculation Now coalition said the U.S. government must act to stop traders working around rules intended to limit speculation in commodities.

"We believe that the fastest way to get oil prices under control in the short term is by reducing reckless and unfair speculation in the futures markets," said James May, president of the Air Transport Association of America, which represents the largest U.S. airlines.

Earlier in the week, the heads of 12 large U.S. airlines wrote an open letter to their customers asking them to join the coalition and push Congress to change the trading rules to cut speculation.

Oil hit a new intraday peak of $147.27 US a barrel Friday before closing at $145.08.

Many U.S. politicians have heard consumer and business concerns about higher energy prices. About 30 bills aimed at tightening restrictions on oil trading have been introduced in Washington.

Meanwhile, analyst Nick Cunningham of Evolution Securities said that "everybody's too nervous to order airplanes" for the Farnborough International Airshow near London, England, next week.

The two leading airliner manufacturers and their customers usually announce many sales at the show, but Airbus and Boeing have both said they expect total orders this year to fall far short of the 2,754 planes they sold in 2007.

Montreal's Bombardier Inc. may use the show to announce whether it's going ahead with its proposed CSeries planes, fuel efficient 110- and 130-seat regional passenger jets.

In trading on the TSX, the Class A shares of ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, fell $1.89 to a new low of $12.21. The 52-week high is $30.23.

With files from Associated Press

Crude price falls, dragging down TSX
InBev pushes to oust Anheuser board

Spokesman Carlyle Smith had this to say:

With ever increasing fuel costs, without relief in sight, it is our groups' opinion that the following changes be necessarily made.  We propose that all guests only wear Croc brand shoes.  While this will assist us in lowering the unneeded weight of heavier leather or other synthetic material based shoes, and it will also help you, our guests.

We've also decided to replace some plane landing gears with a lighter more fun landing device.  It is an inflatable landing pad made from a new type of rubber, and is comparable with what NASA has used in the past for various lunar landings.  This will only be apart of a preliminary program and is not yet being considered for full implementation.

While some of the changes have come to some as a shock one person seemed adament.  Eleanor Svenson of Boise, Idaho said:

I'm quite excited about all of the changes.  I adore Crocs shoes and I love bouncy castles, I'm in my element.  I'm determined to help keep travel costs low.  I've even forced my husband to stop wearing heavy unnecessary boxers, and to switch over to lighter weight synthetic bikini cuts!

Word on the street is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to make passengers replace their boarding pass with a “safety bracelet.” The safety bracelet will also contain personal information about the traveler, monitor his luggage (just about the only positive in this situation) and shock the traveler, completely immobilizing him or her for several minutes if suspicious behavior is suspected, or for whatever reason they choose.

We all know instances where the police abuses it’s authority to Taser, shoot and harm people they find as a threat, so who says the same thing won’t happen with this?

I’m not one to voice my opinion often, but this is a completely idiotic idea (sorry if that sounds too harsh). I do understand where they’re coming from. Of course they want to preserve the safety of the American people and I'm all for that, but seriously is this really necessary. Airport security is already meticulous enough without this added inconvenience.

I'm sure people will still have to go through the regular process of checking in going through the metal detectors, etc. So having to register people is just going to be one more thing to crowd up airports and waste our tax dollars on. What about all those business people who are constantly at the airport, two or three times a week, or even more! And what about those rich people who travel often for a nice relaxing vacation—what an annoyance. People are going to have to get to the airport four or five hours earlier rather than the recommended two or three, which is already frustrating as it is.

And, hello?!? When was the last instance where a plane went down, killing passengers because someone was a threat rather than for reasons where the plane malfunctioned? Unless the government is hiding situations where this happens, it’s been years since we’ve heard of suicide bombers hijacking an American plane. The only things that do seem to delay planes lately are when people are freaking out causing the airline to be too precautious (if such a thing exists) therefore delaying the flight even more by checking/calming down the traveler and again annoying their other paying travelers.

With this shocking frenzy, aka “safety bracelet” scheme, there will be even more distractions for the travelers and even more unnecessary delays when the airline gets carried away, or even shocks the wrong people. Not to mention that the shock alone can cause serious damage to the person who is receiving it and who knows if the airline actually shocks the right person. Think about all of the law suits when the airline shocks the wrong people. It’s impossible to know the heath conditions of every single traveler.

