Extra fuel is joining peanuts and magazines on the list of things American Airlines wants to ditch at the gate. The airline announced plans this week to save cash by using “scientifically precise” computer models to load less fuel. If pilots want more, they’ll need to submit a request in writing. [More]
pilots
Spirit Airlines Flights Resume Friday, Offers Everyone $50 Off
By 6.16.10
Spirit Airline flights, grounded since the beginning of a 5-day pilot strike, could will resume Friday, after the pilots union and the airline reached a tentative agreement following 26 straight hours of negotiation. In its typically tongue-in-cheek fashion, coinciding with the announcement was a “Strikingly Low Fares” promotion offering everyone $50 off new tickets plus 5,000 bonus miles. [More]
American Airlines Flight Attendant Uses Awesome Pilot Powers To Help Land Plane
By 6.16.10
It’s good to have outside interests. For instance, there’s this 61-year-old flight attendant who works for American Airlines who also happens to have a commercial pilot’s license, which was good news for the pilot–and the 225 passengers–after his first officer went all Airplane! on him mid-flight. [More]
Fake Pilot Flew Passenger Jets For 13 Years
By 5.17.10
Thomas Salme was working in maintenance at Scandinavian airline SAS, when he decided he wanted to move up into the cockpit. So, he did what any clever and ruthless crackpot would: He practiced on a flight simulator until he thought he was ready to fly, and then printed a fake pilot’s license at home. He got a job at European airline Air One, and spent 13 years flying passengers around Europe until being caught in March. The heavy hand of justice: a $2,500 fine and a one-year grounding. [More]
US Airways Pilot Pulls Plane Over To Kick Off Unruly Passenger
By 11.17.09
A 49-year-old Scottish man with an injured arm grew angry at the crew on his US Airways flight to London last night, so he demanded they turn the plane around and take him back to Philadelphia. Instead, the pilot, who has had it up to here with you kids, landed the plane at Logan International Airport in Boston and had him removed.
Pilots Who Missed Minnesota Were Too Engrossed In Laptops To Land The Plane
By 10.27.09
There is a reason that I am not a pilot and the reason is this: I am afraid I would get bored, start messing around with my laptop and miss Minnesota. Unfortunately for Northwest Airlines, they don’t hire people who utilize my rigorous program of self-doubt.
Continental Pilot Dies Midflight, Crew Lands Jet Safely
By 6.18.09
CNN is reporting that the pilot of Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark died midflight, forcing a relief pilot to take over the controls of the Boeing 777.
Drunk American Airlines Pilot Arrested Before Transatlantic Flight
By 5.23.09
London police arrested an American Airlines pilot twenty minutes before he was scheduled to fly 204 passengers from London to Chicago. 57-year-old Captain Joseph Crites was four-times over the legal alcohol limit and reeking of booze when he tried to enter his Boeing 777’s cockpit.
United Airlines Pilot Is Too Drunk To Fly
By 10.22.08
This whole “drunks on a plane” thing is getting out of control. First it was the passengers, then the flight attendants… now it’s the pilots.
United's Pilots Would Like You To Help Them Fire Their CEO
By 8.12.08
United Airlines’ pilots have had enough of Glenn Tilton, the CEO of United, and have started a website that calls for his resignation. In addition to listing Mr. Tilton’s various faults, the website asks you, the consumer, to help them by submitting your United Airlines horror stories. (CC: The Consumerist, naturally…)
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.
Pilots Complain That Cash-Strapped Airlines Are Skimping On Fuel
By 4.19.08
What’s the surest way to save money on rising fuel prices? Don’t use it! MSNBC has gathered pilot complaints from a database NASA maintains for the FAA, and they show that airlines are challenging pilots’ refueling decisions, urging them to carry only the minimum fuel required by FAA regulations in…
United Cancels More Flights—Staffing Issues To Blame?
By 1.2.08
Today United Airlines canceled almost 60 flights at airports around the country, bringing the airline’s total cancellations since December 23rd over 1,100 flights—far more than any of its rivals. United’s official excuse is weather, but according to the Reuters, pilots are saying United’s decision to scale back staffing has lead to the scheduling disaster.
How Old Should Your Pilot Be?
By 9.29.07
Ballard said he needs a Canadian license to land a job with Air India that would help offset the pension he lost during United’s bankruptcy. While India allows pilots to fly until age 65, authorities there are balking at certifying U.S.-licensed pilots who are no longer eligible to fly for their home airlines.
