I had an upcoming flight booked, and from the time I booked the flight dropped its price about 4 times. I guess I am not too good at timing when to book flights haha. Thankfully, Delta generally makes it quite easy to get an eCredit of the difference between the price paid and the new price.

If I notice a price drop, I normally go to “Change Flight” on the app, look up the same flight and it will show the new price. Once I click through, I get to a payment screen that will say something along the lines of “Remaining eCredit Amount Due to Passenger”. Click confirm, and you should get a new eCredit that you can use for your future flight!

Issue:

On my last change, I went through the normal prompts and clicked confirm. I got a confirmation email showing the amount applied to be higher than the ticket price, but noticed that at the bottom of the email, there was no eCredit issued. Odd.

Normally when I do these types of changes, I will see this message towards the bottom of the email. This will show that an eCredit has been issued.

Check for this on your changed reservation confirmation email!

I also went to check in my Wallet on my SkyMiles account and did not see any new eCredit. Something was wrong.

Contacting Support:

I first tried via iMessage, but the agent couldn’t see anything and told me to contact support over the phone. I was on hold for about 20 minutes, then spoke with an agent who wasn’t helpful at all. After explaining the situation, she seemed unenthused and said she would transfer me to a supervisor.

After a brief wait, thankfully the supervisor was very friendly and helpful. She did some digging and was confused like myself on why I wasn’t issued a credit for the fare difference. Then, she called ticketing and they issued me the fare difference on an eCredit and it popped up in my account.

The supervisor didn’t really have an explanation for what went wrong, so perhaps it was just a tech glitch.

The Verdict:

I was happy that the supervisor was able to help me get the eCredit, but it did take up time with a phone call. The moral of the story is to make sure if you make any changes due to your Delta fare dropping in price, to check if your Delta eCredit was actually issued! I’m not sure if it was a one-off situation, but it was definitely odd that the system didn’t issue the eCredit.

Have you had tech issues when changing a Delta flight and obtaining an eCredit? Share your experience below!

Cheers,

Ty

When you have a relatively small number of points, goals can seem to be quite far away. I’m going to show you examples of what you can do with small points balances in the British Airways Executive Club and Aer Lingus AerClub.

A Weekend Getaway

Taking a weekend getaway to the beach or even a city break is quite easy to do with points. The lowest amount of points for a one way flight on both Aer Lingus and British Airways is 4,500, which would come to 9,000 Avios return.

What happens if you don’t yet have that many points? Well, the airlines have you covered. As you can see above, the total price is 9,000 Avios plus €49.57 in taxes and charges. You usually have to pay these so no surprises there. But look at the bottom right.

You can reduce your points outlay to as little as 3,000 return, if you’re prepared to pony up some extra cash. Remember that all reward flights feature one checked bag included as standard. You could also just book a one way flight and book the other way separately with cash, which halves the amounts if you have even fewer points in your account.

How Far Can I Go?

It is 4,500 Avios each way for flights up to 600 miles or 965km in length. From Dublin on Aer Lingus, that means Ireland, all of the UK, Paris, Brest and Nantes in France, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Brussels in Belgium and Dusseldorf in Germany.

Out of London with British Airways, that means the UK, all of Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, most of France, and virtually all Germany are within reach. Not too shabby at all!

Avios Reducing Ticket Prices

Frequent flyers generally value Avios at 1c or 1p per point, which makes it easy to work out how much they are worth. One other way to use them is to reduce the cash price of a ticket, which you will see towards the end of the booking process. That could reduce the cost of your weekend getaway, but should you do this?

British Airways is offering €10 off in the example for 1,000 Avios, which matches 1c per point. However the €22 off is 2,900 Avios, meaning that you’re getting less bang for your buck. Aer Lingus are offering €2 off for 250 Avios which is not as good value as the BA example. That being said, if you have a small amount of points laying around and will be hard pressed to use them, this provides a way to do that.

Overall Thoughts

That should illustrate just how few Avios points are needed to take a weekend getaway. Of course, the real value in the points is using them for flight upgrades, especially from British Airways World Traveller Plus to Club World (Premium Economy to Business Class). However, I sometimes use them for upgrades to Club Europe on Dublin to London, as it’s nice to have a little treat on the short flight.