As  for monitoring the luggage, that’s about the only good thing in this whole situation because we all know how airport s love to lose our precious luggage.

Oh, and just when you thought my rant was over….what’s with airlines canceling their flights. This is ridiculous! And quite the inconvenience.  I understand that the price of oil is going up (another governmental issue/blame) but you can’t just cancel all of your flights because you think you can’t afford to pay for the gas. I'm sure the airlines don't need to cancel their flights, but they're just being greedy and cheap (and not in a good way).

Again, I understand the airline is entitled to do whatever they want by canceling or changing the flights of their customers last minute, but if they absolutely don’t have to, why are they? After I spent nearly $2000 on my ticket to Egypt, which by the way was the cheapest I was able to find and included ridiculous taxes and fees, I got and e-mail stating:

“We are taking this time to send an alert to all of our customers regarding the possibility of changes to their itinerary.  Many carriers are canceling flights due to oil prices and to keep operating costs down.  When this happens it may cause flight problems for our customers.  Here at [insert airline name]** we are trying to be proactive and contact as many people as we can.”

Sure, you’re being proactive, but that doesn’t take away the inconvenience. I bought my ticket almost two months in advance so I can avoid last minute stress, but who knows now. Ah, how the government rules our world. That’s life for you.

I honestly do love airports and watching the crowds of people, but everybody gets annoyed sometimes. Right?

End. Rant.

**I didn’t want to single out a particular airline company. Not that many people would read this but still, don’t want to be single them out.

The pilot in command of each flight determines the amount of fuel carried. FAA regulations state that each flight is required to carry enough fuel to reach its destination plus an extra 45 minutes' worth.

The eight senior captains say U.S. Airways singled them out for carrying 10 to 15 minutes of extra fuel above the FAA mandate and called them in for "fuel conservation training," Ray said.

Ray said the training amounts to "intimidation" and said the pilots feel it could place their licenses in jeopardy if they request extra fuel.
"Captains have been singled out for exercising their judgment on determining fuel loads for their flights," he said.
But a spokesman for U.S. Airways insisted the training is not punitive and denied the pilots' jobs were in danger.

"We are absolutely not employing intimidation tactics to pressure pilots into operating aircraft with unsafe fuel levels," Morgan Durrant said. "Safety is the number one priority in everything we do."

Durrant said the airline organized the paid, one-day training session to review safety practices and emphasize the need to use appropriate fuel levels in a time of necessary conservation.

Extra fuel makes the plane heavier, causing it to burn more fuel as it flies. A gallon of jet fuel weighs almost 7 pounds, and a large, twin-engine jetliner can burn hundreds of pounds of fuel and hour.

"Our arrival fuel amounts on average are more than twice the FAA minimum standards," Durrant said. "With the high price of oil, it is a balance between having enough to travel safely and also flying efficiently."

U.S. Airways said it will pay $2 billion more in fuel costs than it did last year.
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In the complaint, the pilots said the training undermines their authority to determine how much fuel is necessary.

"If a pilot doesn't feel that a plane has enough fuel in it for the trip that he or she is about to make, then they have the discretion of not flying that flight," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Wednesday.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/16/pilots.fuel/index.html

Not a lot has really gone on today, I borrowed a few tools from my good mate Edd in time to spend the next few days taking out the remains of the floor pan:

1st we have an airline with a few tools including an impact gun and more importantly an air chisel, that should be handy for breaking out those spot welds. I was planning on buying an air saw to go on this but I may now have to spend those pennies on a different generator.

2nd a generator to run the above airline, just one problem. I forgot to check the ratings, the compressor needs 1.4 kilowatts, and the generator supplies 0.4 kilowatts. I have spoken to another mate and may have secured another generator but this isn't confirmed yet.

On positive note I was at my local VW garage and tuning shop earlier today, talking about my main car, and the buggy came up in conversation. It turns out that we may have secured a welder to fit the new floors as well as teach us how to weld.

