If you were hoping to fire up that electronic cigarette on your next flight, you better think again: The use of e-cigarettes is still prohibited on commercial flights, an appeals court ruled Friday. [More]
dot
New Law That Would Set Minimum Sizes For Airplane Seats Inches Closer To Becoming Reality
By 6.28.17
For at least the third time in as many years, federal lawmakers are hoping to pass legislation that would set minimum standards for airline seating. That battle inched slightly closer to becoming a reality last night. [More]
New Law Would Ban Airlines From Bumping Passengers Involuntarily
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
United Airlines’ decision to forcibly remove a paying passenger to make room for an airline employee has led to increased pressure for carriers to change their policies. A new piece of legislation wants to stop make it illegal for airlines to bump a passenger without their permission. [More]
Proposed Safety Rule Would Require Cars Be Able To “Talk” To Each Other
By 12.13.16
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a new rule that would mandate vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) on all new cars, saying the technology has enormous potential to reduce crashes and possibly save lives. [More]
Pilot Who Failed Drug Test Can’t Try To Use DNA To Prove He Was Clean
By 6.24.16
Imagine you’re one of the many American workers subject to random tests for the presence of drugs or alcohol in your system, and a test turns up high levels of heroin and cocaine. If you contend that the lab must have mixed up your urine sample with someone else’s should you be able to demand a DNA test to prove your innocence? If you’re a pilot, the answer is no. [More]
Are Airlines Deliberately Making It Too Difficult To File Complaints?
By 2.16.16
When you ask someone “How was your flight?” you never expect to hear too many positive things. At best, you’ll get an “Oh, fine,” but often the question will spark a detailed list of everything that went wrong. And yet, only about one out of every 43,000 air travelers in the U.S. ever file a complaint with the Department of Transportation. And airlines aren’t exactly leaping at the chance to tell customers how to file this sort of complaint. [More]
Don’t Get Stuck Paying For A Flight You Can’t Take; Know Your Airline’s 24-Hour Cancellation Policy
By 2.4.16
You can spend months, and thousands of dollars, putting together a trip abroad, but no matter how much effort you take to avoid travel trouble, unforeseen circumstances can force you to change your plans. Thankfully, most airlines flying to and from the U.S. have a policy that lets passengers cancel tickets within 24 hours of booking. Note that we said “most airlines” — not all. [More]
24-Hour Cancellation And Hold Policies For Major U.S. & International Airlines
February 4, 2016
Update: In March 2016, American announced that it was phasing out the hold option and transitioning to the 24-hour cancellation window option. [More]
American Airlines Fined $20K For Failing To Adequately Compensate Bumped Passengers
By 9.17.15
If you get bumped from a flight because the airline overbooked the plane, you usually get some sort of compensation — money or vouchers for future flights — in exchange for having to change your travel plans. But federal regulators say American Airlines screwed up when it bumped nearly a dozen passengers from a Miami-to-London flight and failed to tell them why or offer them anything for their troubles. [More]
DOT Won’t Force United To Honor Super-Low First-Class Fares Resulting From Glitch
By 2.24.15
Earlier this month, several people figured out that they could book super-cheap airfares on United Airlines’ website if they made it look like they were accessing the site from Denmark. The airline canceled those tickets after getting wind of the loophole, which it blamed on a software glitch. Thousands of people complained to the Dept. of Transportation, arguing the airline was illegally raising airfares post-purchase, but the DOT has decided that isn’t the case. [More]
Lawmakers: Phone Calls On Planes Are Unsafe Because People Will Have Fights
By 9.26.14
Flying is painful enough as it is. Between arduous lines at security and ever-shrinking legroom, passengers are already plenty on-edge. Adding cell phone chatter to an already-tense high-altitude situation could be a recipe for disaster, and 77 members of Congress agree. [More]
DOT Firming Up Rules To Ban In-Flight Cellphone Use
By 8.4.14
It’s been more than eight months since the FCC first announced that it was considering lifting its ban on inflight cellphone use, which was followed almost immediately by the Dept. of Transportation saying it would think about enacting its own ban. Now comes news that the DOT is putting together new rules that would keep airplanes from being chatter-infested flying tubes of anger. [More]
Spirit Airlines: The Most Complained-About Carrier In The U.S.
By 4.10.14
Yes, we’ve repeatedly made fun of delusional Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza for his claim that his company is the “most consumer-friendly” airline around, especially when it comes in dead-last in traveler opinion surveys and is the only U.S. carrier to make a recent list of the world’s worst airlines. And a new study confirms that Spirit’s passengers are several times more likely to complain than passengers on any other domestic carrier. [More]
NHTSA: New Vehicles Must Have Rearview Technology Starting May 2018
By 3.31.14
In four years, when you buy a new car or truck it’ll have a rearview camera as a standard feature. That’s because it’ll have to under a new rule just issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. [More]
The DOT Wants To Know: Should Cell Phone Calls Be Allowed On Planes?
By 2.21.14
Back in December when the Federal Communications Commission announced it would start investigating whether or not it’s a good idea to lift the ban on cell phone calls on planes — from a technological point of view — the Department of Transportation was all, “Hold on, we’re going to look into this too.” The DOT is now turning to the public to hear your thoughts. [More]
Bill To Ban In-Flight Wireless Voice Calls Moves Forward
By 2.11.14
The battle for a maintaining relative amount peace and quiet on commercial airlines moved on to the next stage this afternoon after a Congressional committee voted to advance a piece of legislation that would ban the in-flight use of the “phone” part of your cellphones. [More]
Delta & Southwest Don’t Want To Listen To Passengers Gabbing On Phones For The Whole Flight
By 12.18.13
Last week, the FCC said it was investigating whether to lift the ban on in-flight cellphone usage, which caused the Dept. of Transportation to effectively say, “Are you flippin’ crazy?” and announce that it would look into the need to set out its own guidelines to possibly stop planes from turning into flying tubes filled with obnoxious one-way conversations. In recent days, two of the nation’s largest carriers have joined their voices to the call for quiet on board. [More]
FCC Mulls Lifting Ban On In-Flight Phones But DOT May Stop You From Gabbing Away On Planes
By 12.13.13
Yesterday, the FCC began the onerous process of considering whether to revise the decades-old rules regarding the use of wireless phones in flight. If the Commission eventually changes those rules, the relative quiet of the airplane cabin could eventually be filled with the dulcet tones of one-sided conversations like “I know! Seriously!” and “Uh-huh, uh-huh.” Since this seems like a disastrous idea to some people, the Dept. of Transportation is going to consider whether it should allow calls to take place at all. [More]
