The new process will allow passengers to board in the following order:

1. Customers who need additional time to board
2. First-class and business-class passengers
3. Window and exit row seats
4. Middle seats
5. Aisle seats
6. Basic economy passengers

United Airlines officials hope the new process will save time during boarding, as aisle seat passengers won’t have to get up and block the aisle to let the window and middle seat passengers in their row sit down. 

With increasingly packed overhead compartments, getting to board in the first few groups can make the difference between bringing aboard your carry-on or being forced to gate-check it—so if you’re concerned about getting your bag on the plane, make sure you choose a window seat next time you fly United.

The post United Airlines Is Changing Its Boarding Process appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Japan Airlines is trialing a new program called Any Wear, Anywhere that allows passengers traveling to Japan from abroad to rent clothing for their trip. According to Japan Airlines, the aim of the program is to “create an environment where travelers can use local options for all aspects of their clothing, food, and accommodation, transforming travel and business trips into more sustainable experiences.”

Japan Airlines will monitor changes to baggage weight on flights during the trial period to determine the impact of the program on the environment. 

How to Use the Program

The Any Wear, Anywhere program will run from July 5, 2023 through August 31, 2024, and is open to all passengers on Japan Airlines flights to Japan. 

To sign up, go to the Any Wear, Anywhere website and pick out your clothing options. There are packages available for both men and women, as well as different options for spring/fall, summer, and winter. Choose from “casual” or “smart casual” style options depending on how dressy you want to look. You’ll be able to select the sizes, as well as the mix of clothing you want included (such as five tops, three bottoms, and one jacket.) Clothes are sourced from excess retail stock as well as secondhand shops.

Rental packages start at $28 and include laundry and dry cleaning. Passengers will still need to pack other essentials, such as socks, underwear, and toiletries, which are not included. 

Reserve the clothes a month in advance for a rental period of two weeks, and the items will be dropped off and picked up at your accommodation. 

The post This Airline Is Renting Clothing to Passengers Who Want to Travel Light appeared first on SmarterTravel.

A number of major airlines including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines, could be facing potential pilot strikes this summer.

How likely are these strikes to happen, and what happens if your flight is canceled because of one? Here’s what the pilot strikes could mean for travelers. 

What Airlines Could Be Impacted?

Pilot groups for several major airlines have indicated that strikes are on the table. Pilots at Canadian airline WestJet pilots issued a 72-hour pre-strike notice on May 15 and the carrier has already announced that it will be canceling flights due to the potential strike.

In the United States, pilots at both Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have voted to authorize strikes. Although United Airlines pilots haven’t officially voted on a strike, they have been picketing at airports to demand new contracts over the last few months. 

Why Are Pilots Considering Striking?

Pilots are seeking better pay, more vacation time, and a better work-life balance. In a statement issued by United pilots, the pilots called attention to the age of their contact with the airline, saying, “United Pilots are operating under a contract with quality-of-work-life rules that we have not updated for more than 10 years.”

Earlier this year, Delta pilots successfully negotiated for significant pay increases along with more vacation and better benefits. Pilots at other major airlines are hoping to see similar changes. 

“United pilots will always be there for our customers,” said Captain Garth Thompson, United Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) Master Executive Council chair. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about management, who seems to think that a last-minute cancelation of a United pilot’s scheduled day off, or abrupt trip reassignments that extend into planned days off is acceptable for a United pilot’s family.” 

In addition to raises and benefits, pilots at Southwest are looking to address operational issues that have caused major cancelations and delays over the last few years. “Our pilots are tired of apologizing to our passengers on behalf of a company that refuses to place its priorities on its internal and external customers,” said Southwest Airlines Pilots Association Casey Murray. 

What Happens if Your Flight Is Cancelled Due to a Pilot Strike?

Your rights are the same no matter if your flight was cancelled due to a pilot strike or bad weather. The airline should rebook you, free of charge. Unfortunately, if there is an ongoing pilot strike, finding a new flight to change to could be very difficult, as airlines will have a lot of stranded passengers to accommodate.

If you choose not to rebook and instead cancel your trip, you are entitled to receive a full cash refund (not a voucher). 

