HairBoutique Blog

Yes, my saga with air travel continues.   First there was the recent double punch of an American Airlines trip from Dallas to Burbank (regional airport near Los Angeles) where I sat for hours on the return leg waiting for a mechanic to drive a part to the plane from LA.

(Image of airplane courtesy of Haap, Media, LTD – All Rights Reserved)

I was less patient than normal on that trip because on the first leg from Dallas, the AA plane was also sent back to the terminal due to, you guessed it, a mechanical problem.

Two mechanical issues on two different planes on just one trip was a show stopper for me.  Fed up with American Airlines, their delays, and all their never ending rules I switched for my next trip to US Airways.  I was in air travel heaven for my trip from DFW to San Diego.

The US Airways planes departed and landed precisely on time, I had tons of leg room, the seats were nice and the restrooms were fresh and clean.  Ahhh.  Even though I had to change planes in Phoenix, I was very impressed with US Airways.  They also seemed to have less rules and more pleasant flight attendants.  Maybe I was just annoyed with American at that point but US Airways won my favor for sure.

Last week a death in the immediate family found me scrambling for a direct flight from Dallas to Madison, Wisconsin.  You guessed it.  I was back on American Airlines.  Even worse than being forced to travel to Madison, the airplane was a ERJ145 which means small seats, tight spaces and very little room for overhead bags. Continue reading “Travel Tips For Teeny Tiny Airplanes” »

Well, I am exaggerating a tiny bit about Tina Fey, but read on and you will see why I titled the blog as I did.

The official kickoff starting point for the current Hairboutique.com road trip to Los Angeles started with a flight from DFW to Burbank on American Airlines.  To be exact, the flight number was 817 which is a good Feng Shui combination.  The reason 817 was a good combo is because the purpose of our road trip was to do interviews, write reviews and hook up with long time Hairboutique.com partners.  All three of these numbers support those efforts.  Which is part of the reason we selected that particular flight. Continue reading “Flying First Class With Tina Fey” »

The USA Today newspaper cover story in the Money section for August 4th hit really close to home.  USA Today posed the question – “Will fares go so high that only the rich can fly”?

Uh yes.  It would appear so.

Less than ten months ago I made my annual pilgrimage to the Fashion Mecca in New York City.  The cost of my unrestricted coach fare was more than 50% lower than it was when I recently booked my tickets for the current trip.  Although I booked my tickets almost 2 months in advance this time, due to dire warnings of cost increases, the number of non-stop flights had been reduced leaving the available flights very full.

In addition, I had hard won American Advantage Miles that would be expiring in 2009.  Since I heard rumors the mileage required to upgrade to First Class was going to double, I was prodded into using my rewards.  I hastened to the phone and cashed in some precious AA points for a cherished seat in the front of the plane.  Not only would I save my points from termination, but I would avoid being jammed into a completely full coach section during a 3 1/2 hour flight.  Definitely worth it to me to arrive less stressed and jangled.
Continue reading “Air Fares Going Sky High – American Airlines Applies The Pinch” »