Cranky in the News

Delta Woos N.Y. Fliers as Chicago Shuttle Targets UAL, AMR

Mary Jane Credeur and Mary Schlangenstein – July 26, 2010

“Chicago is one of the most important routes from New York, and Delta’s primary target is to steal people from American,” said Brett Snyder, a former United and America West Airlines manager who runs the CrankyFlier blog and works as a consultant. “American responded with the triple points because they don’t want even one single flier to switch to Delta.”
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Adding O’Hare to Delta’s shuttle operation is a “smart move” because travel demand is reviving, said CrankyFlier’s Snyder, who is based in Long Beach, California.
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“The shuttle service is at the whims of the economy and business travelers,” Snyder said. “It can be a real moneymaker when things are looking up.”

Subsidy reservations: Kansas taxpayers support airlines in Wichita, but KCI complains of turbulence

Randolph Heaster – June 28, 2010

“It would shock me if the impact is as big as they say it is,” said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, an air-travel assistance company. “To be subsidizing an airline for that length of time seems fairly absurd, and it certainly has created a lot of bad blood with Delta.”
. . .
Snyder, who also writes an airline industry blog called “the Cranky Flier,” said it was possible that Southwest was considering Wichita service to blanket the geographic area. Besides Kansas City, Southwest is the dominant carrier in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

“Wichita would corner the market, but is it a market worth cornering?” he said. “The population density is just not there to justify it. It’s not the same as Southwest being at Chicago-Midway and up the road in Milwaukee.”

Tips to minimize the impact of a flight cancellation

Brian J O’Connor – June 28, 2010

Besides the cost of buying a new ticket, getting on a new flight can mean a long wait, too. Airlines have cut the number of flights during the recession, and most planes fly about 80 percent full, notes Brett Snyder, president of CrankyConcierge.com, which plans trips and helps fliers cope with delays and cancellations.
“Flights are already so full that you might not get out for a few days,” Snyder says. “And it isn’t just you — it’s the 150 other people on that flight, too.”

Virgin Atlantic Says U.S. Authorities Held Passengers on Diverted Plane

John Hughes – June 24, 2010

A rule that applied to international flights would need government support to ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were available or on-call at every airport in the U.S. where a flight might get diverted, and that could be costly, said Brett Snyder, a former analyst and manager at UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and America West Airlines.

“People love to view things like this as airlines holding passengers hostage,” said Snyder, now president of the CrankyFlier.com travel blog. “That wasn’t the case here at all. By law, they couldn’t let those people off the plane and just wandering around the airport without Customs.”

Airline Passenger Bumping in U.S. May Be Highest Since 2001

Mary Schlangenstein and Mary Jane Credeur – June 22, 2010

The extra tickets often are sold to walk-up business travelers willing to pay the highest fares, said Brett Snyder, a former analyst and manager at UAL Corp.’s United and America West Airlines who is now president of the CrankyFlier travel blog.

“Airlines are deciding whether it’s worth taking on one more person paying a much higher fare versus the cost of a bump,” Snyder said. “The higher fare usually wins.”

Airline satisfaction at three-year high

Jeff Horwich – June 8, 2010 (Click above to listen)

Brett Snyder of CrankyFlier.com says the flip side to crowded flights is that there are fewer of them. “The flights that are still there are going to be running more on time. Also fewer people in the airports for that matter as well.”

And about those bag fees: Snyder says the survey results suggest we haven’t entirely given in. The airlines passengers like most, JetBlue and Southwest, are two of the few that still let you check that first bag for free.

Can you charm your way into upgrade?

A. Pawlowski – June 4, 2010

For one thing, airlines have gotten more aggressive with upgrading their elite fliers, so the first class cabin is often full before you even get to the airport, said Brett Snyder, who runs the blog The Cranky Flier.

Many airlines have also clamped down on the freedom that gate agents have to make upgrading decisions, he added.

Still, being friendly can get you noticed.

“The life of a gate agent can be a very difficult one, in particular when the weather is bad and there are a lot of delays and cancellations and a lot of craziness,” Snyder said.

“So certainly a reason that a gate agent would want to upgrade you is maybe you’re just being nice and you’d be amazed at how rare that might be.”

Summer air travel’s up, and so are fares

Jeff Horwich – June 1, 2010 (Click above to listen)

Brett Snyder blogs as The Cranky Flier. He says the usual early summer sales have been scarce.

