Notoriously cheap airline Ryanair currently charges customers €40 ($53) if they show up at the airport without having printed up their boarding pass. But a judge in Spain says this fee crosses the line from thrifty to illegal. [More]
air travel
What New Airline Fees Could Be On The Horizon?
By 1.13.11
Parents of young children: Have your wee ones been getting a free ride on domestic flights by sitting on your lap? Well that luxury is just one of several things the airline industry is considering slapping a fee on in the near future. [More]
Despite Busy Thanksgiving Holiday, Flights Departed On Time In November
By 1.12.11
The Dept. of Transportation released its Air Travel Consumer Report for November 2010 yesterday, and for the first time since 2008, U.S. airports went two months in a row without a single plane being delayed on the tarmac for more than three hours. [More]
TSA: Trying To Fool Scanners With Clever Clothes Will Just Lead To A Pat-Down
By 1.11.11
You might remember our story from July on Flying Pasties, the stickers that purported to hide your private bits from airport scanners. Those are just one of many products released in recent months attempting to cash in on travelers’ anti-scanner attitudes. However, the TSA has made it pretty clear that all you’re really doing when you walk through security carrying or wearing one of these products is asking for a pat-down. [More]
U.S. Airways Attendant Leaves Traveler In Wheelchair Out In The Rain
By 1.11.11
Once again demonstrating its commitment to excellence, U.S. Airways reportedly left an elderly traveler stranded in the rain on a wheelchair lift for several minutes while her daughter looked on helplessly. [More]
My Dog Died Under Delta's Care, And Airline Blows Me Off
By 1.5.11
Deserved or not, Delta is garnering an unfavorable reputation in regards to pet care, most recently after a dog it lost in between flights in Atlanta was found dead. Before that, Delta lost a dog belonging to one of our readers in Mexico City. [More]
Dog That Escaped From Delta Flight Found Dead
By 1.3.11
Right before Christmas, we brought you the story of a dog that had escaped from its crate while being transferred between two Delta flights in Atlanta. Unfortunately, news reports say the dog was discovered dead near a highway over the weekend. [More]
Expedia Pulls American Airlines Listings From Site
By 1.1.11
Expedia.com has wasted no time in picking the first travel industry fight of 2011. Less than two weeks after American Airlines parted ways with Orbitz.com, Expedia has made its stance clear by removing all American listings from its pages. [More]
Mom Threatened With Being Booted From Plane For Using Baby Seat
By 12.30.10
The mother of a one-year-old baby girl says she was threatened with being ejected from a SkyWest flight when she tried to convince flight attendants that her child’s car seat was acceptable for use on the plane. [More]
Delta Pulls Listings From Three Travel Sites
By 12.29.10
Things are starting to get ugly in the battle between airlines and travel-booking websites. Less than one week after American Airlines pulled its listings from Orbitz.com, Delta has announced its flights will no longer be listed on three other sites. [More]
Eagle-Eyed TSA Screeners Don't Notice Loaded Handgun In Man's Carry-On
By 12.17.10
If you thought the TSA’s inability to notice a 6-inch hunting knife was a sign that airport screeners might as well be watching Spongebob instead of X-raying you and your stuff, here’s further proof. [More]
Oops! I Made It Past The TSA Screeners With A 6-Inch Hunting Knife
By 12.8.10
While the TSA is busy rolling out full-body scanners and grope-y pat-down procedures, the agency still hasn’t managed to actually stop people from slipping onto airplanes with deadly weapons. [More]
Delta CEO Listens To This Frequent Flyer's Plea
By 12.8.10
Chris didn’t really have a serious consumer “problem,” but he had an issue that regular customer service channels couldn’t help him with. He’s a very frequent flyer, but had been accumulating miles through Alaska Airlines, even though he now does all of his flying with Delta. He sent off concise and businesslike executive e-mail carpet bomb explaining his dilemma, and promising Delta all of his business if they’d match his l33t MVP Gold status. [More]
Why Do Airlines Hate Kevin Smith So Much?
By 12.6.10
It’s been almost a year since director Kevin Smith had a very public spat with Southwest after being told he was too girthy to fly. That means it’s time for the Jersey Girl filmmaker to get ticked off at another carrier, and the lucky recipient of his vitriol is Virgin America. [More]
U.S. Airways Flight Grounded After Dog Bites Passenger & Flight Attendant
By 12.6.10
In spite of all the advanced screening technology and techniques being used at airports these days, terrorists are still able to sneak on board planes and disrupt the flight — in the form of dogs. [More]
Sen. Schumer Proposes Law Against Saving Full-Body Scans
By 12.6.10
While the Transportation Safety Administration and the makers of the controversial full-body scanners swear up and down that the machines don’t save the rather revealing images they snap of screened travelers, New York Senator Chuck Schumer wants to go one step further and make it a crime to distribute or save the images. [More]
Southwest, JetBlue Fly High In Zagat Airline Survey
By 11.30.10
For the 20th year in a row, the people at Zagat have done a survey of passengers on the major domestic and international airlines. And by the looks of it, travelers are much more pleased with the likes of Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin than they are the old-timers like United, Delta and American. [More]
TSA Head Apologizes To Traveler Whose Bladder Bag Burst During Pat-Down
By 11.23.10
Yesterday, the TSA got yet another public-relations black eye when a man in Michigan said airport screeners in Detroit refused to listen to him about his medical condition and accidentally ruptured a bag full of urine under his clothes. [More]
