Of the big airports, here’s the top 10 with the worst on-time performance percentage, based on the 2007 Department of Transportation stats, via WSJ.
airlines
Attention Flyers: Your Pilots May Be Asleep
By 11.5.07
A controversial hunk of data from NASA released recently had the following terrifying anecdote: On a red-eye flight from Baltimore to Denver not one but both pilots fell asleep. As in not awake.
Airport Security Lapses Revealed On PBS Exposé
By 10.31.07
The latest episode of PBS’s Exposé shows local new investigators uncovering three different chasms in airport security. At one airport, a graveyard shift security guard lets in employees and delivery guys without doing a security screening, how easy it is to walk up to a regional commercial jet, and a woman with a IED taped to her leg getting past the TSA. The full show is available for free online.
By 10.30.07
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Virgin America’s high-quality, discount-rate air travel is still keeping industry prices depressed on its main NYC-LAX route. Mo competition, mo better. [WSJ]
Delta Downgrades Early-Bird Holiday Travelers To Make Room For More Profitable Latecomers
By 10.29.07
Beware if you managed to snag a cheap Delta nonstop flight for the holidays, you might find yourself downgraded. Airfarewatchdog Blog reports that a reader got an insane $138 roundtrip from JFK to Denver for peak Christmas travel. Then a few weeks ago Delta told him they were adding a connecting flight both ways, and now it’s on a regional jet instead of a nice big jet. Why? Probably to make room for the $600 tickets Delta wanted to sell to last-minute customers.
By 10.24.07
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Honoring a fare misprint would have cost Travelocity $2 million. Not honoring it would have damaged their brand. They decided to go with the former. [BusinessWeek]
That Airfare Site May Not Be As Impartial As You Think
By 10.23.07
The impression of airfare aggregator sites is that they’re mechanical purveyors of ticket information, but this is not always the case, writes Airfarewatchdog. Some sites won’t list some airlines, either permanently or temporarily, and for no reason transparent to the consumer. Case in point:
United CEO Weighs Fees For Speedy Luggage Delivery
By 10.22.07
United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton is determined to wring added lucre from his now-profitable airline. Tilton is considering 250 unpopular ideas, such as charging economy-class passengers a fee to avoid receiving their luggage last, and spinning off United’s already wounded frequent flier program, Mileage Plus.
United appears to be following a strategy set by Air Canada, which gained billions of dollars after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 by spinning off its maintenance division and frequent-flier program into separate businesses, analysts say.
TSA Asks Passengers In San Diego To Smuggle Fake Bombs On Planes
By 10.22.07
Turns out there’s a hidden gem in that 2006 TSA report that was recently leaked to USA Today (and previously written about here)—among the various stats and figures is the following statement: “At San Diego International Airport, tests are run by passengers whom local TSA managers ask to carry a fake bomb, said screener Cris Soulia, an official in a screeners union.”
Find The Real Reason For Delays With Airline Cargo Sites
By 10.19.07
It can be hard to get a straight answer out of airlines sometime about the real reason a flight is delayed. For some reason, though, they’re more straight up about their packages than their passengers. See, the airlines have special cargo websites which are supposed to be for people tracking packages they’re shipping through the airline. Here’s the cargo sites for some of the major carriers…
Parents Predictably Outraged At Southwest's New Boarding Policy
By 10.18.07
There’s a bit of backlash going on against Southwest Airlines’ for changing their “family first” boarding policy. Previously, families traveling with children under 4 were allowed to board before the “a” group. Now they’ve been bumped back behind “a” but before “b” and “c.”
By 10.18.07
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Because of a United employee misrepresenting cat carrier policies, this man endured a big hassle and is no longer flying United. [United Really Sucks]
Delta CEO On The Prowl For Some Hot Merger Action
By 10.17.07
Delta’s CEO Richard “Anybody Wanna Buy An Airline?” Anderson, formerly the CEO of Northwest, has finally started shopping Delta around for a merger buddy like we all knew he would.
Next Summer: Fewer Flight Delays, But Higher Prices
By 10.16.07
Here are the results of those secret meetings we told you about last week: flight delays may be cut by as much as 25% by next summer, but the consequence will be fewer flight times to choose from, and higher ticket prices. The airlines are suggesting cutting the number of flights out of the three hubs most responsible for the nation’s delays—JFK, La Guardia, and Newark. “About three-fourths of chronic delays around the country can be traced back to congestion at these three airports,” reports Kiplinger’s.
AirlineMeals.Net Takes The Guesswork Out Of In-Flight Food Service
By 10.14.07
AirlineMeals.net has thousands of pictures of in-flight meals categorized by airline to help you decide whether or not to pack a snack for your next flight. Really, thousands of pictures of airline trays covered with whatever passes for a meal. Thanks to the site, we now know that a flight on Yangon Air from Rangoon to Mandalay came with two rolls and cup of coffee, and that Hindu meals don’t stack up well against their vegetarian counterparts.
EECB Pressures US Airways To Reissue Unused Ticket, Waive Reissue Fee
By 10.14.07
Reader Matt screwed up. He forgot to cancel his reservation with US Airways when his friend’s delayed passport application forced them to change their travel plans. The situation was entirely Matt’s fault, and US Airways justifiably refused to reissue the ticket. Matt, however, swayed the airline by wrapping an excellent mea culpa cum plea into the feared Executive Email Carpet Bomb.
