An Australian airline is giving money off coupons to passengers who sat near a man as he died while eating the in-flight meal. [More]
airlines
VIP Airline Treatment For Sale
By 9.6.11
If you’ve ever said, man, I would pay good money to go to the front of this airport security line, your time has come. [More]
American Airlines Disputes Survey Saying It Had Crappiest Call Wait Times During Irene
By 9.1.11
American Airlines issued a statement disagreeing with a STELLAservice survey that placed its average customer service hold times in last place during Hurricane Irene. During the eight calls placed by the survey team, the average hold time they experienced was 1hr and 32 minutes, while American Airlines say their internal metrics showed an average hold time of 21 minutes. [More]
Science Tells You How To Book So You Avoid Airport Delays And Missed Flights
By 9.1.11
Harvard and MIT scientists have used statistical modeling techniques and figured out what are the best things you can do to avoid airport delays and missed connections. [More]
American Airlines Had Crappiest Call Wait Times During Irene
By 8.31.11
The already not known for being similar to Speedy Gonzalez airline phone lines were put to the test during Hurricane Irene when travelers tried to reschedule canceled flights en masse. The call centers were also put to the test by STELLAService, which “mystery shopped” the airlines’ customer service lines to see which had the shortest hold times. American Airlines came in dead last, beating out the second-to-last place Delta by almost an hour. [More]
Particle Physicist Discovers Fastest Way For Airlines To Board Passengers
By 8.30.11
As a scientist at Fermilab, Dr. Jason Steffen normally thinks about smashing particles together at great speeds. Great energy and speed are not usually associated with the airline boarding process, so it might seem odd that an insight into making how we get on planes would occur to someone who works next to a 3.9 mile particle accelerator. But occur it did, and now the first real-world test of his theory shows that it cuts boarding time in half. [More]
JetBlue Selling "Boston All" Passes Through Thursday
By 8.17.11
If you fly frequently through Boston, here’s a deal for you. Now through Thursday night, JetBlue is selling $1,999 passes that give you three months of unlimited travel, as long as you fly to and from Boston. When offered earlier this month, the “Boston All” passes sold out within a week. [More]
Bat Ejected For Refusing To Sit Down On Airplane
By 8.10.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
On Friday, a Delta pilot was forced to return to the airport when a bat began flying around the cabin 15 minutes after takeoff and ignored instructions from the crew and his fellow passengers. [More]
Frequent-Flying, And Complaining, Rabbi Can SueDelta
By 8.8.11 — Updated: 9.8.16
A lawsuit by a rabbi, who says that Northwest Airlines booted him from its frequent flyer program for complaining too much, can go forward. The case had initially been dismissed by a lower court that said federal deregulation law pre-empted the man’s claim, but the 9th circuit reversed that decision on Friday. [More]
Ryanair Treats Passenger For Cardiac Arrest With A Sandwich
By 8.4.11
A Ryanair passenger’s family is angry with the airline because they say their father had a heart attack on the airplane and all the crew gave him was a sandwich. They also made him pay for the sandwich. [More]
Delta And US Airways Will Refund "Taxes" Collected During FAA Shutdown
By 8.2.11
Delta was the first airline to start giving out refunds for the extra money they’ve been scalping from passengers while the FAA remains shut down. After the airline made the announcement Monday, US Airways on Tuesday said they would follow suit. [More]
Which Airlines Give Refunds After Price Drops, And How To Get Them
By 7.27.11
When the price drops on a non-refundable airline ticket after you bought it, you should get a refund on the difference, right? Actually, only a few airlines agree with that and they have varying policies… [More]
Senators Blast Airlines For Profiteering During Tax Holiday
By 7.27.11
Naughty, naughty. Senators Jay Rockefeller and Maria Cantwell are wagging the fingesr at airlines for raising airfares during the tax holiday that has resulted from the Federal Aviation Administration’s shutdown. The practice could have “long-term negative repercussions for the industry,” said the senators in a letter sent to the airlines on Tuesday. [More]
How To Get A Tax Refund From JetBlue
By 7.26.11
If you have a ticket with JetBlue for dates between July 25 and August 2nd, here’s how to get a refund on collected Federal taxes just by sending an email. [More]
Airlines Not Passing On Savings Of Not Having To Pay FAA Taxes
By 7.26.11
When Congress failed Friday to extend a bill that would have kept the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) running, they handed airlines a $25 million a day gift. Without the extension, the FAA doesn’t have the authority to collect taxes. But rather than pass on the savings, nearly all airlines actually raised fares to about the same amount as the federal taxes. Most consumers won’t notice because prices are the same, even though it’s effectively a price hike. [More]
Ralph Nader Gets A Refund From US Airways
By 7.25.11
Ralph Nader, the almighty godfather of the consumer activist movement, has still got it. NYT’s “The Haggler” column just posted a story that Nader called up to tell him about how he got a full refund from US Airways after canceling two round-trip tickets, even getting back the $150 cancellation fee. [More]
An Interview With The Fee-Happy CEO Of Spirit Airlines
By 7.14.11
Low cost, no-frills Spirit Airlines takes heat from people annoyed with how it charges a fee for everything and for its crass and tasteless ads that capitalize on scandals and tragedies in the news. We’ve dished some out ourselves. But it’s hard not to walk away from reading this AP interview with its CEO and business model mastermind Ben Baldanza without some new respect for the guy. For one, he turned around a money-losing airline and it’s been profitable ever since. And at least this airline is upfront about how they’re gonna give it to you. [More]
Guy Arrested For Saggy Pants Plans To Sue US Airways
By 7.14.11
Yesterday, all charges were dropped against a University of New Mexico football player who was thrown off a plane and arrested by a US Airways pilot last month for wearing pj’s that sagged off his posterior. Today his attorney says that Deshon plans on suing US Airways over how he was treated. [More]
