With cancelled Spirit Airlines flights resulting in fisticuffs at the nation’s airports, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the union representing Spirit pilots, hoping to get passengers moving again. [More]
air travel
Amid Cancelations & Delays, Court Orders Spirit Airlines Pilots To Halt Alleged Work Slowdown
By 5.9.17
American Airlines Giving You Even Less Legroom On Its New Planes
By 5.3.17
You might have felt sorry for the airline industry when members of Congress literally asked why airlines “hate the American people.” After all, they’re just businesses trying to make a go of it, like the rest of us. Then you see that a major carrier has decided to give passengers even less legroom than they currently have. [More]
Congress Asks Airline Industry To Explain Why It “Hates The American People”
By 5.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
While no one was forcibly dragged out of room 2167 of the Rayburn Office Building during this morning’s Congressional hearing on the airline industry, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle appeared to be united (but not United) in their distaste for byzantine booking systems, lack of options, and the billions of dollars in add-on fees collected by carriers. [More]
Delta Boots A Passenger From A Flight For Using Restroom At The Wrong Time
By 4.27.17
Anyone who’s flown has heard crew say that everyone needs to be seated, strapped in, and ready for takeoff in order for the plane to taxi on down the runway take its takeoff turn. So it’s a really, really unfortunate time to develop a sudden need to go. Still, emergencies happen — but on one recent flight, Delta took the time to go back to the gate and kick a passenger off the plane after a big bout of bad timing. [More]
Southwest CEO Says Airline Will Stop Overbooking Flights
By 4.27.17
Overbooking is a common practice in the airline industry, where carriers generally prefer the possibility of paying out vouchers or refunds to bumped passengers over leaving the ground with empty seats that could have been filled. But after a recent United Airlines incident pushed overbooking into the spotlight, airlines are rethinking the practice. United and Delta have raised their maximum payouts to bumped passengers, and this morning Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said his airline will soon stop overbooking. [More]
United Wants To Pick Up A Whole Lot More Passengers This Spring (And Not Drag Them Off Planes)
By 4.19.17
United Airlines executives had a goal for the second quarter of the year: To start from a position of strength and boost domestic growth heavily. It’s a very rah-rah, sunny, corporate view of the world that may well be derailed by one big thing: United itself. [More]
United Updates Crew Travel Policies So Passengers Won’t Be Booted Off Flights
By 4.17.17
It’s been a week since United Airlines made headlines for having a ticketed passenger bodily hauled off his flight so airline crew could have his seat, and the company is still in full damage control mode. United’s latest promise is that it has changed its policy so that last-minute staff travel arrangements won’t bump paying customers anymore. [More]
United Pilots “Infuriated” By Passenger’s “Violent” Removal From Flight
By 4.14.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Days after a United Airlines passenger was forcibly removed from his seat and dragged off a flight by Chicago Aviation officers, the union representing the carrier’s pilots is speaking out, saying it’s “infuriated” by the incident, and placing the blame squarely on security personnel. [More]
Passenger Dragged Off United Airlines Flight Will “Probably” Sue, But Not Yet
By 4.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In a press conference today, the legal team for the passenger who was forcibly removed from his seat and dragged off a United Airlines flight on Sunday by Chicago aviation officers who have since been placed on administrative leave pending investigation says the 69-year-old man will “probably” file a lawsuit over the incident, but not quite yet. [More]
United Airlines Will Compensate All Passengers Who Were On Controversial Flight
By 4.13.17
United Airlines remains in damage control mode after video of a passenger being forcibly removed from his seat and dragged down the aisle of a plane generated a public backlash. In the next step on its stumbling apology tour, United has announced that every other passenger who was on that flight will be compensated for their fare. [More]
United CEO Says Airline Won’t Use Law Enforcement Officers To Remove Passengers
By 4.12.17
When the news broke that a United Airlines passenger had been forcibly dragged out of his seat and down the aisle of a plane to make room for airline crew members, United CEO Oscar Munoz put the blame squarely on the passenger, calling him “disruptive and belligerent.” That didn’t go over well with the public, and now Munoz is doing an apology tour, promising that “This will never happen again.” [More]
Does The Fine Print In United’s Contract Prevent Kicked-Off Passenger From Suing Airline?
By 4.11.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A lot of people are saying the United Airlines passenger who was forcibly booted from a Sunday afternoon flight should sue the carrier, while others say he can’t sue because of fine print in United’s 37,000-word customer contract. Turns out he probably can take the airline to court, but whether or not he’d prevail is unclear. [More]
FCC Scraps Plan To Even Think About Lifting In-Flight Phone Ban
By 4.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
While you can now use WiFi to check your email, play games, go online, or watch a movie on a plane, you generally still can’t use it to make a phone call. The FCC is making sure this no-phone refuge remains, by ditching its long-in-the-works plan to lift its ban on in-flight cellphone calls. [More]
After 8 Years And $7.5 Million In Sanctions, Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Over Delta, AirTran Checked Bag Fees
By 3.31.17
Nearly a decade has passed since travelers sued Delta Air Lines and AirTran, alleging that the carriers colluded in creating their fees for checked bags. In that time, the AirTran has vanished and Delta had to pay millions of dollars in sanctions for being a stubborn defendant. Now, less than a year after the court finally granted class-action status in the case, it has been dismissed. [More]
Thousands Of Flights Cancelled Today And Tomorrow Because Of Massive Winter Storm
By 3.13.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
If you were planning to travel to the Northeast this week, you’ll probably need to change your itinerary, as more than 1,000 flights have already been canceled in advance of a massive snowstorm.. [More]
JetBlue Asks Court To Throw Out Lawsuit Over Misplaced 5-Year-Old
By 12.6.16
More than three months after losing track of an unaccompanied minor and sending him to an airport in an entirely different city than his intended destination, JetBlue is arguing that an international treaty prohibits the mother from bringing a lawsuit against the airline. [More]
8 Things We Learned About Allegiant’s History Of Scary Midair Mechanical Failures
By 11.3.16 — Updated: 11.4.16
When you book a ticket on a discount airline, you might expect no-frills service in the cabin, but you don’t expect to be getting on a plane that’s any less safe than the more expensive competition. Yet after complaints from pilots and increased scrutiny from the FAA, the Tampa Bay Times crunched a lot of data and figured out that yes, Allegiant’s planes fail more than the U.S. average. [More]
