flying the unfriendly skies

NBC Los Angeles

Woman Dragged Off Southwest Flight Disputes Airline’s Version Of Events

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]

KHON

A Day Of Delays Strands United Passengers At Hawaii Airport For Nearly 24 Hours

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]

InSapphoWeTrust

Teen Allegedly Groped By Fellow United Airlines Traveler

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]

NBC Bay Area

Teen Jumps From Emergency Exit Of Plane After Landing In San Francisco

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]

Rachel

Frontier, American & Delta Fined $850,000 For Involuntary Bumping, Damaged Bag Violations, Delayed Refunds

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]

Quinn Dombrowski

Altercation Injures 3 On Delta Flight, Forces Flight To Turn Around

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]

Themarcogoon49

Baby Requires Medical Treatment After Overheating On Delayed United Plane

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]

frankieleon

Airline Complaints Soar Following United’s Forced Removal Of Passenger

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]

KPRC

United Airlines Sorry About That Video Of Employee Shoving 71-Year-Old

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]

redsox223

Have Loyalty Programs Made Airlines Complacent About Customer Service?

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]

WSVN

Spirit Flight Canceled After Woman Refuses To Leave Bathroom

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]

CBS Chicago

Passenger Kicked Off Southwest Flight Tries To Run Back On Plane, Gets Tackled Instead

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]

Themarcogoon49

American Airlines Passenger Tries To Bite Flight Attendant Before Jumping To Tarmac

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]

Ben Kepes

United Mistakenly Removes Carry-On Bag, Stranding Man At Airport For 20 Hours

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]

Inha Leex Hale

You Could Soon Be Unloading A Lot More From Your Bag At Airport Security

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]

DieselDemon

Same-Sex Couple With 3 Kids Claims Southwest Denied Them Family Boarding Privileges

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]

Fox 7 Austin

National Guardsman Says United Wrongly Charged Him $200 For Checked Bag

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]

Rick Drew

United Passenger Says She Was Forced To Pee In Cup; Airline Has Different Story

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]