In-flight Wi-Fi service; frequent flier program changes

By Joe Brancatelli

NEED TO KNOW

On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter:

A firm called the Holdup Suspender Company has introduced a line of airport-friendly braces. The company claims the suspenders will not set off the alarms as travelers pass through the security checkpoints.

United Airlines now offers GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi connections on its so-called p.s. service, which operates flights between New York’s Kennedy Airport and Los Angeles and San Francisco.

And Air Canada is testing GoGo on two routes (Montreal-Los Angeles and Toronto-Los Angeles), but the Wi-Fi only works when the planes are flying over the continental United States.

US Airways‘ frequent flier program, Dividend Miles, undergoes a radical shift in January. There will be four prices for awards instead of two: off-peak, low, medium and high. So that means, for example, a business-class seat to Europe will cost 60,000, 100,000, 200,000 or 350,000 miles.

The big airlines have a new way to raise airfares: They impose a surcharge of as much as $60 on flights on so-called “busy” travel days. There are currently about 40 busy days between Thanksgiving week and Memorial Day.