Many airlines also offer other benefits to stranded passengers, including hotel rooms and meals. Check what’s covered by your carrier at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airline Cancelation and Delay Dashboard. 

Will Travel Insurance Cover a Pilot Strike?

Most standard travel insurance policies will provide coverage for all prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses if a flight is significantly delayed or canceled due to a pilot strike. 

Steven Benna, Marketing Manager, Squaremouth, tells SmarterTravel “A strike can no longer be covered by travel insurance once it is considered a known event. However, the timing for when a strike is considered known can vary between plans.”

According to Benna, “Some providers consider a strike to be a known event once a formal announcement has been made. However, some providers consider it a known event as soon as the strike has been authorized.”

This means, depending on which policy you buy, a flight on Southwest Airlines or American Airlines might not be covered as their pilots have already voted to authorize strikes.

How Likely Is a Pilot Strike?

In the United States, airline workers must follow rules around striking laid out in the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Pilots won’t legally be able to strike unless federal mediators decide that negotiations between the pilots and the airlines are fruitless. Even then, the government could still block a strike from happening. 

It’s far more likely that the airlines will be able to reach an agreement with the pilots rather than resorting to strikes this summer—however, the possibility is not off the table.

The post Could Pilot Strikes Ruin Your Summer Travel Plans? appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Improve your chances of having a good flight by choosing one of the airlines ranked as the best for customer satisfaction—and think twice before booking a ticket on one of the airlines that came in last.

J.D. Power just released its annual North America Airline Satisfaction Study which measures customer satisfaction with carriers across eight categories:

• Aircraft
• Baggage
• Boarding
• Check-in
• Cost and fees
• Flight crew
• In-flight services
• Reservations

J.D. Power surveyed 7,774 customers who had flown on a major North American airline within the past month from March 2022 through March 2023 to determine the airline rankings. 

Customers’ feelings towards airlines varied depending on what part of the plane they were flying in—for example, United Airlines ranked as the third best carrier for first/business class customers but fell to eighth place for economy passengers.

The Best and Worst North America Airlines for Economy

The Best and Worst North America Airlines for First/Business Class

According to J.D. Power, as airline profits have increased over the last few years, consumers have become increasingly unhappy with airlines. “If yield management were the only metric airlines needed to be successful in the long term, this would be a banner year for the industry because they are operating at peak economic efficiency,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power. “From the customer perspective, however, that means planes are crowded, tickets are expensive and flight availability is constrained.”

Overall passenger satisfaction fell 7 points on the annual survey, following a huge 22-point decrease from 2021 to 2022. An increase in cost and fees was cited as the biggest factor driving flyers’ unhappiness. 

On the bright side, the much-maligned airplane food seems to be getting better— customer satisfaction rankings for the food and beverage category increased 12 points overall this year.

The post The Best and Worst Airlines for 2023, Ranked appeared first on SmarterTravel.

The DOT just announced “plans to launch a new rulemaking” that will require airlines to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled because of reasons within the airline’s control (such as mechanical issues or crew staffing). Stranded passengers could receive coverage for expenses incurred due to the delay including meals, hotels, taxis, and rebooking costs. 

“When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancellation or significant delay.” 

These rules would not apply when flight disruptions are due to a reason outside of the airline’s control, such as bad weather.

Most major U.S. airlines voluntarily offer these reimbursements—last year, the DOT unveiled an interactive airline customer service tool that helps flyers find out what they are entitled to if their flight is delayed or cancelled, and many airlines were pressured into increasing the compensation offered. The DOT now wants to make these voluntary reimbursements into law to give flyers more protection.

As part of the new rules proposal, the DOT is publishing a new site, FlightRights.gov, and expanding its airline customer service dashboard to show if additional compensation, such as cash, miles or vouchers are offered to passengers on delayed/cancelled flights.

Biden wants to push airlines to offer more than just a refund if a flight is cancelled, saying that if the cancellation or delay was within the airline’s control, “You deserve to be fully compensated. Your time matters. The impact on your life matters.”

Biden hopes that by holding airlines accountable for delays and cancellations, the number of disrupted flights will decrease. He pointed to a study that found that after the E.U. required airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays, the number of flight delays decreased. 

