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american airlines
Unfriendly Skies
Infuriated By Labor Dispute, United Pilot Cancels Flight
Passengers on United Airlines Flight 416 from Salt Lake City to Denver were in their seats, waiting to taxi to the runway, when their pilot suddenly announced that "an interpersonal confrontation [has] upset me significantly to the point where I'm not focused enough to fly you to Denver." Apparently, the "interpersonal confrontation" started when the pilot was caught wearing his hat in front of management. More »
Airlines aren't just hiking fees to cover fuel costs—they're also reducing the number of places where they'll fly. Nearly 30 cities across the country have lost their scheduled service over the last year, making it just a little harder to get to sparsely populated areas. [New York Times]
canceled flights
Fuel Prices Force Southern Skyways To Abandon Flights
Brian writes in to let us know that Southern Skyways has fallen partially victim to soaring fuel costs:
More »It seems the fuel prices are about to consume another airline. We are taking our daughter to Disney in June, the first time for any of us. We booked 3 round-trip tickets on Southern Skyways back in March for our trip.
I started getting very nervous when a few airlines went bust out West, then I really started to sweat when SkyBus went SkyBust, but I had started to get a little more comfortable as of late. I guess I should have known, as today I received this e-mail from Southern Skyways "Customer Service" explaining that they no longer intend to serve me as a customer.
buddy passes
Why Airline Buddy Passes Suck
This week, travel guy Christopher Elliott talks about the growing worthlessness of buddy passes—the travel vouchers airline employees get for family members, or unhappy customers sometimes get as a peace offering. For examples, "on American Airlines, it’s often less expensive to buy an advance-purchase ticket than to use a buddy pass, once you factor in all taxes and fees." And Continental will add a $100 to $400 surcharge per buddy pass starting this Monday, rendering the "perk" of a buddy pass entirely moot. More »
lawsuits
JetBlue Forces Passenger To Sit On Toilet For Flight
Talk about crappy service! JetBlue is the number 1 and the number 2 airline! A man from NYC is suing JetBlue "for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California," reports CBS News. We're not going to judge the airline too harshly until more of the story comes out, just in case it turns out to be another upset passenger overstating the situation—but if it's true, it's going to be hard for JetBlue to wipe this story from the public's memory for a while. Especially with all the joke opportunities. More »
mysteries
Frontier Airlines Insists Man Who Missed Flight Was On Plane
Matthew is the center of a Hitchcockian mystery over at Frontier Airlines. He missed his flight from New Mexico to Texas with a connection through Denver (there was a total of 4 segments to the flight), and when he tried to rebook the flight and pay the change fee, Frontier told him he'd already flown to Denver. So who took the flight? One of the flight crew's friends? A woman too pretty for Southwest? A killer? There's probably a killer roaming the streets of Denver now.Mary at Frontier keeps promising Matthew she'll look into it, but "after weeks and several calls," nothing's been fixed, and Matthew still can't rebook the flight he already purchased. More »
scandals
Did FAA Allow Southwest To Fly Unsafe Planes To Avoid Flight Disruptions?
