Travel Show 6: Peanut Free Zone

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on June 14, 2010 under Travel Show Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

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In this edition of the Digital Zone, we talked about:

• Delta sends children to the wrong destination
• The “Peanut Free Zone”
• Delta offers everyday skiing service
• Spirit pilots ready to strike
• Disneyland hotel workers walk off job

Delta Air Lines blamed a paperwork mix-up for sending two children to the wrong cities as they flew under the airline’s unaccompanied minors program. Delta said the children were connecting through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday when they were put on the wrong connecting flights because of a “paperwork swap.”  WHDH-TV in Boston identified one of the children as 9-year-old Kieren Kershaw, who was flying alone from Spokane, Wash., to Boston to visit his grandparents when his paperwork was switched with the girl’s paperwork during the Minneapolis layover. The girl also was traveling alone.  Kieren said employees apologized to him when he was in Cleveland. He said, “It was kind of nice. They gave me some free food and some Dunkin’ Donuts.” Delta said the two children were under airline supervision at all times. Delta said it has apologized to the families, sent the children to their final destinations at no cost, arranged full refunds for the children’s tickets and provided credits to the families for future travel.

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PODCAST SPONSOR: The Digital Zone is sponsored by Cliphanger.

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Federal regulators are considering a complete ban serving peanuts on commercial flights. The U.S. Transportation Department gave notice last week that it’s gathering feedback from allergy sufferers, medical experts, the food industry and the public on whether to ban or restrict in-flight peanuts. The peanut proposals were listed in an 84-page document including several other proposed consumer protections for air travelers. Three options were given: banning serving of peanuts on all planes; prohibiting peanuts only when an allergic passenger requests it in advance; or requiring an undefined “peanut-free zone” flight when a passenger asks for one. While those options only pertain to peanuts served by flight crews, the document also states “we are particularly interested in hearing views on how peanuts and peanut products brought on board aircraft by passengers should be handled.” The spokesperson for the U.S. Transportation Department said the department is responding to concerns from travelers who either suffer from peanut allergies or have allergic children, “some of whom do not fly” because they’re afraid of exposure.

Delta Air Lines is adding daily flights between Atlanta and the Montrose-Telluride area in Colorado for next ski season. Daily flight will start Dec. 18 through April 3. The Telluride Montrose Regional Air Organization guarantees airlines a certain amount of revenue if they fly to airports in Montrose and Telluride and pays them if revenues fall short. Executive Director Scott Stewart said that the organization paid $1.4 million to airlines this season out of a possible $2.2 million. Its exposure for next winter is $3.3 million.

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PODCAST SPONSOR: The Travel Show with Patrick Wiscombe is sponsored by GetAwayToday.com. Get an extra $10 off your Disneyland Resort vacation just for using promotion code CASTLE at checkout.

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Negotiations between Spirit Airlines and its pilots entered their final stage, with pilots threatening to walk out at midnight if they don’t get a new contract. The airline has already canceled some flights. Two passengers affected by a canceled flight were given $75 to take a taxi to the Miami airport so they could try to catch a flight from there. They said they would never fly Spirit again. Pilots have said they got along with Spirit’s previous owners, but the current owners have shown “a marked difference in how they treated employees.” Spirit’s pilot contract has been up for changes since January 2007.

Dozens of Disneyland hotel workers walked off their job, the same day the resort premiered its multimillion dollar World of Color attraction. Members of the union ‘Unite Here’ walked out of the Disneyland, Grand Californian and Paradise Pier hotels to picket and block traffic along the street that leads into the amusement park. Disney and the hotel workers have been involved in a contract dispute for two years and hotel employees have staged periodic protests.