Consumerist
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dress codes
United Says No Track Suits In First Class
How casual is too casual for an airplane's first class section? If you paid for first class, and a bald guy in a Puma running outfit sat down across the aisle from you, would you honestly feel short-changed? United seems to think it's inappropriate. More » -
missed it by that much
Northwest Air Pilot Misses Airport By 150 Miles
If you're an airplane pilot, it's important to try and land in the state customers paid you to fly toward. More » -
fleet maintenance
FAA Continues To Investigate American Airlines, May Charge Individual Mechanics
The FAA has been investigating American Airlines for a while now over allegations that it wasn't repairing its planes properly, and yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that the agency may widen its investigation, and even bring charges against individual employees who signed off on substandard repairs. More » -
travel
Expect Airlines To Keep Hiking Ticket Prices As Holidays Approach
This year it's a seller's market when it comes to buying airline tickets, reports the New York Times, so if you must travel via plane, buy early and try to be as flexible as possible. More » -
slight savings
United Lets You Pre-Pay Your Baggage Fees
United has just announced a program where you can pay $250 to have their normal checked baggage fees waived for a year. The plan covers 2 bags per passenger, up to 8 passengers "traveling under the same confirmation number." Current fees are $20 for the first bag and $30 for the second, so if you travel solo a lot and always carry two bags you'll have to make six trips before you enjoy any savings. On the other hand, if you've got a big family trip planned in the next year, this may be a way to shave a little off the fee gouging. But only if you're stuck with United; BestFares.com notes that "SouthWest offers 2 free bags for free and JetBlue offers the 1st bag free."
"Premier Baggage" [United via Best Fares]
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potential for rudeness
Should Airplane Passengers Be Allowed To Make VoIP Calls?
Until now, airplane cabins have been blessedly free from idle phone chatter thanks to FAA regulations. Now, thanks to the introduction of wi-fi on commercial flights, it's time to ask: should passengers be able to use Skype, Google Voice, or another VoIP service of their choice to make phone calls in the air? More » -
long lines
Airline Employees Call Police On Angry CEO Who Chewed Them Out
This story combines two immutable laws of nature in a surprising twist: that executives don't always know what their front-line employees are doing, and that airline employees don't give a f*ck who you are and will call the police if you annoy them. More » -
airplanes
A Visual Primer On Airplane Etiquette
Here are 14 photo illustrations from Australia of jerk-like behavior on airplanes, for those of you who aren't creeped out by the weird "lets use clones" art direction of the piece. The weirdest tip is that it's apparently okay to kick your fellow passenger in the crotch if you're certain you can do it without waking him up, but hey, that's Australia for you.
"Gallery: Seat etiquette" [News.com.au]
(Photo: Eric Auld) -
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airplanes
Ban On Long Tarmac Delays Close To Being Passed
If Senator Barbara Boxer has her way, the Senate's Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act will soon require airlines to "deplane passengers after three hours and would require [the airlines] to provide basic services such as food and water while they are waiting on planes." The requirement is in the current version of the bill, and Boxer and another Democrat, Senator Amy Klobuchar, have threatened to filibuster it if the language is removed. More » -
insurance
Get On A Plane, Go To Your Surgery
We're not sure if this is the start of a trend or just some very creative cost-cutting by a few companies, but Business Insurance notes that some self-insured firms are now sending their employees to other states to save money on medical procedures. More » -
gadgets
Carry Liquids On A Plane In 2-Liter Bottles
"Baby Soda Bottles" are 2-liter bottles before they've been heated and formed into their soda bottle shape. In this pre-bottle stage, they make waterproof, hard-to-crush containers for small objects, and they hold approximately 2 ounces of liquid which makes them useful for air travel. Oh also, you can use regular 2-liter bottle caps on them.
"Baby Soda Bottles" [CoolTools]
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songs
Dave Carroll Launches Second "United Breaks Guitars" Song And Video
Musician Dave Carroll hit the jackpot with his first song, "United Breaks Guitars," last month. The song, the video, and the subsequent media coverage formed a perfect anti-ad for United's poor handling of customer property. Now he's released the second of his planned three-song cycle and this one has more of a "we could have had something together" feel to it. Like any sequel, it's about 600 times more elaborate. We'll always love "United Breaks Guitars" most of all, but it's great to see Carroll continue his one-man shaming of an airline for not doing the right thing when it had the chance.
More »
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airlines
Sunwing Airlines Also Breaks Guitars - Then Replaces Them
Musician Dave Carroll told us that United breaks guitars, but did you know that other airlines break guitars, too? Oh yes!
...You probably could have guessed that. More »
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flying
10 Easy Ways To Keep Your Flight Attendant Happy
A happy flight attendant makes for a happy flight, and 24-year-old flight attendant Brandi Lynne has a list of 10 things you can do to make your next flight a little more enjoyable... More » -
airplanes
Southwest Jet Makes Emergency Landing After Gremlin Rips Hole In Fuselage
Southwest Airlines flight 2298 made an emergency landing in West Virginia yesterday after a hole appeared on the top of the plane while in flight. "Passengers reported that they could see the sky through the rupture," writes the Washington Post. It left Nashville around 4:05pm, but landed only 50 minutes later. According to this WPRI video clip, Southwest spent the night inspecting 181 of its Boeing 737-300 jets, and they say there should be no delays today.
Update: Here's a passenger's blurry cell-cam video of the hole in the roof. (Thanks to Chad!) More »
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follow ups
Dave Carroll Says No To Guitar Hush Money From United
We officially love Dave Carroll now. Not only is he cute and a good singer, but he's classy (check out how he defends the United employee in this video response) and has principles. The best part is at the end he encourages us to stay tuned for song #2. United hoped it could pay for the guitar and put an end to the bad publicity—but it looks like you're not getting off that easily, United. Check out the full video response below. More » -
pets
Which Airlines Are The Most Pet Friendly?
Petfinder.com compared airlines to see which ones are the best choices if you're traveling with pets. You may remember our post a while back on Pet Airways, about which Petfinder says, "While Pet Airways didn't make the rankings because they haven't 'hit the air' yet, [we are] excited to see the promising airline take off." More » -
Dave Carroll's "United Breaks Guitars" song and video EECB appears to be having the desired effect. Check out this tweet from United. [Twitter] (Thanks to Chris!) Update: Dave Carroll responds.
MORE »
airplanes
New York, 6:37 PM
Thu Nov 12
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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