Here, from Wikipedia, is the most comprehensive list of Chinese Airports we could find wiht links to the Wikipedia Airport pages for more information. We’ll eventually have these airports covered here at QuickAid.com Airport Directory but in the meantime here’s more, along with the Chinese Airport ICAO and IATA codes. ICAO is a business code used by industry applications where IATA is the consumer code – ie the one you’d use when reserving a flight for your summer trip.
Archive for the ‘airlines airports’ Category
China Airports | List of Chinese Airports | Airports of China
Thursday, June 21st, 2012(Jan 2012) Airline Rules from US Department of Transportation
Friday, January 27th, 2012The second phase of the new airline passenger protections are now in effect. These rules are designed to solve problems consumers have faced for years regarding cancellations of tickets and flights and pricing problems.
· Requiring all taxes and fees to be included in advertised fares.
· Banning post-purchase price increases.
· Allowing passengers to hold a reservation without payment, or to cancel it without penalty, for 24 hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation is made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.
· Requiring disclosure of baggage fees when passengers book a flight.
· Requiring that the same baggage allowances and fees apply throughout a passenger’s journey.
· Requiring disclosure of baggage fee information on e-ticket confirmations.
· Requiring prompt notification of delays of over 30 minutes, as well as cancellations and diversions.
Generally these seem to be a step forward where regulations will simply make the systems more transparent, although one can make a strong case that the new notifications and 24 hour purchase rule will increase costs for the airlines – costs that will need to be passed along to consumers.
Spirit Airlines has another objection to the new rules, which they assert require them to hide government taxes in their fares. For more about this challenge see their special website here: keepmyfareslow.org
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“New Rules” full Press Release from the Department of Transportation:
DOT 111-11
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Expanded Airline Passenger Protections Take Effect
WASHINGTON – New consumer protections for airline passengers established by the U.S. Department of Transportation go into effect today, and will make flying more convenient and hassle-free for air travelers nationwide. The new consumer protections, finalized earlier this year, include requirements that airlines refund baggage fees if bags are lost, increase compensation provided to passengers bumped from oversold flights, and provide passengers greater protections from lengthy tarmac delays.
“The Obama Administration believes consumers have the right to be treated fairly when they fly,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “The Department of Transportation’s new passenger protections will help ensure that air travelers receive the respect they deserve before, during and after their flight.”
Effective today, airlines will be required to refund any fee for carrying a bag if the bag is lost. Airlines are already required to compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay in the carriage of passenger baggage. Under the new rules, airlines must now prominently disclose all optional fees on their websites, including but not limited to fees for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, or advanced or upgraded seating.
The new rules also double the amount of money passengers are eligible to be compensated for in the event they are involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight. Previously, bumped passengers were entitled to cash compensation equal to the one-way value of their tickets, up to $400, if the airline was able to get them to their destination within a short period of time (within 1 to 2 hours of their originally scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and 1 to 4 hours for international flights). If they were delayed for a lengthy period of time (more than two hours after their originally scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and 4 hours for international flights), they were entitled to double the one-way price of their tickets, up to $800. Under the new rule, bumped passengers subject to short delays will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of their tickets, up to $650, while those subject to longer delays would receive payments of four times the one-way value of their tickets, up to $1,300. Inflation adjustments will be made to those compensation limits every two years.
The Department of Transportation’s new rule also expands the existing ban on lengthy tarmac delays to cover the international flights of foreign airlines at U.S. airports, and establishes a hard four-hour time limit on tarmac delays for all international flights at U.S. airports. It also extends the three-hour tarmac delay limit for domestic flights, currently in place only at large-hub and medium-hub airports, to flights at small-hub and non-hub airports as well. All carriers subject to the tarmac rule will be required to report lengthy tarmac delays to DOT. In all cases, exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons. Carriers must also ensure that passengers stuck on the tarmac are provided adequate food and water after two hours, as well as working lavatories and any necessary medical treatment.
Additional measures under the new rule will take effect January 24, 2012, including:
· Requiring all taxes and fees to be included in advertised fares.
