Charlie Leocha

Good news for consumers in the coming FAA bill

by Charlie Leocha on February 2, 2012

Though consumers didn’t end up with a legislated three-hour tarmac-delay rule, nor did they manage to get a “Sense of Congress” comment about airline price transparency, there is a lot to cheer about in the bill that will probably be passed next week.

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FAA Reauthorization — it’s all over but the shouting

by Charlie Leocha on February 1, 2012

The good news — the FAA bill will finally move forward and the aviation community and the country at large can get on with necessary air transportation network improvements. The bad news — most meaningful consumer protection provisions have been stripped from the bill.

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The death of Priceline’s bidding for hotels? Capt. Kirk goes down in flames

by Charlie Leocha on January 30, 2012

Priceline in its latest ad sends Captain Kirk, for years associated with its “name your own price” program, is sent to a fiery demise. Is it the end of the website’s mantra? Is Captain Kirk gone in an explosive crash or did he manage to teleport away at the last minute?

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What we’re watching: Pronouncing German wines, views from Google Earth, Pharoh’s world

by Charlie Leocha on January 29, 2012

We take a look at German wine words, then there is a brilliant video that combines images from Google Earth, and finally, a full-length show about ancient Egypt. The final film will introduce www.snagfilms.com, the largest collection of documentary films on the Web — a site each of you should know about.

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Weekend what we’re reading: Breaking into Alcatraz, Passenger lights up and plane forced to land, Alaska ends prayer cards,

by Charlie Leocha on January 28, 2012

This weekend we take a look at the phenomenon of people breaking into Alcatraz, rather than breaking out; all to search for fictional rooms. A smoker on a flight forces the plane to divert when he fights with the flight attendant insisting that he put it out. Alaska Air stops handing out prayer cards with meals.

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Honesty is the best advertising policy — today, airlines take the first steps

by Charlie Leocha on January 26, 2012

We’ve all seen that “great deal” airline ad, only to discover that with surcharges, taxes and fees, the great deal is not-so-great. Starting today, when airline consumers see an advertised price of $500 that will be the price they pay.

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Spirit twists the truth — when is telling the truth deceptive?

by Charlie Leocha on January 25, 2012

There is a new regulation coming into effect, “Don’t mislead passengers.” Let’s call it the “truth in advertising” rule. Understandably, the airlines are incensed. Spirit Airlines is leading the charge. How dare the government mandate that they tell the truth. After decades of being allowed to mislead the public and bury taxes and fees in the fine print, being forced to be honest doesn’t come easily.

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What we’re watching: Washington Monument earthquake footage, Indonesia’s train surfers, air traffic close call

by Charlie Leocha on January 22, 2012

This weekend we look at some recently released video taken inside the Washington Monument during the earthquake last August. From Indonesia we learn about “train surfers” who ride on tops of trains to avoid paying for tickets. The government is taking extreme measures to stop the practice. We finish off with audio of the air traffic controller with a Southwest flight in Chicago who almost directed the Southwest plane into a LearJet that was taking off.

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Congress close to FAA Reauthorization deal

by Charlie Leocha on January 21, 2012

Consumer Travel Alliance (CTA) has learned from sources on Capitol Hill that a deal has been struck to allow passage of the long-delayed FAA Reauthorization bill. Evidently, Republicans have agreed to modify the National Mediation Board (NMB) language in the bill which will allow the bill to move forward in about two weeks barring any glitches.

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Weekend what we’re reading: CarryOnFree, capsule living in Hong Kong, airline pilots get more power

by Charlie Leocha on January 21, 2012

This weekend we read about a company created to get around carry-on baggage fees, capsule hotels in Hong Kong and a new ruling that will shift power back to pilots concerned with safety of their aircraft.

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