That's the point. The elimination of change fees applies only to domestic travel. It's a fraud, like so much of what United (really Continental since Continental bought the bones of United but kept the name) says and does.

(Written on 2020/09/04)(Permalink)

The change fees drifted in because the bucket shop carriers (Easy Jet, Ryan Air, then Frontier) brought in fees for everything and it seemed to be an easy way to rip off some easy money. The consolidation in the USA airline industry reduced competition, so charging fees for everything was easy. The big airlines could not resist - easy money. They still competed on posted fares but the fees were never displayed on search engines and Sabre. People bought the fare, got stung by fees. Note: The change fee elimination applies ONLY to domestic travel, and ONLY to premium fares (full fare economy, economy plus, and business/first). It probably still applies to mileage award travel. Southwest never charged change fees, and has delivered on what it advertises, which is why I fly Southwest. The other carriers have screwed themselves.

(Written on 2020/09/04)(Permalink)

This is merely frosting on an empty cake! The change fee elimination applies ONLY on domestic routes, and only on premium fares. The fees remain on the typical fares that you buy from on line vendors (Cheap Seats etc) and on international. If the carriers wanted to lure passengers back they would restore in flight quality ..... how about expanding the seat pitch from 32" to 35" - planes are flying at light loads with rows of empty seats so why not remove a couple of rows? That would entice people to return.

(Written on 2020/09/04)(Permalink)

Perhaps Boeing management is still smarting from the crippling strike of employees at Everett, many years ago. That memory would certainly affect my management decision, for example, but I don't work at Boeing. That strike cost Boeing huge money, delayed needed aircraft deliveries, and hurt suppliers and everyone down the chain. Surely this will be considered when choosing between hostile Everett unions and relaxed non-union Charleston?

(Written on 2020/08/28)(Permalink)

Oh, the United States carriers are promoting their sanitizing, but that doesn't make the difference. They are spraying the cabins at night. I'm sure they pay greater attention to tray tables now. Te fact is that if someone gets on the plane who has the Covid19 virus, it will be spread in the cabin. That's just the way it is. Remember, this thread started with a man stating that Airbus cleansed the air by entering through the overhead vents and existing out through the floor. That would be great if the air was properly replaced, but it's not.

(Written on 2020/06/05)(Permalink)

Back in that time, the filters would collect tar from the cigarette smoke, and the filters are at the aft of the aircraft. I've seen black tar, dripping off the filters, when they were changed at 30 day intervals. It was like honey dripping off honeycomb. Disgusting. Smoking was a God given right back then. Nobody was going to take their cigarettes away from them!! Smokers were committed to their privilige, and everyone on the plane choked, It was intense. I was in business upstairs on a United 74-400 and someone in first class lit up, and we got the smoke upstairs. It was disgusting. The fact is that, still today, despite the claims of some people who claim to the contrary, only 1/3rd of the cabin air is replaced on a rotation, so the bugs are circulated again and again. Hepa filters cannot hold back a germ or a virus - to do so the filter would be so dense as to require great pressure to force the air through, and that doesn't exist on any aircraft.

(Written on 2020/06/05)(Permalink)

Oh, give me a break. Does this Airbus man really expect us to believe this garbage. Straight talk : the cabin air comes from bleed air on the engines. The more bleed air that is taken for the cabin, the more horsepower that is lost so, by design, on every rotation of air just 1/3rd is replaced. He goes through this claptrap of vents at the top and vents in the floor and toilets etc, which is true, but the cabin air is only partially replaced on every rotation and viruses and bacteria get circulated throughout the cabin. The filters are NOT capable of removing a virus. That is a literal impossibility. Besides, they are changed every thirty days, not after every flight, if a virus was caught in a filter it would still be capable of infection for a time. The airline joke that if someone in first class sneezes that everyone in economy catches a cold is actually true. A imagine that this is designed to lull a typical passenger into believing that travel on a Scarebus is safe from Cova

(Written on 2020/06/05)(Permalink)

Spirit is a bottom feeder, and is an awful travel experience. They offer bottom feeder fares, but load up the cost with fees so, at the end, the cost isn't particularly lower than other carriers.

(Written on 2020/05/30)(Permalink)

I've dealt with Registration in Oklahoma City, and the folks there are pretty good. They know their jobs, and are responsive. But while they are experienced, and will certainly act if they see an irregularity, they do not verify ownership if the chain of title is in order. We all agree that government is, generally, myopic and incompetent, but I can vouch for the people in registration. The lights are on, their eyes are open, and I reckon they do a pretty good job overall.

(Written on 2020/05/08)(Permalink)

Lenders don't require title insurance on an aircraft purchase - while they take the aircraft as collateral, the type of financing is more like a personal loan, similar to boat, recreational vehicle financing. The lender really is lending against the good credit record of the borrower. Title insurance on an aircraft purchase protects the title - if the title is fraudulent then the title company pays out the loss. My first aircraft purchase was financed by B of A, and four months later I had a phone call explaining that the bank had missed an unreleased bank lien from four owners ahead of me. I asked what the repercussions were if B of A could not get a lien release, and the branch manager told me that B of A would own the plane. Gulp! (It was cleared and all ended well, but it's an example).

(Written on 2020/05/08)(Permalink)