Miami International Airport (MIA) Ranked Best Airport in Eastern U.S. and Florida by J.D. Power

Based on surveys from U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport from August 2019 through July 2020, Miami International Airport was ranked as the best mega airport for passenger satisfaction in the eastern U.S. and Florida by the J.D. Power 2020 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, released on September 23.  See if you agree with their findings!

The study measures overall traveler satisfaction with mega, large and medium North American airports by examining six factors (in order of importance): terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail.

On a 1,000-point scale, MIA achieved a score of 801 – second among mega airports in North America only to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which earned a score of 805. Mega airports are those with 33 million or more passengers per year - the busiest airports in the study. MIA was able to jump from 11th place in last year's study to 2nd place overall in North America, while serving a record-high 46 million passengers in 2019 – an increase of nearly one million passengers over the previous year.

Tweet

Do Empty Middle Seats or Other Factors Make Flying Safer During COVID-19?

Americans have debated the risks of getting on a plane during the COVID-19 pandemic — especially during the summer vacation season — with few clear answers or evidence to guide their decisions.  Still, compared to the number of flyers in 2019, only 25% are deciding to fly in 2020. 

The airline industry itself has been split over pandemic safety approaches, with airlines including Delta, JetBlue, Alaska, and Southwest opting not to sell middle seats to provide more distance between passengers and reduce the risk of illness. 

Southwest Airlines recently published their intent to continue to keep the middle seat clear on flights through November 30, 2020. Other airlines, like United, Spirit, and American Airlines, are not blocking middle seats, with United’s chief communications officer calling the idea “a PR strategy” instead of a safety strategy.  This has led some to consider the science behind the airlines' decisions including MIT Sloan professor Arnold Barnett. Arnold Barnett is the George Eastman Professor of Management Science and a Professor of Statistics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, who holds a BA in mathematics from Columbia College and a PhD in mathematics from MIT.

“I've been doing research about aviation safety from a statistical viewpoint for many, many years, and this is the first time that I've seen where U.S. domestic airlines disagreed overtly on a matter related to safety,” MIT Sloan professor and aviation safety expert Arnold Barnett said. “It seemed to me that all we were getting was a clash of conjectures.” 

Tweet

Is Your Driver's License Going to be Enough To Get Through Security Next Year? You Need to Check!

**2020 Update: The Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline for full REAL ID compliance by a year. Adults aged 18 and older now have until Oct. 1, 2021, to ensure their driver’s license is REAL ID-compliant, or acquire another accepted form of identification — like a passport — in order to fly within the United States.

Starting October 1, 2020, U.S. travelers who are age 18 and up and don’t have a Real ID driver’s license or another  piece of compliant identification won’t be permitted to fly.

If you’re unsure whether your identification card is Real ID-compliant, here’s how to know: It generally has a star in the top right corner.  If you’re not sure, contact your state driver’s license agency on how to obtain a REAL ID compliant card.

Courtesy of NCDOT.gov

Recently, the TSA issued a reminder that to travelers that they will need at Real ID, but American citizens will need the Real IDs for official functions like entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants also. A passport will still be required for travel abroad.

The agency initially imposed a deadline of October 2018 for enforcing the new ID rules, but since many states didn’t adhere to the rules, an extension was granted.

Don't go too early to get a new identification if you live in a state that isn't compliant. Here are the states and territories still non-compliant with Real ID requirements and when their extension ends, according to the Department of Homeland Security:

Tweet

How Well Does TMobile Inflight internet and Texting Work?

LTD recently made the switch from Verizon to T-Mobile using the #GetOutoftheRed program. On our first flight we immediately gave the T-Mobile In-flight Internet and Texting a Try.

We can't set our location as 25000 feet above the Eastern Seaboard but we can assure you, that is where we are right now!

If you are or may become a T-Mobile customer, first check to see if your favorite airline or phone is compatible with this benefit.

According to the T-Mobile Website:

Not all flights offer in-flight texting service from Gogo. To check if your upcoming flight offers this service, contact your airline.

T-Mobile In-flight Texting is supported on the following US-based airlines:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Line

1. Preflight 

Customer service made sure our phones were set up to use this service.  We had a lovely and cheerful agent in South Florida help.  The preflight set up is easily explained on the T-Mobile website and includes information such as making sure you have WiFi calling enabled.

2. Signing on

The interface was easy. First make sure that your plane is on Wi-Fi well being in airplane mode. Once the plane has reached cruising altitude you can connect to google in-flight Wi-Fi network.

