Jill Browne's Blog

Posted by Jill Browne

I have mixed feelings about United Airlines. Last year I flew with them from Calgary (Canada) to Chicago, where I transferred to SAS for a flight to Copenhagen and then on to Madrid.

My first impression of United was that they allow far too much carry-on luggage in the cabin. People were bringing suitcases - two each in some cases, plus a purse or laptop or both - and stuffing them into the overhead bins. The extra luggage lead to slow boarding and a generally crowded plane. All that extra stuff has to be stashed somewhere and it doesn't all fit in the overhead bins.

The cabin crew were not happy. At one point the purser reminded the passengers that they were under the direction of the airplane captain, who could ask them to leave. (Although this would be impractical once we were airborne). The passengers were ignoring the seat belt sign while we were preparing for take-off.

So... do bad passengers just bring out the worst in staff? Maybe. I don't know what it was about that United flight but the one coming home was more orderly. Still, there was an excess of cabin baggage. Why?

At Heathrow Airport earlier this month, I went through security to board an Air Canada flight. Everyone there is limited to ONE PIECE OF CARRY ON CABIN BAGGAGE ONLY. This is strictly enforced. It is done for security reasons. One side benefit is that the plane cabin feels much less crowded when there's less "stuff" aboard.

Posted by Jill Browne

In searching for information about United Airlines' facilities for accommodating disabled and special needs passengers, I found a website called untied.com. This is full of horror stories about people who have complained about United, and how poorly they were treated.

I am completely independent of United but in fairness I want to point out that the website was last updated six years ago. Since then, United has been in and out of bankruptcy and has probably made significant changes to its staff and business.

United's website says they are "committed to meeting the travel needs of all customers, including customers with disabilities and special needs, such as unaccompanied minors". The same page of the website describes the various steps United takes to fulfil this commitment.

They recommend that you tell them of your needs when you make your reservation.

The U.S. government has an office which tracks complaints against airlines. This is the Air Travel Consumer Report issued December 2006, with data up to the end of October 2006. Most of the report is made up of tables.

In October 2006, United Airlines had the most complaints against it of the US-based airlines (80 complaints, or 1.38 complaints per 1,000 emplanements), but its record for disability-based complaints is not so bad. United had 3 disability complaints for the month. Each of Delta Airlines, NorthWest Airlines and SouthWest Airlines had 4; American Airlines had 3. These figures do not take into account the fact that these airlines do not all operate the same number of flights per month.

Every month, I track the Disability category of complaints against airlines in the U.S. in an ongoing series of articles:

• October 2006(reported in December 2006)
• November 2006(reported in January 2007)
• December 2006(reported in February 2007)
• January 2007(reported in March 2007)

The statistics are released about 6 weeks after the end of the month reported on. The January 2007 statistics came out in March 2007, for example.

Posted by Jill Browne

In Kid's Summer Campsthere is information on how to get started looking for a summer camp. In the USA there is a searchable database of camps, including camps for children with special needs. The Kid's Summer Camps article has a link to the database.

The special programs camps offer are not always obvious from their websites and brochures.

In one camp I know about, there is an ongoing program for campers who are developmentally delayed to participate with appropriate support within the mainstream camp program. However, the campers registered through a separate program, not with the camp directly.

When I searched that camp's website, I couldn't find any mention of the integrated program.

The lesson is: if there's a camp you're wondering about, ask the camp director whether their camp has any integrated programs and how to get into them. It may be a multi-step process involving a separate agency.

The same goes for non-integrated programs. For example, I know of a camp where all of the campers are burn victims. These kids look forward to seeing their camp friends every summer in an environment where everyone else is just like them. They have the whole camp to themselves during burn camp.

Again, the camp director has all the information about registering for these special camps, which are not widely advertised to the general public.

Posted by Jill Browne

For more information about Heathrow and flight information there, please see Heathrow Airport Flight Status.The independent website, Flightstats, is a good starting point for flight information. As the critical time for departure or arrival draws near, it is a good idea to look at the websites for every airport involved in the journey, and for the airlines.

The remainder of this blog pertains to December 24, 2006.

Heathrow Airport's website is a quick way to link to some of the major airports serving England, Scotland and Wales: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Clicking on the links for the various Heathrow terminals shows you the current state of the landing and departing flights.

The commentary is that things are returning to normal. (It's now 5:30 p.m. on December 24, UK time, or Greenwich Mean Time if you prefer).

Good luck if you are waiting for a flight, or meeting an arriving flight.

Posted by Jill Browne

Airplane food and the snacks you get on airplanes are not known for being appetizing. This website, Airline Meals has lots of pictures of airplane food, sent in by members of the public.

I never thought of taking a picture of my food, but next time, I'll definitely snap a couple and send them in. It's fun to look at what everyone else is getting. Now, nobody is going to plan their flights around the food – are they?

And the food that's pictured on the site is probably not offered all the time. Wouldn't it be nice to think it actually depends on what's in season? But by comparing several meals from one airline against another airline's food you can start to get an idea.

I picked an airline at random – Kenya Airways. While the first snack posted was pretty plain, there were some nicely presented, full-looking plates further down the page. It matters a lot where your flight originates, since that's usually where the food comes from.