Nancy Kates’s large underwire bra set off the metal detector in the Oakland, California airport. A TSA agent pulled her aside and patted her down, which set off Kates’ personal privacy alarm. “I said, ‘You can’t do that.’ She said, ‘We have to pat you down.’ I said, ‘You can’t treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.'” Kates was given the option to “submit to a pat-down in a private room” or not fly. Instead, she took off her bra and passed through security just fine. Hooray for personal freedom!
jetblue
By 8.25.08
../../../..//2008/08/25/if-youre-curious-about-jetblues/
If you’re curious about JetBlue’s new JFK…
JetBlue Has Grandmother Arrested For Refusing To Delete An Unflattering Video Recording
By 8.14.08
Marilyn Parver is taking her story to the media after JetBlue had her arrested and walked off the plane in handcuffs for refusing to delete a video recording she made of an altercation between passengers. She told Christopher Elliott that JetBlue accused her of interfering with a flight crew (a federal crime) and threatened to blacklist her by adding her name to the dreaded “no-fly list.”
The Ultimate "Rule 240" List
By 7.28.08
Some airlines still call it “Rule 240” and others a “contract of carriage” but no matter what the name, it still means the same thing: power to the traveler. But which airlines still use it and how much does it protect a traveler?
Scammed By Curb-Side Check In At JFK
By 7.18.08
Reader Andy decided to check his bag curb-side at JFK, that wretched hive of scum and villainy, and the curb-side check-in attendant scammed him out of $15 by promising to sneak his “overweight” bag onto the flight for a “big tip.” Naturally, after the deal was done, Andy realized that his bag probably wasn’t overweight and he’d just been scammed. Now he’s writing in to tell his story so that other consumers can avoid a similar fate.
Updated: Whoa, That Airplane Is Really Close To Ours
By 7.14.08
Jon was freaked out when flying on Jetblue and his flight came in close proximity to another aircraft. He wonders if he should, and how he might, report such an incident. His story, and advice we got from an Air Force pilot, inside…
Oil! Airlines Issue Open Letter Asking You To Help Them Lobby Congress
By 7.10.08
In a letter signed by 12 CEOs, the US air travel industry has called upon you, their customers, to help them lobby congress. What’s the problem that they need help solving? Oil speculation. Read the letter inside.
JetBlue Can't Decide If They Charged An Unaccompanied Minor Fee
By 7.7.08
JetBlue promised Catie’s husband in March that the $798 fare charged to fly his children from Austin to Boston included the unaccompanied minor fee. But when Catie recently called to verify the reservation, she was told that her children wouldn’t be allowed to board unless she paid an extra $200.
Help! JetBlue Let Me Get On The Wrong Plane!
By 7.2.08
All our lives we’d been walking around with the mistaken impression that when they scanned your boarding pass at the gate, they were making sure you were getting on the right plane. We assumed this for two reasons: 1) Because an airport isn’t like a movie theater, where you can buy a ticket for a G-rated movie and go see “Killer Naked Women From Planet Sex And Violence.” 2) To prevent people from accidentally ending up in New York when they were trying to get to Long Beach, CA.
Woman Punches JetBlue Flight Attendant In The Face For Not Letting Her Smoke
By 6.19.08
Once again we remind you not to drink too much at the airport before getting on your flight. We know airports are boring and sad and they make you want to kill the pain with copious amounts of gin. Don’t do it — or you could end up punching a JetBlue flight attendant in the face.
Fliers Are Officially Fed Up With Crappy Airline Service
By 6.18.08
You may be thinking to yourself, “Congratulations, you’ve written the world’s most obvious headline!” And you’d be right, but according to J.D. Power and associates there could be something of a sea change going on in the universe of airline complaints. It seems that crappy customer service may have reached a Gladwellian “tipping point” — more customers are choosing which airline to fly based on factors other than price.
CEOs Who Lost Their Jobs Talk About What Went Wrong
By 6.6.08
Fortune’s new article “Lessons of the fall” is interesting and entertaining for two reasons. First, it humanizes brings a human face to the usually remote CEO, in this case the exes at Motorola, Starbucks, and Jet Blue. But more important if you’re a wage slave who can admit to a little schadenfreude, it describes how each man was fired from his job. Former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, who’s in his fifties, says the hardest thing was letting his mother know:
JetBlue Forces Passenger To Sit On Toilet For Flight
By 5.13.08
Talk about crappy service! JetBlue is the number 1 and the number 2 airline! A man from NYC is suing JetBlue “for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California,” reports CBS News. We’re not going to judge the airline too harshly until more of the story comes out, just in case it turns out to be another upset passenger overstating the situation—but if it’s true, it’s going to be hard for JetBlue to wipe this story from the public’s memory for a while. Especially with all the joke opportunities.
JetBlue To Charge $20 For Second Checked Bag
By 4.22.08
JetBlue announced its first quarter results today and while things aren’t as bleak as they are over at United Airlines, the discount carrier said that it was struggling under the weight of its fuel bill and was going to modify its baggage check policy in order to remain competitive with other airlines.
JetBlue To Charge For Extra Legroom
By 3.20.08
JetBlue announced yesterday that they’ll be reconfiguring their Airbus A320 fleet to include several rows of seating with 38″ of pitch. These “Even More Legroom” seats will be available to you—for a small fee.
Valentine's Day Ice Storm 2008? Everybody Panic!
By 2.13.08
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Great Valentine’s Day Air Travel Massacre—a storm that took down JetBlue’s entire operation and ultimately their CEO, too.
