While Continental has had to cancel dozens of flights due to suddenly “sick” pilots, the management at US Airways say its pilots have been more subtle about hobbling the airline’s operations — an allegation the pilots deny. [More]
the unfriendly skies
Couple Sues American Airlines Following Hijacking Hoax
By 7.11.11
A married couple from Pakistan have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that, after their plane was diverted following a fake hijacking threat, they were singled out and escorted from the plane in handcuffs for no reason other than their names. [More]
Complaints Against Airlines Continue To Soar
By 7.7.11
The Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released its final report on airline customer complaints for the month of May and it isn’t pretty. [More]
US Airways Passenger: I Was Escorted Off Plane For Photographing Staffer's Name Tag
By 7.5.11
A traveler boarding a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Miami on Friday says she was booted from the plane after she took a photo of an airline employee’s name tag, while US Airways says she was ejected for being foul-mouthed. [More]
Southwest Flight Attendants May Sue Over Pilot's "Gays, Grannies & Grandes" Rant
By 6.23.11
Yesterday, an unnamed Southwest Airlines pilot made headlines when it was discovered he’d accidentally broadcast his complaints about the lack of straight, slender, young hotties working as flight attendants for the airline to Houston air traffic control and anyone else listening in. Not surprisingly, the attendants — regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation or bangability — are not pleased. [More]
When Is A Free Ticket Not Free? When There Is A $350 Fuel Surcharge
By 5.31.11
Even though it’s become increasingly easy to amass rewards travel points on most major airlines, it’s not only gotten more difficult to cash in those points for free tickets, those “free” tickets could end up costing you hundreds in taxes and fuel surcharges. [More]
Allegations Of Photography Cause Plane Evacuation, 2.5-Hour Delay On United Flight
By 4.25.11
When did “taking photographs” become “suspicious behavior” on a plane? Because that’s exactly what caused an entire United flight to return to its gate, be evacuated and inspected, leave 2.5 hours late and forced to make an additional stop because of the delay. [More]
United Had Advance Signs That Plane Would Almost Ignite Olsen Twin
By 3.22.11
You may remember the United Airlines flight from last May that could have resulted in a burnt Olsen twin if the pilots hadn’t reacted so quickly to a cockpit fire. Well, newly released documents from the National Transportation Safety Board show that there had been at least two related incidents on that same plane in the days leading up to the fire. [More]
TSA Head Apologizes To Traveler Whose Bladder Bag Burst During Pat-Down
By 11.23.10
Yesterday, the TSA got yet another public-relations black eye when a man in Michigan said airport screeners in Detroit refused to listen to him about his medical condition and accidentally ruptured a bag full of urine under his clothes. [More]
U.S. Airways' "Commitment To Excellence" Has Nothing To Do With Your Customer Service Problem
By 11.5.10
Many of us are continually finding ourselves trapped in Byzantine mazes of bad customer service, where we keep ending up in the same dead-ends with the same undesirable options. And if you dare question the company about its public declarations of quality service and the like, you’re likely to be told that such claims don’t apply to your situation. [More]
Reader Sues Delta Over Bungled Baggage — And Wins!
By 10.22.10
Even though we’re paying oft-ridiculous fees for checked bags on airplanes, none of that ancillary revenue seems to be going toward improving the actual checking in or tracking of said bags. That’s why it’s refreshing to hear a story where a screwed-over passenger stands up to this general ineptitude and comes out victorious. [More]
Is Spirit Airlines' Refund Policy Heartless?
By 10.21.10
We recently received two very different stories of people who had booked tickets on discount carrier Spirit Airlines. One involves a terrible family tragedy and the other occurred when a fading formality turned into a red tape nightmare, but in the end they both ended up facing the stone-faced (and possibly stone-hearted) Spirit refund policy. [More]
U.S. Airways Tells Man In Wheelchair He's Too Disabled To Be A Passenger
By 10.18.10
A man with cerebral palsy had recently boarded a U.S. Airways flight in West Palm Beach, FL, when he was approached by the plane’s flight crew and told he needed to vacate the aircraft. The reason? He is too disabled to fly. [More]
U.S. Airways Gives Employees Misinformation About 'Mad As Hell' Petition
By 10.4.10
In September, a combination of advocacy groups banded together to launch the Mad As Hell petition in an effort to alert regulators about consumers’ dissatisfaction with the trend of charging fees for just about everything that used to be included in the price of an airline ticket. But if you ask U.S. Airways, they’ll say it’s the people that they hint may be behind the petition who are really the greedy ones. [More]
VIDEO: Watch Sparks Fly During Emergency Landing At JFK
By 9.27.10
Over the weekend, a Delta flight en route from White Plains, NY, to Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing that had the plane’s wing dragging on the runway in a shower of sparks. Luckily, the whole thing ended safely for all on board — and it was caught on video. [More]
Meet The Airline Seat That Will Destroy Your Crotch
By 9.10.10
Though most airline manufacturers and insiders have scoffed at the idea of “standing room” seats on jets, someone has come up with an airplane chair that is simultaneously more feasible and more uncomfortable. Meet the crotch-crushing SkyRider! [More]
Have Travelers Lost Their Manners?
By 9.1.10
One need look no further than the public reaction to slide-jumping JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater to see just how many people sympathize with his reaction to a customer who allegedly cursed him out and hit him with a carry-on. So it brings up the question — have we forgotten how to behave in a civilized manner when it comes to traveling? [More]
TSA Screeners Check Luggage, Investigate Your Marriage & Personal Finances
By 8.19.10
You have to hand it to the TSA screeners at Philadelphia International Airport. Not only will they look through your stuff to make sure you’re not going to go all explosiony on the plane, they’ll also bring in the cops to call your husband to double check you haven’t embezzled money from him. [More]