Yesterday the FAA sought $10.2 million in civil damages from Southwest Airlines for neglecting to inspect the fuselages of 46 of its planes. In documents the FAA submitted to Congress, it alleges "the airline flew at least 117 of its planes in violation of mandatory safety checks" over a 30 month period. Southwest says its passengers were never in danger, and that it was an honest oversight that they caught on their own and revealed to the FAA—but (here's where it gets interesting) an FAA inspector has testified that Southwest continued to fly a plane after he discovered the failed inspections and notified them. Now the U.S. Department of Transportation and Congress are asking why the FAA didn't ground the planes as soon as they knew about the missed inspections, and a couple of FAA whistleblowers are leaking internal docs to the press. Only after the issue became public knowledge did the FAA seek civil damages.More »
It's snowing in NYC, causing the usual flight delays and cancellations. The FAA says that JFK, LaGuardia and Newark are expecting arrival delays of three to seven hours. The FAA is also reporting that 27 percent flights at Philadelphia International Airport have been canceled. Feel free to share your thoughts about this with us at tips@consumerist.com. [CNN]
Like kangaroos? Flights down under may soon cost less thanks to an open skies agreement signed by the U.S. and Australia that will smash apart the duopoly enjoyed by Qantas and United. Richard Branson's discount Australian airline, Virgin Blue, has already submitted an application to mix things up and drive fares south. [L.A. Times]
unfriendly skies
JetBlue Flight Attendant Takes Revenge On Passenger Who Asked Her To Stop Speaking Loudly
A JetBlue flight attendant threw a hissy fit when a passenger failed to return her jammed seat to the upright and locked position. The stewardess admitted that the seat's spring was broken, but still gave the passenger a "warning card" and had airport security meet the plane at the gate. Why? A fellow passenger explains, after the jump. More »
complaints
AA Has Devil Lady For Check-In At Huntsville, Alabama Airport
Rodrigo writes of American Airlines, "In the last 4 travels between me, my wife and my father-in-law, ALL of them had been pretty bad. But the last one was the worst by far." However, they had lots of miles to cash in, a tight budget, and travel needs, so it was back into the belly of the beast for one more adventure: "First nonsense of the day was when the lady there claimed the maximum was 50 pounds for the luggage. Ok here we go again."
My wife, suspecting this was coming again since the same thing happened last time, waves a document issued by AA stating that international flights such as this one (to and from an overseas city, including the legs inside US) were 70 pounds maximum..."
More »
technology
130 Diverted American Airlines Flights Tracked On A Legal Pad
When a storm forced American Airlines to divert 130 planes from Dallas-Fort Worth last year, the airline tracked the diverted planes not with an advanced computer system, but with a legal pad.Lacking any automated system for keeping track of all those diverted planes, Mr. Dillman and his colleagues furiously scribbled down details of where they had gone, how long they had sat there, and whether pilots had enough time left on their daily work limits to keep flying when the weather cleared.More »
how to
Protect Yourself From Being Bumped Off A Flight
Kiplinger's "Win the Bumping Game" offers some advice on how to minimize the chances you'll get left behind when your airline overbooks a flight. The main thing you can do is arrive early—it's the last-minute arrivals, or worse, those who buy their tickets a half hour before departure, who are most likely to get bumped. The other thing you can do is avoid Delta, Comair, or Atlantic Southeast, which have the worst records of bumping passengers, and stick with JetBlue, which has the best. And make sure you have a seat assignment if at all possible. More »
airlines
Next Summer: Fewer Flight Delays, But Higher Prices
Here are the results of those secret meetings we told you about last week: flight delays may be cut by as much as 25% by next summer, but the consequence will be fewer flight times to choose from, and higher ticket prices. The airlines are suggesting cutting the number of flights out of the three hubs most responsible for the nation's delays—JFK, La Guardia, and Newark. "About three-fourths of chronic delays around the country can be traced back to congestion at these three airports," reports Kiplinger's. More »
whoops
US Airways Misplaces Two Teenagers
US Airways somehow misplaced two teenagers (14 and 16) who were flying alone from San Diego to Raleigh. Despite promises that the airline would make sure the kids made their connection and that someone would meet them at the gate, US Airways stranded them overnight in Cincinnati, where they had to sleep on cots in the control tower. What happened? US Airways changed their connection while the boys were in the air, then didn't bother to tell them. From the Raleigh News & Observer (emphasis ours):When mom took the teens to the airport July 28, there was already trouble. Flight delays made the connection schedule tight.More »
travel
In-Flight Bunk Beds: Would You Rather Fly "Horizontally?"
Lufthansa is looking into the idea of providing economy-class bunk beds on its long international flights. From the Daily Mail:Economy-class passengers have had to settle for being packed into tightly regimented reclining seats for extended periods of travel, which have been blamed for causing potentially fatal blood clots known as deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT, in susceptible individuals.More »
travel