Some people save their points for a big business class trip, some spend them as they get them – whatever you do will be right for you. Using Avios can result in big savings, especially if you can snag frequent flyer seats at popular times. Your saving over paying straight cash can be substantial (think ski resorts in Europe at half term, for example).

What say you? Are you someone who uses points regularly for a weekend getaway or are you a saver, an upgrader or something else? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons.

The two airlines ostensibly have no affiliation whatsoever with one another and the Dubai based airline is not a member of any airline alliance. Both carriers are standard competitors in the industry and there are no links between the two.

Well, if you don’t count this.

Qantas and Emirates Partnership

In 2013, Emirates and Qantas formed a close partnership meaning each airline placed the others code on their flights. This would allow a person to book a ticket from say Australia to Europe and return with Qantas, with the Australian airline’s flight numbers, but with the flights actually being operated by Emirates.

Essentially, the agreement allows each airline to sell tickets on the others flights as though they were their own. Codeshare agreements are quite common in the industry however this one is much more extensive than most. It has been extended a couple of times over the years, so clearly it works for the two airlines.

The Secret Back Door to Earning with Emirates

British Airways and Qantas are both members of the oneworld alliance which allows members of any frequent flyer programme to earn miles with any of the other member airlines. Third party airlines are generally excluded from earning even when it is a codeshare flight. However, the British Airways web site says the following when it comes to earning on Qantas.

The last line of text indicates any flight carrying the Qantas QF flight code on any third party airline will earn British Airways Avios as though you are flying with Qantas. This means that if you book a flight on the Qantas web site that happens to actually be an Emirates aircraft you will earn full Avios and Tier Points as though it was actually the Australian airline you were flying.

Overall Thoughts

While this means you can earn Avios on Emirates, it also means you it will work on any airline Qantas has a codeshare agreement with. If you happen to book a flight from Amsterdam to Sydney via Singapore, your Amsterdam to Singapore will be QF4218 but actually operated by KLM. That means you’ll fly KLM and earn your Avios that way.

The caveat is that you must book through Qantas and the flight must be a Qantas codeshare flight with a QF flight number. Flights on other carriers are marked quite clearly on the Qantas website, making choosing these services quite straightforward.

Have you earned Avios on Emirates before? Did you even know this was possible? I’ve heard it works seamlessly by those who have done it. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via Emirates.

Cathay Pacific has fired three members of their cabin crew after an incident that sparked off allegations of racism. The incident occurred during a flight from Mainland China.

Racism Allegations

In an audio clip that went viral, the cabin crew member appears to deny a request by a passenger for a blanket. Moreover, it has been alleged that the cabin crew also mocked the passenger’s lack of English speaking ability.

As per this report by CNN, the cabin crew is telling the passenger that if you can’t say the word blanket in English, you can’t have it.

“If you can’t say blanket in English, you cannot have it,” a voice is heard saying in the clip, recorded Sunday on a Cathay flight to Hong Kong from the southwestern city of Chengdu.

In a statement late Tuesday announcing the dismissals, Cathay Pacific (CPCAY) CEO Ronald Lam said he would personally lead a task force to improve service and avoid similar incidents in the future.

“We need to ensure that all Cathay Pacific employees must at all times respect customers from different backgrounds and cultures, and that we provide quality services consistently across all markets that we serve,” he said.

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I always receive good service on board a flight. Sure, I have been more or less ignored on one or two flights and on others given the bare minimum of service (hi, American Airlines!) but I have never received overtly bad service. Here are some tips to help you receive great service on your flights.

Smile!

Smiling is so simple and costs nothing… plus, just about everyone looks hotter when smiling! Cabin crew enjoy serving someone who is smiling at them rather than someone who has that serial killer grimace on their face.

Travel can be stressful but remember to smile – it not only inspires people to be friendlier to you but it also makes you feel happier by association. Who knows, you might also pick up a date!

Remember Your Manners, Please! Thank You!

