The woman who was forcibly removed from a Southwest Airlines flight last week — and later charged with disorderly conduct and a slew of other offenses — is now disputing the airline’s version of how the incident unfolded. [More]
flying the unfriendly skies
A Day Of Delays Strands United Passengers At Hawaii Airport For Nearly 24 Hours
By 8.7.17
It’s one thing to be trapped in paradise, it’s another to be trapped in paradise’s airport. Yet, that’s what some United Airlines passengers say happened over the weekend when their flight from Maui to Chicago was delayed for more than 24 hours and the airline’s furnished hotel had only a dozen or so rooms open. [More]
Teen Allegedly Groped By Fellow United Airlines Traveler
By 8.2.17
When sending a child on a cross-country trip unaccompanied, parents will likely be worried until they receive a call that their child has arrived safely. But a Washington family never imagined that call would include news that their teen daughter had allegedly been groped by a fellow passenger. [More]
Teen Jumps From Emergency Exit Of Plane After Landing In San Francisco
By 8.2.17
That’s one illegal and dangerous way to exit a plane: A teenager flying from Panama City to San Francisco International Airport on Copa Airlines ditched the traditional deplaning method of waiting for others to exit through the front door and instead opened an over-wing emergency door, slid down the wing of the plane, and jumped to the tarmac. [More]
Frontier, American & Delta Fined $850,000 For Involuntary Bumping, Damaged Bag Violations, Delayed Refunds
By 7.24.17
Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines must pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after the Department of Transportation found the carriers violated consumer protection rules related to refunds, disability assistance, and other issues. [More]
Altercation Injures 3 On Delta Flight, Forces Flight To Turn Around
By 7.7.17
A Delta Air Lines passenger was arrested after allegedly attacking a flight attendant shortly after takeoff, sparking an altercation that sent two people to the hospital with injuries. [More]
Baby Requires Medical Treatment After Overheating On Delayed United Plane
By 6.26.17
A Colorado woman says United Airlines and personnel at the Denver International Airport didn’t act quickly enough when her four-month-old son became overheated on a delayed flight and needed medical attention. [More]
Airline Complaints Soar Following United’s Forced Removal Of Passenger
By 6.15.17
The Department of Transportation has released its latest report on consumer air travel complaints, and it looks like a number of high profile incidents — including the United passenger who was dragged from his seat to make room for an airline employee — may have inspired peeved travelers to speak up. [More]
United Airlines Sorry About That Video Of Employee Shoving 71-Year-Old
By 6.14.17
As if United Airlines hasn’t had enough customer service issues to deal with this year, the carrier is once again apologizing to a passenger. This time, the company issued regrets for a nearly two-year-old incident that was thrust into the spotlight this week after a Texas man filed a lawsuit against the airline and two employees alleging he was injured when one of the workers pushed him to the ground during a confrontation that was caught on security camera. [More]
Have Loyalty Programs Made Airlines Complacent About Customer Service?
By 6.9.17
If you show your loyalty to an airline by continually flying that carrier (and maybe using their co-branded credit card), you might expect that this would result in better customer service. However, one top airline executive thinks the industry’s reliance on loyalty rewards programs are actually making customer service more impersonal. [More]
Spirit Flight Canceled After Woman Refuses To Leave Bathroom
By 6.1.17 — Updated: 6.2.17
Passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida to Cartagena, Colombia will arrive at their destination an entire day later than planned after their original flight was canceled when the plane’s pilots exceeded their maximum flying time, a result of delays caused by an unruly passenger who refused to leave the aircraft’s bathroom. [More]
Passenger Kicked Off Southwest Flight Tries To Run Back On Plane, Gets Tackled Instead
By 5.30.17
A man who was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight last night was not going to take no for an answer, and apparently thought he could somehow run his way back onto the plane. He was mistaken. [More]
American Airlines Passenger Tries To Bite Flight Attendant Before Jumping To Tarmac
By 5.26.17
An American Airlines passenger has been charged with interfering with flight crew members after he allegedly bit a flight attendant and jumped from the plane to the tarmac at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Thursday. [More]
United Mistakenly Removes Carry-On Bag, Stranding Man At Airport For 20 Hours
By 5.25.17
A United Airlines passenger from New Zealand found himself stranded at a San Francisco airport for 20 hours this week; not because of weather, or mechanical issues, or any sort of attempt to reenact the 2004 Tom Hanks comedy The Terminal. No, his prolonged stay in airport purgatory was thanks to a United employee who mistakenly removed the man’s carry-on bag from his flight. [More]
You Could Soon Be Unloading A Lot More From Your Bag At Airport Security
By 5.24.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
The Transportation Security Administration and airlines, alike, have implemented processes at airports designed to take some of the burden out of the security line — from fully automated checkpoints to hiring more screeners. Now, the TSA is working on more changes intended to make the security process more efficient — like removing food from carry-ons and using digital ID scanners. But before we can speed through the checkpoints, some unsuspecting passengers will have serve as guinea pigs. [More]
Same-Sex Couple With 3 Kids Claims Southwest Denied Them Family Boarding Privileges
By 5.22.17
Two Florida dads traveling with their three children say that Southwest Airlines staff would not allow their group to pre-board a flight with other families traveling on the same plane. [More]
National Guardsman Says United Wrongly Charged Him $200 For Checked Bag
By 5.18.17
A National Guardsman returning home to Texas following nearly two years in Afghanistan says United Airlines broke its own policy by charging him $200 to check a bag full of gear. [More]
United Passenger Says She Was Forced To Pee In Cup; Airline Has Different Story
By 5.10.17
A passenger on a recent United/Mesa Airlines flight claims that the plane’s cabin crew refused to let her use the restroom, forcing her to urinate in a cup. However, the airline contends that staff never made this demand. [More]
