American Airlines Plane Departing SFO Makes Emergency Landing

An American Airlines jet made a safe emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday after the pilot reported smoke and the smell of fuel in the cockpit, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

American Flight 442 was en route from San Francisco to Miami when the pilot declared an emergency, diverted to Los Angeles and landed shortly after 2 p.m., said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. There was no fire on the plane, which carried 180 passengers, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies. Read more from CBS5

Hot Hot DING fares

It's been a while since we've seen some good Southwest Airlines Ding! fares, but now they're back! You must download the DING! program (free) onto your PC or MAC in order to see DING! fares. Purchase by 3pm Central Time Wednesday, for travel during certain days in March and April. Prices below are one way, before tax. Example fares:

Oakland-Los Angeles or Reno $38
Oakland-Spokane $51
Oakland-Austin $71
Sacramento-Seattle or Spokane $51
Sacramento-Las Vegas $55

More information on DING! can be found here.

Megabus offering FREE seats down to Los Angeles

Megabus, the discount bus line, is offering 100,000 free trips to "promote public transportation as a way of curbing carbon emissions." The trips must be taken between Jan. 16 and March 11. There is a .50 cent ticketing fee per reservation. Use Promotion Code: WIN2008 at http://www.megabus.com/

For example, on a red-eye ride, you leave SF Cal-Train Station 1130pm (Megabus pickup point) and arrive L.A Union Station at 615am.

Might be an interesting alternative to a flight down to LAX

A few good fare finds this morning:
San Francisco to Los Angeles $78/roundtrip + tax on Virgin America
San Francisco to Cleveland, OH $144/roundtrip +tax on United Airlines
Both fares available 7 days a week including weekends.
virgin america sale and farecompare

HOT FARE! San Jose to Los Angeles $80/roundtrip, taxes included! American Airlines
Travel Tuesday & Wednesdays in October and first 2 weeks of November.
Visit http://www.farecompare.com/

DING! Fares today from Southwest Airlines are HOT!

Oakland to Los Angeles $36/each way + tax (That's $92 bucks roundtrip, taxes included!)
Oakland to Ontario $36-$39/each way + tax
Monday-Saturday travel September 1 - October 31 only

Sacramento-Philadelphia $70/each way + tax

Tue/Thu/Friday travel September 4-28 only

You must have the DING! fare program downloaded on your computer to qualify for these fares.
DING! is available at Southwest.com

Delta Airlines Enlists Top Chefs to Bolster Its Menus
New York Times Sunday August 26, 2007

Delta seems to be getting more serious about the food it is serving to passengers - at least to those sitting in the high-priced seats and others willing to pay for it.

Starting Sept 13, the airline will feature entrees created by the Miami chef Michelle Bernstein for first class passengers on flights from Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Choices include short ribs in a red wine sauce. Also, chocolates from Godiva's new line, Chocoiste, will be available.

Then in November, the celebrity chef Todd English will introduce creations on a for-sale menu for coach passengers on the same routes, as well as flights to destinations like Atlanta; Portland Ore; and Las Vegas. Items under consideration include a spinach salad with beets, walnuts and manchego; and hummus. Prices are expected to range from $3 to $10.

Megabus pulls into the Bay Area this week

MegaBus is expanding their coach service to the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning Wednesday, Bay Area buses begin rolling non-stop from the Bay Area to Los Angeles city center with travel time less than 7 hours.

So where is the flight tie-in since this is a travel blog?

OK There is no direct connection! But, with the first 4 seats on each coach costing a mere $1 each (there are 56 seats total on each bus), a fairly quick ride south dropping you off near downtown L.A and 3 X daily service - including a "red eye" bus ride (leave 1130pm arrive L.A 6am), it's certainly worth considering over a flight to LAX.

What about Greyhound? (oh yea...Greyhound)

They're still around, and with a well established infrastructure of schedules and routes, it would seem Megabus is driving against some stiff competition. Megabus asserts however that their low price, tiered pricing structure (tickets never cost more than $36 each way) and non-stop service make them a superior product.

What I see absent from their press release is how coach service will meet a need for travelers. In the U.S at least, shady stories are ever present as it relates to Greyhound, not the least bit because of where the bus stations are located. A marketing campaign to drive people onto the buses because of a superior product such as service, onboard movies/entertainment or buy-on-board food is needed. The company should also remove itself from the present image of a dark, seedy Greyhound Bus Station by emphasizing where bus drop off points are located (ie: Cal-Train Station in the exciting SOMA, or near Dodger Stadium in L.A).

Still, Megabus is an option people have as an alternative to air travel, at least to Los Angeles for now. While I doubt business travelers are lining up to purchase, small groups of friends may find some fun riding the bus down to L.A for the weekend. Megabus

Source: Megabus Press Release