0 American Airlines to Offer International Curbside Check-In

American Airlines is expanding its Curbside Check-In service to give any customer traveling internationally the opportunity to check their bags with the skycap. This makes the travelers trip through the airport, which everyone knows can be extremely stressful, as smooth as possible.

Curbside Check-In from American Airlines is available to any and all customers traveling to an international location. This includes countries that require a visa, making American Airlines the only airline to provide a service of this kind.

Ever since September, American Airlines has been expanding the enhanced service to 28 airports that already offer domestic Curbside Check-In services including American Airlines' cornerstone markets in Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Miami and New York at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. 31 additional U.S. markets will offer the new service by the beginning of November according to American Airlines.

According to a statement from American Airline's Senior Vice President of Airport Services Tom Del Valle, "Offering Curbside Check-In for travel to international destinations is another way American is expanding its products and services to better meet the needs and desires of customers traveling abroad. The new service offers a seamless transition from booking to boarding, and we look forward to the positive changes this will bring to our customers' overall travel experience."

Curbside Check-In allows customers to have the convenient opportunity to book, purchase and check in from their home, drop their bags on the airport curb with the skycap and move directly through the security check-in point to their departure gate in one easy process. In addition to that, this service also provides flexibility for customers traveling with a large number of bags or to anyone who prefers to bypass the ticket counter altogether.

Curbside Check-In at international airports will also coincide with regular ticket counter hours and will be available to customers who use online flight check-ins, electronic tickets or those with/without pre-reserved seats.

Source: The Sacramento Bee - American Airlines Introduces Curbside Check-In for Customers Traveling to International Destinations

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Detail: American Airlines to Offer International Curbside Check-In

0 Dispute Between American Airlines and Travelport Continues

American Airlines and Travelport LP, a ticket middleman, have just delayed a duel between the two companies reminiscent of ones in the past that have resulted in American flights disappearing from popular travel websites and ticket brokers.

In a statement from both American Airlines and Travelport that was released yesterday, the two companies stated that agreements that are set to expire in the next couple of months have been extended to last until the end of the year. One of the deals that included Worldspan, an affiliate of Travelport, was set to expire on Sunday.

Travelport's "global distribution systems", which include Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo, provide information about airline flights and fares to travel agencies around the world. American Airlines wishes to deal more directly with travel agencies in order to reduce distribution costs and to tailor offers to customers directly.

American Airlines has also accused Travelport of breaking antitrust laws by raising fees and burying information about American flights, making travel agents see flight information and prices from other airlines before they see those from American. Several lawsuits have arisen due to the dispute involving AMR Corporation's American, Travelport, Sabre Holdings Corporation and online travel agencies which include Orbitz Worldwide Incorporated. The dispute even got so bad that American Airlines flights didn't even appear on Orbitz or Expedia.

Both American Airlines and Travelport LP have declined to comment on the current situation.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek - American Airlines, Travelport extend agreement

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Detail: Dispute Between American Airlines and Travelport Continues

0 Dutch Airlines Allows Passengers to Pick Seat After Looking at Other Passengers Social Media Profiles

You know how you’re always curious about who you will be sitting next to whenever you fly? It could be someone that leaves you very little elbow room, a crying baby or an individual that simply will not stop their yacking. Well, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has eliminated some of that mystery. Some people are saying that the airline has taken blind dating to the next level.

According to USA Today, KLM is developing a way that passengers can select who they want to sit by with the help of social media. The company will now be allowing their passengers to select where they want to sit by examining the social media profiles of the other passengers.

When you book your flight, you are given the option of browsing the Facebook and LinkedIn profiles of other passengers that are also on your flight. This allows you to find a seatmate that has interests similar to yours or to simply choose someone that you think is attractive. However, to be able to browse other passengers' social media profiles, the passengers must have opted to link their e-ticket to their profiles. This is not required of passengers when they buy their tickets. It is a merely an option.

Lots of people are voicing their opinions on Twitter about this new way of selecting a seat. Some people like it, while others seem to think that it is slightly creepy.
Stumac01 tweeted that it is a great way “to go 'Mile High' with the hottest girl on the flight. The power will be in your hands," he said.

However laurastott1 said, “I cannot think of anything worse than this. Matchmaking via your seat choice in-flight, more like mile-high stalking."

cklenotic simply said, "That could be a LONG flight if it doesn't work out."

Although this is a new concept for airlines, it is not their first introduction to creative uses of social media. Back in February Malaysia Airlines released a Facebook app that allows passengers to book, check-in and then search for Facebook friends that are on the same flight or are traveling to nearby destinations, all without leaving Facebook.

I think that all of it is a little bit creepy, but if people are willing to put themselves out there like that to be judged by the rest of the passengers on their flight, then that is their choice. It will be interesting to see how many people are actually willing to link their social media profile to their e-ticket.

Sources: PCMag - Dutch Airline Lets Passengers Pick Seats By Perusing Facebook Profiles and SkyNews HD - KLM To Offer Mile-High Dating Via Facebook

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Detail: Dutch Airlines Allows Passengers to Pick Seat After Looking at Other Passengers Social Media Profiles

0 Vision Airlines Offers $2 Round-Trip Flights to the Bahamas, Stings Attached

When you see a headline that says "$2 Flight to the Bahamas", a few things probably cross your mind: Can this be safe? and What strings are attached? Well if you are thinking an offer like this is too good to be true, then you are most likely right. The offer comes from a Georgia-based low-fare airline that is launching nonstop service to Freeport from five different U.S. cities, with a few strings attached.

Vision Airlines, an air carrier that started off offering Grand Canyon charter flights back in 1994, just started twice-weekly flights to Grand Bahama Island earlier this week from Baltimore/Washington, Louisville, Raleigh/Durham and Richmond with flights five days a week from Ft. Lauderdale. The $2 promotion, which is good through March 4 if purchased by December 11, requires the customer to put in for a three-night minimum stay for at least two people at one of nine Grand Bahama resorts. However, that price does not reflect the $120 tax (per person) round-trip. So in essence you are looking at about $934.45 per couple minimum.

Regular one-way fares to Freeport will cost anywhere from $39 to $189 with an average of $99, plus a $60 tax each way. C.A. Smith, the Bahamian ambassador to the United States, was quoted saying that he hopes the Vision Airlines service will rekindle interest in Freeport, which just so happens to be the main city on Grand Bahama Island as well as the second-largest in the country. According to Smith, "The plan basically allows us to redevelop the tourism sector of the economy, and in order to do that you have to be able to have inexpensive airline seats. You have to make it convenient for people to travel."

Smith also added that Freeport was devastated by a hurricane in 2004 and 2005 and has since been eclipsed by Nassau in the recent years, especially after the opening of the Atlantis mega-resort helped initiate a hotel building influx on New Providence Island. New Providence, where Nassau is located, is also linked to New Paradise Island (the site of the Atlantis) by a causeway.

Another red flag is that it has been reported that Vision Airlines owes nearly $260,000 in unpaid passenger facility charges to the Northwest Florida Regional Airport, the location where the airliner began service in December of 2010. In addition to that, the company is also said to owe passenger facility charges and other fees to the Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas. Just a few things to keep in mind if you actually decide to cash in on this "deal".

Source: USA Today - The Bahamas for a buck? Vision Airlines offers $2 round-trip flights

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Detail: Vision Airlines Offers $2 Round-Trip Flights to the Bahamas, Stings Attached