Craig at BudgetPulse thought he’d fly down to Miami for the weekend, but ran into trouble when his US Airways flight was canceled due to mechanical problems. Because he had purchased his departing and returning flights separately, he said the airline wouldn’t refund that now useless return flight. He writes: [More]
airplanes
2009 Second Safest Year For Western-Built Jets In Aviation History
By 2.22.10
According to a new report by the trade group International Air Transport Association, 2009 comes in just behind 2006 as the safest year on record (kept since 1964), with an average of 1 accident for every 1.4 million flights on a Western-built jet. CNN notes, “If you were to take a flight every day, odds are you could go 3,859 years without an accident.” With delays and cancellations it would actually take nearly 6,000 years to complete all those flights, but it’s still a good statistic to tell yourself the next time you get nervous about flying. [More]
Jazz Air Kicks Stinky Passenger Off Of Flight
By 2.18.10
Earlier this month, an American was removed from a flight operated by Canadian airline Jazz Air because of his “brutal” body odor. Apparently the flight crew tried to find a way to separate him from the other passengers, but eventually admitted defeat and asked him to leave. He flew out the next day. A spokeswoman for the airline told CNN that it doesn’t have an official policy about body odor. [More]
Don't Tweet The Identity Of Your Plane's Air Marshal
By 2.17.10
On a flight yesterday, minor celebrity Kim Kardashian figured out that the guy next to her was the air marshal, at which point she excitedly announced it to her followers on Twitter. “Jim the air marshall makes me feel safe!” she tweeted. But it’s okay, she understands how security protocols are supposed to work; after some of her followers complained about what she’d done, she responded, “[I] highly doubt anyone is twittering like me on this flight! shhh.” [More]
American Airlines To Charge $8 For Blanket And Pillow, If You're Lucky
By 2.9.10
Starting in May, American Airlines will sell blanket-and-inflatable-pillow packs for $8 each on domestic flights longer than 2 hours. If your flight is under 2 hours and you tend to get cold on a plane, relax: you can’t shiver to death in under 2 hours, and by then you’ll be at your destination. Or, okay, still on the runway at your departure spot, raiding your carry-on for snacks. You might want to bring a light jacket. [More]
Mysterious JetBlue Creature Offers Free Tix To Passengers
By 2.1.10
If you wish hard enough on your next JetBlue trip, maybe the airline’s People Officer will magically appear and hand out free tickets. That’s what happened on David’s flight home over the weekend. To be fair, the free ticket giveaway probably happened because JetBlue asked everyone to show up two hours early due to a computer glitch. It’s still a much nicer airline story than what passengers usually send us. Also, this People Officer hinted to the OP about the airline’s future Wi-Fi plans. [More]
Passenger And Steward Fight Over Cup Of Ice
By 1.26.10
There’s dark clouds brewing in the friendly skies and sometimes it’s the passengers fault. George Hobica writes, “I was on a plane recently, first class, on American, where the guy sitting next to me shook his glass as the flight attendant was passing by and said “More ice”–the FA said, “What’s the magic word” and the guy said, “Oh, you mean I’m supposed to say please? I just want more ice” … and she said, “You want more ice, it’s up in the galley. Go get it yourself.” [More]
Plane That Landed In Hudson Last Year Up For Auction
By 1.22.10
I’m not sure what you could do with an extensively water-damaged plane with the wings detached, but if you want to own a piece of aviation history you can now bid on US Airways Flight 1549. The plane that Capt. Sully safely landed in the Hudson river a year ago is being auctioned off “AS IS/WHERE IS,” which happens to be at a salvage yard in New Jersey. CNN says the engines are not included. (The detached wings, however, are.) [More]
American Airlines Raises Checked Bag Fees Effective February 1st
By 1.18.10
American Airlines announced today that they’re raising checked baggage fees by $5, effective February 1st. Your first bag will now cost $25, and your second one will cost $35. If you want to check a third bag, you will have to buy the airplane (cash or certified checks only), and if you want to check a fourth bag, you will have to endure a phone call from AA’s CEO Gerard Arpey, where he will cry at you and say he doesn’t know how to run a company and he’s scared. He only made $8.9 million in total compensation last year, so cut him some slack. [More]
Comfort Inn Driver Rescues Abandoned Holiday Inn Customers, Then Takes Them To Wendy's
By 12.23.09
Here’s a nice holiday-themed story of how a kind Comfort Inn driver not only helped out a group of stranded travelers, but even agreed to take them to get food after they checked into their hotel. Maybe he was hoping for some big tips, or maybe he’s got some grudge against the local Holiday Inn. (Or maybe he’s a nice guy.) Whatever his motivation, he probably just earned some repeat business for Comfort Inn. [More]
Master Chart Of Airlines Fees
By 12.21.09
Before you travel through the sky in the belly of a silver tube at hundreds of miles per hour, wouldn’t it be nice to know which extra fees you might be charged for doing so? Kayak has a great chart for doing just that. [More]
Craig Ferguson Badmouths Continental Airlines
By 12.16.09
I just assume that celebrities get better treatment from airlines, but this story from Craig Ferguson proves otherwise. Here’s a tip for gate agents: if you’ve just told a TV personality who volunteered to get off a flight that his reward is a 6 hour layover, it’s probably not a good idea to add, “Don’t badmouth us on TV!” [More]
Passenger Of Size Allegedly Has Picture Taken By Flight Attendant
By 12.1.09
We can in no way confirm that this is true, but the Telegraph is reporting that this photo was “reportedly” taken by an American Airlines flight attendant who wanted to illustrate to airline managers the difficulty of dealing with passengers who cannot fit into seats. [More]
Watch Out For Changes To Your Flight Itinerary
By 11.23.09
Alexandros received an update from Orbitz about his trip and realized that United had changed the time of his flight. For various reasons he couldn’t make the new time, so he was lucky to have caught it—not to mention he could have missed the flight entirely had he not seen the change.
Senator Wants Investigation Of Frequent Flyer Programs
By 11.23.09
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling for a probe of frequent flyer programs to determine whether they deliver the value that they promise. In particular, he wants the Department of Transportation to look into the issue of evaporating miles, a relatively new phenomenon brought introduced via expiration dates in recent years.
Are You Ready To Go Shopping On Your Next Flight?
By 11.17.09
American Airlines is beginning to experiment with turning flights into shopping opportunities, reports the New York Times. We’re not just talking about in-flight purchases of Sky Mall schwag, either: the paper reports that limousine services, tickets to theme parks and Broadway shows, and train tickets are some of the offerings being considered or currently being tested.
When Traveling, Beware The Snow Globe Terrorist Menace
By 11.15.09
Beware the snow globe menace! The TSA has decreed that since they can’t determine how much liquid is in a snow globe, passengers are not allowed to bring them in their carry-on luggage on planes.
United Says No Track Suits In First Class
By 11.4.09
How casual is too casual for an airplane’s first class section? If you paid for first class, and a bald guy in a Puma running outfit sat down across the aisle from you, would you honestly feel short-changed? United seems to think it’s inappropriate.