After all of the usual preflight checks and procedures, we made our call to Van Nuys ground and began our taxi to hold short of 16R. There was a slight wind coming from the East but it didn't affect takeoff too much. We made our right crosswind departure over Warner Center and I learned a little more about using the Nav when my instructor set a heading for Fillmore. We followed the heading but stopped at our usual training spot above Simi Valley.

We did a lot of review work but I was happy to do so because I want to make sure my maneuvers are as close to perfect as possible. Today I actually felt my steep turns getting better and I was able to rely more on visuals and keep my eyes off the instruments. I still need work on maintaining altitude while doing a steep turn but I am sure that will come with practice.

The next thing we did was some more stalls. Again, this is something else I feel myself getting a bit more confident with. I am able to keep a heading more accurately while maintaining proper airspeed. We followed the stalls up with some slow flight for a bit then gained some airspeed and altitude for some ground reference maneuvers.

We started our ground reference training with turns around a point in which we used an overpass on the 118 freeway as our marker. After a couple of passes we used that point to begin our rectangular course. We followed the surface streets below us to fly rectangular patterns and after doing that a couple of times we used the 118 freeway as our reference and finished up our lesson with some S-turns.

We made our way towards the Santa Susana Pass and after getting information from ATIS, we made a call to Van Nuys tower for landing. Keeping our eyes open for some traffic that the ATC mentioned, we made our approach and landed on 16R.

I logged another 1.1 hours and am amazed how fast my training seems to be going. I started the week I graduated college and already have 9.9 hours (and will most likely be at 11 hours by next week). A lot of the articles I read, whether online or in the AOPA magazine, mention that an airport is not jst a place to fly but a place to network with other pilots. After my lesson I stuck around for a bit talking to my instructor and to a couple of other PPL students and sometimes that can be a learning process all in itself.

I want to thank Charles for all the photos he took.

[gallery]

The airline has announced that it intends to expand its Ukrainian domestic route network with new flights fromKiev to Kharkiv and Zaporyzhzhia from September.

The deal announced at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday comprises 20 A320s, 25 A350XWBs and 10 A380s. No price was immediately placed on the deal.

Etihad earlier announced a firm order for 45 Boeing Co. aircraft worth $9 billion. That deal is for 35 Boeing 787 aircraft and 10 Boeing 777-300ER.

Two airlines, Emirates and Malaysian, have refused to recognise the e-tickets supplied by the agent when they tried to board the aircrafts on different days between June 29 and July 11.

Such stupidity on the part of travel agents who are out to make a quick buck on students' plight and suffering

So what is the billionaire going to do about it? Lower his airlines prices to ensure passengers don't continue to take the brunt of rising fuel costs? Stop wasting resources by flying over-paid billionaires into space? No, express interest in buying the airline bmi. Well I'm sure that'll mean lower ticket costs for the passengers. Oh, actually, I'm not.

Not that the ever-changing state of the aviation and travel industry will be mentioned by companies at this year's Farnborough International Airshow as manufacturers showcase new models and technology. Kicking off today, the event also serves a podium for those all important aircraft order announcements.

Living up to it's new title as 'focal point' of the aviation industry, the Middle East offers up some business to Boeing. New low cost carrier FlyDubai has ordered more than 50 new 736-800 aircraft in a deal worth around a cool $4 billion while Etihad Airways has placed a $9 billion order for 45 Boeings - 35 B787s and 10 777-300ERs - with an option for a further 35 planes and rights for another 15. Blimey. Money from oil? Won't be long before the likes of B.P or Shell start launching their own airlines, We've Got All The Money Airlines, perhaps?

Well, someone must have the money these days as more and more people seem to be running out. Air India and it's owners National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) don't. The state-run carrier are looking for a £270 million bailout package from the Indian government as the company faces massive losses thanks to the rising aviation fuel prices and operational costs.

Cathay Pacific have had to hike up premium fares from Honk Kong in an effort to upset increasing fuel costs. Up to 15% on some business and first class tickets after the airline announced a profit warning only last week. "We regret having charge passengers more, but the increase in our fuel bill is too great for us to absorb." The airline will also be redeploying aircraft over the winter to more revenue-friendly services.