· Banning post-purchase price increases.
· Allowing passengers to hold a reservation without payment, or to cancel it without penalty, for 24 hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation is made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.
· Requiring disclosure of baggage fees when passengers book a flight.
· Requiring that the same baggage allowances and fees apply throughout a passenger’s journey.
· Requiring disclosure of baggage fee information on e-ticket confirmations.
· Requiring prompt notification of delays of over 30 minutes, as well as cancellations and diversions.
The final rule, proposed rule and comments are available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2010-0140.
Carry-on baggage, luggage rules
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011As the convenience of checked baggage diminishes even as the cost skyrockets to check your luggage, most people now opt to use the “carry on” baggage rules and bring a small suitcase on board the aircraft, usually along with a large purse, backpack, or laptop bag. Careful packing and planning means that most people who don’t require a new outfit every day can fairly easily fit everything they need – even for a trip of a week or more – in their carry-on luggage.
For most airlines the dimension of a carry on are 45 inches in total – meaning you simply add the highth, width, and depth of the bag. For example a bag with dimensions 12x12x21 should be OK as well as a bag of 14x14x 17 inches. Technically any airline can can reject bags for many reasons, but in practice you are going to be just fine sticking with the 45 inch rule and probably even fudging a bit over these measurements. However bringing large bags may get you some glares from the other passengers as you stuff your oversized luggage into “their” bin. A major challenge of flying now is that with so many carry on luggage folks using the overhead bins, there is little or no extra room in those bins or under seats. Often the carry-on bags need to be stowed in bins away from your seat or handed over to flight attendants, slowing the boarding process.
It is surprising to me how poorly organized the baggage and boarding process has become – I’d suggest to the airlines that more effective use or design of the overhead bins is immediately in order. Flight attendants, for example, know how to most efficiently stow bags yet they generally are not helpful as flyers tug, push, crunch and smash their and other bags into the dwindling available spaces. Another innovation might be to redesign the bins or bin doors so they can hold more, or find ways to use the massive cargo space that must now exist below as flyers increasingly turn to carry on options rather than checking bags.
Another aspect of Carry-on rules are “Prohibited Items”. Generally for that you’ll want to observe the 3-1-1 rule we discussed earlier. More details are here at the TSA Transportation Security Administration‘s official site. The link takes you to the “prohibited items” section.
Frequent Flyer Miles Madness
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011IMPORTANT: This post is simply a collection of notes from a recent flurry of activity using miles programs. It may NOT represent the general experience for frequent flyer programs at United, American, or Delta. If you’ve had different experiences please feel free to comment below, and if you are an industry representative also feel free to guest post or comment.
Frequent Flyer programs: You’ve got to love them for allowing you free or very cheap flying options, but the logistics are often intimidating even for experienced travelers. Until this past week *thought* I was pretty familiar with the basics of the frequent flyer game but … no. Due to a sudden illness in the family I’ve been arranging last minute trips back and forth from Oregon to Minnesota using the frequent flyer miles my wife and I had on three airlines: United, Delta, and American Airlines. I also just booked four paid tickets to Virginia on Delta’s very compromised online booking system which I learned (the HARD way) is not yet compatible with Google’s Chrome browser.
More on that later but the tip of the day is “for Delta Airlines bookings, don’t use Google Chrome yet!”
Frequent Flyer tips from this experience learned:
United Airlines Frequent Flyer System was great
1. Kudos to United Airlines who came through with an excellent online booking system and excellent ticket availability without gauging me in miles. If you are in a rural area like me, you may find your miles won’t work from your regional airport. Here at MFR Medford in Oregon both Delta and United allow me to travel to and from here, but for American Airlines I need to drive to tt cities served by American which in our case are Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon – both about 4 1/2 hours from home. For me during this experience, United was the big winner by providing one way trips to Minnesota at the last minute for only 12,500 miles with only a $5 processing charge.
Delta’s Frequent Flyer System was expensive and somewhat confusing. Delta Assist Twitter help was great.