Cabin Crew have commented more than once about how they find me to be very polite. My parents taught me always to say please and thank you and it is amazing how many people forget this.

Are you the kind of person who watches a movie during dinner on a long haul flight? You’re probably that person who has accepted their meal or drinks without acknowledging the crew. It is common courtesy to remove your headphones when the crew arrive to deliver your meal and to thank them for doing so with a smile. I have had two hour movies take three hours due to this but it’s worth it.

Sitting in the window seat and the crew has to deliver your tray over two other people? Reach out and take it from them. Cabin crew do enough bending and stretching and a little help is always appreciated.

While one of the aspects of their job is to ensure your safety serve your meals and so on, they are human beings as well, so treat them as such. Your crew always appreciate a little common courtesy.

Attitude Is Key To Great Service

Everything you do makes people form an impression of what kind of person you are. The way you dress, your attitude, the way you interact – people subconsciously tally this up and judge you. Are the crew making a small joke or wanting a little banter? Join in, laugh at the joke – at least smile appreciatively – it won’t kill you.

The aim is to make someone else’s day a bit lighter – and for a person who has to serve lots of people, anything to lighten the mood is welcome. A great attitude is infectious and your fellow passengers will appreciate this too. Everyone benefits when people are in a good mood, so be the one who helps cultivate this.

Overall Thoughts

You might be reading this and think, “I’m always nice on flights – that doesn’t get me anywhere!” – but are you really? Take a good long hard look at the way you act on board a flight – really analyse it. If you are someone who constantly receives bad service, it’s probably not the airline, it’s probably you.

Not only does great attitude, politeness and smiling result in good service, you sometimes might get goodies too! I have received gifts from the crew more than once so you never know what you might end up with at the end of a flight – all for doing things that cost you nothing.

How do you find things when you fly? Do you get great service or are you routinely treated like garbage? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image and Qatar Airways service via the oneworld Alliance.
Smiling and happy passengers via Aer Lingus.

SouthWest saved the day twice after I was on 3 different flights that I got cancelled from on the same night !!

The background:

I was in Las Vegas hoping to head home after a week of work. I was on AA flight 1871 flying at 16h50 and landing at about 21h30 in Dallas.

That was the start of a very intense evening which ended with me being on all those flights that got cancelled, buying points to top up my balance and then landing at Love Field at 01h20 in the morning. Of course on any normal Saturday morning after a week away this would have been fine. Get home late, sleep late and then carry on with my weekend.

But no!

A quiet weekend away with my wife ?:

This was the weekend I had arranged to fly to Palm Springs at 07h20 on Saturday morning with my wife for a weekend getaway. The dates ended up being chosen by work restrictions and the fact that I had a 50,000 point voucher from Marriott Bonvoy which was expiring on 26 May.

I had had 3 x 50,000 point vouchers, using the first 2 for nights at the St Regis in Bangkok. I would recommend everyone to stay at this hotel sometime, it was wonderful.

As a result of this I thought to myself, “why not stay at a local St Regis hotel ?”. Well, not so easy. It seems it costs much more to stay at most US based St Regis hotels. My surprise was that it cost 88,000 points per night to stay at the St Regis, Palm Springs on the dates I wanted. I was quite shocked by this, I cannot fathom how that hotel would be double as good as the one in Bangkok seeing as it was costing double the points.

So I carried on looking and then saw the Westin, Rancho Mirage, Resort and Spa. It seemed to be a nice resort type hotel with spa and golf course and pool complex so I booked it. (There will be a separate review of our stay at this Westin.) We booked 2 tickets on SouthWest using my wife’s Companion Pass and so were ready to fly from Dallas but now I am stuck in Las Vegas.

Back to me trying to leave Las Vegas:

I was booked on AA flight 1871 departing at 16h50 and landing at about 21h30. Then the delay messages started. First AA 1871 delayed to 17h08. Then AA 1871 delayed to 18h00. And AA 1871 delayed to 18h50. Finally AA 1871 delayed to 19h05.

