If it’s a day of the week ending in “y,” odds are something disruptive has happened on a U.S. airline (or in the airport, as the case may be). Case in point, the recent fistfight that broke out between two passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight. And because we know you’re asking: Yes, someone did catch it on camera. [More]
flying the unfriendly skies
United Apologizes After Agent Cancels Passenger’s Ticket For Recording Her
By 5.9.17
Another day, another story of United Airlines being horrible to its customers. Thankfully, this incident doesn’t involve anyone being dragged forcibly off a plane or being flown to the wrong continent. This time, United is apologizing to a passenger whose ticket was canceled after he used his phone to record his interaction with airline employees. [More]
Family Says They Were Kicked Off Overbooked Delta Flight After Dispute Over Toddler’s Seat
By 5.4.17
A family of four flying from Hawaii to Los Angeles last week say they were forced to leave an overbooked Delta Air Lines flight after they refused to give up the seat their toddler son was sitting in — a seat his father had paid for — and put him on their laps instead. [More]
United Airlines Ups Compensation For Bumped Passengers To $10K
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Over the past several weeks, United Airlines has taken steps to put an April 9 incident in which a passenger was violently removed from a flight behind it: revising crew travel policies, discontinuing the use of law enforcement to remove passengers, compensating passengers on the controversial flight, and, of course, issuing several apologies. Now the airline is revamping how it compensates passengers being bumped from flights and answering lingering questions from lawmakers. [More]
One Family Earned $11,000 By Not Flying Delta During Delay-Filled Weekend
By 4.10.17
If you had somewhere to be this weekend and booked to fly with Delta Air Lines, there’s a decent chance you either arrived late, never made it, or had to fly another carrier — all thanks to lingering cancellations and delays brought on by a storm. Yet Delta’s nightmarish weekend was a windfall for some frequent fliers, like one family who scored more than $11,000 by choosing to not fly Delta. [More]
Videos Show United Airlines Passenger Dragged Off Overbooked Flight
By 4.10.17
United Airlines is apologizing for overbooking a flight from Chicago to Louisville on Sunday night after a video posted on social media showed a passenger being pulled forcibly from his seat and dragged off the plane. [More]
United Airlines Passenger Says Dog Died After Flight From Detroit To Oregon
By 2.14.17 — Updated: 2.15.17
Three years ago, United Airlines felt the internet’s wrath when a photo surfaced showing a caged dog the carrier had allegedly left out in the rain on an airport tarmac. Now, the airline is once again facing claims it harmed an animal, after a woman accused the airline for being responsible for the death of her dog. [More]
Man Pleads Guilty To Groping Teen On American Airlines Flight
By 1.20.17 — Updated: 1.23.17
Seven months after an Oregon man was accused of groping a 13-year-old girl traveling alone on an American Airlines flight, the man has pleaded guilty. [More]
Sisters Claim Their Father Died Without Them After Allegiant Booted Them From Flight
By 1.6.17
It’s unlikely that getting kicked off a flight is ever a pleasant experience, but two sisters say that when Allegiant Air removed them from a recent flight, they found themselves in a nightmare, unable to reach their father in hospice care before he passed away. [More]
Disruptive Couple Arrested After Forcing Delta Flight To Return To Airport
By 12.29.16
A Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Los Angeles returned to the gate less than an hour after takeoff Wednesday night when a couple’s spat became too disruptive to continue. [More]
Family Claims United Airlines Left 12-Year-Old Girl Alone After Flight To Houston
By 12.28.16
Each year, parents fork over hundreds of dollars to airlines’ unaccompanied minors programs to ensure their children traveling alone by plane make it to their destination safely. While most of these trips go swimmingly, a few don’t. Case in point: an Iowa couple says their 12-year-old daughter was left alone at a Houston airport despite paying extra to ensure she was accompanied at all times. [More]
In-Flight Cellphone Calls May Finally Be Ready For Takeoff
By 12.9.16
You know that woman on the mall scream-talking into her cellphone? She could be on your next flight — well, maybe in a few years. After decades of prohibiting airline passengers from yakking away on their cellular devices from 20,000 feet up, federal regulators are mulling the idea of allowing travelers to make cellphone calls while in flight. [More]
Could Badly-Behaved Airline Passengers Lead To A Better Flying Experience For Everyone?
By 12.6.16
Though it might be disheartening to hear that air rage incidents reported by airlines are on the rise, take heart, my fellow fliers: all those unruly passengers could, arguably, lead to positive change in the industry. [More]
American Airlines Apologizes To Family Kicked Off Flight Over Service Dog
By 11.28.16
American Airlines apologized and opened an investigation recently after an Illinois family claimed they were kicked off a flight because an attendant thought their service dog was too big. [More]
Veteran Accuses American Airlines Of Illegally Barring Her Service Dog From Plane
By 10.28.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Last year, American Airlines issued an apology to a retired U.S. Marine after the veteran said he and his service dog were denied boarding a flight. While the airline put that incident behind it, it’s now facing a similar complaint from an Army vet who has accused the airline of mocking her and refusing to let her travel with her licensed service dog. [More]
One Airline Now Offers Kid-Free “Quiet Zones” On Flights
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
For years airlines have toyed with the idea of separating sometimes fussy, loud children from adults on flights, either through flying nanny services or the ever-popular, but seldom instituted “kid-free zones.” Now, one airline is taking the plunge, offering separate “quiet zones” where passengers under the age of 12 aren’t allowed to sit. [More]
Glitch Blamed For Latest United Airlines Delays
By 10.14.16
While most of us were catching a few “Zs” last night, thousands of United Airlines passengers were waiting in terminals, sitting on planes on a tarmac, or otherwise biding their time as the carrier suffered yet another computer glitch delaying flights around the world. [More]
Muslim Passengers Report Being Removed From Recent Delta, American Flights
By 8.5.16
Recently, two sets of Muslim American travelers have reported being removed from Delta Air Lines and American Airlines flights after flight crew in both incidents said they felt uncomfortable. [More]