The quirky tip I learned from Delta’s excellent online twitter help was that sometimes (always?) the cost in miles of a ONE WAY is the SAME as a Round Trip! I was getting charged 40,000 miles for a last minute one way home for my wife, but thanks to the @DeltaAssist I learned I could book a return for no extra miles.
Watch for Credit Card Miles offers that can be worth thousands of dollars in free tickets:
Watch out for sneaky tricks that aren’t worth the money for the miles:
Here’s a sneaky trick from Delta disguised as an “offer” (!)
Transfer Miles: Limited-time Offer
Bring your friends and family with you on your next vacation. Transfer miles to that special someone between May 1 and June 30, 2011 and we’ll give them a 50% mileage bonus.1
To be continued….
Is Selling your Frequent Flyer miles to a “Mileage Broker” legal?
Friday, May 13th, 2011The mileage broker market was once a thriving industry, buying frequent flyer tickets from people and then reselling them at a profit. Understandably the airlines don’t like this practice of monetizing their frequent flyer / mileage plus type systems. These are marketing tools and they arguably lose both control of things and lose paid tickets to free ones (though a mileage broker could make the argument that they are simply making the process more efficient by letting people turn one form of compensation – free tickets – into cash.
In any case this practice is still in play, but appears to be scaled down and risky for both buyer, seller, and especially for the airlines mileage brokers who can wind up in court.
A case that may set the new standards is Alaska Airlines vs Carey et al, where Alaska Air is suing mileage broker Carey (I think a small, husband and wife online business) for what they feel is an illegal resale of frequent flyer / mileage program tickets. I don’t think this case has yet resolved in the courts, though it may have by now.
It should actually be very cost effective to resell miles benefits at the 1.5-2 cent per mile rates we just reviewed at a mileage broker website assuming your travel plans are flexible. My rule of thumb is that miles are only worth about a penny. This calculation assumes you’ll have trouble getting a 25,000 mileage award and probably have to use 37,500 or even 50,000, and also assumes that a bird (cash) in the hand is worth more than a ticket in the bush (mileage award). A lot can happen to those miles in the new frenzied airline business where, for example, shorter – often only 18 month – mileage expiration time limits can easily kill your miles.
QuickAid at this time recommends you do NOT buy this type of ticket as the risks seem to outweigh the benefits, but we’re open to changing our minds depending on how the courts view the legality of mileage brokering.
TSA Tips for Travelers
Friday, July 16th, 2010The TSA Website regularly offers features and tips on travel, and you’ll be better prepared if you check in before trips. Rules are starting to stabilize after the dramatic security changes created by the 9/11 terror attacks on the USA, but unless you fly regularly you may be unpleasantly surprised by some of the rules.
The most important change since 9/11 has been the liquids rules, which restrict the amount of liquid you can bring through security. I think the simplest approach if you check bags is to place your gels and liquids there, but if you need to carry them be sure they conform to the rules or you may loose that expensive new shampoo you just bought for the trip.
Liquids rules from TSA – remember it’s 3-1-1 3 ounce or LESS container in a SINGLE ONE QUART clear bag. You may place several containers in the same quart clear bag.
Airports to Train Stations: Europe
Thursday, April 29th, 2010European Airports to train stations:
Here, from Eurail.com , is an overview of frequently used airport to train station connections. Unlike much of the USA where Airports generally assume you’ll have a car or take a taxi, in Europe there is a robust system of train / airport connections where trains, subways and other mass transportation are linked directly into airports. Often you can take a train right from the airport to the city.