Not a great start to the week for news but lets hope it gets better soon.

It came to this Bastard reporter’s attention, while sitting in first class aboard Delta Flight 123, sipping an iced tea and reading the day’s news on my laptop as I casually glanced out the window from time to time, that we were in fact about to collide with another airplane.

As I braced for the impact and tried my damnedest to keep from pissing myself, I only had one thought on my mind:  ‘How can this happen?’

Once we passed the other airplane, that I later found out was Comair Flight 1520, and I had managed to control my bodily functions long enough for the plane to land so I could race to the in-flight restroom, I went directly to the Captain and Copilot for answers.

The conversation went as such:

“What the hell was that all about?,” I yelled at the Captain.

He turned around in his seat, glass in his hand, alcohol on his breath, and asked me, “Have you ever seen a grown man naked?”

Not knowing how to respond to that, and recalling this very airplane scene, I simply departed the plane and went in search of the nearest Delta Customer Service counter.

The answer I got from the off duty sloshed pilots at the counter chilled me to the bone.

They simply slurred at me that pilots are overworked and overstressed and need to blow off a little steam now and again.

This leads to games of ‘chicken’ on the runway!

As I was told:

The crew of one airplane drinks as many in house alcoholic beverages as they can and radios other planes in their vicinity.

The crew of the second plane gets shit faced as well and the game of chicken is then on.

When I asked about the lives of the passengers aboard, I was told that I ask way too many questions and that hardly anyone ever gets killed doing it.

And should anyone die during a game of ‘chicken’, that’s what the Federal Aviation Administration is for:  To keep the game under wraps and delude the public.

Needless to say, this Bastard reporter will be keeping both feet on the ground from now on.

Bombardier launched a new 110-130 seat passenger jet, the CSeries, on Sunday in a Canadian challenge to the supremacy of Airbus and Boeing in the airliner market.Announcing the long-awaited launch on the eve of the Farnborough air show, the Canadian company said it had selected Mirabel near Montreal as the site to assemble the planes, which will enter service in 2013.  

Mirabel had been competing with Kansas City, Missouri. The wings will be built in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Launch customer Lufthansa has provisionally ordered 30 planes with an option for 30 more, Bombardier said in a press release. The CSeries will sell for $46.7 million each.

Bombardier had said it was waiting for at least 50-100 orders before launching the aircraft. The five-abreast CSeries will compete with the smaller version of the single-aisle Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families for new business or replacement of old planes like the MD-80.

The plane is powered by Pratt & Whitney engines.

This is a major new competiton that Airbus and Boeing have to deal with as this short haul with economically viable aircraft will be the way the world travels in the future.

LONDON: There will be "spectacular casualties" in the airline industry over the next 12 months, billionaire Richard Branson, the owner of Britain's No. 2 long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic, was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The U.S. airline industry -- including Virgin America -- has been battered by soaring fuel costs that are pinching even the healthiest airlines.

"The financial state of the world is just about the worst I've ever known it," Branson told The Times newspaper in an interview. "It's getting perilously close to being worse than the 1990s.

"You have the perfect storm -- you've not only got the banking crisis and the housing crisis, you've got the soaring fuel prices as well. One of the big American carriers will almost definitely go."

Branson confirmed Virgin was interested in buying British airline bmi, 50 percent plus one share owned by entrepreneur Sir Michael Bishop.

The carrier has long been expected to change ownership in 2009 due to a private agreement between Bishop and 30 percent minus one share co-owner Lufthansa.

Despite barely making a profit in 2007 -- and with the outlook far worse for 2008 -- bmi's value is in its control of 11 percent of the highly prized airline slots at Heathrow.

The billionaire also called for an end to BAA's monopoly of Britain's major airports.

Part of Spain's Ferrovial since 2006, BAA has owned the three main airports serving London -- Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted -- as well as Scotland's Edinburgh and Glasgow airports since it floated over 20 years ago.

"It's been embarrassing to be British looking at foreigners queuing up to come into the country," said Branson.

"I certainly think that BAA should be broken up. Each individual terminal at Heathrow should be privatised so they can compete against each other. BAA just creams off more and more every year."

