You may remember last week’s story of the 6’9″ Horizon Air passenger who was removed from the plane after a flight attendant asked him to move his long legs out of the aisle. Well, over the weekend we received updates from both the airline and the original tipster, and it appears all parties have been able to work things out. [More]
air and travel
Cracks Found In Three More Southwest Jets
By 4.4.11
It has not been a good weekend for Southwest Airlines. The carrier grounded dozens of planes and canceled hundreds of flights after a hole opened up in the fuselage of a plane in mid-flight on Friday. Investigators subsequently found widespread cracking in that plane. And now comes news that cracks have been found in at least three more Southwest jets. [More]
Horizon Kicked Me Off Plane For Being Too Tall
By 3.31.11
Consumerist reader Laura writes in to share the story of how her stepfather was given the boot from a Horizon Air flight because of his 6’9″ frame. [More]
Spirit Airlines Adds Fee For Not Paying Your Baggage Fees Far Enough In Advance
By 3.30.11
Perhaps upset that its decision to begin charging fees for carry-on bags was not enough to make into this year’s Worst Company In America bracket, the fee-happy folks at Spirit Airlines have begun making their case for next year by adding a surcharge for passengers who wait until 24 hours before departure to pay the airline’s base fees for checked and carry-on bags. [More]
Well-Heeled Travelers Hate Flying These Days Even More Than Us Poor Folks
By 3.29.11
Lest you think it’s just those of us eking out a meager living that are unhappy with the growing trend toward stripped-down flights with a la carte fees, a new survey says that those who can afford to fly are even angrier than we are. [More]
Study: Radiation From TSA's Full-Body Scanners Poses "No Significant Threat"
By 3.29.11
In a new study that will surely be argued and dissected by both sides of the full-body scanner debate, researchers claim that the risk from the ionizing radiation to which travelers are exposed in these scanners “would be extremely small, even among frequent flyers” and that there “is no significant threat of radiation from the scans.” [More]
Woman At LaGuardia Learns TSA Can Still Pat You Down Even After You Pass Security Checkpoint
By 3.28.11
It’s pretty safe to say that most, if not all, of us aren’t exactly thrilled about having to do the TSA shuffle — remove shoes, take out the laptop, put your keys in the bowl, step on through — at airport security checkpoints. But as one traveler at LaGuardia Airport in NYC learned last week, just because you’ve made it through the checkpoint doesn’t mean you can’t get one hell of a pat-down on your way to the gate. [More]
Sale Of AirTran To Southwest One Step Closer To Being A Done Deal
By 3.25.11
Overshadowed by last year’s relatively rapid merger of United and Continental was the sale of AirTran to Southwest. That sale is now one big step away from completion after AirTran shareholders approved the deal earlier this week. [More]
United Had Advance Signs That Plane Would Almost Ignite Olsen Twin
By 3.22.11
You may remember the United Airlines flight from last May that could have resulted in a burnt Olsen twin if the pilots hadn’t reacted so quickly to a cockpit fire. Well, newly released documents from the National Transportation Safety Board show that there had been at least two related incidents on that same plane in the days leading up to the fire. [More]
Unhappy Vegetarian Hurls Tray Of Food At Continental Crew
By 3.21.11
A vegetarian woman aboard a Continental flight from the Dominican Republic to Newark, NJ, was apparently none too pleased when she received a non-vegetarian meal. But rather than file a complaint with the airline, she reportedly opted for the less formal hurl-your-tray-at-the-flight-attendant tactic. [More]
Southwest Apologizes For Booting Muslim Woman From Flight
By 3.18.11
Earlier this week, I took part in a panel discussion at SXSW on “The Legal Ramifications Of Saying ‘I’m Sorry,'” along with a senior executive from Southwest Airlines who explained why his company believes it’s best to be proactive about apologizing to customers when a mistake has been made. A few days later, Southwest was given the chance to make good on its claim. [More]
Delta Passenger Pretending To Be Air Marshal Is Detained By Actual Air Marshal
By 3.17.11
If you’re going to try to impress someone by claiming to be a federal air marshal, be sure the real deal isn’t within earshot. [More]
Texas Pols Want To Outlaw Full-Body Scans & Pat-Downs By TSA
By 3.9.11
Politicians in the Texas state legislature have authored a pair of bills they hope would keep the TSA from using full-body scanners and enhanced pat-downs at airports in the Lone Star State. [More]
Eight More Airports Allowed To Operate Flights To Cuba
By 3.9.11
Good news for those who’ve always wanted to go to Cuba: Eight more U.S. airports have been granted permission to schedule charter flights to and from the island nation. [More]
Flight Attendant Fired For Stowing Baby In Overhead Bin
By 3.7.11
A flight attendant for Virgin Blue, Richard Branson’s Australian airline, has been fired over allegations that he placed a passenger’s infant child in the overhead bin during a flight from Fiji to Sydney. [More]
JetBlue: We Won't Be Stingy On The Free Snacks Anytime Soon
By 3.7.11
Last week, we brought you the sad news that the two-headed beast of United/Continental had decided that coach passengers don’t deserve free pretzels. It seems inevitable that this “luxury” is doomed to extinction, but JetBlue says it has no intention of killing off its gratis inflight snacks. [More]
Continental Kills Free Snacks In Coach
By 3.4.11
Continental and new spouse United Airlines have begun to decide which of their pre-marriage belongings to keep and which to discard. One thing that has already gone in the dumpster: free snacks in coach. [More]
Passenger Goes Through JFK Security With 3 Boxcutters In His Bag
By 3.2.11
A JetBlue flight from JFK Airport to the Dominican Republic was grounded for three hours over the weekend after a flight attendant discovered three boxcutters in the carry-on bag of a passenger — three boxcutters that no one at the security checkpoint seemed to notice. [More]
