Reason? The toddler’s name appeared on  TSA’s NO FLY list.

Not Riyanna (image from Cracked.com)

Fort Lauderdale, FL ~ Eighteen month old Riyanna and her parents had just boarded a JetBlue flight when an airline employee approached requesting they leave the plane and return to the inside gate area. The New Jersey family was told representatives from the Transportation Security Agency wanted to speak to them……

Full story from South Florida’s WPBF.com (click here)

What will the bean counters at the ‘spirited’ discount carrier think of next? We’re afraid to ask, but here are some fees Spirit Airlines has yet to announce.

$50 Log-On Fee

Spirit travelers wishing to book a reservation will need a user name and password (pin number) to log-on to the Spirit Airlines website. A credit card is needed and a pin number will be issued at the time of registration. The charge for this service is $50. You will then be able to check our lowest airfares to your destination.

$10 Airport Departure Information Fee

Spirit flight information will not be available on the general airline departure screens located throughout the terminal. Instead, Spirit travelers are required to use a private booth much like that of an arcade Photo-Booth. Passengers will enter the booth and swipe a credit card for the most current flight information including the departure time and gate info.

$5 Passenger Boarding Fee

In order to board the aircraft a $5 boarding fee is charged to your credit or debit card. The card is swiped during boarding. Boarding Fee increases to $10 per passenger at airport facilities when a jetway is used.

$2-$5 Carry Your Own Beverage or Food Fee

Should a passenger choose to carry their own water or food item on board, a fee of $2 for liquid and $5 for solid ‘waste’ fee will be charged.

$25 Safety Briefing Fee

Safety first at Spirit Airlines. That’s why we charge each passenger a $25 Safety Briefing Fee. Remember, the life you save may be your own. It’s better to have paid for this information and not need it than to need it and not have paid the required fee.

$10 Push Back Fee

With all passengers seated we cannot push back from the gate unless each passenger has paid the $10 Push Back Fee.

$100 Take Off Fee

While we taxi to the runway all passengers will be charged the $100 take off fee.

$10 Flight Attendant Call Button Service Fee

Self explanatory.

$500 Landing Fee

We do hope you enjoy your flight on Spirit Airlines. Please have your credit card available prior to landing. Each passenger is required to pay a $500 landing fee.

$100 Carry-Off Bag Fee

Passengers who paid to carry their bag on the flight are required to pay a ‘Carry-Off’ fee for the same bag. This just makes good business sense. If you can afford to carry the bag on, you can afford to carry it off.

We arrived at your destination safely.

See, you do get what you pay for at Spirit Airlines.

Thank you for flying Spirit, where we really do enjoy taking you for a ride.

Thrilling arrivals for white knuckled passengers landing in Bilbao, Spain.

Click here to view the embedded video.

by Helen Davey, Psychoanalyst, Psychotherapist (and former Pan Am Flight Attendant), HuffingtonPost.com

Google Photo

The recent very public emotional meltdown of a JetBlue pilot — just weeks after an American Airlines flight attendant broke down in front of passengers waiting for take-off — has many people wondering about the psychological health of pilots and flight attendants. What is going on with the employees in our airline industry?

As a former Pan Am flight attendant for 20 years, and now a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst for 25 more, I’ve been writing at length to sound the alarm about the decline of the American airline industry. In particular, I’ve discussed the traumatic emotional consequences to employees due to the massive changes they’ve had to endure.

In addition to ensuring the safety of passengers, pilots and flight attendants understand that their major role is to create the illusion of the flight crew’s emotional invincibility. In other words, they reinforce the denial of death. This is what I mean by the words “cover-up.” On board every aircraft are passengers who wonder how in the world this huge machine can actually fly. Moreover, they depend upon the comfort of knowing they have a fearless and confident crew taking care of them. Not always an easy task for the flight crew…… continued

Read more at HuffingtonPost.com

Google Image

RedAwning.com & SurfAir

RedAwning, the “vacation rental marketplace” and SurfAir, a unique airline with an exclusive “all you can fly” membership.