The White House did not give a firm date as to when these new rules will be proposed, only saying “later this year.”

The post Airlines May Soon Have to Pay Passengers for Delayed or Canceled Flights appeared first on SmarterTravel.

It’s about to be easier and cheaper than ever to fly to Japan from the United States. On May 8, Japan will lift all vaccine and testing requirements for visitors—and you can take advantage of the reopening and fly there for just $91. 

Zipair is launching a new route between Tokyo Narita Airport and San Francisco International Airport on June 2. To celebrate, the airline is offering one-way fares as low as $91.

The new Tokyo to San Francisco route will operate five days a week: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. To book the $91 tickets, visit Zipair’s website and search using the fare calendar to find the lowest rates.

The economy tickets include a carry-on weighing no more than 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) along with free inflight WiFi.

Checking a bag will cost extra, as will in-flight meals. Zipair aims to offer a “contactless inflight experience,” so flyers can use their smartphones or tablets to order and pay for food, drinks, and amenity kits while onboard. 

Zipair is the low-cost subsidiary of Japan Airlines that was launched in 2018. The airline already operates flights between Japan and Honolulu, Los Angeles, and San José.

The post Zipair Launches New US-Tokyo Flight for Just $91 appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Southwest Airlines recently concluded a series of tests designed to speed up flight boarding, and you could see some changes to the boarding process in the near future. A spokesperson for Southwest told SmarterTravel that the tests were conducted over the past several weeks at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Here are some of the changes that were trialed:

Designated Boarding Area

Families and passengers that need extra time are generally always the first group to board airplanes. Southwest is considering adding a color-coded area that designates where those priority flyers should stand, so they can easily be boarded first. 

More Signage

Struggling to hear or make sense of the latest gate announcement? Southwest may soon add more signage to the gate area to help make information easier to access. The airline tested out adding digital signs that display flight information and announcements relating to the boarding process. 

Self-Service Kiosks

In an effort to eliminate lines at the gate caused by passengers who need help with simple tasks, Southwest tested out adding self-service kiosks to the gate area that allowed flyers to print their own boarding passes and bag tags. 

Jet Bridge Music

Could upbeat music help you board a flight faster? Southwest tested out this theory by adding jaunty music to the jet bridge during the boarding and deplaning process.

Posters with tips on airplane etiquette, seating tips, and baggage suggestions were also tried out in the jet bridge area.  

The post Southwest Airlines Experiments With New Boarding Processes appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Lie-flat seats have long been out of budget for most travelers, but one airline is looking to change that. 

Air New Zealand’s new Dreamliner planes will feature six semi-private pods, called Skynests, that can be booked by economy passengers who want to stretch out and get some sleep. 

Stacked on top of each other bunk bed style, each Skynest will include a pillow, bedding, reading lights, chargers, and ear plugs. Each bed will be 80″ long and 23” so even the tallest passenger can truly lie flat. 

Mesh curtains will allow for some privacy, while still allowing flight attendants to check inside and make sure only one person at a time is using the pod. 

Flyers will be able to reserve Skynests for four hours at a time, and the pods will be cleaned in between passengers. Booking the Skynest will cost extra on top of an economy ticket, but a spokesperson for Air New Zealand told SmarterTravel, “At this stage, we’re still working through pricing.”

Skynests will be found on Air New Zealand’s long-haul routes, some of which are among the longest nonstop flights in the world. The new planes featuring Skynests are expected to be in service starting in 2024.

The post Air New Zealand Will Offer Lie-Flat Economy Seats Next Year appeared first on SmarterTravel.

Flyers traveling with children under the age of 12 will now find it easier to score seat assignments together, thanks to a new policy from United Airlines. 

Previously, flyers who were unable to reserve seats together in advance would have to ask at the gate for a new seat assignment, or beg a stranger on the plane to swap seats. United Airlines is planning on changing that—at least for families traveling with young children.

The airline is rolling out a new seat map feature that will automatically find and assign available adjacent seats to families traveling together at the time of booking. If there are no standard seats together in economy, complimentary upgrades to preferred seats in the same cabin will be made automatically available. 

According to United, if there are no adjacent seats available within the same cabin, customers will be able to switch at no charge to a flight to the same destination that does have seats together.

