It’s hard to keep track of all the extra fees airlines have invented to pad a ticket purchase, especially since they keep introducing new ones; USA TODAY says revenue from added fees have jumped nearly 16% from a year ago. The newspaper reviewed fees from 13 airlines in the U.S. and compiled this handy reference chart of current fee schedules, to make comparison shopping a little bit easier. As expected, Southwest continues to be one of the best values. [More]
airlines
Southwest Buys Air-Tran
By 9.27.10
Overweight people wearing rude tshirts or skimpy clothes will soon have fewer flying options, now that Southwest Airlines is buying Air-Tran. The deal was announced this morning and comes a week after Continental and United Airlines merged. Southwest will get more access to places like New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, and expand into places like Atlanta for the first time. [More]
US Airways: Sorry Your Sister Is Gravely Ill. $30 To Sit Together, Please.
By 9.24.10
Bernadette writes that when sister-in-law was gravely ill on the other side of the country, her husband booked an expensive last-minute flight to bring her back to the East Coast. He was alarmed to learn that U.S. Airways couldn’t guarantee that he and his sister would sit together on the flight from California to New Jersey…unless he paid an extra $15 “choice seating” fee on each ticket. It’s a relatively small amount of money, but the family found it heartless under the circumstances. [More]
An Insider's Look At A Four Hour United Express Delay
By 9.22.10
If there was something that could delay United Airlines flight 1488 from Washington to Philadelphia, then it happened, writes our tipster dev. Although originally meant to be a short one hour flight, the delays stretched to over three hours. Dev writes that most of the delays were caused by the pre-flight crew: “Those of us in the front of the aircraft could hear the Trans States Airlines crew griping over the fact that the ground crew, another contract outfit (this group from Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation), did not do their pre-flight prep work on the plane properly.” [More]
Advice For Holiday Travelers This Year: Buy Your Tickets Now
By 9.20.10
CNN’s Travel Companion suggests you start looking for Thanksgiving and Christmas tickets now, because airlines have cut capacity over last year, and the peak travel times for those two holidays are shorter this year than usual. The article also provide some tips for getting a good price: shop for single seats; aim for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights; and if you can, try to fly on an actual holiday. [More]
RyanAir Hides Travel Insurance Opt-Out Under "Country Of Residence" Drop-Down
By 9.17.10
“Dark patterns” are when web designers exploit common browsing behaviors and use them to trick people into do something that’s to their disadvantage. One of these, the “anti-scan trick question,” is used by RyanAir to get people to sign up for travel insurance. Counterintuitively, to opt out you have to scroll through a “please select country of residence” drop-down menu. Sneaky. [More]
Small Carriers Running Domestic Flights Using Major Airline Names, But Minus The Name Brand Safety
By 9.16.10
In Feb 2009, Continental flight 3407 crashed shortly after takeoff before landing, killing 50 people. Investigators found that the pilot had had less than half the flying time required by the major carriers, and that he had failed five flight performance tests in his career. Though the tail, uniforms and ticket said “Continental,” the flight was actually run by a smaller regional carrier, “Colgan Air.” [More]
I Don't Care Who Screwed Up My Flight Plans, I Just Want My Money Back
By 9.16.10
Rick writes that he booked flights for a family trip using Expedia. Due to an apparent mistake at Delta Airlines, his ticket and his wife’s were canceled out from under them for the first leg of their trip, but their daughter’s wasn’t. Rick has been pursuing a refund for the last-minute tickets he had to buy, but no one seems to know who should be issuing that refund. [More]
Pack Like A Pro
By 9.15.10
This guy show off a cool “clown-car” technique for packing a lot of clothes into your luggage. [More]
OpenSkies Offers Passengers Refunds If They're Not Completely Satisfied
By 9.9.10
One airline is trying a refreshing marketing strategy, competitively differentiating itself based on customer service. Luxury airliner OpenSkies says they guarantee you will enjoy your flight, and offers a full refund, minus taxes and fees, if you’re not completely satisfied. [More]
Stranded Orchestra Gives Impromptu Inflight Concert For Fellow Passengers
By 9.8.10
While waiting for their delayed KLM flight to be released, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta took their instruments down from the overhead compartments and started playing a spontaneous concert for their fellow passengers. [More]
Ryanair's Newest Cost Cutting Idea: Remove Second Pilot
By 9.7.10
Did Ryanair’s publicity-chasing CEO Michael O’Leary read about that American Airlines flight back in June? In a recent interview, he suggested that one way to reduce costs would be to get rid of the second pilot and just make sure every flight has a flight attendant with a pilot’s license. [More]
DOT Updates 'Fly Rights' Airline Consumer Guide
By 9.7.10
The Department of Transportation has updated its consumer guide to air travel, which provides a quick summary of what to look for when buying a ticket, and what protections you have during travel. It’s also a good starting point when you have an airline-related problem and need more information before deciding what to do next. [More]
Airport Installs 40-Foot-Tall Twister Slide
By 9.2.10
To distract travelers from delayed and canceled flights, Singapore’s Changi Airport installed a 40-foot-tall super twister slide that they can zip down at 19 feet per second. [More]
Ryanair Kicks Kid Off Flight For Not Buying Extra Seat For Her Violin
By 8.31.10
Extreme discount airline Ryanair kicked a 12-year old girl and her dad off a flight because they didn’t buy an extra ticket for her violin. [More]
Choose The Best Airplane Seat
By 8.31.10
Here’s a cheery chart that purports to show you how to choose the best seat on an airplane. Bulkheads give you more legroom, but they also attract parents with babies. Seems seats in the back seem the best bet, you’re more likely to be able to store your luggage in the overhead, as well as survive a crash. [More]
AirTran Fined $500,000 For Lousy Wheelchair Service
By 8.31.10
The Transportation Department has served AirTran a $500,000 civil penalty for repeated failures to accommodate disabled travelers, reports Associated Press. The airline was also cited for not providing adequate responses to customers who complained, and for not properly filing complaints with the government. The biggest issue, however, was that it doesn’t always provide wheelchairs to disabled passengers in a timely manner. AirTran says it’s working on implementing a wheelchair tracking system at its hubs. [More]
Fancy Math Says Book 8 Weeks In Advance For Cheapest Flights
By 8.31.10
The cheapest time to get your airline tickets is 8 weeks in advance, says an economist who came up with a fancy formula, âˆA = gUG + min(k-g, (1-g)(1-r)), to figure it out. [More]