First up, RedAwning.com

Image from RedAwning.com

As a flight attendant I overnight in full service hotels on layovers. And at mealtime it’s room service, dining out, or grabbing a bite ‘to-go’ while running through the airport. Sounds fun and exciting right? Not if you’re a homebody like me. I get homesick. What do I miss most when traveling for work? My kitchen.

Whether at home or traveling, I enjoy the experience of food shopping and puttering around a kitchen preparing meals. For personal travel I’ll hit the local specialty markets, sampling the freshest and best foods available from the area. With the meal planned, I top it off with a loaf of fresh bread and a bottle of wine, and I’ve got the ingredients for a perfect evening at ‘home’….. away from home.

For vacations I prefer ‘home rentals’ over hotels. They’re practical and offer special perks and amenities you’ll not find at any hotel. And no two are alike!

I’ve recently discovered a new “vacation rental marketplace”~ RedAwning.com . The website is sharp and user friendly. The booking process is quick and easy with lots of information and images provided for each property while offering a variety of accommodations and unique locations.

Before booking your next vacation, check www.RedAwning.com and tell them Martha sent you. Not sure that will get you anything, well unless they think it’s the ‘other’ Martha?

image from RedAwning.com

From their website:

Welcome to the future of vacation rentals

RedAwning.com is a managed vacation rental marketplace that makes booking and staying in a vacation rental just like a hotel.

We combine the superior benefits of a vacation rental with the convenience, services and certainty of a hotel.

RedAwning aggregates hundreds of vacation rental properties across multiple destinations and provides instant reservations by credit card, a standard rental agreement across all properties, a satisfaction guarantee so customers are assured that our properties are all accurately presented, and added perks for each destination. It’s an easy, fast and consistent experience for vacation renters, wherever they want to go. And owners only pay for actual reservations received, so there is no risk to participate. With easy search, clear property presentations, and immediate online booking, we are transforming the vacation rental process. Reserving your vacation rental has never been this easy! And, RedAwning is with you each step of the way to make sure your experience is great all the way through your trip.

www.RedAwning.com

Next, we bring you SurfAir! (Coming Soon)

The California coast is buzzing with news about an airline offering an “all you can fly” membership based air service to six California destinations. See below article from HuffingtonPost.com:

Surf Air, Silicon Valley’s Newest Airline, Caters To Wealthy Entrepreneurs, Investors

When David Eyerly earned a partial scholarship to attend a California flight school, he asked his older brother Wade for some advice. Pilot jobs were tough to come by and David didn’t see the payoff. But Wade, 32, wanted his brother to stick with flying and asked what it would take to keep him in the air. David, 27, joked that Wade could just buy a plane, start an airline and hire him.

Image from Huffington Post

“I took him more serious than he intended,” says the older Eyerly, who on Thursday launched Surf Air, a new membership-based travel service that lets clients fly as many as 11 times each month between six California destinations for $990 a month……. continued at www.HuffingtonPost.com

From their website:

Revolutionizing the way you fly

Launching Summer 2012, Surf Air simplifies and enhances the flying experience through an exclusive all-you-can-fly membership.

This is the way flying should be.

Simplified flying

SurfAir Interior (image- SurfAir.com)

• No hassle, no lines and no fees
• Unlimited flights (up to six reservations at a time)
• Book in under 30-seconds
• Convenient and accessible local airports

Enhanced experience

• First-class luxury in $4 million executive aircraft
• On-site, personal concierge service
• Exclusive community of air travelers
• Complimentary guest passes
• Special offers from Surf Air partners

SurfAir hopes to ‘take off’ later this summer. Check out Surf Air at www.SurfAir.com

747 jumbo hostel in Stockholm

On a disused runway at Stockholm airport, the Jumbo Stay hostel offers visitors the pleasures of first-class air travel, while staying firmly on the ground, says Scott Manson for The Guardian

747 Jumbo Hostel Cafe replaced first class cabin.

When boarding a flight few of us can afford to turn left on an aircraft. The most we get to see how the other half live, at least when it comes to flying, is a quick, envious glimpse of flat beds and smiling air stewards offering glasses of champagne, before accepting our lot and turning right into cattle class. But there is one aircraft where the pleasures of first and business class – flat beds, drinks on demand, good food – can be enjoyed at the cost of a night in an average mid-price chain hotel.