BRETT SNYDER: Bookings are strong, demand seems to be coming back, so they really haven’t had to put that many discounts out there.

Smaller fleets mean domestic flights average 80 percent full. Flights on popular routes are packed. But Snyder says there’s an upside to the industry’s diminished capacity.

SNYDER: When you have fewer airplanes in the air that are trying to get in and out of an airport, then it gives you a little more room to wiggle.

How will the new United-Continental treat customers?

Alison Grant – May 17, 2010

“United tends to pay very little attention to the experience of their economy customers,” said Brett Snyder, author of the CrankyFlier.com blog. “For them, the economy decision is totally based on fares, looking to give the best price they can.”

Continental has historically shown that some level of service should be paid to everyone, Snyder said.

How to Get Home When Disaster Strikes

Paul Eisenberg – May 10, 2010

Rerouting is one thing, but crazy convoluted rerouting is another. Still, it’s a viable option that many passengers seem reluctant to pursue, says Brett Snyder, head of Cranky Concierge, which provides assistance to air travelers. “We helped several people throughout the [volcano] crisis, sending some along some incredibly strange routings,” he says. “For example, one client had to be in Toulouse to compete in the Theatre on Ice World Championships. We sent her through Tel Aviv and back to Madrid. She then took a train to Barcelona and drove to Toulouse.”

Who Benefits When Airlines Merge?

Brett Snyder – May 5, 2010
I was asked to write a piece for the Times on whether the United/Continental merger would be good for consumers.

For Fliers, Mixed Impact Seen

Mike Esterl – May 2, 2010

“Integration is always difficult. In the short run, there will likely be pain,” said Brett Snyder, who is the head of Cranky Concierge, an air-travel assistance company.

Flights from Boston to Europe nearing normal levels

Katie Johnston Chase – April 21, 2010

One family of four flew from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv to Madrid, took an overnight train to Barcelona, then rented a car to drive to Toulouse, France, to attend a theater-on-ice competition, said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Flier, an air travel assistance business. Snyder has been helping people find “crazy ways to go” during the major travel disruption

Don’t let bag fees make you nostalgic. Airlines’ golden age wasn’t so golden.

Brett Snyder – April 18, 2010
I was given the opportunity to write an opinion piece for the Post on the so-called “glory” days of air travel and why they weren’t exactly so glorious.

United’s new Boeing 777 to have video-on-demand

Julie Johnsson – April 1, 2010

Brett Snyder, who blogs as the Cranky Flier and who first reported the United 777 upgrades, said that some United regulars will miss the old configuration’s window seats, “but there’s nothing worse than being in the ‘double excuse me’ seat in the middle of five [seats],” he told the Tribune via email.

“For the UA faithful, it may be a minor annoyance, but considering everyone will have full audio/video on demand and 110 volt power, it’s still a better product that what was there before,” Snyder added.

Delta tries to land new JFK terminal

Hilary Potkewitz – March 7, 2010

“It’s a shame because they’ve [Delta] done a lot to improve their on-board experience,” says Brett Snyder, founder of the Cranky Flier industry blog. “But it is incredibly hard to win in New York when you have a miserable facility. And they know that.”

“Leisure travelers only care about price,” says Mr. Snyder. “You can fly them out of a tin shed. But when you’re trying to get business travelers, they’re not going to put up with crowded grungy areas—especially when they have the option of American or Continental, which have great facilities.”

Continental Airlines to charge extra for exit rows seats

Alison Grant – March 3, 2010

“This doesn’t bother me because you really are getting a better product, something more than the people in the rest of the plane,” said Brett Snyder, aka “The Cranky Flier” blogger.

Snyder said Continental’s move is the latest adjustment that it and United have made to align their amenities since they became Star Alliance partners in October.

ABC News

Will a New Bill to Boost U.S. Tourism Help or Hurt? – March 1, 2010

“You already have very strong chambers of commerces and tourism groups for destinations, and those, I think, do a very good job… in general, of promoting their destination,” said Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge air travel services. “In a way, this is going to be duplicating some efforts on things that are already happening at the local and regional level.”

“This is an easy thing to sell to your constituents because it costs you nothing. It costs foreigners something,” Snyder said.

TVNZ

Lie down all the way to LA: Air NZ – January 26, 2010

TVNZ asked me what I thought of the new NZ seats. You can read or watch the video on what I said.

NPR Morning Edition

NPR Talks JAL with Cranky – January 20, 2010

A sub-two minute piece on JAL’s bankruptcy.