FFF: Avoid Extra Airline Fees this Holiday Season
If you’ve ever had to travel during the holidays, you’ve likely realized that flying during this time of year can be pricey. Once you include checked bags or last minute schedule changes you’ll soon realize that these extra fees can add up quickly if you don’t plan properly.
Below is a list of preparations you can make before traveling this holiday season to avoid these pricey mistakes:
1. Change/Cancellation Fees:
If you are flying American Airlines, you can buy a “bundled fare,” which offers travelers several packaged perks for a set price. While it’s not exactly “avoiding” fees, it is a way to bundle them for less. For example, the Choice Essential fares include a checked bag round-trip, no change fee and priority boarding all for an extra $68.
Another option is to book your flight with Southwest if possible and take advantage of their no change or cancellation fees.
2. Baggage Fees
One option to alleviate these fees is to use an airline-affiliated credit card, many of which now include free checked bags for you and your traveling companions. Another option is to fly Southwest Airlines or JetBlue, both allowing the first (and sometimes second) checked bag to fly free.
3. “Last-minute” frequent flyer award ticketing
Avoid airlines that charge a fee if you book a frequent flyer award seat fewer than 21 days before travel. Airlines that currently do not charge this fee are: Delta, AirTran, JetBlue, Southwest, Hawaiian, Frontier, Virgin America. Airlines that do charge a fee include: United, American, US Airways and Spirit.
We hope this helps make your holiday travels stress free and more affordable.
- The Terminal
Glass Façade Update
The installation of the steel framing that will hold the glass facade is currently underway, and crews will begin installing the glass panels once they arrive in early January. This portion of construction will start at the south end of the terminal and progress north. The steel brackets, which will attach directly to the glass, are visible in the pictures below. Once the glass panes are installed they will be sealed together and natural light will begin to flow into the ticketing area of our terminal.
- The Terminal
FFF: Phones on Airplanes Debate
To talk or not to talk – this is the question many passengers could face when traveling on U.S. flights if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moves forward with lifting the rule that bans passengers from using their cell phone to make in-flight calls. Many fliers think that this will create an annoyance among the cabin atmosphere, but experts believe that even those who currently are against the idea, will most likely become on-plane cell phone users.
According to Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University, when people who are used to constant communication are disconnected it causes their brains to release stress and anxiety-based neurotransmitters. He doesn’t think that avid users will be able to stay away and won’t care whether they’re upsetting anybody.
Making calls during flight is still very much up in the air. Even if the FCC lifts the ban, the Federal Aviation Administration would have to weigh in on safety, and it would be up to the discretion of the individual airlines to set their own policies for voice calls.
Stay tuned for more updates on this topic!
- The Terminal
RJ Rockers Coming to GSP!
As construction at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport continues, so do the improvements to the GSP travelers’ experience. We are excited to announce that R.J. Rockers will soon be landing at GSP! RJ Rockers will be bringing local beverages and food to passengers inside the terminal.
RJ Rockers is a Spartanburg-based microbrewery that began in 1997. Since then, Mark Johnsen, head brewer, founder, and owner, has been focused on providing the Upstate and surrounding area with the perfect handcrafted beer – “Every beer. Every drop. Every time.” RJ Rockers is committed to bringing quality beer through dedication and passion. They are excited about sharing their love for beer and food with GSP travelers.
By including Thomas Creek Grill and RJ Rockers both hometown brewers in the lineup of new vendors, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport proves it is truly a product of local talent.
More details about the opening of RJ Rockers will be released soon, stay tuned for more details about this and other upcoming additions to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport!
- The Terminal
FFF: A Day in the Life of the World’s Busiest Airport
Airports can be passages to some of life’s biggest moments. On August 28th, more than 36 CNN journalists spent 24 hours in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to find moments of love, loss, hope and suspense both on the ground and in the sky for their project “ATL24.”
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is home to 58,000 workers and provides a stop for nearly 95 million passengers who travel on the estimated 1 million annual arrivals and departures. These staggering numbers earn the airport its “world’s busiest” distinction.
A few of the amazing stories captured during this project included:
- Stories of love and loss
- Behind-the-scenes look at the police men and women working to protect travelers
- A look into the lives of the airport staff that make it all work
- Stories of how travelers spend time waiting for connecting flights – or waiting to see the ones they love
- Stories of U.S. soldiers traveling all over the world in an effort to keep America safe
- The crazy things found in suitcases and carry-on bags
- The “life of an airplane” – tracking the journey of an aircraft
This project enables readers to view the stories chronologically in “real-time” as they happened, or by story categories. This is an amazing piece of journalism that will make you realize there’s much more to an airport than meets the eye.
