Airline travel, especially during the holiday season, is often frustrating for passengers; and that's before anyone boards their flight. The process of going through airport security, while absolutely necessary, is perhaps one of the most detested parts of airline travel for most passengers. Those traveling with children have even more difficulty passing through security while dealing with small children, which is why the Transportation Security Administration has modified rules for airline passengers age 12 and younger.
The TSA implemented a new regulation that children 12 years of age and younger no longer need to remove their shoes to go through security checkpoints. In addition, the number of children this age that receive a pat down is now being reduced, though not completely eliminated.
Also, in the latest travel news, the TSA has approved the use of new privacy protection software that will eliminate the image of actual passengers as they pass through Advanced Imaging Technology at security. Passenger's actual images are being replaced with generic outlines of a person.
During the holiday season, airport officials ask that all airline passengers avoid bringing wrapped packages or gifts in their carry-on luggage. They have recommended that wrapped packages should be placed in checked luggage or shipped ahead of time to the passenger's destination.
Holiday travel is difficult enough when you have only to worry about yourself in the process; add a child - or several children - to that, and the experience of airline travel goes from difficult to nearly impossible. Airports are not known for providing child-friendly accommodations, which is why Cheapflights has introduced the Kids' Airport Diversion Guide for family-friendly holiday travel. The guide, which is the latest in airline travel news for families, provides parents with information regarding interesting exhibits, play areas and other entertaining distractions. The guide provides detailed descriptions of museum exhibits in airports, play areas and child friendly eateries that will keep kids entertained at airports around the country while they wait for their flight. Parents will appreciate the guide's help with expelling some of their kids' pent-up energy prior to boarding their flight.
Additionally, in the latest airline travel news, Spirit Airlines recently announced the airline is raising online booking fees for passengers that opt to purchase airline tickets online. The $8.99 online booking fee Spirit charged passengers each way for tickets has now doubled in price to $16.99 per passenger for each one-way flight. At the same time, international online booking fees dropped from $18.99 one-way to $16.99 one-way, to create an across the board flat fee for online booking.
In other airline news, Jet Blue will provide direct service between Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, beginning November 17, 2011, and Virgin Atlantic will begin return service to Vancouver, Canada, in the summer of 2012.
Also making the news, are airline-related statistics based on a recent Skyscanner study, showing that the new ABC primetime television series "Pan Am" has airline passengers yearning for the days of glamorous airline travel. Of the 2,500 airline passengers surveyed, 41% stated they missed the days when passengers could visit the captain in the cockpit. An additional 4% of passengers believe pilots should be wearing hats. Surprisingly, nearly 13% of passengers wish that airlines provided a smoking section for them to indulge in their nicotine habits. While Pan Am shows that air travel certainly has changed drastically in the past several decades, planes still provide their primary function, which is getting passengers to their intended destinations, only in less time than ever before.
The TSA implemented a new regulation that children 12 years of age and younger no longer need to remove their shoes to go through security checkpoints. In addition, the number of children this age that receive a pat down is now being reduced, though not completely eliminated.
Also, in the latest travel news, the TSA has approved the use of new privacy protection software that will eliminate the image of actual passengers as they pass through Advanced Imaging Technology at security. Passenger's actual images are being replaced with generic outlines of a person.
During the holiday season, airport officials ask that all airline passengers avoid bringing wrapped packages or gifts in their carry-on luggage. They have recommended that wrapped packages should be placed in checked luggage or shipped ahead of time to the passenger's destination.
Holiday travel is difficult enough when you have only to worry about yourself in the process; add a child - or several children - to that, and the experience of airline travel goes from difficult to nearly impossible. Airports are not known for providing child-friendly accommodations, which is why Cheapflights has introduced the Kids' Airport Diversion Guide for family-friendly holiday travel. The guide, which is the latest in airline travel news for families, provides parents with information regarding interesting exhibits, play areas and other entertaining distractions. The guide provides detailed descriptions of museum exhibits in airports, play areas and child friendly eateries that will keep kids entertained at airports around the country while they wait for their flight. Parents will appreciate the guide's help with expelling some of their kids' pent-up energy prior to boarding their flight.
Additionally, in the latest airline travel news, Spirit Airlines recently announced the airline is raising online booking fees for passengers that opt to purchase airline tickets online. The $8.99 online booking fee Spirit charged passengers each way for tickets has now doubled in price to $16.99 per passenger for each one-way flight. At the same time, international online booking fees dropped from $18.99 one-way to $16.99 one-way, to create an across the board flat fee for online booking.
In other airline news, Jet Blue will provide direct service between Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, beginning November 17, 2011, and Virgin Atlantic will begin return service to Vancouver, Canada, in the summer of 2012.
Also making the news, are airline-related statistics based on a recent Skyscanner study, showing that the new ABC primetime television series "Pan Am" has airline passengers yearning for the days of glamorous airline travel. Of the 2,500 airline passengers surveyed, 41% stated they missed the days when passengers could visit the captain in the cockpit. An additional 4% of passengers believe pilots should be wearing hats. Surprisingly, nearly 13% of passengers wish that airlines provided a smoking section for them to indulge in their nicotine habits. While Pan Am shows that air travel certainly has changed drastically in the past several decades, planes still provide their primary function, which is getting passengers to their intended destinations, only in less time than ever before.