After five days of closure, British airspace has been partially reopened. However, the threat of yet another spume of volcanic ash heading for the isles could set off a new wave of disruptions. Millions of passengers have already had their flights delayed or canceled, or been flat-out stranded and left with little recourse but to pray to Vulcan. [Reuters] [More]
airlines
Icelandic Volcano Dashes Trips, Dreams
By 4.19.10
A number of Consumerist readers have had their European travel plans ruined thanks to this volcano in Iceland that decided to start spewing ash into the atmosphere. Flights were turned around mid-way across the Atlantic. A visit to Paris vacation that a struggling single mother saved up for 8 months could be squandered. And American Airlines wants a newlywed couple to pony up 30,000 more frequent flier miles to reschedule their trip. Here are their Tales From The Volcano: [More]
Volcano Ash Shouldn't Disrupt American Air Travel
By 4.19.10
Fear not, domestic air travelers, ash from that Icelandic volcano shouldn’t pose a danger to your plans to hurtle through the air in a giant metal tube at several hundred miles per hour. [More]
Spirit CEO Justifies Carry-On Bag Fees
By 4.13.10
Executives love to justify price increases or staff reductions by hauling out the customer service argument, because then any complaint you make can be framed as self-defeating. (“Don’t you want better service?”) On that note, Spirit’s CEO Ben Baldanza told travel blogger Christopher Elliott last week that the new carry-on bag fee is really intended to reduce gate delays. Remember to send a thank-you card to Baldanza. [More]
Senator Joins DOT Secretary In Blasting Spirit's New Carry-On Bag Fees
By 4.12.10
Spirit Airline’s ballsy new $20-45 fee for carry-on bags has already caught the attention of the Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and now New York Senator Charles Schumer is rattling his sword. [More]
If An Airline Loses Your Luggage, Get Compensation
By 4.5.10
The U.S. Department of Transportation says that despite what the airline tells you, there are certain regulations it must follow when it loses a passenger’s luggage. Here are the things to remember if you’re in this unfortunate situation. [More]
AirTran Makes Fun Of Southwest Seating In Commercial
By 3.31.10
If you’ve ever been part of the mad dash for seats on a Southwest Airlines flight, you might find this video from AirTran funny. In it, mooing passengers race down the jetway while a Southwest employee makes ridiculous jokes. Meanwhile, AirTran serves its assigned-seat passengers Kool-Aid. Wait, now I’m confused about who’s being mocked here. [More]
Always Keep Your Boarding Pass
By 3.29.10
Over on his travel blog, Christopher Elliott writes that if you want to ensure you’ll get the reward program miles you deserve, you should hold on to your boarding pass. In his example, a frequent flyer with Air France couldn’t get his Delta miles credited even though the airlines codeshare, because Air France demanded the original Delta boarding pass, which the customer had thrown away. Elliot managed to get the airline to cave on this instance, but he points out that it’s easier (and better in case of an IRS audit) to hold on to them “just in case.” [More]
Your Gigantic Carry-On Bags Are A Hazard To Flight Attendants
By 3.25.10
It’s logical that as airlines charge customers fees to check their luggage, passengers will carry on as much of their belongings as they possibly can. The logical consequence of that? Passengers and crew getting bonked on the head by bottles of liquor and carry-on toilets. [More]
JetBlue 800 Number Leads To Sex Line
By 3.17.10
An unfortunate typo on JetBlue’s website could lead some customers to “happy ending” instead of “happy jetting.” They spell out 1-800-JETBLUE as 538-2563, when it should be 538-2583. The former connects you a breathless recording that starts, [More]
JetBlue Takes 2 Hours And Charges $15 To Redeem Customer's Gift Card
By 3.17.10
Angela won a “Wish List” contest from American Express, which let her buy a $100 JetBlue gift card for $70. JetBlue managed to wipe out that $30 savings and any good will Angela might have felt by making her waste 129 minutes trying to redeem the card–and then charging her $15 for the service. At the end of her letter to AmEx and JetBlue, Angela writes, “I don’t know about other AmEx cardholders, but spending almost two hours on hold in order to be able to use something you’ve already paid for is not on my Wish List.” [More]
Update: Armed Guards Fail To Squash US Air 1922 Passenger Revolt
By 3.16.10
Armed guards tried to quell an uprising yesterday among the passengers of US Airways flight 1922, who have been stuck in Costa Rica since their flight got canceled Saturday afternoon. The guards failed. [More]
Update: Greetings From USAIR Flight 1922, Stuck For 24 Hours In Costa Rica
By 3.15.10
Paradise is great, but not if you’re trapped in it. Dan and his fellow passengers on US Airways flight 1922 were supposed to leave Costa Rica yesterday at 2:55pm. So far, with their broken plane awaiting a part, that hasn’t happened. Let’s check in on the front lines… [More]
American Airlines Charges You $317 To Not Take A Flight
By 3.11.10
If you think the state of flying is abysmal, consider the cost of not flying. Paul has, and has determined it’s $317. That’s how much American Airlines wanted to charge him for not getting onboard. [More]
Continental Will Cancel Flights To Avoid Fines For Late Takeoffs
By 3.9.10
Starting next month, airlines delayed over 3 hours where passengers can’t disembark will be fined a hefty $27,500 per passenger. Continental CEO Jeff Smisek said that to get around the fines, they’ll just cancel the whole flight entirely. See, you can’t fine a flight for not taking off on-time if the flight doesn’t exist anymore. [AP] (Thanks to Brandon!) [More]
Delays, Insults Have Left Me With the JetBlues
By 3.9.10
Benjamin says JetBlue gave him a hard time as he traveled from Puerto Rico to Boston, sticking him with a delay that caused him to miss a connecting flight, then telling him it wasn’t responsible and repeatedly calling him a liar when he tried to get some help. [More]
United Breaks Guitars Song 3: The Grand Finale
By 3.3.10
The final leg of Dave Carrol’s anti-United Airlines musical trifecta is here. He’s not mad anymore. He’s got his big break and two new Taylor guitars. What about all the customers who write David every day with their own United horror stories? [More]
Slate's 10 Ways To Fix Airline Seating
By 3.2.10
Yesterday we covered Slate’s look at what’s wrong with airline seating–it’s not just overweight people who feel cramped on flights these days. Slate asked its readers to come up with some practical solutions to the problem, and today they printed the top ten suggestions. [More]
