Tag: Pittsburgh International Airport

Now Air Travel Sucks More

jetblueHappy New Year. Air travel sucks more.

Over time airlines have offered less and less to passengers. Remember food? We’ve got smaller seats, crowded planes and baggage fees.

Now, airlines have begun to eat away at any semblance of dependability.

JetBlue cancelled hundreds of flights over the weekend into Tuesday. More weather than they’re staffed to handle! It’s as simple as that.

JetBlue decides how much they want to spend to be prepared. Their threshold for preparedness falls below this weekend’s weather. The weather was bad, but snow falls in the Northeast nearly every year. An FAA rule affecting pilot rest hours just kicked in, but JetBlue knew it was coming two years ago.

After hundreds of cancellations over the weekend, JetBlue shut down their major Northeast operations Monday at 5:00 PM. Things start up again in the morning, gradually. They just need some ‘me’ time.

JetBlue operates as many as 240 departures and arrivals daily in Boston, and as many as 440 departures and arrivals a day at the New York City region’s three major airports: John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International. The airline said the hiatus would allow for “17 hours of rest for our equipment and crew members and time to service aircraft.” – Wall Street Journal

As airlines have figured out how to fly mostly full planes, options for displaced travelers have disappeared. Miss a flight? Be prepared to wait many days.

Richard Bellefeuille said he had been sitting with his two young sons at Logan since Saturday evening. The boys were supposed to fly to San Francisco at 8 p.m., but after hours of delays, the flight was finally canceled at 3 a.m. The airline told them the next available flight leaves Saturday.

“Their mother’s in San Francisco, but they were here with me for the holidays and it looks like I’ll have them an extra week,” he said. – Boston Globe

When I was a kid, flying was very expensive. Only rich people and celebrities traveled by air. Air travel was luxurious.

Flying has been democratized. Inflation adjusted prices are way below what I paid when I finally did buy a ticket.

Deregulation has been a mixed blessing to travelers. Lower fares, but more hassle.

I liked it better the way it was when I couldn’t afford to use it! There are no easy answers.

Bye Bye Las Vegas

The last day… so depressing.

Helaine had arranged for a 6:00 PM check out. We knew we had to return our car by 9:00 PM. We spent the vast majority of the day close to home at Mirage.

Helaine had awful luck at blackjack. I was doing better at poker, up another $200+.

By mid-afternoon she was looking for something to do and I invited her to play Hold’em at the same table I was at.

Bad move.

Listen, I love having my wife there, but we both started getting awful cards… fractions… suits that were green. In Hold’em, 2-7 off suit is the worst hand you can get. I had more 2-7’s than I can believe. Helaine too.

And we started losing.

I think, between the two of us, we gave back around $150 before finally getting up and walking away.

Whenever Helaine and I fly somewhere, we always comment on how happy the people look arriving, and how sad the departees are. No different here. And, we would have all day to think about it.

Because of the time difference, you don’t have many choices when flying west-to-east. You can leave midday, and waste the whole day, or leave late at night and try to sleep on the plane (good luck).

Since we had first class tickets, with room to relax, we thought the redeye would be acceptable, even with a nearly 2 hour layover in the formerly crowded Pittsburgh International Airport (USAir, in financial trouble, has cut traffic back heavily to its Pittsburgh hub, favoring Charlotte instead for most East Coast north-south trips).

Returning the car at Dollar was no problem. For some reason the area where you drop the car, and where the shuttle bus arrives are separated, and that meant bag carrying.

The airport itself was quiet. Helaine, once again, went without a shoe inspection (something that had become a family joke and Helaine tradition). The federal agent did notice I had a small set of diagonal wire cutters in my carry-on. I had brought them to cut the cable ties I used to ‘secure’ our luggage against baggage handlers posing as thieves.

The official rules say these wire cutters should be OK because they had blunt ends, but that wasn’t the interpretation at the airport. I’m not exactly the threatening type, but no matter. These cutters, called dykes by electricians, are now part of some huge federal stash.

The flight was uneventful. Sleeping was the order of the day. They didn’t even lower the TV screen in the First Class cabin.

We made Pittsburgh on-time, Hartford too.

While Helaine got the bags, I took the shuttle and picked up the car. By the time I got back to the terminal, Helaine was at the curb waiting.

And there you have it. Every year, in July… when it’s really hot. Every year, same hotel, Mirage. Every year, it’s a ball. And I’m looking forward to going again ASAP.