The new seat assignment rule will apply to all fare types, including Basic Economy tickets. (United’s Basic Economy ticket does not typically allow flyers to choose a seat.) Families traveling with children 12 and over, and other travelers who wish to sit together, will not be able to take advantage of this new policy. 

Although the new policy doesn’t officially launch until early March, passengers traveling with children under 12 should start to see more options for reserving adjacent seats immediately. 

The move follows a call from the Biden administration for airlines to stop charging unfair fees. “We’ll prohibit airlines from charging $50 round trip for families just to be able to sit together,” Biden said at his State of the Union address. “Baggage fees are bad enough—airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage.”

The post United Airlines Announces New Seating Policy appeared first on SmarterTravel.

We flew French bee’s Premium Economy class during their inaugural flight from Miami to Paris-Orly to find out.

Editor’s Note: The author of this story was hosted by French bee. Fares are accurate as of time of publication.

Cost

One-way Premium Economy fares from Miami to Paris-Orly start at $522.

French bee’s Premium Economy is markedly more affordable than premium economy classes on larger carriers.  For comparison, a roundtrip premium economy seat on an American Airlines flight with an overnight connection from Miami to Paris-Orly runs about $2,050 while a roundtrip, nonstop flight in premium economy on Delta into Charles DeGaul goes for $2,000. A roundtrip, nonstop ticket on French bee from Miami to Paris-Orly for the same dates totals just $1,370.

Seats

French bee flights between the US and France operate on Airbus A350-900s, state-of-the-art aircraft featuring quieter cabins and 35 Premium Economy seats. Sitting in the private cabin at the front of the plane, I could hardly tell that the engines were running.

Each seat is 18 inches wide with adjustable headrests, knee and lumbar supports, footrests,  and—best of all—36 inches of legroom. The seatbacks are outfitted with USB plugs and LED touch screens where guests can access free entertainment, games, the in-flight menu, and a camera fee showing the exterior of the plane.

The seats don’t lie flat, but they do have a deeper incline than standard economy seats and I had no trouble sleeping comfortably on my red-eye.  As someone whose back pain flares without fail on long-haul flights, the extra width and increased pitch made a world of difference. 

Food and Drink

We were never short of food or drink throughout the flight. Flight attendants came through the cabin periodically with drink and snack services, including during boarding where passengers were offered their choice of water, orange juice, or champagne. 

The airline offers a choice of proteins or a vegan option for the in-flight meal, which comes with a starter, a main dish, and dessert. I was pleasantly surprised by the vegetarian offering. On the flight in, I enjoyed a pita and hummus plate with fresh fruit and a vegetable and rice medley. On the way home, I was served a stewed eggplant starter followed by a tomato-lentil dish that had me completely forgetting the age-old reputation of airline food.

In the “morning” (emulated by the aircraft’s sunrise mood lighting), we were offered a light breakfast snack with options like yogurt, croissants with jam and butter, pastries, and rice pudding. 

Amenities

Each passenger was provided with an airplane pillow, blanket, and a complimentary reusable zippered pouch containing a sleep mask, pair of socks, wired earbuds, and earplugs. Hot scented towels were passed out before the main meal which, combined with the cabin’s cool-tone atmospheric lighting, created an oddly peaceful atmosphere at cruising altitude.

While WiFi isn’t included in the fare, passengers can purchase one of four different plans, which run anywhere from $4 to $29.

Baggage

Premium Economy includes two 50lb checked bags, a carry-on, and a personal item free of charge. This class also includes perks like priority boarding, line-jump (allowing you to skip to the front of the line in security and customs checks), and priority luggage delivery, meaning you get on and off the plan significantly faster. 

Is it Worth the Money?

If you have the budget and want to get to Europe with minimal jetlag and virtually no aches and pains, Premium Economy is more than worth the money. The cabin is spacious, the seats are notably comfortable, and you’re getting the same Premium Economy experience as major carriers for a fraction of the price.

Even if Premium Economy isn’t for you, with French bee’s endless customization options at each class level, you can truly pay as much or as little as you want. 

The post French bee Premium Economy Class Review: Is It Worth It? appeared first on SmarterTravel.