Tweet

FREE Mobile Passport, TSA Pre-Check and Global Entry Make Cruising and Traveling Easier

Save Time Going Through Customs When Traveling for Your Next Cruise (and many flights!)

Mobile Passport app is authorized by Customs and Border Protection for US citizens and Canadian visitors to expedite their entry into the USA

April 2019 Update!!  

MOBILE PASSPORT UPDATE! There are two versions of this app. If you want to store your passport information and have it be ad free, you will need to pay $15 per year. If you want the free version of the app, you will need to enter your passport information every time you use it and of course will have to endure some advertisements!

If you read our blog, you know that LuxuryTravelDocs love to cruise!  We have used our American Express Platinum to sign up for GlobalEntry, which allows us to enter the US when flying and at some cruise ports at lightning speeds compared to most travelers.  Recently, we were delayed at Port Everglades after arriving from a 15 day transatlantic cruise.  The immigration computer system crashed and luckily rather than standing in line for the two hours it took to recover, we were allowed to wait on the ship).  But once the system was functioning, we disembarked to encounter a line of hundreds of persons waiting to be cleared by immigration.  Fortunately, we buzzed through immigration and customs using our Global Entry Cards making a few jokes that the computer crash was from the election vote recount! (TIP:  always make sure you have the physical identification Global Entry Card at Port Everglades because the staff will not let you in line without it! Even though the Global Entry Clearance is embedded in your passport, the staff need to see the physical card.  Frustrating but true! There were probably too many passengers sneaking into the line!)  The other passengers that were able to disembark as quickly as us used the Mobile Passport App.  There were even some Canadian residents who used it.  Obviously we asked our fellow passengers many questions while waiting!

Here is a description of the Mobile Passport App:  

Tweet

Your road to American Airlines Aadvantage Executive Platinum status or elite status on any Airline

 How do you find new unpublished fair specials when booking flights. This is very important when you were trying to continue your status with an airline. There are couple of websites where you can search for loaf price airfare for those long-haul flights.

One website that I use is fairdealalert.com.

Faredealalert.com

This is nice to see what sort of fares are available and how to book them  with particular fare codes. It is very good at telling you how to find the fair that you want online or when you’re speaking to a representative at the particular airline.

Another good website to use to look for low price airfares is  airfarewatchdog.com.

Airfarewatchdog.com

It has a very good search engine that allows you to specify what do you want nonstop, international, domestic, and even the airlines that you wish to travel on. This allows you to look for the particular airline alliance such as one world, star alliance, etc.

 For example, recently I searched for inexpensive airfare from Charlotte on airfare watchdog.com. I found a trip to Dublin Ireland for $548. This results in Nearly 8000 elite qualifying miles for relatively inexpensive.  In Dublin is a great city to visit!

Let’s say you decide to travel to Europe 12-15 times in a year using fares like this, you would be at executive platinum status And only spend around $7500. That is certainly worth it and I am sure with other fares that you could find to places like South America, Central America, Alaska, or the Middle East, you could do this with even fewer trips.

Tweet

A New American Airlines Systemwide Upgrade Policy You Will Like

I bet you didn't know that your American Airlines systemwide upgrades don't really "expire" at the end of January!  Even the ticket agents don't know this secret!

Yes, your systemwide upgrades are removed from your account at the end of January, but you can book a trip using them up until 3 months after they expire IF:

1.  You book the trip before January 31
2.  You take the trip before April 30
3.  You are immediately confirmed for the upgrade

Recently I realized I had two expiring systemwide upgrades for my Executive Platinum status.  A very helpful agent told me that there was a new policy (which I cannot find anywhere online) for using your systemwide upgrades.  I looked using this method for trips to London and found a perfect flight for me with upgrades available for two persons.

Find upgrade availability:

1. Log in to aa.com.
2. When booking your flight on aa.com, look for the Systemwide upgrades link to find flights with upgrade seats available.  Make sure if you want travel and upgrades for more than one person, that you indicate that in the number of persons traveling.  There are many flights with only one upgrade available and this may not work for your plans.
3. “Systemwide upgrades” will be displayed if there are enough upgrades available on the flight for the number of passengers you are requesting, and you have the appropriate number of upgrades in your account.

I called the Executive Platinum line to book the flights.  I had to tell the agent that day about the new policy. She read the "fine print" and said that I was right.  Of course I had to pay for an economy ticket, but I will have a business class flat seat and intercontinental amount of miles added to my Aadvantage account.

RxTip: Consider looking at Faredealalert.com to find an inexpensive flight option if you are not sure where you want to go, then begin looking for upgrade availability.

Tweet