Two days after an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Colorado had to make an emergency landing because of “pressurization problems,” the airline had to divert a Miami-bound plane to Phoenix because of a generator problem. [More]
air travel
JetBlue Throws 2-Day Sample Sale
By 3.23.10
Through tomorrow night, JetBlue is offering deep discounts on dozens of flights as part of their 2-Day Sample Sale, with some flights starting as low as $29 each way. [More]
United Forgets That You Had Reserved Seats, Shrugs
By 3.18.10
Silly Mike. He thought that by booking seats in the bulkhead row next to each other on well ahead of time for his flights to and from Tokyo on United later this week, he would actually get to sit in those seats. Instead, he writes, United’s customer service changed the plane type for their flight long after he reserved his tickets. Yet the airline somehow managed to not re-book seats for Mike and his wife at all. When he called to straighten things out, the airline put them on a different flight not sitting together and took away their precious bulkhead seats. United’s representatives don’t see why Mike has a problem with any of this. [More]
5 Survival Tips For When Your Plane Is Stranded
By 3.17.10
Because it happens way too frequently, we’re often posting horror stories of air travelers being cooped up in a plane for hours on the tarmac waiting for weather to clear, a runway to open or the stars to align. And even though there will soon be penalties for planes that make passengers idle too long on the tarmac, it’s still going to happen. And just in case it happens to you, the folks over at Jaunted have prepared these 5 tips for surving the ordeal with a minimum of pain. [More]
VIDEO: Inside The 16-Hour Flight From Hell
By 3.16.10
This weekend’s torrential downpours in the New York City area wreaked havoc on air travel, as flights were canceled, airports closed and planes rerouted. One such flight was Virgin America Flight 404, where passengers were kept cooped up in the plane, nibbling on rationed Pringles and sipping water, while it sat on the tarmac for nearly 7 hours. [More]
United Airlines Begins Offering Digital Boarding Passes
By 3.12.10
In a move to cut down on paper and ID fraud, United Airlines has announced passengers can now opt out of paper boarding passes and have digital boarding passes sent to their Internet-ready phones. [More]
Continental Realizes Exit Row Seats Have More Legroom, Charges More For Them
By 3.3.10
In an announcement this morning, Continental Airlines said that, starting March 17, they will be offering passengers “a new option allowing you to purchase seat assignments for unreserved, Economy Class seats that feature extra legroom.” But instead of readjusting the seats on their planes to allow for more space, they’re really just charging for sitting in an exit row. [More]
Airline Declares "No Boys Allowed" In The Bathroom
By 2.26.10
After decades of having to share airplane bathrooms with messy fellow travelers of the male persuasion, female passengers on one airline are about to get a new perk — female-only restrooms. [More]
Traveler Makes Better Movie Than Avatar While Stranded In Airport
By 2.24.10
You’re stuck in a almost-vacant airport overnight during a blizzard — What are you going to do to entertain yourself? The answer was simple for one young potential victim of boredom… Turn the empty gate into her own personal playground and capture it all on video. [More]
Lufthansa Pilots Put Strike On Hold For Now
By 2.22.10
Less than 24 hours after 4,000 pilots for German airline Lufthansa walked off the job, the strike was suspended as talks resumed between the flyboys and girls and the company. [More]
This Contact Lens Solution Bottle Is A Little Misleading
By 1.28.10
Noah found a bottle of contact lens solution that proclaimed on its package that it’s small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules. This would be great if the bottle were small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules. [More]
Idiot Disrupts Everyone's Air Travel For Goodbye Kiss
By 1.10.10
The man who went through security the wrong way, disrupting airline traffic at Newark and thus nationwide, was neither a terrorist nor a dumbass, as we had speculated last week. He was a romantic fool who wanted a kiss from his girlfriend. Okay, maybe that falls under “dumbass.” [More]
Delta Cancels Flights Due To Storm, Plays "Let it Snow" For Customers On Hold
By 12.20.09
The massive snowstorm on the East Coast this weekend has led to canceled and delayed flights–and a lot of aggravation on the part of Delta Air Lines customers. Because the only thing better than waiting for hours on hold to learn your flight’s status or reschedule a flight canceled due to snow is listening to “Let it Snow.” On a loop. [More]
Southwest: Here's $150, Forgive Us For Suspecting Your Baby Was 2
By 12.18.09
Southwest sent out a peace offering to Kris, the woman who was reduced to tears when a Southwest check-in agent stopped her from bringing her 7-month infant onto the plane because she couldn’t prove his age. [More]
Delta Air Lines: You Need To Pay A Fee To Pay This Fee
By 11.28.09
Update: Delta representatives are in touch with Martin and his family, and we’ll let you know when they work something out.
Martin’s 5-year-old stepdaughter has had a very eventful holiday week. So has her family. Flying as an unaccompanied minor, she had to miss her original flight on AirTran and her family booked another at the last minute. The first reasonably priced flight available was on NWA/Delta, but her parents tell us that communication between different departments seems to have shut down–resulting in fees, hours of delays, and the child ultimately missing her flight because the airline didn’t mark down that the unaccompanied minor fee had already been paid.
Four Tips To Make Holiday Air Travel Easier
By 11.25.09
Are you traveling by air this week in order to celebrate Thanksgiving where you belong…or at least where you feel obligated to be. USA Today published a list of holiday travel tips…they’re all good general travel tips, but especially helpful when airports are crowded and stress is high. [More]
When Traveling, Beware The Snow Globe Terrorist Menace
By 11.15.09
Beware the snow globe menace! The TSA has decreed that since they can’t determine how much liquid is in a snow globe, passengers are not allowed to bring them in their carry-on luggage on planes.
Expedia Drops Fee For Booking By Phone
By 11.5.09
This morning, travel service Expedia announced it will abandon its book by phone fee, which it first implemented last May. This makes it the only major online travel agency to not ding customers with a fee for booking flights over the phone, notes consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott.
