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In a ruling that overthrows previous airline policies, Canada-based carriers are required to eliminate their “one person, one fare” policies.

From now on, if clinically obese or disabled travelers require transportation attendants or more than one airline seat, Canadian airlines are no longer allowed to charge them extra, says the Canadian Transportation Authority. Within the next calendar year, Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, and WestJet will be required to enact this new policy.

The reason for the ruling is simple: after The Council of Canadians with Disabilities and two individuals filed a complain in 2002, it was ruled that it is discriminatory for a carrier to charge double fares. But this new policy will affect the airlines: Air Canada is estimated to lose $6.93 million per year and WestJet $1.48 million.

However, it was decided that these losses are far easier for the airline to absorb than the travel-limiting double-fare policy that has previously been placed on disabled or obese individuals. Says Jadrino Hout, spokesman for The Council of Canadians with Disabilities, “It’s not a personal preference (of the traveler). It’s not a matter of discomfort. It’s a matter of need.”

With this ruling, things could change in other industries as well. Buses, trains and ferries have long had a “one person, one fare” policy in place.

Flying is getting more comfortable by the minute, especially with the advent of the new A380 plane, slowly being rolled out across the world. The latest plan is that Emirates Airlines will include showers on its Airbus A380 planes to be used on long haul flights by first class passengers.

Can you imagine being able to take a shower just before you get off the plane? After all the miserable long haul flights I’ve experienced, I think it would be magical to be able to erase that icky feeling I usually had of being sweaty, unwashed and with bad hair as I stand in passport control lines or worse, after I meet long-lost family or friends in the arrivals lounge. A 30-hour travel time from Europe to Australia would seem only half as bad if I could shower before I left the plane.

But if I think about it just a step further, there are two problems. First of all, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever afford a first class fare on a long haul flight, so in the short term at least, showering on the plane will remain but a dream. And secondly, as if flying isn’t environmentally unfriendly enough, taking on the extra load of the one ton of fresh water required to run the showers is just one more - probably unnecessary - burden on the environment. And after all, we’ve managed to survive long haul flights all these years without showers. But maybe in a perfect world, everything would be possible …

Stay on their good side, or you may find yourself:

• Getting additional security screening. Some ticket agents can highlight certain tickets for secondary security screening. This means you go through one-on-one screening with a security guard. This is rare, but apparently it happens.
• Paying higher fees, Often, if your bag is a little heavier or larger than it should be, a ticket agent will let it slide. Annoy her and she’s going to enforce those fees.
• Looking for your luggage. The ticket agent tags your bag with the information about where you’re going. A mistagged bag can get lost in transit.
• Missing your flight. Airline ticket agents can delay you at their line.
• Losing your chosen seats. On most airlines these days, you can choose your seats. However, the ticket agent can change your seat at his/her discretion. If you don’t want a seat in the evacuation lane or next to the airplane bathroom, you might not want to annoy your agent.

More here.

(Photo via flickr cc

It’s not always the baggage handlers’ fault. Sometimes your bags are lost because of

• Technology problems: Sometimes those conveyor belts taking your luggage from the terminal to the plane jam.
• Flight problems I: Sometimes a flight is too full to hold everybody’s bags and yours get put on a later plane.
• Flight problems II: Missed connections. When the time between your flights is brief, your bags might not make it on to the second plan–even if you do. Leaving yourself more time between flights.
• Human error: And it’s not just the handlers, who may be at fault. A fellow passenger might mistake your bag for his and carry it off before you even get to the carousel.

(Photo via flickr cc)

As a hub for flying between the northern hemisphere and Asia or Australia, Singapore’s Changi Airport has long been a major stopover for many travelers. And Changi Airport has often received great reviews for reliable service and a huge array of shopping and entertainment options for those long hours between flights.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 Opens January 9, 2008

As of today, Changi Airport has got even bigger. The new Terminal 3 building has been close to complete for some months, and today marks the first official use of the new facilities. Singapore Airlines will be the first to use the terminal, and in the future flights headed to the USA, western Europe, Australia and Hong Kong will make the most use of Terminal 3. Terminal 2 will continue to be used by flights bound for India, Indonesia and the Maldives, among others.

