Consumerist

airlines

TSA To Airlines: "You Owe Us $219 Million"

US Airways Group Inc. owes $18 million; UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, $15 million; Continental Airlines Inc., $14 million; Northwest Airlines Corp., $9 million; and America West Airlines, now part of US Airways, $8 million, Howe said

According to the airlines, the fees are excessive, and they’re refusing to pay them. It all stems from the way the TSA’s budget is calculated. The airlines are responsible for paying fees based on an estimation of what it cost them to run airport security in 2000. The airlines say it cost $300 million, the TSA says the real figure is closer to $750 million.

“We believe it is time for the TSA to develop a new system for allocating these costs, which is based on 2000 market shares,” said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, the world’s largest airline. “This old system is fundamentally unfair.”

airlines

AirTran Charges $15 For Exit Row Seat Assignment, Makes Customers Sad

By Meg Marco 6.7.07

Kristen

AirTran’s email inside.

airlines

Man Finds September 11 Security Fee Peculiar

By consumerist.com 6.7.07

We know we’re the last people to notice this, but while booking some airline tickets we saw a line item for a “September 11 Security Fee.”

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United Flight Attendants Scoff At Grounded Flier Compensation Plan, Lobby For Passengers Bill of Rights

By Meg Marco 6.6.07

You know who has to deal with a planeload full of sweaty, angry grounded passengers? Flight attendants. Know who wants a passengers bill of rights? Flight attendants. Specifically, United Airlines flight attendants. They’ve issued a press release through their union criticizing United’s “Flights of Note” compensation plan for grounded fliers.

airlines

American Airlines Decreases Frequent Flyer Lifespan To 18 Months

By consumerist.com 6.5.07

Effective December 15, 2007, American Airlines frequent flyer miles will now expire after 18 months of inactivity, down from three years. Your account will get reset, at that point, If you haven’t nudged your account since Jun 15, 2006. Apparently, whatever one airline does, either up or down, others follow suit. United and US Airway also recently introduced 18 month frequent flyer lifespans. — BEN POPKEN

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Airlines Build Delays Into Schedules

By Meg Marco 6.4.07

Why does it take 25 minutes longer to fly from New York to Los Angeles than it did 10 years ago? Did they move further apart? Nope. The airlines now build the delay into the flight schedule so its more likely that the flight will arrive “on time.”

airlines

Continental To Let Passengers Purchase Carbon Credits To Offset The Environmental Impact Of Air Travel

By consumeristcarey 6.2.07

Starting this summer, Continental will offer passengers the ability to buy carbon credits to offset the environmental cost of their travel. Though airlines contribute to global warming, air travel is one of the most carbon-efficient ways to cross long distances.

[Continental’s] program, being carried out with Sustainable Travel International and announced Wednesday, will let fliers calculate the so-called carbon footprint of their trips’ greenhouse gas emissions and buy carbon offsets online from Sustainable Travel.

airlines

Skybus Review: Worth No More Than $10

By consumerist.com 5.31.07

A member of the Jaunted travel blog flew Skybus, the new ultra-no-frills airline where you can get a $10 ticket, and said it was, “[w]orth the $10 and not a penny more.“

airlines

No Plan B For Bumped Fliers

By Meg Marco 5.30.07

The river of news concerning the awful summer travel season ahead continues to flow with a piece in today’s New York Times. According to the NYT, there’s no backup plan for crowded summer flights…and travelers who find themselves bumped could wait days for another flight.

A look behind the scenes of US Airways at the widespread practice of airline overbooking shows the industry’s struggle to fill every possible seat, including those left empty by the millions of passengers who buy a ticket but then do not show up.

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Air Traveler With Drug Resistant TB Quarantined By CDC

By Meg Marco 5.30.07

Drug-resistant TB is both extremely contagious and potentially fatal, and the CDC would like to speak with anyone who sat near a passenger who has since been quarantined with the illness. The passenger was on a May 13, Atlanta to Paris, Air France 385 flight and another Czech Air 0104 from Prague to Canada on May 23.

airlines

Flying? Avoid New York And Its Huge Delays

By Meg Marco 5.29.07

“You sit on the runway all hours; the weather is fine, and there isn’t an unusual increase in the number of flights. Yet you sit and sit and sit,” he said.” An FAA spokesperson thinks Schumer is smoking some fine dope,

FAA spokesman Laura Brown acknowledged there have been more delays nationwide and in New York, but said increased flights, not a lack of flight controllers, were to blame.

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Midwest Airlines Has Good Customer Service

By Meg Marco 5.24.07

Midwest airlines has topped a Travel & Leisure magazine survey of airline customer service, according to MSN Money.

Midwest scored 75.64 in the 2007 World’s Best Service readers’ poll in the magazine’s June issue. Readers evaluated airlines’ customer service and in-flight service.

The runners-up were JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest, and Sun Country Airlines. Hooray for good customer service!

airlines

Will Airline Employee Unrest Translate Into Summer Weather Disaster?

By Meg Marco 5.23.07

The Christian Science Monitor seems to think so. They’ve got an article about the state of airline employee unrest and its potential to cause tons of customer service problems this summer as airlines book beyond their capacity to deal with weather problems and staff their planes and terminals with…

airlines

United Downgrades Frequent Flyer Program Just Another Smidge

By consumerist.com 5.21.07

United tightened the screws on its frequent flyer program another turn, writes Upgrade: Travel Better:

For years, Premier members of the Mileage Plus program have received “500-mile” coupons…that upgraded your North American flights from coach to first class. …If you couldn’t use your 500-milers, they’d expire after one year, but all was not lost: They converted to 500 redeemable frequent flyer miles in your account.

airlines

Northwest Exits Bankruptcy, Showers Executives With Cash

By consumeristcarey 5.20.07

Northwest has escaped from bankruptcy, and to celebrate, they are showering their executives with cash. The AP wryly notes that though the airline is shedding court protection from its creditors, it returns “into an industry besieged by higher fuel costs and crowded with competitors.”

airlines

Virgin America Receives Final DOT Approval

By consumeristcarey 5.19.07

The Department of Transportation has issued final approval for Virgin America to become the newest transcontinental budget airline. The DOT originally denied Virgin permission to fly through U.S airspace after the airline failed to meet domestic ownership requirements. After making several changes, including replacing one of their British executives with a meat-eating American, Virgin has convinced the DOT that they are not a bunch of tea-drinking crumpet-eaters. To us, they still sound awfully British:

“We are jumping for joy that we can put our tracksuits on and get out in the stadium and compete in the grand meet of the airline business,” Virgin America CEO Fred Reid said.

‘Tis a jolly day indeed, Governor! Virgin America will start selling tickets in the next few weeks, and expects the first flight to takeoff this summer. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

airlines

Passenger's Bill Of Rights Moving Right Along In The Senate

By Meg Marco 5.18.07

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee included a “bi-partisan airline passengers’ bill of rights in the comprehensive FAA Reauthorization.” Our little bill is on its way! Oh how we hope and pray…—MEGHANN MARCO

airlines

Poor Airline Service Caused By Under-Staffing?

By Meg Marco 5.17.07

Working for an airline used to be a good job, according to Capt. Gene Malone, who as a pilot for American Airlines, saw his pay drop to $140,000 from $175,000 after the airline won concessions to stay out of bankruptcy. “An airline career is not worth it anymore,” says Capt. Malone. “It’s a very different profession than it was 23 years ago when I started.” It’s not just the pilots who are unhappy at doing more work for less money, the airlines are having trouble hiring people.

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