A federal appeals court has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to reconsider a petition filed by consumer advocates seeking to halt the ever-decreasing size of airline seating arrangements. [More]
the unfriendly skies
Court Says FAA Must Explain Why It Won’t Do Anything To Stop “Incredibly Shrinking Airline Seat”
By 7.31.17
Expect Airport Security Delays As TSA Starts Scanning Tablets Separately From Carry-On Bags
By 7.26.17
If you’re one of the many air travelers who uses a tablet to play games, watch videos, read, or do work while flying, be warned that your device will soon be subject to the same sort of security screening that has been given to laptop computers for years. And even if you’re not carrying a tablet in your bag, you should probably expect longer waits at airport checkpoints. [More]
United Airlines Says It “Misunderstood” TSA About Non-Existent Ban On Comic Books
By 7.24.17
Now that the Transportation Security Administration has called shenanigans on United Airlines’ claim that folks leaving last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con could not stow their comics in their checked bags, the airline is admitting that it was wrong about this bizarre request being any sort of federal requirement. [More]
United CEO Says No One Will Be Fired Over Forced Removal Of Passenger
By 4.18.17
In the week since United Airlines made headlines when a ticketed passenger was aggressively hauled off his flight, the company has updated its crew travel policies to ensure passengers won’t get booted and compensated all travelers on the fateful fight. Now, the airline’s CEO says no employees will be fired over the incident. [More]
United Updates Crew Travel Policies So Passengers Won’t Be Booted Off Flights
By 4.17.17
It’s been a week since United Airlines made headlines for having a ticketed passenger bodily hauled off his flight so airline crew could have his seat, and the company is still in full damage control mode. United’s latest promise is that it has changed its policy so that last-minute staff travel arrangements won’t bump paying customers anymore. [More]
United Says Controversial Flight Wasn’t Overbooked; Airline Crew Just Needed The Seats More
By 4.11.17
United Airlines is still in damage-control mode today in response to the public uproar over a passenger who was forcibly removed from a flight earlier this week. Now the carrier is clarifying that this flight wasn’t “overbooked;” it just really needed the seats for United crew members. [More]
United Airlines Flight Lands Safely After Two Attempted Landings, Ceiling Panels Fall Mid-Air
By 6.1.16
A United Airlines flight with 214 passengers aboard landed safety in New Jersey on Tuesday after the pilot aborted one landing attempt while several panels inside the aircraft fell to the floor. [More]
An Improved Spirit Airlines Still Comes In Last In Customer Satisfaction Survey
By 4.26.16
A year ago, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines made its debut in the American Customer Satisfaction Index with a thud, coming in dead last among airlines in the annual survey. But even with a 15% improvement over last year’s score, Spirit still couldn’t escape the cellar. [More]
Senate Votes Against Minimum Legroom, Spacing Standards For Airline Seats
By 4.8.16 — Updated: 12.6.16
Earlier this year, Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) said he would try to get federal regulators to come up with limits for airline seat size and spacing. But yesterday, his fellow senators shot down that effort. [More]
Virgin America Passenger Says He Was Blocked From Flight Because Crew Didn’t “Feel Comfortable”
By 12.1.15
We’ve all heard stories of airline passengers being removed from planes because of apparently minor disputes with the flight crew, but a Dallas man says he wasn’t even allowed to board his Virgin America flight because he made the crew uncomfortable. [More]
Unintentionally Hilarious Airbus Patent Suggests Stacking Passengers On Top Of Each Other
By 10.6.15
Sick of fighting over the armrest on a flight? Or maybe your knees ache at the mere thought of squeezing into an airplane seat? While some patents seek to address those issues with clever design, a recently filed Airbus patent intends to cram more passengers into a plane by simply stacking them on top of each other. [More]
Driver’s Licenses From 4 States Could Soon Be Useless For Getting Through Airport Security
By 9.14.15
At some point in the next year, millions of Americans may need to start carrying a second form of ID with them when they go to the airport, as driver’s licenses from four states and one U.S. territory are not currently compliant with federal security standards. [More]
United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek Steps Down Amid Investigation
By 9.8.15
One of the nation’s largest airlines has lost its CEO and two other top executives, as United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek has stepped down from the company’s top post in the midst of a federal investigation into the airline. [More]
Lawsuit: American Airlines Failed To Protect Girl From Passenger Accused Of Touching Her Inappropriately
By 9.8.15
The parents of a girl who said she was touched inappropriately while she was flying alone on an American Airlines flight to New York from Iowa in July have sued the airline, claiming it failed to protect her. [More]
Family Says They Were Booted From JetBlue Flight For Holding 2-Year-Old On Lap
By 7.30.15
A family that purchased a separate seat for their 2-year-old son on a JetBlue flight say they were just trying to comfort the youngster by having him sit on his mom’s lap during takeoff, but that the flight attendants treated them like a safety risk and had them kicked off the plane. [More]
Family Claims They Were Escorted Off United Airlines Flight After Autistic Daughter Deemed Disruptive
By 5.11.15
A trip home from the most magical place on earth was anything but magical for an Oregon family after they claim their United Airlines flight made an emergency landing and they were escorted from the flight because of their autistic daughter. [More]
Judge Throws Out United’s Lawsuit Against “Hidden City” Airfare Site Skiplagged.com
By 5.1.15
Last fall, both United Airlines and Orbitz sued travel-booking startup Skiplagged.com, which helped travelers find so-called “hidden city” tickets where you book a multi-stop itinerary with the intention of not flying all the way to the end. Orbitz settled its part of the case in February, but the United suit continued — until yesterday, when a federal judge dismissed the airline’s complaint, but not because the airline didn’t have a case. [More]
Spirit Airlines Brings Up Rear In Latest Airline Customer-Satisfaction Scores
By 4.20.15
Time Warner Cable and merger-partner Comcast have very little company among the lowest-scoring companies on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, but now that ACSI has added Spirit and Frontier to its airline rankings, TWC can no longer claim the honor of having the lowest survey score of all U.S. companies in the Index. [More]
