In a letter signed by 12 CEOs, the US air travel industry has called upon you, their customers, to help them lobby congress. What’s the problem that they need help solving? Oil speculation. Read the letter inside.
airlines
By 7.10.08
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Northwest Airlines is cutting 2,500 jobs. Passengers may be asked to get out and push to help the plane taxi. [NYT]
US Airways Dumps In-Flight Movies, Not Enough Passengers Buying $5 Headsets
By 7.9.08
Too many passengers were bringing their own headsets, so US Airways has discontinued in-flight movies. US Airways had been hoping to switch from their heavy 500lb movie system to lightweight fiber optic personal systems, but that plan has also been axed. New US Airways planes will be delivered with no entertainment system.
Southwest Will Give Refund To The Family That Was Too Unruly To Fly
By 7.8.08
Southwest Airlines said that they will be giving a refund to the family it considered too “threatening” to make their connection to Seattle. KPHO says Wendy Slaughter will receive a full refund for their six one-way tickets from Detroit to Seattle via Phoenix.
You've Got About A 1 In 3 Chance Of Arriving Late With American Airlines
By 7.7.08
For the third month in a row American Airlines is the worst airline when it comes to arriving on-time, says the Department of Transportation. Only 67.3% of American’s flights arrived within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival. Also remarkably tardy were United Airlines and Continental.
Southwest Airlines Says Family Is Too Unruly To Fly
By 7.7.08
Wendy Slaughter, her four children and her sister are too unruly for Southwest Airlines! The airline says that the children were so out of control that the airline decided to deny boarding for their connecting flight from Phoenix to Seattle — stranding them in Phoenix for the night while they tried to arrange other travel plans.
Want Safe Skies? Strap This Remote-Controlled Stun Device To Yourself!
By 7.7.08
Make of this what you will, as the story comes from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s church-owned Washington Times and may be more fiction than fact, but “a senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser.” Yes, the EMD Safety Bracelet from Lamperd Less Lethal is designed to make flying a fun experience once again. Just check out everything it can do:
- Take the place of an airline boarding pass.
- Contain personal information about the traveler.
- Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage.
- Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes.
JetBlue Can't Decide If They Charged An Unaccompanied Minor Fee
By 7.7.08
JetBlue promised Catie’s husband in March that the $798 fare charged to fly his children from Austin to Boston included the unaccompanied minor fee. But when Catie recently called to verify the reservation, she was told that her children wouldn’t be allowed to board unless she paid an extra $200.
By 7.3.08
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The current standby policies of 12 airlines. Free standby is going… going… [Dan’s Deals]
Midwest Airlines CEO Takes 40% Pay Cut
By 7.3.08
CEO Timothy Hoeksema will accept a pay cut of 40% as Midwest Airlines attempts to cut costs. From The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
Personal Finance Roundup
By 7.3.08
8 ways to ruin your chances to retire [Bankrate] “You can stay shackled to a job until your last gasp if you follow these steps.”
By 7.2.08
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American Airlines could be laying off 900 flight attendants. [Dallas News]
Help! JetBlue Let Me Get On The Wrong Plane!
By 7.2.08
All our lives we’d been walking around with the mistaken impression that when they scanned your boarding pass at the gate, they were making sure you were getting on the right plane. We assumed this for two reasons: 1) Because an airport isn’t like a movie theater, where you can buy a ticket for a G-rated movie and go see “Killer Naked Women From Planet Sex And Violence.” 2) To prevent people from accidentally ending up in New York when they were trying to get to Long Beach, CA.
Dear United Airlines: "You Have Designed Your Customer Service To Piss Off Your Customers"
By 7.2.08
After a mechanical snafu grounded his flight to Zurich, Aaron received several vouchers and an upgrade as compensation from United Airlines. Unfortunately, the vouchers and upgrades proved so difficult to use that he has given up and is now publicly vowing never to fly United Airlines again.
Spirit Airlines' Customer Service Number Leads To Phone Sex Line
By 6.30.08
When you fly an ultra low budget airliner, you expect ultra low service, but even under that business model, it seems reasonable to assume that calling customer service won’t take you to a phone sex line. Reader Barbara would agree. She writes:
7 Unexpected Rules For Saving On Airfare
By 6.27.08
With the tightening economy, airfare feels more painful than ever,you can avoid paying more than absolutely necessary with these seven tips…
Travelocity Stole $2,594.55 Of My Honeymoon Money!
By 6.26.08
James booked two flights for his honeymoon with Travelocity, but when it became obvious that their visas weren’t going to come in on time, James asked Travelocity if he could reschedule. They assured him that he could, so James followed their instructions and FedExed his tickets back to Travelocity. He then waited for them to call to complete the transaction. They called 2 days after he was originally scheduled to leave and left a message saying that he could now reschedule. When he called them back, Travelocity said that they’d neglected to inform the airline that he was going to be rescheduling, so they’d been marked as “no shows” and were out of luck… and out of $2,584.55.
Ryanair To Provide Free Oral Sex To Business Class Passengers
By 6.25.08
While American discount airlines like Spirit Air and Southwest alternate between running sophomoric promotions and enforcing their prudish dress codes on passengers, European counterpart Ryanair has trumped them all with its CEO’s announcement that transcontinental business class passengers will receive free “beds and blowjobs.” Video inside (safe for work if your job lets the word “blowjob” be said aloud).
