It’s been more than eight months since the FCC first announced that it was considering lifting its ban on inflight cellphone use, which was followed almost immediately by the Dept. of Transportation saying it would think about enacting its own ban. Now comes news that the DOT is putting together new rules that would keep airplanes from being chatter-infested flying tubes of anger. [More]
air travel
Hacker: Inflight WiFi & Entertainment Systems Leave Planes Vulnerable To Cyber Attack
By 8.4.14
Hoping to shake the airline industry into improving the security of its onboard networks, a hacker and cybersecurity expert will soon present his report on how the inflight WiFi and passenger entertainment systems leave the door open to someone who wants to breach a plane’s satellite communications equipment. [More]
5 Reasons Why People Still Buy Stuff From Companies They Hate
By 8.1.14
In an ideal world, there would be ample, healthy competition in every industry and consumers everywhere would have access to these numerous options. Additionally, every company would behave ethically and efficiently, respecting consumers and the law. But from what I’ve been told from people familiar with the situation, our world is slightly imperfect and sometimes we end up doing business with companies we’d rather avoid. [More]
United Fliers, Prepare To Be Bored By This Punishingly Long “Humorous” Safety Video
By 7.31.14
Even people who haven’t flown are pretty familiar with the basics of the safety spiel the cabin crew gives before takeoff — no smoking, buckle your seatbelt and keep it buckled, know where the exits are, don’t freak the f*#$ out when the oxygen bag thing drops, and if we crash into the water and manage to survive, you can float in the freezing water on your seat cushion. The more concise an airline can make these statements, the better. But United Airlines thinks that the best way to make you give a hoot about airline safety is to make you watch a 4.5-minute video that tries to tickle your funny bone. [More]
Congress Hates You, Votes To Bring Back Glory Days Of Opaque Airfare Pricing
By 7.28.14
Remember the good ol’ days of 2011, when you would see an airline advertising $99 tickets to somewhere nice, only to later find out that the actual airfare was much higher? For some reason that has absolutely nothing to do with huge amounts of donation money from the travel industry, the House of Representatives has decided that consumers should no longer have access to transparent airfares. [More]
Delta Looking Into Snippy Comments From Pilot To Air Traffic Control
By 7.28.14
No one really likes to be corrected, but when that correction is “you’re taking your plane to the wrong runway,” then you should probably appreciate the criticism. That wasn’t the case for one Delta pilot who didn’t take kindly when an air traffic controller at the country’s busiest airport tried to put him on the right path. [More]
Richard Branson Wants To Introduce “Kids’ Class” Cabins To Virgin Flights
By 7.24.14
Being trapped on a long flight near a particularly loud or fussy child has caused most frequent travelers to pine for adults-only planes. And at least one airline has created “quiet zones” that are free of young passengers. But billionaire guy who owns lots of cool stuff Richard Branson says his goal is to just lump all the kids together into a separate section of the plane. [More]
FAA Lifts Flight Restrictions To Israel
By 7.24.14
After a two-day ban on U.S. airline flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the restriction. [More]
FAA Extends Ban On U.S. Airline Flights To Tel Aviv For Another 24 Hours
By 7.23.14
Yesterday, the FAA temporary halted all U.S. airline flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel for 24 hours. The agency has now extended that ban for another day. [More]
New Boeing 737 Will Cram 11 More Passengers Into Coach
By 7.16.14
While tall people generally have an advantage in athletics, romance, job-hunting, and attending concerts, there is at least one aspect of modern living for which it’s better to be shorter in stature — flying coach. But aircraft biggie Boeing is attempting to take even that one minor victory away from those of below-average height, by cramming additional rows of seats into its already jam-packed 737 seats. [More]
American Airlines Flight Diverted, Passenger Removed, For Using Vague “Electronic Device”
By 7.11.14
Passengers on an American Airlines flight from Newark to Dallas made an unexpected pit stop in St. Louis on Thursday night after the crew removed one traveler for what was deemed a suspicious use of an electronic device. [More]
Pilot Knows How To Handle Stranded Passengers: Buy Them Pizza
By 7.9.14
The most we’ve ever received from an airline for being stuck on the tarmac for hours was some water and repeated assurances that we’d be moving shortly. But not so for passengers on one diverted Frontier Airlines flight where the pilot treated everyone on board to free pizza. [More]
Charge Electronic Devices Before Flying Back To U.S. Or You Might Not Be Allowed On Plane
By 7.7.14
If you thought you could escape the probing playfulness of the TSA by traveling abroad, you were mistaken. The agency recently announced that travelers flying directly to the U.S. from certain, unnamed overseas airports will be required to power-up their carry-on electronics devices in order to board their flights. [More]
Airbus: Pilots Don’t Need Windows In Cockpit, Or Even A Cockpit
By 7.3.14
All those windows in the cockpit of your jumbo jet? They’re expensive to maintain and just slow the plane down, but they’re necessary for the whole “seeing” thing. The folks at Airbus disagree. [More]
British Airways ‘Happiness Blanket’ Makes Passengers Look Like Idiots From The Future
By 6.30.14
Which gives you more anxiety: Flying across the Atlantic or looking like an extra from Logan’s Run? If you chose the former and you like to fly first class, then British Airways has a “Happiness Blanket” for you to try out. [More]
United Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Slide Deploys Midflight
By 6.30.14
You never want to be a in a situation where the inflatable emergency exit slide on your airplane deploys, as its “emergency exit” name implies there is an emergency and you should be exiting. But what about when that slide is the emergency? [More]
Police: Man Called In Bomb Threat To Southwest Airlines To Ruin Ex’s Vacation
By 6.26.14
There are plenty of immature ways that you could — but most definitely shouldn’t — get revenge on an ex. While most of them are, at worst, misdemeanors, a Seattle man is facing a much bigger penalty for allegedly calling in a bogus bomb threat to Southwest Airlines just to get back at an ex-girlfriend. [More]
American Airlines Tells Parents To Not Put Baby In Safety Seat Because It Will Delay Takeoff
By 6.24.14
I probably fly about as much as the average American adult, but even in my modest travels I’ve had some odd, seemingly nit-picky reasons for takeoff delays — a broken coffee machine, a toilet that didn’t have enough “blue juice” in the tank and had to be manually filled — that held up the flight for 30 minutes or more. But the crew of an American Airlines commuter plane recently determined that taking a minute to ensure the safety of a baby was less important than avoiding an FAA fine for a late departure. [More]