Keeping Ahead of Rivals

With the new Terminal 3 adding a capacity of around 22 million passengers, Changi Airport will now be able to handle about 70 million passengers a year. There will be eight gates specially designed to accommodate the Airbus A380. With competition in the region hotting up - for example, Bangkok’s bid to make its new airport a central hub of Asia, despite experiencing many problems - Changi Airport is positioning itself pretty strongly with the new terminal.

You almost certainly book your airline flights online. Chances are that you use a major website such as Expedia or Travelocity which aggregates all of the fares from different airlines and puts them in one place for you. If you’re a savvier shopper, you might actually go to the websites of those airlines that appear to have the best deals and try to get a lower rate through them. What a hassle!

WIRED reports that there are a new generation of online travel sites that are providing the same kind of aggregated fare information without the high fees that you’re used to on the sites that you’ve been using. These sites let you look at the deals that are offered by all different airlines. However, instead of charging you a fee to book those deals through them, they let you connect directly to the airline and get the lower price. This saves you a step in your search and also saves you time and money.

The WIRED report takes a look at four different websites which are all offering the same basic services. Although the sites themselves are important, what’s more important is that this points to a general trend in online flight shopping. Entrepreneurs are beginning to recognize that travelers aren’t happy with their online booking options and are stepping up to the plate to provide you with better options.

Across the world, the coming holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for travelers returning to spend time with their families or getting away for a well-earned vacation. I guess that’s what makes it a popular time for airlines to consider going on strike, when the pressure is really on management to keep them flying. If you’re traveling with any of these airlines, watch out for possible strikes:

• Cathay Pacific seems currently to have avoided the threat of a strike by flight attendants about a controversial health plan. If nothing else goes wrong, international flights connecting through busy hub Hong Kong should continue as planned.
• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is threatened by a strike by members of several unions, including the flight attendants; the problems are being caused by talk of reducing the workforce. Flights throughout and connecting with Scandinavia would be affected.
• Qantas is having troubles with its maintenance engineers, who are concerned the airline is going to move their jobs out of Australia and to cheaper locations abroad. Flights in to, out of and around Australia could be interrupted.
• Air Malta might not be able to serve its passengers if the pilots decide to go on strike over deadlocked negotiations for their new salary and working conditions agreement.

As a recent 20/20 investigation reports travelers and airlines often have very different ideas about what constitutes an on time departure.

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Small businesses have to travel to compete with the big guys, but they can’t always afford to pay like their competition. To level the playing field it’s essential to get as many discounts as you can, whenever you can. Use the following tips to get some discounts on your next business flight.

• Travel on holidays. Airlines tend to offer deep discounts on those days and the days immediately preceding and following a major holiday. How can you afford not to take advantage of this great tip?
• Travel on Tuesday or Thursday. Like holidays, these days are not popular travel days and usually come with discounted fares.
• Shop when the stores are closed. If you’re doing online shopping and comparisons, then schedule some late night Internet sessions in the middle of the week. For some reason this seems to garner the best deals.
• Shop around. The Internet is full of deals, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the only place with discounts. Try the airline directly and don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. Plane seats are like snowflakes, no two are alike. And they all carry different price tags.

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Business travelers flying into Singapore’s Changi Airport can avoid the long queues at passport control at JetQuay, the terminal’s “elite gateway.”

JetQuay is basically a separate terminal for travelers who are CIP (Commercially Important Persons). For a fee of between S$150 and S$350 (around US$100 - $250), JetQuay offers three levels of service named Gateway, Quayside and Jetside, progressively offering higher and higher levels of personalized service and an easier route through the arrivals or departures process.

Typically, you could be met off your flight by a special buggy to drive you to the separate terminal. While you wait for your documents to be processed, you’ll be able to sit back in a comfortable lounge and have a coffee. If you’re departing, you also have access to private rooms or a boardroom if you want to hold a predeparture meeting. Amenities also include a gym, Internet access, spa treatment and special rooms where you can take a quick nap before your journey continues.

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