I was staying at the Wynn and had arranged checkout for 15h30. I had originally planned to leave the hotel at 14h15 to drop off the rental car and then check-in for the flight. As each delay happened I was able to stay on in my room waiting. Once the delay to 18h50 happened I got worried that the flight might end up being cancelled. Now some of the next time details might not be 100% accurate as it got a bit complicated from here on but I will list it as I remember. On the app I tried to book a flight which was flying at 18h00 but for some reason it put my booking on hold, it would not confirm the flight.

I rushed off to the airport, totally forgetting that the car rental place in Las Vegas is a ways away from the airport. So I had to deviate to the car rental return place, check the car back in, wait in line for the bus to the airport and then ride the bus. All the while my battery was draining from 20% power left. After having to pause while I was driving I was back trying to confirm the flight. I was not able to and it eventually disappeared from my list.

The lovely gate agent Miriama:

I was told by the lovely American Airlines agent named Miriama that it was because I had not confirmed within 30 minutes. That is all good and well but my MyCWT site was convinced that I was on the flight and kept on giving me updates on the progress of the flight. Well, that flight was also eventually cancelled.

By now I had been informed that there were intense thunderstorms over Texas and there were all sorts of delays because of flights not being able to land or take off from Dallas. I was convinced that I was not going to get to Dallas in time for my flight to Palm Springs at 07h20. Sometime around this time my original flight AA 1871 was also cancelled.

I had by now taken over Miriama’s counter as I was asking her about either flights to Dallas after midnight or flights directly from Las Vegas to Palm Springs. Interestingly American does not fly to Palm Springs from Las Vegas even though it is so close. I would have to take an indirect flight. There was one via Miami. Yes Miami. I would have to fly to the other side of the country to get a flight to Palm Springs. I was not sure if that was a good idea as in a worst case scenario I could even hire a rental car and get to Palm Springs quicker.

Flying to Dallas after midnight !

So by that point because of the original cancellation American now had me rescheduled on AA flight AA 2649 which was to take off at 05h00 and land at DFW at 09h30. That was no good. Now I was dealing with agent Tina who was also lovely and helpful. She got me cancelled from AA 2649 and tried to help me get booked on AA 2526 that looked like it would take off at 00h30 and get me to Dallas by about 05h15. My wife could then pick me up at DFW and we could go on to Love Field for our SouthWest flight to Palm Springs at 07h20. Cutting it fine but still feasible.

By now there were flights being cancelled all over the board as one by one flights were not taking off from Dallas and so were not going to be landing at Las Vegas in time for their onward flight. The thunderstorms in Dallas were scheduled to run until around midnight and so with pilots and flight crews running out of time there were not going to be many flights from Dallas until the normally scheduled flights on Saturday morning. Unluckily AA 2526 also got cancelled.

SouthWest to my rescue:

Now SouthWest would save the day for the first time.

By now I was thinking about other ways to get to Dallas and so I thought about SouthWest. I tried to book a flight on SW 611 departing at about 17h35 and landing at about 22h10 but did not have enough points. So there I was sitting against the wall in Las Vegas airport where I know there is a secret wall plug that I can use to power up my phone (which by this time was down to about 3% power). In 2009 I had first used this spot to power my computer watching movies overnight while I waited for a normally booked flight at 8am after I had arrived in Vegas at 9pm. I have used it many times since. It is one of the few power plugs available outside security.

I bought 6000 points for $90, which was normally $180 dollars but there was a sale on. Lucky me !!! Back to my booking. Luckily the Southwest points updated quickly and I was able to go ahead with booking flight SW 611.

Then the delays started with this flight too. SW 611 delayed to 18h54.

Departure board at about 18h30

Then SW 611 delayed to 19h18.

SW 611 delayed to 20h06.

Departure board at 20h55

On this board you can see there are at least 14 flights delayed by more than an hour and 3 flights cancelled.

I had every expectation that this SouthWest flight would also be cancelled. But it wasn’t. Eventually a plane pulled into the gate and we were told to start boarding at about 19h48. Strangely enough with all the people affected by the cancellations this flight was only 2/3 full.

Quite empty rear of the aircraft

As a result of the flight being so late there were some taxi delays and we eventually took off at about 20h50. We landed at Love Field at about 01h20 and parked at Gate 12.

