With morale among overworked and poorly supported air-traffic controllers bottoming out, “a combination of fatigue and frustration is laying a dangerous groundwork,” reports Time magazine.
airplanes
American Airlines Flirting With US Airways On Possible Merger
By 4.25.08
An unnamed source has told Reuters that American Airlines is in talks with US Airways about a possible merger—and that it’s also in talks with Continental about sharing passengers! Meanwhile, Continental is currently in talks with United about a possible merger of its own, and has said it will only choose one partner eventually. United, on the other hand, is not only pursuing Continental but is also in talks with US Airways about a merger. Yes, we have an airlines romantic triangle, folks. Someone’s heart is going to end up broken.
Calculate The "Emissions Cost" Of Your Next Flight
By 4.25.08
Enpalo is an online calculator that lets you estimate the flight emissions of your next airplane jaunt—you choose an airline, enter your origin and destination, then sit back and light up a cigar while you laugh about how many baby polar bears you’re drowning.
Spirit Air Burns Woman's Luggage
By 4.24.08
Sean writes, “Lost luggage? That’s so 1990’s… Spirit Air’s all about burning bags instead.”
Delta & Northwest CEOs Say All Airlines Should Raise Fees 15-20%
By 4.22.08
Delta’s CEO, Richard Anderson, told reporters today that all airlines need to raise fees by as much as 20% “just to break even due to the rising price of fuel.” His new bedmate, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland, piped in to say cost-cutting measures “have largely been exhausted”—and by “cost-cutting” we assume he means, “We can’t find anything else to add surcharges to, except maybe the bathroom and the recycled oxygen, and we’re not monsters.”
Pilots Complain That Cash-Strapped Airlines Are Skimping On Fuel
By 4.19.08
What’s the surest way to save money on rising fuel prices? Don’t use it! MSNBC has gathered pilot complaints from a database NASA maintains for the FAA, and they show that airlines are challenging pilots’ refueling decisions, urging them to carry only the minimum fuel required by FAA regulations in…
How To Avoid Extra Travel Fees
By 4.10.08
Kiplinger tries to help you save money on your next airline “flight”—we have to put quotation marks around that word now, since the prospect of actually getting up in the air seems purely hypothetical at this point—with their latest travel article. A lot of the advice boils down to, “Find out what each airline charges extra for, then choose a different airline,” but it’s helpful to have everything in one article for a quick reference.
British Airways' New Hi-Tech Baggage System Routes All Luggage To A Big Pile
By 4.1.08
British Airways is having trouble with its new baggage system—namely, that it doesn’t actually sort and route the baggage to the correct flight. On Sunday they claimed that 15,000 bags had missed their flights and were now being stored at Heathrow. However, the UK’s Aviation Minister said yesterday that the number was closer to 28,000.
Frontier Airlines Insists Man Who Missed Flight Was On Plane
By 3.28.08
Matthew is the center of a Hitchcockian mystery over at Frontier Airlines. He missed his flight from New Mexico to Texas with a connection through Denver (there was a total of 4 segments to the flight), and when he tried to rebook the flight and pay the change fee, Frontier told him he’d already flown to Denver. So who took the flight? One of the flight crew’s friends? A woman too pretty for Southwest? A killer? There’s probably a killer roaming the streets of Denver now.
Mary at Frontier keeps promising Matthew she’ll look into it, but “after weeks and several calls,” nothing’s been fixed, and Matthew still can’t rebook the flight he already purchased.
Delta Canceling 275 Flights Through Friday To Complete Wiring Inspections
By 3.27.08
It’s official—Delta has said they’re canceling a total of 275 flights, or about 3% of their worldwide schedule (we don’t know what the US percentage is), to complete inspections of wiring in 117 planes. To check whether your flight is impacted, visit this page on Delta’s site.
Delta Says It May Cancel More Flights Today Over Inspection Issues
By 3.27.08
Delta will announce sometime today whether or not it will ground more of its planes to perform additional inspections, reports CNN. Yesterday, while American Airlines was grounding 200 of its planes for safety inspections, Delta also canceled an unnamed number of flights.
US Airways Pilot's Gun Fires During A Flight
By 3.24.08
THE QUOTE:In a statement, the TSA said that the agency and “Federal Air Marshals Service take this matter seriously and it is receiving immediate attention.”
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.
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.”
What Airlines Do In The Event Of A Medical Emergency
By 2.26.08
Yesterday’s story of the death of a passenger on board an American Airlines flight continued to unfold throughout the day, and now CNN has posted an article that addresses some of the questions people were asking about in-flight emergencies in general. CNN spoke with several experts in the area where medicine overlaps with the airline industry to find out how airlines prepare for the inevitable really sick passenger.
Sensing A Pattern: United Airlines Planes Clip Wings At Dulles International Airport
By 2.25.08
Pilots need to pay attention when they’re taxiing around the airport. Just a week after two US Airways planes clipped wings at Reagan Airport, two United Airlines planes decided to snuggle up at Dulles International Airport.
By 2.22.08
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Today United Airlines raised most of its domestic fares by $10 roundtrip. Maybe now their flight attendants can start answering call buttons again. [Reuters]
TSA Won't Let Parents Bring Extra Baby Food In Anticipation Of Delays
By 2.20.08
Two Boston doctors brought, by their admission, “probably two and a half times as much as we’d need” of baby food on a recent flight from Chicago Midway Airport to Manchester, N.H. The TSA agent told them it was above the official limit and confiscated it. The parents argued that in light of record delays, winter weather, and stranded-on-the-tarmac stories, they wanted to be fully prepared. The TSA officers told them they’d need a doctor’s note to bring that much food on board—but, um, from another doctor who wasn’t one of the parents.