Britain's Competition Commission is investigating whether problems faced by airline travellers through Britain, as highlighted by the chequered opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, are caused or exacerbated by BAA's monopoly.

I've taken about 20 longhaul roudtrips this year, across the globe and it's been hard work so I'm more tense than usual; let me share a few examples with you.

1) I flew into London on BA arriving Monday morning from Miami, and it was a great flight from a service perspective. However I relocated downstairs from my favourite seat at 64k  after I'd gone a bit shouty-crackers at a family on the upper deck who thought it was perfectly reasonable for their heft of a daughter to practice her Miley Virus moves in the aisle.

I'm good with kids, and it was her little donut eating angelic face that annoyed me, it was the way her swarthy Spanish father threatened the cabin crew that did it for me.

Of course, I excused the crew (it's not their fault) but then of course had to sigh and roll my eyes to demonstrate my frustration.

2). Do you think it would even be possible that at Terminal 4 Heathrow there is not one place to buy a pair of shoes for men? Not ONE place. The Bally has closed and is being replaced by a sausage shop, Zegna used to but don't now. I PRESUMED that as T4 was a big terminal there would be a shop to sell footwear to accompany the vast retail choices in fashion.

No. There isn't. So, with 70 minutes till my flight to Dubai closing I set off to discover the terminal transfer options. Not good. Buses and enough x-ray's to deform children. I made it to Bally at Terminal 3, and the shop-boy spent one hundredth of a second too long not looking at me (the bastard was probably blinking) so I exacted my revenge by strolling straight into Gucci opposite and scornfully and rapidly 'Don't even box them' purchasing a substantially priced pair of shoes.

On return through the x-ray hell, Jesus had seen to it that I arrived at Terminal 4 precisely one second AFTER a seemingly full jumbo jet from somewhere like Prestwick, or, heaven forbid, Oban had unturfed 300 15 year old girls on their way to Lourdes all with lipbalms (or probably lipgloss) left irritatingly in their carry on and therefore meaning it took 12 lunar years to get back through. I walked straight onto the plane, doors closed and off to sleep.

3) On return from Dubai, some 16 hours after arriving and near sheer exhaustion I check at the airport (as online check-in wouldn't let me) to discover I've been given the second worst seat on the plane (after a loo). In the middle middle. Not good.

I get to the BA lounge and decide to not complain, but rather the show sadness, exhaustion and tears. Surprisingly I realise that I'm not acting, that I do feel all these things and as if they can help me. No, nothing they can do. I then say that I'd like to consider being offloaded (that means removing my checked bag) and put onto the 9am flight or refunded. This freaks them out. Clearly were I to do this I'd be stuck in Dubai without a pot to piss in, as it were. But I say it to vent my frustration. It doesn't work.

Back to that pot to piss in. At the gate I'm sitting reading my Kindle when I look up to see a dark patch appear and spread on the Rohan style combats of a man of age. At first I'm shocked and stunned and a little disgusted. Then I'm angry that the man he is having an animated conversation with doesn't help him. Anyway.

We start to board. My line isn't moving and their calling business class passengers. It's then that  I do something I've never done, 'is anyone actually in business class and could I get through' to which about 6 people start saying bad things to me to which I reply, to one prick in 80's popstar style hat and glasses 'yes, actually I have had a bad day' and storm ahead, angry, humiliated and tired. Into my shit seat and guess what Jesus did for me? Put the hat/glasses cock right next to me.

So not a great experience.

It hasn't gotten to the point where I've been sleepinng on a terminal floor for 3 nights straight and competing for that last sandwhich at the snack cart. However it has become a slight annoyance. It started with the security process here at Milwaukee. I was lucky enough to be selected as an elite traveler to be screened by the TSA. After walking through the metal detector I was chanelled off to my own glass room. I think the point where I thought most that security has lost some of its common sense was when my bare feet were wanded. Needless to say they caught my implanted explosive device before I was able to board the plane. After I was awkwardly patted down I then got to watch my bag get picked through. Once they checked to make sure my sunglasses didn't shoot lasers they went through every card in my wallet. I think she thought I had an Al-Qaeda Membership Card in between my Disney ID and YMCA card.