My flight arrived at gate 12

There was still a lot of activity at the airport at that time because of all the people impacted by the storm. My flight was still flying on to Kansas City at about 01h55 (only 2 hours late) and the passengers were drearily waiting to board.

Gate 12 at 01h20 in the morning

On walking out to the baggage area there were so many passengers draped all over couches and leaning against walls watching videos or sleeping. They had all been affected by the delays and were waiting for the next morning.

I waited for my luggage, called a Lyft driver and got home at about 02h20, then hopped into bed and slept for 2 hours before getting up in time to leave for the airport at 5.

SouthWest to the big rescue:

Now SouthWest would save the day for everyone.

Under every normal circumstance I would not have experienced what I did at Love Field that morning. I would still have been tucked up in bed catching up on sleep but for my trip to Palm Springs at 07h20..

On arriving at the terminal it was unbelievable how many people were there. There were about a hundred people in line to be helped by the counter agents. There were also about 80 people in line to check in their bags and this was in the section where you self check in, print the tag, attach it yourself and then stand in a (normally) short line to have your id checked and have the bag checked in.

SouthWest had brought in all the troops:

The really cool thing was I could see that SouthWest had pulled out all the stops. There were agents at every counter to help with re-bookings and to help with checking bags.

And then security. All the security gates were manned, every x-ray machine was active and there were agents everywhere. There were hundreds of people in the general line and my wife joined the end of that line. I went through TSA-Pre, there were at least 30 people ahead of me but the line went smoothly. The general line was interesting to watch. There was a continual movement of people moving forward.

I imagine SouthWest had called almost every employee they could gather to be at Love Field so early to help that Saturday morning. It was a very impressive performance by everyone involved. I did not see any passengers getting upset, and I am sure that was because they could see that the lines for baggage and security were moving so quickly and smoothly. I waited about 15 or so minutes and my wife came through normal security. There were more than a hundred people in line before her and it took her less than 20 minutes to get through the id check line and then through the security machines. I have seen lines like that take over an hour in Orlando.

There were many flights taking off early, I am not sure if SouthWest had booked extra flights or not, it definitely seemed like it.

Our plane to Palm Springs via Phoenix took off on time.

Congratulations SouthWest:

So well done SouthWest after the intense thunderstorms. You handled it very well and those few thousand people on Saturday morning must have been very grateful for your actions. It was a job very well done.

Currently the Amman based carrier operates two Embraer 175 aircraft, which I had the pleasure of flying on in 2008. They also have two of the larger Embraer 195s, which I also took a business class flight in the same year.

The Embraer E2 Series

According to Azorra’s press release, four E190-E2 and two E195-E2 will be leased for 12 years. The first two regional jets are due for delivery in December 2023. An additional pair of E195-E2s were ordered directly from the manufacturer.

The new E195-E2 at Royal Jordanian will seat 12 passengers in Crown Class and 108 in Economy Class. The E190-E2 will also have 12 up front with just 80 seats in the back. In keeping with the premium nature of the airline, there will be mood lighting, leather seats and Wi-Fi installed.

Once delivered, the updated aircraft will replace the fleet of four first generation Embraers currently in service and allow for expansion. Samer Majali, Royal Jordanian’s current CEO, states the new planes offer 25% fuel savings versus the ones flying now. Various reasons also influenced the decision such as pilot training and common spare parts.

It’s interesting to see the CEO return to the helm of the airline. During his previous tenure between 2001 and 2009, the airline recorded some of its best financial performance. Let’s hope this happens again!

Overall Thoughts

Royal Jordanian are an airline I have fond memories of as I flew multiple flights with them back in 2007 and 2008. I really need to get back to Jordan, a country I thoroughly enjoyed visiting.

As far as oneworld airlines go, they tend to be overshadowed by some of the larger carriers. However they more than hold their own against the big boys and if you get a chance, fly them.

What do you think of this Embraer E2 order from RJ? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Fabrizio Gandolfo on JetPhotos.net via Wikimedia Commons.
E195 image via Aviation Spotting.

