Mobissimo

Imagine you're a pilot, waking up from a little nap, a little drowsy, look out the window and see a plane flying straight at you. What do you do? Send the plane into a nosedive of course, to avoid the the oncoming plane. Unless of course you're just hallucinating a bit and that plane is really just Venus and you haven't quite woken up yet. Then you should probably keep flying straight. That's what happened to the pilot of an Air Canada flight a couple of years ago.

A sleepy Air Canada pilot first mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft, and then sent his airliner diving toward the Atlantic to prevent an imaginary collision with another plane, an official report said on Monday.

Sixteen passengers and crew were hurt in the January 2011 incident, when the first officer rammed the control stick forward to avoid a U.S. plane he wrongly thought was heading straight toward him.

"Under the effects of significant sleep inertia (when performance and situational awareness are degraded immediately after waking up), the first officer perceived the oncoming aircraft as being on a collision course and began a descent to avoid it," Canada's Transportation Safety Board said.

Via Reuters.

The Wall Street Journal wrote a good article on the frustrations and challenges families face flying with children. In it they describe what they call "baby ghettos", the areas in the back of airplanes where screaming babies gather or are sent. 

Babies on airplanes. It's enough to make parents—and all the passengers around them—cry.

Parents are complaining of airline seating policies that create "baby ghettos" in the back of planes. Even worse, families are increasingly split up, leaving small children in middle seats in the company of strangers unless passengers arrange seat swaps on board.

The article goes on to talk about the trials and tribulations of families flying with kids (FFWK) and offers advice from various seasoned travelers.

Summer Smith Hull, who blogs about frequent-flier miles for families, checks over and over for seat assignments if she doesn't get them right away, grabbing seats that open up when travelers cancel or get upgraded to first class. "The No. 1 way you set yourself up for trouble is if you go to the airport without seat assignments," she said. A recent flight didn't have seat assignments, so she kept calling the airline until she finally got seats.

Read the whole article.

The holidays are fast approaching. For some of you that means traveling with children, which in this day and age of packed planes and pay as you go for everything fee structures, is probably not something you're looking forward to. The NY  Times has a long article today filled with tips for families.  They do a nice job of summarizing the family friendliness of the major U.S. carriers.

American

EARLY BOARDING No. Families who want to board earlier can ask the gate agent or pay $10 a person to guarantee a spot in the first boarding group in coach.

SEATING Bulkhead seats toward the front of coach are reserved for elite passengers or sold as “preferred seats” 24 hours before departure for a fee starting at $4.

KIDS’ MEALS Sells a number of “kid-friendly choices” like $10 turkey sandwiches with chips.

ENTERTAINMENT Free child-friendly movies on overhead televisions on most flights longer than four hours. Streaming video via Wi-Fi will be added to 85 MD-80 aircraft before the end of 2011.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes, except noncollapsible strollers or those weighing 20 pounds or more, which must be checked at the ticket counter.

Delta

EARLY BOARDING Yes (no age limit), ahead of first and business class.

SEATING Bulkhead seats may be available for families 24 hours before departure.

KIDS’ MEALS $4.50 kids’ peanut butter and jelly plate, served with fruit and vegetables.

ENTERTAINMENT Last year, Delta brought back the kiddie pilot wings it used to hand out. On flights with seatback televisions, Delta offers 16 On Demand children’s television programs that cost $1 per episode or $6 for a television bundle. (Flights without seatback screens may not offer children’s movies at all.) Some flights have Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network via satellite television (at no charge).

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes.

JetBlue

EARLY BOARDING Yes, for families with children under the age of 2, along with passengers who paid extra for seats with more legroom.

SEATING Bulkhead seats are reserved for customers with disabilities up to 24 hours before departure, with remaining seats sold as “Even More Space” seats for $10 to $65 extra.

KIDS’ MEALS JetBlue doesn’t offer meals on any of its flights, but snacks, including Animal Crackers, are free.

