Congressman Bill Shuster from Pennsylvania, the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the lawmaker behind pro-airline legislation like this 2014 bill to remove any transparency from advertised airfares — and whose top campaign contributors are United and American Airlines — has admitted today to being in a romantic relationship with a top lobbyist for the airline industry. [More]
air travel
Southwest Bucks The Trend, Plans To Actually Widen Seats On New Planes
By 4.14.15
Flying on a Southwest Airlines flight in 2016 might be a bit more comfortable for some customers used to cramped spaces: The airline unveiled a new seating structure for its upcoming planes that gives consumers an extra half-inch of seat width. [More]
Alaska Airlines Flight Forced To Make Emergency Landing After Employee Fell Asleep In Cargo Hold
By 4.14.15
In the last year, a number of people have attempted – sometimes successfully – to stow away in different areas of airplanes to catch a free ride. On Monday, a ramp agent for Alaska Airlines inadvertently became a stowaway when he fell asleep in the plane’s cargo hold, causing the plane to initiate an emergency landing after just 14 minutes in the air. [More]
JetBlue Reminds Passengers: Eating Tuna On A Plane Makes You A Horrible Person
By 4.9.15
A recent survey found that 60% of people think it’s rude for passengers to bring stinky food onto a plane. Count the folks at JetBlue among them, as the airline has released an etiquette video calling out eaters of smelly foods. [More]
Airline Really Sorry For Telling Cancer Patient She Couldn’t Fly Without Doctor’s Note
By 4.8.15
Alaska Airlines is blaming a “communication breakdown” for an embarrassing incident that resulted in a 51-year-old cancer patient and her family being removed from a plane to San Jose, CA, by an employee who said the woman could not fly unless she had a note from her doctor. [More]
Delta Makes 20-Minute Bag Guarantee Permanent, But Still Severely Limited
By 4.6.15
Back in February we told you that Delta was testing a limited-time guarantee for its SkyMiles frequent fliers — Your checked bags will be at the carousel within 20 minutes or you get 2,500 miles. The airline has decided that the program is worth continuing, but it’s still incredibly restrictive. [More]
Allegiant Air Pilots Plan Strike For Thursday; Could Ground 250 Flights
By 4.1.15
Earlier today, we reported that the pilots of Nevada-based budget carrier Allegiant Air took their beef with the carrier to the public by posting an open letter to passengers voicing their concern about carrier’s stance on safety standards and treatment of employees. Now, the pilots say they’re prepared to go on strike Thursday, a move that has the potential to ground 250 flights. [More]
Airline’s Pilots Warn Passengers Of Safety Concerns
By 4.1.15
In an open letter to their passengers, the pilots of Nevada-based budget carrier Allegiant Air have gone public with their concerns about what they see as sagging service and safety standards for the airlines. [More]
JetBlue Cancels Passenger’s Ticket For Flight He Wasn’t Even Supposed To Be On
By 3.31.15
Anyone who has traveled frequently enough has likely had to deal with your flight being canceled or rescheduled and all the havoc that can ensue trying to keep the rest of your itinerary from being completely screwed up. But what’s a traveler to do when the airline screws up twice and cancels your ticket for a flight that you’re not even booked on? [More]
Frontier Airlines Strands Passengers At The Gate For 18 Hours
By 3.25.15
Passengers awaiting a flight from St. Louis to Denver over the weekend could have driven to their destination in less time than it took for their Frontier Airlines flight to actually board. [More]
Woman Says United Airlines Flight Attendant Shamed Her For Breastfeeding During Flight
By 3.12.15
For years now nursing mothers have encountered any number of displeased looks, rude remarks and requests to cover up. A Vancouver mother says she was the latest victim of such a run-in when a flight attendant on a United Airlines flight tossed a blanket to her husband in an attempt to get her to cover up.
[More]
Passengers Safely Taken Off Delta Jet That Skidded Off Snowy Runway
By 3.5.15
Two-thirds of the flights scheduled to arrive today at New York’s LaGuardia airport have already been canceled, mostly due to the latest snow storm to slam the Mid-Atlantic region. And there are 130 who probably wish their Delta flight to LGA had called off after it slid off the runway this morning. [More]
American Airlines Super Sorry About Leaving Passenger On Hold For 6 Hours
By 3.3.15
If you’ve tried to fly this winter, chances are you’ve hit some weather-related delays or cancelations and ended up in line or on the phone waiting to speak to someone who could help you out. But odds are that you didn’t wait as long as the one Florida woman who spent six hours trapped on hold with American Airlines. [More]
United Airlines Warns Pilots About Safety Concerns
By 2.25.15
Following four incidents that United Airlines dubs “safety events and near-misses,” the carrier has issued a warning to its pilots about “significant safety concerns,” and asking them to cut down on potentially disastrous mistakes. [More]
Southwest Gets OK To Continue Flying 128 Planes That Missed Inspections
By 2.25.15
Yesterday afternoon, Southwest Airlines had to cancel dozens of flights after learning that one-fifth of its entire fleet was overdue for a necessary maintenance check. The airline was to have grounded 128 planes pending inspection, but has reached a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration that will allow those jets to continue flying. [More]
JetBlue’s Justification For Baggage Fees Demonstrates The Sad State Of Airline Industry
By 2.24.15
Late last year, JetBlue announced that it too would be kowtowing to investors’ demands and start charging fees for checked bags. This news did not go over well with many of the airlines’ customers, but JetBlue believes people will get over it… because they really have no other choice. [More]
DOT Won’t Force United To Honor Super-Low First-Class Fares Resulting From Glitch
By 2.24.15
Earlier this month, several people figured out that they could book super-cheap airfares on United Airlines’ website if they made it look like they were accessing the site from Denmark. The airline canceled those tickets after getting wind of the loophole, which it blamed on a software glitch. Thousands of people complained to the Dept. of Transportation, arguing the airline was illegally raising airfares post-purchase, but the DOT has decided that isn’t the case. [More]
American Airlines Leaves Travelers Stranded Around Globe Without Luggage
By 2.23.15
Beyond just getting you through security and into your seat on the plane, there are a lot of systems that have to work together to get a flight off the ground with all its passengers and all their stuff. But when one important system went down at a major airport on Friday, American Airlines decided to fly a bunch of planes without luggage rather than delay or cancel flights. [More]
