This is a good one – I  just discovered it in the blogosphere. My readers are invited to try it out to see if it really helps.

The problem

Booking flights online often require immediate purchase. Buy it or lose it.

The solution is – WESTERN UNION

Scroll down for this amazing, life changing discovery, also known as “The Stealth Hold”

Book the tickets online and when it comes time to pay – place reservation on hold for CASH payment. AA’s website explains how. Continental works as well and I guess most airlines have a similar process.

How do you pay cash for a ticket booked online? Western Union. You get 24 hours with your reservation (and fare!) guaranteed. Now, unless you are a Bangladeshi worker stranded in Dubai or a world class money launderer (off to a Long Island romantic getaway) or Ehud Olmert, you won’t be hauling envelopes of cash to the nearby Western Union office.

What you will be doing is call the airline (within 24 hours) and tell them you decided to pay by credit card after all. You have succeeded in buying time. Time to:

• Decide if that is what you want to do
• Wait to see if fares change

This technique is also good to speak to an agent without paying the fee that often comes with that privilege. And to get the online booking mile bonus.

Summing up – the “Steath Hold” works by

1. Booking the flight online
2. Selecting the “pay by cash” or “place the reservation on hold” option
3. Recording the record locator code (PNR)
4. Call within 24 hours (may vary) to pay by Credit Card

Read more »

UPDATE – May 12 – Full 3407 Buffalo FAA Transcript released – here.

In light of last weeks tragic crash of a Continental Connection Dash 8 near Buffalo, I decided to tackle the issue of  commuter airline safety. First, the good news:

• The planes themselves have good safety records. They may be claustrophobic and bounce around a lot, but they are as safe as the big (Bar Refaeli painted) jets. This was the first crash of a Dash 8.
• Turboprop planes are a key part of the hub and spoke model of modern air travel and are held to the same high standards as the big jets.

That’s about all I could say on the positive side. The fact is that there have been 7 fatal crashes of incidents involving US commuter airlines in this decade, alone. Fasten your seat belts and read:

• The big airlines kind of outsource these flights to companies that may not live up to the reputation of the Delta’s, American’s, etc. of the industry. Pinnacle Airlines crashed 3 turboprops since 2000, including Continental Connection Flight 3407 .  You might not be aware that these brand names are often Pinnacle Airlines, or its subsidiaries (including Colgan Air)  flights:
  • Northwest Airlink
  • Delta Connection
  • Continental Connection
  • US Airways Express
  • American Connection

• The pilots may not be as good in a field where experience and disciple count:
  • They may be inexperienced - Capt. Marvin D. Renslow had only 110 hours flying time on the Dash 8.
  • They may be overworked -   In his 3 1/2 years at Colgan, Capt. Renslow flew the maximum number of hours allowed.
  • They seem to be underpaid -  The New York Post reported that Capt. Renslow was moonlighting as a part-time produce stocker at a Tampa, Florida market.
  • They are often entry-level.  First officer Rebbecca Shaw, the more experienced (on Dash-8) pilot in the cockpit,  graduated high school in 2002. Sully, by comparison, has 40 years of experience and was a US Air Force Academy graduate and top flier in his class. He landed a fully loaded Airbus A320 in the Hudson River.
  • Have you heard about  Captain Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Peter Cesarz?  -  pilots of Pinnacle Airlines flight 3701, operating as Northwest Airlink , who “decided to have a little fun” and see how high their plane could go. They did. At 41,000 feet the engines flamed-out. Then they lied to air traffic controllers trying to find them a place to land. They crashed and died. No one else was on the plane.

• The airline whose name is painted on the plane accepts only limited responsibility. Continental says that “it left safety oversight to the F.A.A”.  And the F.A.A. sited Colgan Air six times in as many years for maintenance or operational violations. So much for Continental’s “due diligence”

I would bet that at least some of that was surprising and even troubling.

With over 20% of all passenger boardings on commuter planes and with some regional airports  served only by commuters, TLV2JFK readers end up on these flights from time to time. Since each and every reader of this blog is dear to us – consider avoiding these airlines, if possible. Besides not flying to hick towns, we suggest looking carefully at the flight you are booking.

For the major airlines, commuter flights are generally those with high numbers, but not always. High numbers can also mean codeshares or special flights. Here is the best list of flights that are commuter flights that I could come up with:

United - 2830 – 3899, 5280 – 8099

Delta - 4365 – 6949, 7755 – 7829

Continental - 1200 – 1299, 2000 – 3159, 3180 – 4049, 4750 – 5993, 7425 – 8059, 8635 – 8960, 9491 – 9595 (whew!)

Finally, I apologize in advance if I hurt a billion dollar industry with my very limited knowledge of aviation. And I did not mean any disrespect for the dead. All I did was read a few newspaper articles, and flyertalk. And share my feelings.

And, if anyone knows why Continental flights 4950 – 4999 are reserved for SNCF French Rail, please do let me know!
Read more »