Last week, a United Airlines flight from Burlington to Washington, D.C. was deemed too heavy to fly, so the company had to decide who to boot off. In a moment of what was almost certainly accidental honesty, they targeted the 20 least profitable customers. We know this was their criteria because they announced it to the rest of the passengers, so those who remained were able to rest easy knowing that all the cheapskates, budget travelers and poor people were gone. [More]
United Overloads Plane, Kicks Off Passengers Who Paid The Least For Their Tickets
By July 19, 2010
Airline Passengers Showered With In-Flight Maggots
By July 1, 2010
A US Airways flight from Atlanta to Charlotte had to return to the airport gate on Monday evening after writhing maggots rained down on passengers in one row while the plane was taxiing. The source of the critters? A container of rotten meat that a passenger somehow brought on the plane and stashed in the overhead bin. [More]
Delta Plays Airport Roulette When Flying Into D.C.
By June 15, 2010
On Sunday, Andy emailed us from his seat on Delta Flight 2744 from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., to let us know that he had no idea where his flight was going to land. The ticket he purchased said he was flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport, but Delta said it would all depend on whether they could beat their scheduled 10:19 arrival time and get there before the ten o’clock airport curfew–otherwise they’d have to land at Dulles. Strangely, they didn’t mention this 10 p.m. curfew to Andy before he bought the ticket. [More]
New Rules About Getting Paid When Airlines Bump You
By June 11, 2010
Airlines routinely overbook passengers, resulting in passengers getting bumped and having their travel plans disrupted. Currently, you can get the full ticket price if you are bumped, or 2x the ticket if you’re not provided alternative transportation within a certain time frame to the next stop, up to a certain cap level. Newly proposed regulations would increase the amount passengers could get, but it’s not as simple as that. Airline expert Elliott has delved into the report to find out what’s being proposed: [More]
Huff Post Ranks Airlines On Safety Records
By May 25, 2010
Even the Huffington Post admits that their Safest U.S. Airlines list is a bit unnecessary, considering the excellent safety records of everyone on the list. Still, it’s fun to rank things, so that’s what they did. U.S. Airways and JetBlue came in near the top, while Delta, United and Continental came in at the bottom. Regardless, you’re likely to remain alive after a flight on any of them. [More]
Passenger Accused Of Groping Sleeping Woman On Continental Flight
By May 24, 2010
A 63-year-old New Jersey man has been charged with abusive sexual contact after he was allegedly caught reaching under a sleeping woman’s blanket on a recent Continental flight from Hong Kong to Newark. Passengers seated behind the man say they saw him reaching under the blanket, so they kicked the woman’s seat to wake her, at which point she alerted the flight crew. [More]
Watch Boeing Build A Plane For Southwest
By April 27, 2010
This time-lapse video of a Boeing manufacturing facility is pretty awesome, if you’re into watching “how it’s made” type stuff or if you like to see sped-up footage of people. I recommend keeping the volume down and making up your own sound effects starting at 1:03, when employees begin to test everything on the plane. [More]
Delta Passenger Fights Satan, Sprays Others With Water
By April 26, 2010
A Delta flight from L.A. to Florida had to make an emergency landing in Albuquerque, NM on Friday, after a first class passenger sprayed people with a water bottle from the beverage cart, threatened to “bring down” the plane, and shouted, “Get behind me Satan,” apparently referring to a flight attendant. [More]
British Airspace Squeaks Open, But More Disruptions Loom
By April 20, 2010
After five days of closure, British airspace has been partially reopened. However, the threat of yet another spume of volcanic ash heading for the isles could set off a new wave of disruptions. Millions of passengers have already had their flights delayed or canceled, or been flat-out stranded and left with little recourse but to pray to Vulcan. [Reuters] [More]
Volcano Ash Shouldn't Disrupt American Air Travel
By April 19, 2010
Fear not, domestic air travelers, ash from that Icelandic volcano shouldn’t pose a danger to your plans to hurtle through the air in a giant metal tube at several hundred miles per hour. [More]
Senator Joins DOT Secretary In Blasting Spirit's New Carry-On Bag Fees
By April 12, 2010
Spirit Airline’s ballsy new $20-45 fee for carry-on bags has already caught the attention of the Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and now New York Senator Charles Schumer is rattling his sword. [More]
Slate's 10 Ways To Fix Airline Seating
By March 2, 2010
Yesterday we covered Slate’s look at what’s wrong with airline seating–it’s not just overweight people who feel cramped on flights these days. Slate asked its readers to come up with some practical solutions to the problem, and today they printed the top ten suggestions. [More]
US Airways Won't Get Me Where I Want To Go, Won't Refund My Return Flight
By March 1, 2010
Craig at BudgetPulse thought he’d fly down to Miami for the weekend, but ran into trouble when his US Airways flight was canceled due to mechanical problems. Because he had purchased his departing and returning flights separately, he said the airline wouldn’t refund that now useless return flight. He writes: [More]
2009 Second Safest Year For Western-Built Jets In Aviation History
By February 22, 2010
According to a new report by the trade group International Air Transport Association, 2009 comes in just behind 2006 as the safest year on record (kept since 1964), with an average of 1 accident for every 1.4 million flights on a Western-built jet. CNN notes, “If you were to take a flight every day, odds are you could go 3,859 years without an accident.” With delays and cancellations it would actually take nearly 6,000 years to complete all those flights, but it’s still a good statistic to tell yourself the next time you get nervous about flying. [More]
Jazz Air Kicks Stinky Passenger Off Of Flight
By February 18, 2010
Earlier this month, an American was removed from a flight operated by Canadian airline Jazz Air because of his “brutal” body odor. Apparently the flight crew tried to find a way to separate him from the other passengers, but eventually admitted defeat and asked him to leave. He flew out the next day. A spokeswoman for the airline told CNN that it doesn’t have an official policy about body odor. [More]
Don't Tweet The Identity Of Your Plane's Air Marshal
By February 17, 2010
On a flight yesterday, minor celebrity Kim Kardashian figured out that the guy next to her was the air marshal, at which point she excitedly announced it to her followers on Twitter. “Jim the air marshall makes me feel safe!” she tweeted. But it’s okay, she understands how security protocols are supposed to work; after some of her followers complained about what she’d done, she responded, “[I] highly doubt anyone is twittering like me on this flight! shhh.” [More]
American Airlines To Charge $8 For Blanket And Pillow, If You're Lucky
By February 9, 2010
Starting in May, American Airlines will sell blanket-and-inflatable-pillow packs for $8 each on domestic flights longer than 2 hours. If your flight is under 2 hours and you tend to get cold on a plane, relax: you can’t shiver to death in under 2 hours, and by then you’ll be at your destination. Or, okay, still on the runway at your departure spot, raiding your carry-on for snacks. You might want to bring a light jacket. [More]