Note that often (but not always) the connection is free for Eurail Passholders, exceptions are noted with asterisk *. This chart is current as of April 2010, for the latest visit the Eurail website:
| Airport | Station | Link |
| Ajaccio Campo dell’oro | Ajaccio CFC | Bus, every 20 minutes* |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | Amsterdam Centraal | Train, every 15 minutes |
| Athens/E.Venizelos | Athens Central Railway Station (Stathmos Larissis) | Train, every 30 minutes |
| Athens/E.Venizelos | Korinthos (New Railway Station) | Train, every 2 hours |
| Barcelona El Prat | Barcelona Sants | Train, every 30 minutes |
| Berlin Schönefeld | Berlin Ostbahnhof/Zoologischer Garten | Train (S-Bahn) every 10 minutes |
| Berlin Tegel | Berlin Zool. Garten | Bus 109* or X9* |
| Bern Airport | Bern Hbf | Bus-shuttle* |
| Bologna Marconi | Bologna Centrale | ATC Bus 91, every 15 minutes* |
| Bordeaux Mérignac | Bordeaux St. Jean | Bus* |
| Bourgas Int’l | Bourgas BDZ | Bus 15* |
| Bratislava MR Stefanik | Bratislava SZD | City bus 24* |
| Bremen | Bremen Hbf | Tram No. 5* |
| Brussels Nationaal | Brussels North, Central, South | Train, every 20 minutes |
| Brussels South | Charleroi | Bus 68* |
| Bucharest Henry Coanda | Bucuresti Piata Victoriei | bus 783* |
| Budapest Ferihegy 1 | Budapest Nyugati | Train, every 20 minutes |
| Budapest Ferihegy 2 | Budapest | Bus service* |
| Cagliari Elmas | Cagliari | ARST-Bus* |
| Carcassonne Salvaza | Carcassonne SNCF | Bus CART #7* |
| Clermont-Ferrand Aulnat | Clermont-Ferrand | Bus service* |
| Copenhagen Kastrup | København H | Train, every 10 minutes |
| Copenhagen Kastrup | Malmö | Train every 20 minutes |
| Dresden | Dresden Hbf | Train (S-Bahn) every 30 minutes |
| Dublin | Dublin Connolly, Dublin Heuston | Airlink Bus* |
| Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf Hbf | Train S7 |
| Eindhoven Airport | Eindhoven | Hermes Bus 19* |
| Euroairport | Basel SBB | Euroair-Bus* |
| Euroairport | Freiburg Hbf | SGB-Airbus* |
| Euroairport | Mulhouse SNCF | Euroair-Bus* |
| Faro | Faro | Bus* |
| Firenze Vespucci | Firenze SMN | Bus ATAF 62* |
| Frankfurt Rhein/Main | Frankfurt am Main Hbf | Train, every 15 minutes |
| Genève Cointrin | Genève | Train, every 15 minutes |
| Genova C. Colombo | Genova Principe | Volabus 12/14* |
| Gothenburg Landvetter | Göteborg C | Express bus service every 15-30 minutes* |
| Graz Thalerhof | Graz Hbf | ÖBB Bus service* |
| Hahn | Frankfurt am Main Hbf | Bus (Ryanair/Bohr)*, every hour |
| Hamburg | Hamburg Hbf | AirportCity Bus* |
| Hannover Langenhagen | Hannover Hbf | Train (S-Bahn) every 30 minutes |
| Helsinki Vantaa | Helsinki | Bus 615 or a Finnair bus* |
| Köln/Bonn Apt | Köln Hbf | Train (S-Bahn) every 20 minutes |
| Köln/Bonn Apt | Bonn Hbf | Express Service Bus # 670* |
| Leipzig/Halle | Leipzig Hbf, Halle(S) Hbf | Train, every 30 mins |
| Linz Blue Danube | Linz Hbf | ÖBB Bus service* |
| Lisbon | Lisboa Cais do Sodre | Aero bus* |
| Ljubljana Brnik | Ljubljana | Bus service* |
| Luxembourg Findel | Luxembourg Gare Central | Luxair bus, every hour* |
| Lyon St. Exupéry | Lyon Part Dieu, Lyon Perrache | Bus: Navette Aéroport* |
| Maastricht/Aachen | Aachen | Hermes Bus 420* |
| Maastricht/Aachen | Maastricht | Hermes Bus 421* |
| Madrid Barajas | Madrid Chamartin | Metro* |
| Malaga | Malaga | Train, every 15 minutes |
| Marseille Provence | Marseille St. Charles | Bus, every 20 minutes* |
| Milan Linate | Milano Centrale | Bus ATM # 73* |
| Milan Malpensa | Milano Centrale | Bus: Malpensa Shuttle* |
| Milan Malpensa | Milano Bovisa and Milano Cadorna Malpensa | Express train* |
| Munich F.J.Strauss | München Hbf | Train (S-Bahn) every 10 minutes |
| Nantes Atlantique | Nantes SNCF | TAN Air Bus* |