To read the project in its entirety, visit http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/11/travel/atl24/index.html?hpt=tr_c1#intro-love-loss
- The Terminal
GSP Receives Welling Award for Regional Collaboration
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was recognized as the 2013 recipient of the Welling Award for Collaboration at the Our Upstate Vision/Ten at the Top Regional Forum on November 19th. Our President and CEO Dave Edwards was there to accept the award from the organization’s founding Chairman Irv Welling, who the award was named after.
The Welling Award is awarded to individuals, businesses or organizations whose actions have demonstrated a continuous commitment to developing and fostering regional collaborations that work strategically to make the Upstate one of the best places to live, learn, do business and raise a family.
At the Ceremony, Welling said “The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was started more than 50 years ago as a result of regional collaboration, and has grown into such an important component of our region because it continues today to be a great example of regional partnerships.”
We are honored to be recognized as an organization that is making the Upstate a better place!
- The Terminal
FFF: World’s longest flight makes final descent
Amazing advances in technology now allow airlines to offer nonstop flights that fly farther and cost less than ever before. The king of nonstop flights has always been Singapore Airlines Flight 21 and 22 between Singapore and Newark, New Jersey. However, this past weekend, Singapore Airlines ended these iconic flights after nine years of service.
The route was the longest both in distance (about 9,500 miles) and in time (about 19 hours). These aircraft were built for keeping travelers comfortable over long periods of time – all 100 seats on these flights were business class and passengers had hundreds of in-flight movies to choose from.
So, what do the pilots do to combat the fatigue of flying for that long? Typically, during a flight lasting longer than 14 hours, the captain and his first officer will fly the first three hours. Then, they hand off the plane to a second crew while they rest in a special compartment or in reserved seats in the cabin. Every three hours, the two crews switch until about 90 minutes before arriving at the destination. Once they reach the 90 minute mark the captain and first officer will land the aircraft.
With these flight no longer in service, the Qantas Flight 7 from Sydney to Dallas now holds the honor of being the world’s longest nonstop flight by distance, at 8,600 miles. The longest nonstop flight by time is Delta’s Flight 201 from Atlanta, GA to Johannesburg which clocks in at about 17 hours.
- The Terminal
Happy Thanksgiving to our special WINGSPAN readers!
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us in the terminal – we are so thankful for readers like you! We hope that you’re just as excited as we are about the great improvements WINGSPAN will bring.
We want our blog to be a fun and useful tool to keep you informed on all things WINGSPAN, so make sure to submit any feedback you have on our Feedback Form. This form can be accessed on the homepage of www.elevatingtheupstate.com.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and safe travels to all those visiting family and friends!
- The Terminal
Vendor Highlight: Tablerock Technologies, LLC
You might recall our previous post on the installation of a solar water heating system, just one of the many sustainable practices that are being implemented into the WINGSPAN renovations. Earlier this month we had the chance to sit down with the CEO of Tablerock Technologies, Tone Nichols, who is responsible for the installation of this exciting and sustainable technology.
Check out this video below to meet Tone and find out more about Tablerock Technologies’ role in the WINGSPAN Program.
Visit the Tablerock Technologies Facebook page to see what projects they are currently working on! https://www.facebook.com/tablerocktech
For other vendor highlights, you can find information on www.elevatingtheupstate.com under the Development Page.
- The Terminal
FFF: Flying Business Class or First Class
Do you know the difference between flying first class vs. business class? Understand the difference can be made difficult because some airlines now use these terms interchangeably. Either way, flying business or first class will mean one thing: higher fares, but unparalleled luxury and comfort.
The price differences between first and business class fares can be dramatic, but what do passengers in these prestigious seats get for the additional money? And more importantly, is it worth it?
On some airlines including Air Canada, Delta and Virgin Atlantic business class and first class are one in the same. In most cases on these airlines, you’ll get a fully lie-flat bed with full aisle access for all seats. On international flights where business and first class are still separate entities, the main differences are bigger seats, better food and beverage options, more attentive service and extra privacy. Many first-class seats on international routes sit all by themselves — no seat mates at all. But the price differences between business and first can be enormous, and for some people it’s just not worth the extra spend. For domestic service, United Airlines newly refurbished business-class cabins feature comfortable lie-flat seats and soon American Airlines will be installing the same seats on their new A321 planes. However, when flying domestically the benefits of first and business class aren’t quite worth the expensive tickets.
The consensus seems to be, if you can afford to upgrade then flying first or business class on international flights might be worth the extra pennies. But when flying domestically it might be better to pass on the higher fares.
- The Terminal