ENTERTAINMENT Seatback televisions offer 36 channels of DirecTV, including children’s programming and 100 XM Satellite Radio channels free. If time permits, pilots are encouraged to show children the flight deck and offer them JetBlue trading cards.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes.

Southwest

EARLY BOARDING Yes, for families with children up to 4 years old, after passengers in boarding Group A, which includes elite fliers, full-fare passengers and those who pay $10 (each way) for early-bird check-in.

SEATING There are no seat assignments. Like other passengers, families must find an open seat once onboard.

KIDS’ MEALS No meals onboard. Peanuts and pretzels are free.

ENTERTAINMENT Flight attendants are encouraged to offer children coloring books and airline wings.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes.

United-Continental

EARLY BOARDING Yes, for families with children 4 years and younger, after passengers who paid extra for priority boarding on United, which merged with Continental last fall. Continental currently does not sell priority boarding; families board after first class and elite passengers.

SEATING Bulkhead seats are typically reserved for elite passengers or sold for a fee starting at $9.

KIDS’ MEALS Snacks and meals, including $7.49 cheese and fruit plates, are offered, depending on length of flight and time of day.

ENTERTAINMENT Most of United’s fleet has overhead screens that show in-flight movies. Continental offers satellite TV on more than 75 percent of its 737 Next Generation aircraft and plans to install the service on more planes in 2012.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes, except large, noncollapsible strollers, which must be checked at the ticket counter.

US Airways

EARLY BOARDING Yes, for families with children 4 and younger, along with elite passengers and those who paid extra for bulkhead seats.

SEATING Bulkhead seats are reserved for passengers with disabilities until an hour before departure and are assigned at the gate agent’s discretion.

KIDS MEALS Snack boxes, which include dried cranberries and almonds ($6), and meals including fruit and cheese plates ($8), depending on the length of the flight and time of day.

ENTERTAINMENT Nothing on domestic flights.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes, except for noncollapsible strollers, which must be checked at the ticket counter.

Virgin America

EARLY BOARDING Yes, for families with “small children,” after first class and passengers who paid extra for roomier coach seats.

SEATING Bulkhead seats are reserved for “main cabin select” passengers who pay more when booking or $39 to $129 extra to upgrade 24 hours in advance.

KIDS’ MEALS Half-sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly served with organic fruit gummy bears ($4).

ENTERTAINMENT Individual seatback screens offer parental controls, free satellite TV including the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, movies ($5 to $8) and premium programs like “Go Diego Go” ($2 to $7), free video games and seat-to-seat chat.

STROLLER GATE CHECK Yes.

Looks like you better start thinking about booking your flights for Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays early, the major carriers just pushed through their second fare increase in two weeks, increasing fares by $5 yesterday. Don't get caught by rising fares, book now or create a fare alert with our Facebook app. Here are sample fares leaving from San Francisco to cities across the country found using our activity search.

Virgin America is announcing new flights to Cancun from San Francisco and Los Angeles.  With mood-lit cabins, an innovative touch screen in-flight entertainment system, and custom designed leather seats, you can start your Mexican vacation in the right frame of mind.  Travel + Leisure readers have voted Virgin America “Best Domestic Airline” for three years running.  Get the Virgin America experience on a nonstop flight from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Cancun, and see what they’re talking about.  With competitive prices, great amenities, and of course, Mexico, what more could you want?

Virgin America is announcing new flights to Cabo from San Francisco.  With mood-lit cabins, an innovative touch screen in-flight entertainment system, and custom designed leather seats, you can start your Mexican vacation in the right frame of mind.  Travel + Leisure readers have voted Virgin America “Best Domestic Airline” for three years running.  Get the Virgin America experience on a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Cabo, and see what they’re talking about.  With competitive prices, great amenities, and of course, Mexico, what more could you want?

 

Flying in style is a long gone activity, now it's about sweats, sandals - being sloppy.  Emirates puts style back in travel.

Think of it as a return to the golden age of air travel, now ferrying passengers to Dubai and points east with luxuries that disappeared from most planes decades ago. That means private suites in first class to let you relax in style, gourmet food and fine wines on the refreshments cart and an onboard lounge for in-flight mingling—just to make sure those cocktails don't go to waste.

