After just a couple of days, JetBlue has already sold out of their All You Can Jet passes, but if you’re under the age of 25 and can think of a way to put the passes to good use, you might be able to win a pair of free AYCJ passes from the airline. [More]
air travel
Southwest Flight Attendant Changes Her Story About Taking Crying Baby From Mom
By 8.20.10
Remember how there was much confusion over exactly what happened with the crying baby who was reportedly taken from her mother during a Southwest Airlines flight? The police said the flight attendant took the baby to the back of the plane, while a Southwest rep said she just offered to hold the baby for a second. Now, the attendant is saying she “made a mistake,” but it wasn’t her actions that were mistaken, it was what she originally told police. [More]
TSA Screeners Check Luggage, Investigate Your Marriage & Personal Finances
By 8.19.10
You have to hand it to the TSA screeners at Philadelphia International Airport. Not only will they look through your stuff to make sure you’re not going to go all explosiony on the plane, they’ll also bring in the cops to call your husband to double check you haven’t embezzled money from him. [More]
American Airlines To Charge Extra For Seats Closest To Exit
By 8.18.10
In a move that’s sure to screw cast members of The Amazing Race, American Airlines is now charging extra for seats that are closer to the exits. They’re calling this money grab “express seating.” [More]
Airport Security Supervisor Pleads Guilty To Stealing $20K Worth Of Stuff From Luggage
By 8.17.10
It’s bad enough that airlines are charging exorbitant fees for checked luggage; travelers shouldn’t also have to worry about sticky-fingered airport employees swiping stuff from their suitcases. [More]
Spirit Airlines Spoofs JetBlue Slide-Jumper With "Don't Be Blue" Coupon
By 8.13.10
We’ll give it to Spirit Airlines — they know how to get attention with their e-mail coupons. First their was the MILF Sale, and then the MUFF Diving promo, and of course this summer’s Check Out the Oil On Our Beaches deal. Now the yucksters have turned their focus on last Monday’s JetBlue flight attendant flip-out. [More]
Should Kids Under 2 Be Required To Have Their Own Seats On A Plane?
By 8.12.10
Children under 2 years of age are currently allowed to travel in planes on the lap of an adult. However, it’s a practice the National Transportation Safety Board hopes the FAA will put an end to. [More]
Here's What A Merged United/Continental Plane Will Look Like
By 8.12.10
Continental and United Airlines won’t officially join to form their airline Voltron for several months, but yesterday they released this image of how the branding on their planes will work once the merger is complete. [More]
Tarmac Delays Down Drastically From Last Year, Cancellations Unchanged
By 8.11.10
In the second month of the recently enacted laws limiting the amount of time a plane can sit on the tarmac without taking off, the Dept. of Transportation says only three flights went over the 3-hour limit; that’s down from 268 flights for the same month in 2009. Meanwhile, the rate of canceled flights remained exactly the same as last year. [More]
JetBlue Flight Attendant Gets Bail Following Flip-Out
By 8.10.10
Unless you’ve been living under a rock — or been stranded on a tarmac — you’ve heard about the JetBlue flight attendant who flipped out, popped open the emergency door, grabbed some beer from the galley and escaped via the plane’s emergency slide. Well, the attendant finally came before a judge for arraignment this morning. [More]
Flight Attendants Grounded Until They Slim Down
By 8.10.10
Whether it’s Kevin Smith being booted from a flight for his girth or a slender passenger being bumped to make room for a larger passenger, the issue of being overweight on a plane has become a hot button issue. And now comes a report that Turkish Airlines has grounded 28 flight attendants for being too heavy. [More]
JetBlue Flight Attendant Curses Out Passenger, Uses Emergency Slide To Exit Plane And Run Away
By 8.9.10
Imagine this sight: Your JetBlue flight has just touched down at your destination when a flight attendant takes to the public address system, drops the F-bomb, pops the emergency door and exits the plane via the emergency slide. We’re really hoping someone out there has video footage of this incident that went down at JFK Airport today. [More]
10 Tips For First-Time Travelers
By 8.6.10
Over at Jaunted.com, they’ve been following the journey of the Newbie Traveler, a young man making his first trip abroad. Now that the noob has successfully crossed borders without causing an international incident, he’s compiled this list of 10 bits of advice he has for other people making their first trek abroad. [More]
A Pilot's Perspective On Woman Removed From Plane For Asking If Captain Had Been Drinking
By 8.5.10
Yesterday, we brought you the story of a woman who had been kicked off a Delta flight after asking the flight crew if the flight’s captain had been drinking. This story drew the attention of a Consumerist reader who also happens to be a pilot. [More]
Delta Passenger Kicked Off Flight For Asking If Pilot Had Been Drinking
By 8.4.10
Here’s a lesson from Delta Airlines: If you think you smell alcohol on a pilot’s breath, don’t dare ask the flight crew if he’d been drinking; you’ll just end up being kicked off the flight. That’s what happened to a woman from California, who recently found herself booted from a Delta flight. [More]
Spirit Airlines Wants To Charge You For Talking To A Human
By 8.3.10
Yesterday, we wrote about how the CEO of Spirit Airlines thinks he’s doing consumers a favor by charging for carry-on bags. Now, Big Ben Baldanza is saying that he wants to start charging passengers for the right to talk to a real human being at the airport. [More]
Spirit CEO: Carry-On Fees Are A "Consumer Benefit"
By 8.2.10
In terms of public relations, 2010 hasn’t exactly been a banner year for Spirit Airlines. First, they ticked people off by announcing they would begin charging up to $45/bag for carry-on luggage, then they introduced “pre-reclined” seats. They were shut down for about a week because of a strike, and then there was the ill-advised “check out the oil on our beaches” promo. But the company’s CEO doesn’t understand why travelers aren’t lining up to thank him. [More]
Liquor Could Soon Be Flowing 24/7 At Chicago Airports
By 7.28.10
Last month, we wrote about Chicago mayor Richard Daley’s proposal to allow airport restaurants to sell booze from push carts in the terminals. But now, as that edges closer to becoming a reality, the proposal has expanded to also permit 24/7 booze sales at these establishments. [More]