So, back in 2019 a friend and I flew on Vueling Airlines from Paris (ORY) to Barcelona (BCN). We were delayed a little over 3 hours, which I recall was the cutoff time back then for EU261 compensation. It seems now in 2023 for flights under 1,500 km, you’re supposed to get 250 EUR if you’re delayed by at least two hours. TL;DR- Vueling rejected my claim for compensation for my delayed flight (even though they shouldn’t have), so I went to AirHelp for assistance, they said I had a strong case and they said they have filed a lawsuit and our claim is in court. Oh, and it has been over 4 years in progress.

Vueling Website:

As of May 2023, the Vueling site states that:

The delay that entitles you to compensation is calculated according to the time of arrival at your destination. If you get to your destination 3 or more hours later than the scheduled time you are also entitled to request financial compensation, except if the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances like the weather. The compensation amount will vary according to how far your destination is: Up to 1500 km = 250 EUR.

It also adds “Request compensation easily through our website”.

So, I did! After the flight, I requested compensation but was denied as they said the delay was out of their control. I even replied with a screenshot showing the app explaining the delay was due to maintenance (which should be eligible for EU261) but they didn’t budge.

Vueling technical maintenance delay

Where to go next? AirHelp!

After being rejected by Vueling, I went over to AirHelp! AirHelp says they:

We make claiming compensation straightforward for all passengers who are unsure of their rights, lack the time, or lack the expertise to embark on the claims process themselves. We stand up to airlines in court, and we campaign for national governments to introduce fair air travel rights. We’ve helped countless more through our fight for justice.

Sounds good to me! I filed a claim and within a week they said my claim looked strong and wanted all the documents for my flight (tickets, passports, etc).

Good news! Although the airline is not cooperating with us, your claim is still looking strong. We’ve been given the green light to move to the next stage with your claim for compensation for your Vueling Airlines flight. This means we are one step closer to getting you your money.

An additional week later, I got this message on April 30th, 2019:

Thanks for providing us with all of the information we asked for in support of your claim for compensation for your Vueling Airlines flight. You’ve done your hard work, and now it’s our turn. Our flight experts are ready to argue your case and convince the airline to pay you. We’ll be honest, this part can take a bit of time. But remember, you’re in very good hands. We win 95% of claims that reach this stage. So we’ve got a very good chance of winning with your claim.

May 2019 to March 2021:

Then, monthly they would send me a monthly status update, from May 2019 to February 2021. Each message was similar to:

“We know you’re still waiting patiently for some good news on your compensation claim…”

It made sense for the delay, with COVID and everything occurring in between these times. I sent a follow-up email to check on the status and got a more detailed reply in March 2021:

We would like to let you know, that we have already taken legal steps in regard to your case and it is currently in the hands of our lawyers. We have reached out to the external lawyer, who is responsible for handling of your claim, for an update and they have informed us that they are waiting for a hearing date in court.

September 2021:

I got a new update in September 2021 saying:

As you are aware, we are in the midst of legal action against the airline. In the months leading up to the court’s final decision, there are a few more steps to take. Once the preparatory hearing is concluded, both sides prepare for the final court date, which must be appointed within the next 12 months. The date of this hearing is determined by the court’s calendar and, as such, unfortunately, we have no influence over it.

May 2023:

Hmm, I suppose it’s taking a while to actually get a court date…

I just asked for another update in May 2023, and nothing has really changed. My dashboard on the website has been showing this for years now,  that the summons has been set and now we are waiting for a court date.

AirHelp Dashboard

I find it a bit entertaining, and I’m curious how many years it will take 🙂

Payouts + Fees:

For those curious, in terms of compensation and fees, you don’t have to pay anything upfront. Fees are taken out of your compensation. It shows that our flight compensation is $541.90 USD (which is 250 EUR times 2 passengers converted to USD). Then, there is a service fee of $135.47 USD and a legal action fee of $135.47 USD. So, if everything goes through we stand to get about $270.96 USD ($135.48 per passenger). So the fees are a little more than half the EU261 stated amounts.