| Naples Capodichino | Napoli Pza. Garibaldi | Bus # 14, every 20 minutes* |
| Nice Cote d’Azur | Nice Ville | Bus #23* |
| Oslo Gardermoen | Oslo Sentral | Train (Airport Express and NSB Regional train)* |
| Paris Charles De Gaulle | Paris Nord | RER Line B |
| Paris Orly | Paris Austerlitz; Versailles | RER Line C (Pont de Rungis)* |
| Pisa Galileo Galilei | Firenze SMN | Train |
| Pisa Galileo Galilei | Pisa Centrale | Train |
| Porto Carneiro | Porto Campanhã | Train every 20 minutes* |
| Rimini Miramare | Rimini Centrale | ATAM Bus # 9* |
| Roma Fiumicino | Roma Termini | train every 30 minutes, only 1st class Passes are valid |
| Rotterdam Zestienhoven | Rotterdam Centraal | RET bus # 33* |
| Salzburg, W.A. Mozart | Salzburg Hbf | City Bus 77 (Obus)* |
| Sofia Airport | Sofia Central Railway Station | Bus 84* |
| Stockholm Arlanda | Stockholm C | Train, every 15 minutes |
| Stuttgart Echterdingen | Stuttgart Hbf | Train (S-Bahn) every 10-20 minutes |
| Verona Villafranca | Verona Porta Nuova | APTS Bus, bay # 39* |
| Vienna Schwechat | Wien-Nord, Wien-Mitte | Train (S-Bahn), every 30 minutes |
| Vienna Schwechat | Wien-Mitte | CAT (City Airport Train) every 30 minutes* |
| Zürich | Zürich Hb | Train, every 15 minutes |
Dulles Airport IAD Serving Washington D.C.
Monday, April 26th, 2010Dulles International Airport Airport Code: IAD serves the greater Washington D.C. Area. Dulles is within a days drive of many major cities on the east coast making it a key hub for East Coast travel. Note that Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport also serves the Washington D.C. area and is located in the city.
Washington D.C. is the capitol of the United States and home to some of America’s finest architecture, history, and museums. In Washington D.C. you’ll find the attractions listed below all near the National Mall area. Note that the National Mall area is HUGE and you can spend several days exploring this and surrounding attractions like the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian Institution (allow at least a day and hopefully more to roam this museum – one of the world’s finest).
Bring comfortable shoes and try to use the submay or busses when possible. Parking is sometimes hard to find around the major attractions, especially in summer.
Washington D.C. Attractions include:
The Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
WW II Memorial (near the center of the National Mall)
Vietnam Memorial (near the Lincoln Memorial)
National Mall
Smithsonian Museum
Holocaust Museum
US Treasury Museum.
US Capitol Building
White House
Click HERE for an *excellent* free printable map and information sheets about the Capitol Mall
Iceland Volcano Delays Thousands of Flights
Friday, April 16th, 2010Volcanic ash, which represents a potential severe danger to aircraft engines, continues to pour from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Under some circumstances the ash can damage jet engines and they will stop completely, creating the potential for catastrophic failures and accidents. For this reason many flights throughout Europe were cancelled yesterday and schedules remain in flux today. Flights around the world are affected by the snarled airline traffic in Eurupe.
As CNN Reports it remains unclear when the travel hazard will diminish enough for normal flight schedules to resume.
Airport Wayfinders – 3D Tours of Boston BOS, Portand PDX, Houston IAH, Toronto YYZ several Airports
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010Airport Wayfinder has a really neat 3D Tour tool for four airports – I’m not clear if they’ll develop this technology for all the airports though it appears it may be designed to mesh with planned or existing touchscreen systems in the airports.