The Honeymoon Cockpit Suite

The catch? The plane isn’t going anywhere. Jumbo Stay – the world’s only 747 jet to be converted into a hostel – sits on a disused runway at Stockholm airport. Accessed via a 15-minute walk from the main terminal or via a five-minute shuttle bus, it’s arguably the only way that most of us will ever enjoy a good night’s sleep on a plane……. continued

Click here for complete story and video at TheGuardian.co.uk/travel

Michelle Higgins & Jamie Schwaberow~ The New York Times

DENVER — As the crush of passengers boarded United Flight 618 to Hawaii here last month, they passed by a silver-haired flight attendant in bifocals who greeted them with an “Aloha, welcome aboard.”

Most of them appeared more focused on finding their seats than sizing up the flight crew, but this flight attendant, Ron Akana, stood out, not least because of the 11 sparkling rhinestones on the wings pinned to his lapel. The first one was to commemorate his 10-year anniversary as a flight attendant, and he was given another for every subsequent five years of flying.

Yes, Mr. Akana has worked as a flight attendant for 63 years, clocking some 20 million miles along the way, the equivalent of circling the globe about 800 times or flying roughly 40 times to the moon and back……….continued

Click here for story and video @ www.NewYorkTimes.com

Give gawkers and the easily offended something to smile about while keeping your baby’s noggin from exposure. The Boobie Beanie is customized just for you matching your size, nipple color, and skin tone!

From Etsy.com

“This is a completely hand-made crocheted hat made to look like a breast when worn by a baby/toddler/child, while nursing! It’s made of 100% organic cotton, and is very soft and warm. You have the option of a pink nipple or a brown one and I can also make it in a different skin tone, or size, if you’d like.” ~ Etsy

Only $15 plus s&h

Click here for the Boobie Beanie at www.Etsy.com

“Do first class and babies mix?”

Google image

(CNN) – My wife gave birth to our first child nearly two months ago, and the time has come for us to plan our first airplane trip to see the grandparents.

We looked for things like easy connections, times of day that matched his sleep schedule, and ideal seating configurations before we made our choice. But then a funny thing happened. I noticed there were upgrade seats available on all the long flights we were going to book, and I had the miles. Should I do it?

I took to Twitter first and asked the simple question: “Will people kill me if I upgrade to first class with a baby?”

The responses were certainly mixed. Most parents chimed in suggesting that I should absolutely do it, while others said yes, they would, in fact, kill me…… continued

Click here for more at CNN.com 

The *new* PEOPLExpress will start flying primarily on the east coast using Boeing 737-400′s with 158 economy class seats.

I loved the original PEOPLExpress and the people who made it all happen. I was one of them. My years at PEOPLExpress were incredible, and I’ll never forget the amazing people I worked with.

I wish the new PEOPLExpress great success, and I’ll be patiently standing by for your west coast arrival.

You’ll be ‘Flying Smarter’ this time around, and I really like the green!

Image from USA Today

Below from Washington Post

PeoplExpress plans to launch 25 years after pioneer of low-cost, no frills flying went away

NORFOLK, Va. — The name PeoplExpress conjures up thoughts of cheap fares, packed planes and bare-bones service.

If regulators agree, the name will be back this summer, attached to an airline that hopes to borrow from the old playbook while avoiding some of the mistakes that doomed one of the pioneers of the no frills airline business.

PeoplExpress Airlines announced Monday that it will be headquartered at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport in southeastern Virginia. The airline plans to offer flights on the East Coast this summer. But a successful launch is far from a sure thing. It still needs approval from the U.S. government. And it still needs to secure financing.

Initial destinations are expected to be Pittsburgh, Newark, N.J. and West Palm Beach, Fla. Chief Operating Officer Michael Morisi, who worked at the original airline, says the airline won’t ever fly to large cities served by other airlines. The original PeoplExpress called overexpansion one of its fatal mistakes. At the time, Morisi was responsible for opening up several domestic and international destinations, including London and Los Angeles…. more

Click here for complete story at WashingtonPost.com