As we reported in March, a handful of Texas politicians were fed up with being felt-up and were considering a way to ban the TSA’s invasive pat-down procedures. Last night, that ban got closer to reality — or at least closer to becoming a courtroom battle — when the Lone Star State’s House of Representatives voted to approve legislation that would keep hands off travelers’ most personal areas. [More]
air travel
Texas House Passes Bill To Outlaw TSA Pat-Downs That Make Contact With Your Most Personal Parts
By 5.13.11
TSA Tries To Explain Need For Patting Down An Infant
By 5.10.11
Over the weekend, TSA agents at the Kansas City International Airport felt the full furor of the internet when a camera phone image of a baby being patted-down hit the web. The world wanted to know if we’d moved from worrying about dirty bombs to hunting for poopy bombs. In an attempt to diffuse the explosive situation, the folks behind the curtains of Security Theater took to their blog to offer an explanation. [More]
TSA Considers Making Airport Screenings Less Annoying For "Trusted Travelers"
By 5.6.11
You might have heard that some airline passengers haven’t exactly been overjoyed with the TSA’s recent rollouts of revealing full-body scanners and like-groping-teenagers-in-heat pat-down procedures. But now the agency is reportedly considering the idea of giving “trusted travelers” an express pass through airport security screenings. [More]
Delta Passengers Forced To Land & Ride Bus For 5 Hours. Is $100 Coupon Enough?
By 5.5.11
Earlier this week, a Delta flight from Atlanta to West Palm Beach, FL, was forced to land in Tampa after the cabin filled with smoke. Passengers were taken off the plane and put on a bus for the 5-hour trip to their final destination. They were also each given a $100 coupon for use toward a future Delta flight. To some passengers, it’s not the size of the compensation that caused offense, but the apparent lack of give-a-damn demonstrated by Delta. [More]
Flight Attendants Stage Mini Mutiny, Give Away Free Booze On Flight
By 5.3.11
No one — aside from airline shareholders — is a big fan of the numerous ancillary fees airlines continue to nickel-and-dime travelers with, not even the flight attendants. And at least on one recent flight, some attendants decided they were going to quietly flip the middle finger to their overlords by giving out a bunch of free stuff. [More]
Allegations Of Photography Cause Plane Evacuation, 2.5-Hour Delay On United Flight
By 4.25.11
When did “taking photographs” become “suspicious behavior” on a plane? Because that’s exactly what caused an entire United flight to return to its gate, be evacuated and inspected, leave 2.5 hours late and forced to make an additional stop because of the delay. [More]
Delta Introduces Online Tracking For Baggage
By 4.22.11
Next time you’re getting off a Delta flight, you should have a better idea of how long you’ll be waiting for your checked luggage at baggage claim. The airline has introduced a new tracking system that lets users plug in their luggage tag number for up-to-date tracking info. [More]
Airline Gives Kung Fu Training To New Cabin Crew Members
By 4.19.11
While the TSA keeps rolling out ineffective new scanning and groping techniques to keep our airplanes safe from bottles of water and shampoo, the folks at Hong Kong Airlines have gone an extra step, requiring all new cabin crew members to undergo martial arts training. [More]
Complaining About Airport Security Could Tag You As A Possible Threat
By 4.15.11
Almost anyone who has been stuck in the airport security screening line has at least mumbled to themselves about the process, but a new report from CNN says that such behavior could lead to travelers being singled out for further screening. [More]
U.S. Airways Flight Evacuated Over Beeping Credit Card Reader
By 4.15.11
Passengers on a U.S. Airways flight in New York City were forced to evacuate their plane last night over a mysterious beeping sound. Because we all know that time bombs beep just like they do on “24.” [More]
A Dead Cow & The 5 Other Most Bizarre Things Passengers Have Tried To Check Onto A Virgin Atlantic Flight
By 4.13.11
The folks over that the Virgin Atlantic blog recently sent out a request to the staffers working the check-in desks at the airline’s various global destinations. They wanted to know about the strangest items that passengers actually tried to have stowed in the cargo hold, and they compiled a list of bizarre baggage that rivals this one. [More]
U.S. Airways: You Know Those Free Miles We Gave You? We're Taking Them Back
By 4.9.11
Isn’t it so nice when your favorite airline e-mails you to let you know that, because they love to see you so happy, you’re getting 1,000 frequent flier miles in your account. You know what’s not so nice? When that same airline writes you a few days later to snatch those miles right back out of your account. [More]
U.S. Airways Adding First-Class Seats To Some Regional Flights
By 4.8.11
In an attempt to compete with some of it bigger, consolidated rivals, U.S. Airways announced this week that it will be adding first-class seats to 110 of the bigger jets in its regional U.S. Airways Express lineup. [More]
Check Out Your Airline's Safety Records Online Before You Fly
By 4.6.11
Are you tired of waiting for those scary headlines to hit detailing safety failures to find out about an airline’s safety records? For those spooked by Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 forced to make an emergency landing when a hole torn open in its fuselage mid-flight, there are a few things you can do to check things out before booking and boarding. [More]
Airline Employees Really Don't Care That You Left Your iPad On The Plane
By 4.5.11
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last year of reading the stories that our readers send in to The Consumerist, it’s this: the seat-back pouches on airplanes are the perfect place to stash your iPad during a flight, then never see it again. This apparently happens to a surprising number of people, but Amin thought he was lucky: he noticed that his was missing only twenty minutes after getting off the plane. This meant that he could rush back and perhaps recover the iPad before the plane took off again. Except…well, we’re posting this story, so you can probably guess what happened next. [More]
FAA Calls For Mandatory Inspection Of Older Boeing 737s
By 4.5.11
Following this past weekend’s incident in which a Southwest Airlines jet suddenly got a sunroof when a hole opened up in the plane’s fuselage and the subsequent finding of problematic cracking on at least three other Southwest jets, the FAA is set to require inspections of around 175 older Boeing 737s. [More]
