Consumerist
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new and exciting products
Chinese Discount Airline To Sell Standing Room Tickets
Spring Airlines, a discount Chinese carrier, plans to ask the government for permission to sell standing room tickets. The plan will likely win approval, since Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang was recently quoted as saying: "for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient." More » -
seating
Get The Best Seat When Flying Coach
Snagging the best plane seat doesn't always require an upgrade, thanks to a few handy tips from Condé Nast Traveler. Inside, how to avoid the dreaded middle seat and keep yourself entertained on the flight... More » -
traveling
Never Pack Your Jewelry In Checked Baggage
This past February, a Delta customer had her expensive heirloom jewelry stolen from her checked bag on a trip from Rochester through Atlanta to Las Vegas:
More »My suitcase had been opened, my jewelry bag unzipped, and my fine jewelry (gold, diamonds, sapphires) had been hand picked out of the jewelry bag and the inexpensive jewelry (plastic, glass, metal) left strewn across my belongings inside my suitcase.
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ryanair
RyanAir: Bye Bye, Checked Bags And Airport Check-In. Hello, Gambling!
RyanAir this week announced that they will soon eliminate all airport check-in counters and require passengers to carry-on their luggage. Starting early next year, passengers will need to schlep their bags through airport security and drop them at the steps of the plane for checking into plane's cargo hold. Once aboard though, there will be gambling! More » -
travel
Southwest Is Coming To LaGuardia. Hello, Price War!
Starting tomorrow, Southwest will fly out of New York's LaGuardia airport, which hopefully means that flying between New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington is about to get a whole lot cheaper. More » -
happy endings
Southwest Apologizes To The Frequent Flyer Who Was Suddenly Too Big To Fly
Southwest Airlines has apologized to Chip, the frequent business traveler who was denied boarding because he was too big to fly. If you recall, Chip, a self-described "big guy," does not use a seat belt extender and says he has no trouble fitting into a standard airline seat. More » -
southwest airlines
Southwest Suddenly Decides Frequent Flyer Is Too Big To Fly
This is reader Chip. He's 6'1" and says he flies twice a week for business, without incident, on Southwest Airlines. He is a self-described "big guy" but says he doesn't have any problem sitting in an airplane seat — and doesn't need a seat belt extender to do so. So, why did he suddenly get stopped at the gate and told he needed to buy a second ticket? More » -
scheduling
Persistence Convinces Continental To Abandon Impossible Itinerary
Continental thought 82 minutes was plenty of time for Chris to catch a flight connecting in Newark from Washington to Delhi. It might be, but Continental's own data show that the Washington flight arrives late 96% of the time by 103 minutes on average. Chris wanted to switch to an earlier flight so he could make the once-daily plane to Delhi, but Continental wouldn't let him switch unless he paid a $250 change fee. Unsatisfied with the answer, Chris hung up and kept calling back until he got the answer he wanted. More » -
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epic fail
You Can't Bend Your Knee? Here, We're Bumping You To Coach
What does it take for an airline to retain customers these days? Here's a tip: given the graying of America, try not treating elderly people with medical emergencies like crap. Livejournal user urzepatriz details how American Airlines added insult to his or her grandfather's injury. Literally. By bumping him to coach on a cross-country flight after an injury sustained during the trip required major surgery and left him unable to bend his knee. More » -
lucky
Man Leaves Camera In Airport, Then Actually Gets It Back
Reader Mike cc'd us on a complimentary email to Southwest Airlines, which is something that usually doesn't happen when the words "lost and found" are involved. Long story short— he lost his camera and the airline lost his bags — but he managed to get everything back with a minimum of effort. Lucky guy! More » -
continental
Continental Takes 2nd Child To Wrong Airport
Yup, you read the title right. Continental has taken a second child, within a week, to the wrong airport. In both cases a subcontracted regional airline called Express Jet flying under the Continental brand was at fault. Houston Chronicle reports: More » -
continental airlines
Continental Puts 10-Year-Old Child On The Wrong Plane
UPDATE: Continental Offers Free Flights, Frequent-Flyer Status To Misrouted Child's Family
Sure, airlines misroute luggage all the time. But how about misrouting a ten-year-old girl to the wrong state?Yesterday, Jonathan's ten-year-old daughter boarded a plane from Boston to Cleveland to visit her grandparents. She flew as an unaccompanied minor, meaning that her family paid an extra fee for airline staff to keep an eye on her and make sure she was taken care of and ended up where she needed to be. They didn't. She ended up on a plane bound for Newark, NJ. More »
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panic
Delta Is Going To Flip Out If You Wear A Neck Brace In The Emergency Exit Aisle
Ned wears a neck brace when he flies, not because he's injured or disabled, but because he prefers it to one of those floofy neck pillows. This didn't sit well with a Delta flight attendant who was intent on keeping disabled-looking folks out of the emergency exit aisle. The attendant wouldn't leave Ned alone, even after Ned demonstrated his range of mobility and explained that the brace was from a minor car accident thirty-three years ago. Ned managed to hold onto his seat after a chat with the senior flight attendant, but the original flight attendant later came back, "got in [Ned's] face – literally, just inches away" and complained that Ned had "bucked his authority." More » -
travel
Big Airlines Cramming Even More Seats Into Coach
If you're looking for the most legroom, look to the low fare carriers because the big airlines are cramming more and more seats into coach, says the WSJ. More » -
taking it seriously
Passenger Spots Handgun Being Smuggled Past Airport Security
An eagle-eyed passenger at Philadelphia International Airport spotted another passenger handing a bag directly to an airline employee — skipping airport security. The passenger alerted the TSA, who located the US Airways flight and searched the bag. Guess what was inside? An unloaded handgun. More » -
flying pets
Southwest To Allow Small Pets In The Cabin For $75
Southwest previously did not allow animals in the cabin unless they were there for medical reasons — but times are tough, so the airline that doesn't charge for bags is looking for ways to add revenue without "angering customers." More » -
travel
Sorry, You Can't Fly Because Your Name Is Hyphenated
Alright everyone, gather round and let me share with you the pain of living with a hyphenated name. Occasionally it's fun and amusing, a third nipple stapled to your ID. Occasionally, it's a miserable nightmare, as Yarn Harlot Stephanie Pearl-McPhee learned when she wasn't allowed to board a flight after an anonymous airline's computer severed her hyphenated name. Neither passports, a conversation with the booking agent, nor a printed receipt showing the proper hyphenated name could convince the airline gate agent that Pearl-McPhee was anything more than a foolishly named terror. More » -
travel
No More Flight Booking Fees On Expedia.com
Expedia has finally joined its rival online travel sites in eliminating air travel booking fees. Back in March, the site eliminated the fees on a temporary basis, but now the lack of fees is permanent. They will still charge a $20 fee to book flights over the phone. More »
airlines
New York, 12:53 AM
Mon Jul 6
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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