After that fun process we walked up to our gate. It was around 1pm and an 11:55am departure to Atlanta was still waiting to board. I thought "boy, that sucks." Now I'm sitting almost three hours into our delay. It hasn't really been a long time but it did cost me a $7.95 and a Boingo account for internet access after renaming all of my documents on the computer lost its edge.

This comes in response to a previous post "How to Find the Best Seat on the Airplane", which generated a lot of questions from readers. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

• How do I choose my seat on a plane in such a way I end up with an empty seat next to me?

Choosing a seat so that you end up with an empty seat next to you is the Holy Grail of seat selection. It's even better if you score an exit row seat, so you end up with extra leg and elbow room. But with many airlines cutting flights to save costs, airplanes are typically more crowded these days and often oversold. On many popular flights during peak seasons, you're lucky to even get a seat assignment. So flying with an empty seat next to you is becoming ever more rare. Despite this, there are some strategies that you can use to increase your chances.

1. When selecting your seat, consider how close you are to departure and how full the flight is at the moment. If you are months away from your flight, the plane will likely look empty, and you'll probably score a good seat (sites like seatguru.com and seatexpert.com can help you figure out which of the available seats are the best). At this point, you have to plan on the reality that the plan will fill up. So choose your seat accordingly.
2. Two-seat rows almost always fill up, but middle seats in three-seat rows are the last to go. If you want to press your luck for an empty seat next to you, grab an aisle seat in a three-seat row *if* there is already someone sitting in the other aisle seat. Do not choose a three-seat row that is empty because a couple will probably take the other two seats.
3. If you don't have a tight connection, choose seats further in the back of the plane. Most people like to be in front, and the airlines typically assign seats front to back. So if there is an empty seat, it's most likely in the back.
4. As you get closer to the flight (or book within two weeks of departure), chances are the plane is already full or very close to capacity. Check the your seat selection again on the airline's map and see if someone is next to you. You might be able to shuffle into a three-seat row with only one other person.

• Does it mean that I should choose the least desirable seat, or sit next to the least desirable seat?

This is definitely one strategy that works, but I wouldn't use it straightaway because, afterall, you'll end up sitting in that crappy seat. Would you rather be able to recline or have elbow room? You make the call.

• Do I choose a flight near capacity? Is 2/3 on average the near capacity ratio?

These days, planes typically fly at 80-90% of capacity. More expensive fuel and other costs means airlines are cutting the number of planes to keep capacity high. If you can be flexible with your choice of flight, this is a great way to increase your chances of scoring an empty seat next to you. Often airlines offer discounted fares on several flights the same day, but certain flights fill up faster.

Consider your routing. For example, if you're flying from ORD to BOS, chances are the morning flights will be packed to the gills with business travelers trying to make meetings. If you can take an afternoon flight, you are more likely to score some elbow room.

• Are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the best day to fly?

In most US markets, Mondays (except holiday weekends), Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to fly. Saturdays have become filled with families traveling over weekends (think lots of people gate checking baby strollers). Use kayak.com and farewatch.com to compare the days and find the best price. Then consider the cities your flying between to pick the least trafficked times of days.

• Are late night or early, early morning vs. late morning or mid day/mid-evening the best time to fly?

Again, this really depends on the cities. Certain airports, like LGA and JFK, run so behind that unless you get an early morning flight, you'll never make your connection (and you're still likely to experience a 45-minute delay sitting on the runway waiting for take off). So at those airports, what's most important is just getting out in any seat. The later in the day you fly, the more backed up they become.

But other airports have better on-time records so flights later in the day are typically less crowded. Again this is market specific. For business hubs like Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles, it is generally true that flights later in the day are less crowded.

Holiday destinations are different. Consider Honolulu. Nearly all flights to the Mainland leave at night (the red-eyes) so people can make morning connections on the West Coast to the East Coast. Nearly all evening and nights flights out of Hawaii are packed.

