Every month the Department of Transportation issues the Air Travel Consumer Report. This month the report has statistics about tarmac delays — and the numbers aren’t good for Delta, United and their regional partners. [More]
DELTA
United Could Face Hefty Fines Over Tarmac Delays
By 7.9.10
May was the first full month that the Dept. of Transportation’s new regulations regarding planes idling on the tarmac were in effect. And for United Airlines, it could end up being a very expensive few weeks. Of the 5 flights that violated the new rules, 4 were operated by United. [More]
Does Delta Have The Rudest Flight Attendants?
By 6.22.10
Airfarewatchdog polled its readers and found that “by a large margin” Delta has the rudest flight attendants, followed by United. Southwest, on the other hand, was the nicest. [More]
Frequent Flier Miles Easier To Earn, Harder To Use
By 6.21.10
For anyone wanting to earn reward miles on their favorite airline, the options are many. Your credit and debit cards can earn miles, so can taking online surveys or taking part in experimental drug trials (okay, not that last one). But while it’s becoming increasingly easy to accrue miles, it’s becoming more difficult to actually cash them in. [More]
Continental Takes Three Days And Counting To Fly Passenger From Texas to New Hampshire
By 6.20.10
Poor Ashley, all she wanted was to fly from Houston to Manchester to visit her friend for the weekend. She planned to leave on Thursday, but Continental apparently overbooked a whole mess of flights and could only get her to Detroit the next day. From there Continental planned to send her onto Manchester with Delta, but that didn’t work out either. After spending a night stuck in Detroit, Ashley made it to Atlanta, where Delta figured she would manage to catch one of their many flights to New England. Nope! Instead, things got much, much worse. [More]
Is The Dominican Republic An International Destination? Airlines Disagree
By 6.19.10
American Airlines told Bill that he couldn’t acces their international lounge because his flight from the Dominican Republic to Houston, which required a passport and a customs form, didn’t count as an international flight. Bill’s wife had paid $300 to upgrade Bill’s ticket to first class expressly so he could access the lounge, and Bill wasn’t sure what part of “international” American didn’t seem to understand. Yet it turns out American might be right. [More]
Delta Plays Airport Roulette When Flying Into D.C.
By 6.15.10
On Sunday, Andy emailed us from his seat on Delta Flight 2744 from Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., to let us know that he had no idea where his flight was going to land. The ticket he purchased said he was flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport, but Delta said it would all depend on whether they could beat their scheduled 10:19 arrival time and get there before the ten o’clock airport curfew–otherwise they’d have to land at Dulles. Strangely, they didn’t mention this 10 p.m. curfew to Andy before he bought the ticket. [More]
Delta Smashed My Bike And Won't Refund The Baggage Fee
By 6.9.10
This guy is trying to raise money to build dams in Africa by doing 20 half Ironman races. Consequently, he has to travel with his bike a lot. He says that during a recent trip back from Hawaii Delta smashed his bike and won’t even refund the $200 fee he paid them to transport it. This makes him sad. [More]
Delta Flight Attendant Caught With Gun At Airport
By 6.5.10
It’s not just celebrities who get caught trying to bring firearms onto planes — it also happens to airline employees! Yesterday, a Delta flight attendant was arrested after a scan of her bag turned up a loaded handgun. [More]
Delta Paid $2,800 For Lost Dog Valued At $20,000
By 5.10.10
Paco wasn’t the only dog lost in transit before it was loaded onto a Delta aircraft. Four years ago, Vivi, a whippet who won the Award of Merit in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, escaped from her kennel as it was being loaded onto a Delta flight and was reportedly seen running across the tarmac before escaping into the marshy marsh. A media frenzy ensued…. [More]
Delta Offers More Money For Pooch Lost In Transit, Apologizes
By 5.7.10
Paco is still missing, but after we contacted them, Delta reached out to Josiah and said sorry, along with offering to reimburse him for all the costs he put into the dog and two additional $200 vouchers for future travel on their airline. Josiah says that’s unnecessary, as he still probably won’t be flying Delta ever again after this experience. [More]
Delta Waives Fee For First Checked Bag If You Use Their AmEx Card
By 5.7.10
In a world where fees for checked baggage top the list of annoying things about air travel, it’s a small victory to learn that Delta has decided to offer an incentive to travelers with the airline’s co-branded American Express card — no fees for the first checked bag for you and up to eight other members of your party. [More]
Entire Dog Lost, Delta Offers $200 Credit
By 5.7.10
Where’s Paco? Josiah doesn’t know, his girlfriend doesn’t know, someone at Delta might know. After all, Delta was supposed to load Josiah’s new dog on the same plane that Josiah got on. Paco didn’t land with them. Frantic, Josiah called around desperately before being told that Paco was safe and sound, being taken care of by Delta employees, who would put him on the next flight out. Paco wasn’t on that one either. More harried calls and Delta told Josiah Paco had “escaped” and the best they could do is refund his $200.00 pet transportation fee, but only as a “credit” for future Delta travel. That doesn’t do Josiah any good, as he’s vowed to never fly Delta again. Here’s his story, and more adorable/sad puppy pictures: [More]
Airlines Made Nearly $8 Billion From Fees In 2009
By 5.6.10
All those little surcharges to your airline tickets sure do add up. A recently released DOT report states that U.S. air carriers raked in $7.8 billion in fees last year, a 42% increase over 2008. [More]
Delta Passenger Fights Satan, Sprays Others With Water
By 4.26.10
A Delta flight from L.A. to Florida had to make an emergency landing in Albuquerque, NM on Friday, after a first class passenger sprayed people with a water bottle from the beverage cart, threatened to “bring down” the plane, and shouted, “Get behind me Satan,” apparently referring to a flight attendant. [More]
Unevenly Packed Bags Results In $1500 Delta Disaster
By 4.14.10
Reader Ariel writes in after Delta refused to let her check her bags curbside because one was 5lbs too heavy, despite the fact that her other one 10lbs under. She says she was told it was Delta’s policy that she couldn’t move 5lbs of her crap to the other bag. This set off a chain of events that cost her $1500. [More]
Hawaiian Airlines Tops Quality Study, American Eagle Falls Flat
By 4.13.10
For the second year in a row, Hawaiian Airlines has topped a study that ranks 18 commercial carriers according to a formula that accounts for everything from on-time arrivals/departures to baggage handling to customer complaints. On the bottom end of the rankings was American Eagle. [More]
