10 April 2013

KLM turning into Ryanair?

I just received the customary Flying Blue membership spam-mail, with a number of not-so-important news, and something I had missed previously.
As previously communicated, from 22 April, check-in baggage will be a paid option for Economy class passengers on KLM European flights. However, all Flying Blue members will still be able to check in one suitcase for free, with Silver, Gold and Platinum members being able to check in an additional piece of baggage at no cost. So, it is more important than ever to include your Flying Blue membership number in all your KLM flight reservations in order to benefit from this valuable Flying Blue advantage. 
You have to be a member of their frequent flyer programme to be entitled to a "free" checked-in bag. Air France is doing a similar thing with their new Mini Economy fare offered in a limited number of flights though.
I hate seeing perfectly good carriers become ryanairified.

09 April 2013

Passbook boarding pass

So.
You're flying with one of the big companies, like Lufthansa. You've just checked-in using your smartphone - 'cause, why not?. You get the relevant email when you notice this:
Hmmm. Add this boarding pass to Passbook. Sure, why not?
It looks like this in Passbook:

Notice the small details. Passbook automatically increases the brightness to the maximum, and disables the automatic screen lock. You don't need the Lufthansa app, just tap on the link in the e-mail.
The other small detail. The boarding pass can show up as a notification according to time and geolocation.

For instance, I was flying with Lufthansa from Heathrow to Frankfurt. The boarding pass showed up when I was in Heathrow airport, a couple of hours before my flight. Handy!
Come on other companies! This is actually useful! I guess there is a way to add whatever you want in Passbook, so, I'm expecting Tripit or someone to start a wrapper service for adding things to Passbook.