Flights earlier in the day are typically less crowded for several reasons: (1) Most people want to maximize their time in Hawaii and prefer to leave as late as possible (think one more round of cocktails at sunset); (2) The kids will sleep on the plane on a night flight; and (3) Most people don't want to pay for an extra hotel night at a connecting airport. You're most likely to score extra elbow room flying during the day from Hawaii to the Mainland.

Airports with predictable, extreme weather also follow their own patterns. Consider San Francisco. When the fog rolls in, it typically happens as the day heats up. So flights taking off (or landing) in the late afternoon or evening are usually delayed. This is an example of another airport where morning flights are most reliable, even though you'll compete with business travelers. In this case, you may want to consider using another airport in the area, like San Jose or Oakland, that don't typically have weather issues.

Method of Last Resort to Get an Empty Seat Next to You on the Plane

Finally, if all of that planning and strategizing still does not score an empty seat next to you on plane, the method of last resort is to sit where you are assigned until all passengers have boarded. Once everyone is in their seats, look around for the empty row. There is a very small window between when the airplane door closes and when the plane pushes back from the gate that you can quickly switch seats. Just make sure you're seated with your seat belt on before anyone notices.

As someone who has accumulated his share of status on at least 4 major airlines and hotel chains, it stills amazes me when people start to talk about how lucky we must be to have accumulated all of those points and perks every year. Let's take a quick look at some of those perks they're talking about, shall we?

• Airline status that allows us to board first
• Airline status that allows us to get priority in stand-by situations
• Airline status that allows us to get upgrades from economy
• Airline miles that can be redeemed for round trip tickets
• Hotel status that allows us to make guaranteed same-day reservations
• Hotel status that allows us to get room upgrades and free bottles of water
• Hotel points that can be redeemed for free night

Sure these all seem like fantastic perks worthy of some oohs and ahhs at face value. However let's revisit that same list in context of a typical travel work week for a consultant:

• Since most business travel is done early Monday morning - late afternoon/evening Thursday, we find ourselves traveling with other road warriors with status. And since most of us haven't checked a bag since we first started the job, we're all still fighting for the same overhead bin space. The only exception is when you find yourself going to podunk-town in middle America by yourself, in which case you have worse problems than worrying about luggage space.
• Usually the only times we fly stand-by is because we're on a last-minute flight to the client on a Sunday evening because they just signed the statement of work and want you there by 8am Monday.
• Ok, I admit that flight upgrades are nice...
• Redeeming miles for free tickets is a great concept when talking about vacation travel. When was the last time you took a vacation?
• Guaranteed Same day reservations - see flying stand-by...
• Room upgrades are nice, and cold bottled water tastes like champagne after you've been stuck in a plane for 4 hours while waiting on the runway for 3 of those hours sitting next to Chit-Chat Cathy.
• Redeeming points for free hotel stays - again, when was the last time you took a vacation?

So as it stands, most of the so-called perks actually end up being valued as necessities. The only real way to take advantage of some of these programs is to make sure you actually leverage your vacation and holiday time wisely, and that is a whole other discussion.

Some airline customers have received an e-mail signed by over 10 major airline CEOs, asking that they write their congressman to crack down on commodities investors.

The letter explains why customers have been paying so much for airline tickets and getting fewer and fewer services, blaming a poorly regulated market speculation -- oil speculators who trade oil on paper, with no intention of delivery.

Speculators then buy the oil, and sell it back and forth sometimes 20 or more times. That drives up the price of oil, and airliners said they are flipping the bill, then passing the extra cost onto customers.

By adopting common-sense solutions, Congress can dramatically reduce the price of oil, providing immediate relief for businesses and Americans. Please take a moment and tell Congress to act now.

Pilot Patrick Smith explains why the airline industry is on overload.

Welcome aboard. Our flying time this afternoon, not counting ground delays and holding patterns, will be two hours and thirty minutes.

Before we take off, I would like to apologize on behalf of this and every airline for the hassle you just endured at the security checkpoint. As is patently obvious to any reasonable person, the humiliating shoe removals, liquids ban, and pointy-object confiscations do little to make us safer.
Unfortunately, the government insists that security theater, and not actual security, is in the nation's best interest. If it makes you feel any better, our crew had to endure the same screening as the passengers. Never mind that the baggage loaders, cleaners, caterers, and refuelers receive only occasional random screening. You can rest easy knowing that I do not have a pair of scissors or an oversize shampoo bottle anywhere in my carry-on luggage.

