Spring Airlines, a discount Chinese carrier, plans to ask the government for permission to sell standing room tickets. The plan will likely win approval, since Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang was recently quoted as saying: “for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient.”
airplanes
Get The Best Seat When Flying Coach
By 7.4.09
Snagging the best plane seat doesn’t always require an upgrade, thanks to a few handy tips from Condé Nast Traveler. Inside, how to avoid the dreaded middle seat and keep yourself entertained on the flight…
Never Pack Your Jewelry In Checked Baggage
By 7.3.09
My suitcase had been opened, my jewelry bag unzipped, and my fine jewelry (gold, diamonds, sapphires) had been hand picked out of the jewelry bag and the inexpensive jewelry (plastic, glass, metal) left strewn across my belongings inside my suitcase.
Continental Offers Free Flights, Frequent-Flyer Status To Misrouted Child's Family
By 6.16.09
Continental Airlines has made a much more generous offer to the family whose ten-year-old daughter was accidentally flown to Newark instead of Cleveland while flying as an unaccompanied minor. Paterfamilias and blogger Jonathan Kamens wrote that a Continental rep “assured [him] again that the airline takes what happened very seriously.” The details of Continental’s offer, inside.
Continental Puts 10-Year-Old Child On The Wrong Plane
By 6.15.09
Sure, airlines misroute luggage all the time. But how about misrouting a ten-year-old girl to the wrong state?
Those Rascally Airplanes Are Starting To Show Up On Time
By 6.10.09
Stats released by the U.S. Department of Transportation say airplanes are taking off on time more frequently than before. More flights were on time in April than in March, as well as April 2008.
Cessna Goes On The Defensive
By 6.2.09
This isn’t a good time to be in the aviation industry. And not just commercial airlines. Corporate airplanes became a symbol of corporate excess and fatcat arrogance during the economic meltdown. So what are companies like Cessna to do? An ad campaign defending business aviation.
This Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Is Really Concerned About Your Sugar Intake
By 5.29.09
Of all the weird encounters to have on an airplane, we never would have expected to have a flight attendant point out just how bad a full can of soda is for you. That’s what happened to Laura, though.
Bridal Gown Vanishes From US Airways During Flight To Wedding
By 5.19.09
Jenn is from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and lives in Pennsylvania. She held her wedding in her hometown, and eight days before the wedding, she flew down to prepare. Her wedding gown didn’t make it. Someone stole the gown out of her checked baggage.
Blind Traveler Asks Too Many Questions On Delayed U.S. Airways Flight, Is Dragged Off, Jailed, Told He's Faking His Blindness
By 5.16.09
As 61-year-old Belgian interpreter Nicola Cantisani, who is blind, sat for two hours waiting in the Brussels-bound U.S. Airways jet on the tarmac at Philadephia airport in early April, he wondered why no one was telling passengers about the reasons for the take-off delay. When he requested a glass of water he was shooed away by the crew. When he tried to ask the captain exactly why there was a delay, Cantisani was asked to disembark.
Seizure Prompts Wonderful Service From United
By 5.10.09
United couldn’t have been more understanding and helpful after reader Chris’ wife had a seizure as they flew from Sullivan’s Island, SC to Winnipeg. The flight attendants onboard offered to divert the flight to Chicago, but the couple decided instead to power through. United’s staff met them at the gate along with paramedics, and offered to rebook them on the flight of their choice. If they wanted to stay the night, United said they’d be happy to pay for a hotel room. Chris’ takeaway perfectly captures the spirit behind our Above and Beyond posts: “Even if United is a horrible company,” he writes, “there are still nice people there, and sometimes even big companies surprise you.” Chris writes:
Four Checked Bags On Delta Will Cost You $365 In Fees
By 5.8.09
Most travelers make do with 2 normal-sized pieces of luggage or less, but if you think you might have to travel with more bags, or unusually large or heavy ones, be prepared to shell out a lot of cash for what’s called an “excess baggage fee.”
Orbitz Can't Deliver On Tickets It Sold, But Can't Deliver The Refund Either
By 5.7.09
Austin bought two tickets to Aruba last December. By the end of February, Orbitz had changed his itinerary so many times that now they were only flying him as far as Atlanta, and 11 days later were flying him back from Aruba—it was apparently up to him to get from Atlanta to Aruba in the first place. At this point, the only option was to request a refund, which Orbitz said would take 60 days. Two months later, Orbitz told Austin that they’ll give him his money back in 60 days. We’re pretty sure that’s 120 days total, and there’s still no guarantee Austin will see his money.
Delta To Blind Woman: Can You Sit Somewhere Else? This Flight Attendant Doesn't Like Dogs
By 4.27.09
Natalie is pretty angry. Lately whenever her mother, who is blind, has to travel, she seems to run into trouble. As Natalie puts it, as far as airline regulations go a guide dog is equivalent to a wheelchair, and the appropriate accommodations should be made without hassle. It’s too bad on her last flight, Natalie’s mother had to sit in the bulkhead next to a Delta employee with a fear of dogs.
Traveler Arrested For Bathroom Emergency On Delta Flight
By 4.16.09
Is there a worse place to have sudden diarrhea than on an airplane? Well, yes, and that would be on a water slide, but let’s stay with the airplane for a bit. Joao Correa was on a Delta Airlines flight from Honduras to Atlanta last week when something bad happened down below, and he had to immediately use the bathroom. Unfortunately, there was a drink cart blocking his way and the flight attendants wouldn’t let him by.
Ride For Free On Jet Blue (If You Can Get Yourself "Trapped" In The Cargo Hold)
By 4.2.09
A Jet Blue employee hitched a free flight from JFK Airport in NYC to Logan Airport in Boston this past weekend, after getting trapped in the cargo hold before takeoff. Police aren’t charging him with a crime, but they told the Boston Globe that, “Even after talking to him, we were a little uncertain as to how it happened.” He apparently called the company from the cargo hold once the plane was in the air—which is exactly what we would do to deflect suspicion in a scheme like this. Tokyo, here we come via new part-time job as a baggage handler!
Passenger On Northwest Last Week Had Tuberculosis
By 3.16.09
If you happened to be on Northwest Airlines Flight 51 from Frankfurt to Detroit last Tuesday, and you were one of the 17 unlucky passengers who sat near enough to Mr. Fancypants Lung Disease Person, you can look forward to a call from the CDC telling you that you need to get tested for tuberculosis. The risk of catching the disease is low, but the CDC is contacting passengers as a “cautionary move” according to the Associated Press. And if for some reason you do end up with TB, please do not get on any airplanes.
