The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that United Airlines will no longer offer free snacks in coach starting September 2nd. They are also dropping complimentary meals in business class except for “premium transcontinental flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York.” Shockingly, this move coincides with the airlines’ expansion of their “buy-on-board” food offerings, says the Chronicle.
airlines
TSA Martinet Claims Her Unpublished Rules Trump Real Ones
By 8.20.08
TSA, can you at least train your agents to do their jobs properly? We’d appreciate it even more if you’d discipline (read: fire) those who go all stupidly power-mad and think they have to “win” every encounter, even when it means making up new rules on the spot. Here’s a story of a soldier who lost a day of leave because one of your agents caused so much trouble. In the end, the soldier says he’s happy with the outcome—”Using standard Consumerist customer service doctrine (polite, patient, proper channels and then EECB), I won”—but we’re still floored by how difficult you made his trip home. Oh, and NWA, you were no help either.
By 8.20.08
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American Airlines has launched broadband internet service on nonstop flights from New York to San Francisco, New York to Los Angeles and New York to Miami for a fee of $12.95 [Bizjournals]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.18.08
Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle [Free Money Finance] “If you can afford to delay using your HSA funds and instead leave them invested, your payoff in retirement will be substantial.”
Virgin America Anniversary Flight From Hell
By 8.18.08 — Updated: 3.18.13
Adam is writing in to say that in the year that Virgin America has been operating, he feels that they’ve forgotten how to run their airline. The first time he flew with them, his flight was delayed and his laptop adapter melted. He got a free flight. The second time he flew, about a year later, his flight was delayed, the airline ran out of food, his luggage was ripped open and his valuables disappeared, and the baggage claim rep laughed at his misfortune.
By 8.15.08
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As of August 5th, Alaska Airlines no longer accepts cash on its flights. In their words, welcome to “the convenience of a cashless cabin. Passengers will no longer need to hunt for cash to pay for on board purchases.” Finally! All that cash flitting around the cabin hurting people is a thing of the past. [Personal Finance Weblog]
FAA To Fine American Airlines $7.1 Million For Safety Violations
By 8.15.08
The FAA is not pleased with American Airlines. They say the airline should pay $7.1 million in fines for deferring maintainence and not complying with employee drug testing requirements. AA says the fines are too severe and will appeal.
Forget Your ID? TSA Places Forgetful Fliers On A List That Helps Track "Potential Terrorists"
By 8.14.08
USAToday says that the TSA was placing fliers who forgot their ID in a database along with people who have been questioned for “suspicious behavior” or who “violated security laws.” In an interview, TSA chief Kip Hawley told the paper that the “the information helps track potential terrorists who may be “probing the system” by trying to get though checkpoints at various airports.”
JetBlue Has Grandmother Arrested For Refusing To Delete An Unflattering Video Recording
By 8.14.08
Marilyn Parver is taking her story to the media after JetBlue had her arrested and walked off the plane in handcuffs for refusing to delete a video recording she made of an altercation between passengers. She told Christopher Elliott that JetBlue accused her of interfering with a flight crew (a federal crime) and threatened to blacklist her by adding her name to the dreaded “no-fly list.”
UPDATE: American Airlines Agrees To Waive Extra Bag Fees For Soldiers
By 8.13.08
Tired of taking heat for refusing to waive extra baggage fees for soldiers, American Airlines has finally caved.
United Sells Family's Tickets To Someone Else, Ruins Once-In-A-Lifetime Vacation, Then Won't Admit It To Insurance Company
By 8.13.08
- Holding $5,000 in tickets from a family for six months, then telling them the day before that the flight has been canceled;
- When confronted with the fact that the flight hasn’t been canceled, telling the family that the reservation has been lost;
- Finally admitting that they’ve bumped the family from the flight and were lying about the cancelation and the lost reservation;
- Offering replacement seats on multiple planes and days, splitting the family up on different flights and depositing them at different islands;
- Offering to get them there 5 days into a 7 day vacation, part of which was scheduled to spend time with a family member who was dying in a hospice in Hawaii;
- Refusing to write a letter on the family’s behalf so that they can collect their insurance payment on the house they rented but never used.
With one act of disregard, United destroyed the vacation, cost the family over $10,000 in house rental fees that they can’t get back, and forced them to cancel the trip. The dying family member they didn’t get to see passed away in early June.
United's Pilots Would Like You To Help Them Fire Their CEO
By 8.12.08
United Airlines’ pilots have had enough of Glenn Tilton, the CEO of United, and have started a website that calls for his resignation. In addition to listing Mr. Tilton’s various faults, the website asks you, the consumer, to help them by submitting your United Airlines horror stories. (CC: The Consumerist, naturally…)
Whiney Pilots Complain That Stingy Airlines Are Forcing Them To Fly "Uncomfortably Low On Fuel"
By 8.9.08
Ugh, those selfish pilots can’t be bothered to help their airlines return to profitability. No, instead they’re whining to NASA that they’re being forced to fly “uncomfortably low on fuel” and that “safety for passengers and crews could be compromised.”
United Makes You Pay To Move To Upgrade Area They Would Have Moved You To Anyway
By 8.7.08
Joe may have uncovered a deceptive policy at United Airlines that’s screwing over customers. Here’s how it works. If you’ve got an economy ticket and the only seats available are in Economy Plus, but you didn’t spring for the extra Economy Plus fee, you’re asked if you would like to pay the upgrade fee for economy plus seating. If you decline to upgrade, they seat you there anyway. Sounds pretty sketchy to me. Here’s Joe’s story:
4 New Airline Fees And How To Get Around Them
By 8.6.08
Travel expert to the stars Christopher Elliott has a new column that explains 4 new or grotesquely inflated airline fees and some ways to get around them…
Settlement In BA-VA Price-Fixing Class Action
By 8.6.08
You’re entitled to a small refund if you bought tickets for a long haul flight on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic between August 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006. The amount is $7-$34 per flight taken. This is the settlement in a class action lawsuit contending the two airlines colluded to fix the price of fuel surcharges. More info at airpassengerrefund.com. [via RickSeaney]
Poll: Is It Immoral For US Airways To Charge For Drinking Water?
By 8.5.08
Between the TSA ban on liquids and US Airways $2 fee for bottled water, if you want a drink, you’re probably going to pay for it. It may be annoying, but is it also wrong?
Attention World: A US Airways Plane Is Just A "Flying Vending Machine"
By 8.4.08
When US Airways announced that they would no longer be offering complimentary beverages in coach, we wondered how long it would take before other airlines ditched the free stuff. So far, none have, and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), has denounced the move, calling US Airways planes “flying vending machines.”