Traveling these days is not easy, packed flights, long lines, pay for amenities, TSA ... Here's yet another reason to have a staycation.

WASHINGTON – The government is now requiring airlines to check no-fly lists within two hours of being notified of list updates — a move aimed at preventing known terror suspects from boarding airplanes — as the man accused in the Times Square bombing attempt did.

Faisal Shahzad, who prosecutors say tried to blow up an SUV in Times Square Saturday evening, was added to the no-fly list early Monday afternoon, only hours before he boarded an Emirates flight bound to Dubai.

Now that you have become accustomed to paying for extra things on airplanes, the airlines will probably never get rid of them.

NEW YORK - The government on Monday confirmed what many travelers already suspected: U.S. airlines made a lot more money in fees last year.

The Department of Transportation said revenue from so-called ancillary fees rose 42 percent to $7.8 billion in 2009. The biggest chunk of that came from checked baggage fees, which were introduced in 2008 when oil prices soared and evenutally reached $147 per barrel.

Air travel is no longer the plush, elite activity it was decades ago.  Airlines now cram as many people as possible into that steel tube, you're not different than the guy next to you, or are you?  Here's something about being bumped.

Just because you show up at the airport with a ticket reservation doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll end up on your intended flight. Most airlines overbook flights to compensate for last-minute cancellations, but they don’t always get the numbers right. And with so few seats open on later flights, fewer folks are volunteering to get bumped.

For better or worse, the consumer protection laws concerning travelers will become reality soon.  No more waiting on the tarmac?  Read more here.

The three-hour rule alarm clock has gone off.

Starting Thursday, air travelers have something they’ve never had before: regulatory protection against tarmac delays of three hours or longer. Whether that’s good, bad or unnecessary is a matter of opinion, but it already looks like the new rules will offer both more and less than many people have bargained for.

The latest European low-cost airline has launched, offering superior customer service and fast flights.  Read more here.

Europe’s latest low-cost airline has started running services today. Varsity Express, which becomes the only airline to fly between Oxford and Edinburgh, is being masterminded by Martin Halsted, the 23-year-old airline entrepreneur dubbed “Baby Branson” after his attempt to launch a low-cost carrier as a teenager.

Now aged 23, Halstead said: “Varsity Express is a completely different proposition.  A well funded operation, running on the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) of established Humberside-based Jetstream 31 LinksAir. This is a small, niche operator that is not setting out to compete with established larger players. Rather we hope to be able to work with them in the future,” he said.

Strikes are forcing British Airways to train crews in the air, utilizing ghost flights to train crews.

British Airways is operating “ghost flights” to train ground staff as cabin crew in order to minimise the potential disruption should strikes go ahead next month. Flights are operating from Heathrow to Cardiff and Glasgow to allow them to gain experience in the air, with colleagues pretending to be passengers.

BA usually trains its cabin crew on scheduled services with paying customers, and working alongside experienced staff. However the emergency crews are undergoing intensive training.

Since checking in baggage is becoming expensive, all that you can carry on is becoming the norm.  How best to do it.

(CNN) -- As airlines keep hiking their checked-bag fees -- as Delta and Continental did recently -- there's more incentive than ever to schlep carry-on bags onto the plane with you.

Go for it. Just don't be a jerk, follow a few simple etiquette rules, and everything should work out fine, travel experts say.

Experienced airline travelers, bloggers and travel Web sites generally agree on practices for handling carry-on bags to keep clutter, confusion and conflict to a minimum. Here are their top 10 tips:

Could better scanners have prevented the Christmas Day attempted attack on a US airliner?  Perhaps, but privacy fears are delaying scanners that could have picked up such dangers.

WASHINGTON - High-tech security scanners that might have prevented the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a jetliner have been installed in only a small number of airports around the world, in large part because of privacy concerns over the way the machines see through clothing.

The technology is in place at 19 U.S. airports, while European officials hav