Just a moment.

Okay, well, as expected, we've received word of a ground stop. Our new estimated departure time is 90 minutes from now, subject to change arbitrarily, without warning.

And while we're waiting, let me explain that these sorts of delays (and it's not your imagination -- late arrivals and departures have doubled since 1995) result not only from our antiquated air traffic control system but also from too many planes flying into and out of overcrowded airports. Passengers demand frequency-you want lots of flights flying to lots of cities. But this can be self-defeating, because many of these flights will be late -- in some cases, very late. At airports near major cities like New York and Washington, D.C., the proliferation of small jets has added to the congestion. They make up nearly 50 percent of planes at some of our busiest airports yet carry only a fraction of overall passengers. This inefficient use of air and ground space is one reason we will be sitting here for the next hour and a half.

Once we're airborne, flight attendants will be coming around with food and beverages for sale. I know many of you are irritated that an in-flight meal now costs $7 -- on top of the $25 you just paid for an extra checked bag. Unfortunately, with oil prices skyrocketing and jets requiring as much fuel as ever (a coast-to-coast flight takes 8,000 gallons), it's impossible for us to provide luxurious service and rock-bottom fares at the same time. We know that most of you are miserable and that you long ago learned to despise every aspect of air travel. But try, if you can, not to take your frustrations out on other passengers or the crew. The overall surly vibe is unpleasant for us too. And ridiculous as this might sound, look on the bright side.

Yes, there is a bright side: more choices and surprisingly reasonable fares. Domestically, you can now fly between almost any two airports in the country with, at worst, a single stopover. Internationally, transoceanic routes have fragmented, allowing people to fly direct from smaller hubs in the United States to points in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere. Nobody enjoys holding patterns or sitting on a tarmac, but in earlier days, the overall journey would have taken longer-and cost more.

It's true that fares have risen sharply of late, but if they seem especially pricey, that's partly because they remained so cheap for so long, with many carriers selling tickets below cost. Fares in 2006 were averaging 12 percent lower than in 2000, despite a 150 percent rise in jet-fuel costs.

Current fares cost about what they did in the 1980s. And let's not forget that flying is much safer than it was in the past. Globally, there are twice as many planes carrying twice as many people as there were a quarter century ago. Although the raw total of crashes has risen, accidents are way down as a percentage of total flights.

I am well aware that airlines have become pariahs of the postindustrial economy. But it's rarely acknowledged that despite recurrent fiscal crises, major staffing and technology problems, and constant criticism from the public, our carriers have managed to maintain a mostly reliable, affordable, and safe transportation system.

Hang in there, and our crew will let you know if and when our plane might actually take off. In the meantime, those $7 sandwiches are actually pretty good.

My reserach for this post led me to this news item http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/26/airlines-performance-faa-biz-logistics-cx_rm_tvr_0927worstairlines.html

Of course I can't be as objective and elaborate as The Forbes researched document on The America's Worst Airlines, so I would rather insert a disclaimer - Please see this post as a blog based on personal experience and nothing more.

 More to come...

There are two free web sites to visit for seat maps: seatguru.com and seatexpert.com. Seatguru's graphical interface is slightly easier on the eyes, but both offer seat maps of individual aircrafts operated by most airlines. They show graphical layouts of the cabins and pros and cons for various seats on the plane as reported by passengers.

• Tip #1: You'll need to know which type of plane the airline will be using on your flight. You can generally find this information in your reservation.

To see seat maps on specific flights that show which seats are occupied or not, try expertflyer.com. This site is not free (they charge a $4.99/month subscription fee), but you can access the information the first time by using their 5-day free trial. Armed with one of the free seat maps, you can also call the airline directly.

• Tip #2: Remember FEBO (Front Even Back Odd) -- This is how several major carriers, including American Airlines, take meal orders in premium class based on flight number. For Even flight numbers, meal order is taken from the Front, and for Odd flight numbers, meal order is taken from the Back. Pick your seat accordingly if you want to ensure your meal choice.