The Verdict:

Overall, it’s been an interesting process so far using AirHelp. My claim had been accepted, and it’s been sent to court. The process started in April 2019, and we passed the 4-year mark in May of 2023. I’m in for the ride, and interested to see how it plays out…

Have you used AirHelp before? Has your claim gone through and did you get paid? Feel free to share below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!

It boggles my mind, because most people stick to the same airlines that operate from their nearest airport. Therefore, I thought I’d pose the question to you and find out more.

How Often Do People Really Fly?

Aer Lingus released some data showing that in 2016, the average person in the Republic of Ireland took 6.79 flights. With a trip being considered two flights, they found 21% of people took one to two trips that year, 29% took three to four trips and 34% took five to ten trips.

That’s rather a lot of flying, but of course Ireland is an island, so you need to fly to get anywhere else. The very frequent flyers filled out the rest of the stats that year, with 11% taking 11-20 trips and 6% taking more than 21 trips, which would be 42 flights. Looking at my flight log, I took 34 flights that year but I used only four airlines to do it.

How Many Airline Apps Then?

Since I am always chasing frequent flyer status with British Airways, I try to stick to them as much as possible. It’s either BA or one of the members of the oneworld alliance, unless I absolutely have to go off piste and fly with someone else.

In my phone, I have the following ones installed. On the main screen, British Airways, American Airlines and Aer Lingus. The second page has Ryanair and the third page has the Aer Lingus AerClub app, Finnair and Qatar Airways. The latter two I’ve only added recently as I have upcoming trips with them.

Since I didn’t exit the womb with an iPhone in my hand, I have little use for airline apps before flying. All trip planning and so on is done on my laptop as it’s both much faster and the information is presented better.

The only time I use the apps are to check-in for a flight and get my mobile boarding pass. That’s pretty much it, as the airlines I use don’t have the whizz bang functionality of the US airlines that let you change your flights during disruptions and so on.

Overall Thoughts

Lots of companies have an app, and a lot of the time that was just jumping on the bandwagon. Airline apps are useful, but not as much as you might expect, in my opinion anyway.

Once my flying with Finnair and Qatar Airways is complete, I’ll delete their apps as I have no reason to have them on my phone doing nothing. I tend to be good at digital housekeeping like that, though I know I am an outlier on that.

So, what about you? How many airline apps do you have on your phone? Which airlines? Do you use them all or are some there just because you’ve forgotten to delete them? Are you using them for bookings and so on or just for check-in? I’d be interested in your views. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Stanislav Doronenko via Wikimedia Commons.
Aer Lingus by Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons.

The Internet came along, and eventually the paper timetables became PDF files online, before being dropped altogether. Nowadays we refer to an airline’s website to search for flights, but it’s perhaps not as fun as the past.

What Did Timetables Look Like?

British Airways still have their final PDF timetable online for the Winter season 28 October 2007 to 29 March 2008. The only way it differs from the printed ones is that it doesn’t include all the aircraft seating plans in the back (which was actually my favourite part, but today we arguably have it better with aeroLOPA).

Back in the day it was fun to have timetables from large airlines like BA. There were so many different places you could go, so it was definitely food for the imagination reading all the different cities. I’d go so far as to say it was a bit more romantic than things are today.

A Current British Airways Timetable

Speedbird Online has current BA timetables on their website, in the same format as the PDF and printed versions from times past. This discovery has made a certain cohort of frequent flyers quite happy.

One of the limitations of airline websites is that it’s not really possible to easily flip through the various destinations. When you’re looking for inspiration, it takes much more effort than having an entire schedule at your fingertips, so this format is actually rather simpler all round.

Overall Thoughts

It’s fantastic to see this schedule online at Speedbird Online. One caveat is that you should not rely totally on the data, because things change very quickly in the airline world. If you’re planning to use it before booking flights, you will be smart to check the British Airways website to ensure the service you want is operating.

Surely it would not take much effort for an airline to have something like this available all the time, in this format, that updates automatically. The fact airlines have largely removed route maps is another bug bear of mine, because they were also really quite handy to look at for inspiration.

What do you think of airline timetables? Do you miss having them available or is it no big deal? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Featured image by Rafael Luiz Canossa via Wikimedia Commons.