A sad day for air travelers:
A federal appeals court has rejected a law requiring airlines to provide food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers trapped in a plane delayed on the ground.
airlines
Federal Court Overturns NY Passenger Bill Of Rights
By 3.25.08
Booking Reward Travel On Continental Airlines Will Give You High Blood Pressure
By 3.25.08
Reader Mike has lots of frequent flier miles that he’d like to cash in with Continental Airlines. As he found out, this is extremely difficult. Here’s an email he sent to the CEO of Continental, Larry Kellner:
By 3.24.08
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A piece of a US Airways jet has fallen off and landed somewhere in Maryland. [ABC2]
Fly During "Shoulder Season" To Save On European Summer Airfare
By 3.24.08
Fare-prediction site Farecast.com says you can save an average of $350 on your plane ticket to Europe if you fly April-May or September-October. This is known as “shoulder season” because the price graph sort of looks like a pair of shoulders, with the summer peak forming the head. If you must fly to Europe, Farecast recommends either buying early or late; either buy in February March or wait a month or two before departure and look for summer fare deals.
The Final Word On Rule 240
By 3.23.08
Reader Laura was nearly stranded in Manchester when Continental canceled her flight two days before a major college test. She politely asked to be rebooked; she begged for another flight; when that failed, she invoked Rule 240. Laura’s experience presents the perfect opportunity to clarify once and for all what Rule 240 is and isn’t. First, her story.
JetBlue To Charge For Extra Legroom
By 3.20.08
JetBlue announced yesterday that they’ll be reconfiguring their Airbus A320 fleet to include several rows of seating with 38″ of pitch. These “Even More Legroom” seats will be available to you—for a small fee.
What Does A "Clear" Membership Actually Get You At Airport Security?
By 3.20.08
A PR hack sent us a stupidly long press release a few hours ago about Clear, the company that—for an annual $100 fee—will pre-authorize you with TSA to speed up your passage through security. Clear started operating in select airports over a year ago, and this month will add Reagan National and Dulles International airports to its list. So, is the service worth it? We guess that depends on how much you’re willing to spend to be able to jump ahead of all the poor people waiting in line like the common criminals they surely are. We wanted a slightly more objective way to evaluate it, though, so we started looking around online for first-hand experiences of what exactly happens when you flash your Clear card.
United Will Ground 20 Planes… And Maybe Their CEO, Too
By 3.19.08
The nation’s second-largest carrier said Tuesday it will ground and sell back to lessors 15 to 20 older, narrow-body 737s that are less fuel-efficient than others in its 460-plane fleet. It did not immediately specify what domestic flights or routes could be trimmed.
By 3.18.08
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American Airlines has canceled all flights in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth after funnel clouds were spotted. [USAToday]
United Can't Find A Power Outlet On A Plane For Your Life Saving Medical Device
By 3.17.08
Reader Glenn was traveling to Thailand with a group of friends. Glenn and another member of the group have issues with Sleep Apnea, a potentially life threatening disorder where sufferers stop breathing in their sleep. Fortunately, a simple medical device called a C-Pap machine can be used during sleep to correct the problem. So Glenn, being the informed responsible consumer he is, contacted the airline the group was booked on, United, to make sure that he’d be able to use his C-Pap machine during the god-awfully long trip from Boston to Thailand. United said, sure, no problem, they’d be able to get him an outlet for his machine. Then, they canceled his booking. Without telling him. But wait! It gets worse!
Woman Sues American Airlines Over Masturbating Passenger
By 3.17.08
A woman has filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines alleging the flight crew failed to protect her from a passenger who moved into the seat next to hers while she was sleeping, then “masturbated to her” and—well, you’ve seen “There’s Something About Mary”? Yeah, that.
Passengers Watch With Disbelief As Their Allegiant Air Flight Leaves Without Them
By 3.16.08
Over 20 passengers watched in horror as their Allegiant Air flight from Huntsville to Fort Lauderdale took off without them. The passengers had lined up at the gate, tickets in hand, when the plane pushed back. Apparently, the single ticketing agent had struggled to handle everyone on time and didn’t tell the plane to wait. Passengers called the airline once they realized they were stranded as kids shouted, “We want to go to Disney World!”
“So, everybody calls Allegiant Air,” Rigas said. “Three people got hung up on.”
United Airlines Raises Prices As Much As $50
By 3.14.08
Get ready to pay more for air travel, United Airlines is raising prices. A lot. As much as $50 for some fares. Continental has already matched the increase.
Will Someone Please Just Tell Us If Rule 240 @#$@*^% Exists?
By 3.12.08
There’s been a heated debate going on amongst travel experts as to whether or not the famed “Rule 240” still exists, and if so, in what form does the rule take?
By 3.7.08
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Snow in Cleveland is affecting air travel. The FAA says:
Due to WEATHER / SNOW-ICE, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland, OH (CLE). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 3 hours and 12 minutes.
Continental, which uses Cleveland as a hub, is canceling lots of flights. [Ohio.com]
Did FAA Allow Southwest To Fly Unsafe Planes To Avoid Flight Disruptions?
By 3.7.08
Yesterday the FAA sought $10.2 million in civil damages from Southwest Airlines for neglecting to inspect the fuselages of 46 of its planes.
4 Facts About Rule 240
By 3.6.08
Last week, travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott listed four secrets about rule 240—that borderline mythic rule that describes how an airline will behave regarding a canceled or delayed flight—that he says are too often overlooked by travel experts and regular folk:”It’s hardly an all-powerful provision that can be invoked by every stranded passenger. Somewhere between myth and a magic bullet lies the truth about Rule 240.”
US Airways To Charge $25 For Checking 2 Bags
By 2.27.08
If you find yourself identifying with those dames in movies set in the 19th century who always travel with a stagecoach full of steamer trunks, you won’t like US Airways new policy. Starting May 5, US Airways will levy a $25 fee against passengers checking a second bag. United Airlines announced the same thing earlier this month, and is also starting the fee on May 5. We can expect to see more and more of these fees as airlines struggle to make money, making it even harder to comparison shop for tickets. As Upgrade: Travel Better notes, no airfare search engine is equipped to take add-on fees into account (hello, market opportunity somebody?). Inside, the email US Airways sent out to its passengers.
