The fight over long lines at security checkpoints got a bit more intense late Monday, as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey threatened to hire its own security staff to replace Transportation Security Administration screeners unless something is done to combat excessive wait times. [More]
travel
Airline Group Asks Travelers To Snap Photos Of Unending TSA Lines At Nation’s Airports
By 5.9.16
In an effort to add more voices to an already insistent chorus, an airline industry group has launched a campaign to enlist travelers in the fight against super long security lines at the nation’s airport. [More]
Carnival Cruise Line Hiking Automatic Gratuity Charge By Almost $1
By 5.6.16
If you’re heading out on the high seas with a Carnival cruise starting next fall, expect to see a heftier automatic gratuity charge on your bill than in journeys past. [More]
Would You Ever Want To Hang Out With Your Airbnb Host/Guests?
By 5.6.16
Usually, in-person interactions between Airbnb hosts and guests are limited to things like handing off keys, or running into each other in the hallway if the host is staying in the home. Because let’s face it, you normally wouldn’t hang out with the concierge at the front desk of a hotel. But for those people looking for a more personal connection, the home-sharing service is looking into the idea of pairing guests with hosts for leisure activities during their stay, like going on tours and playing sports together. [More]
TSA Adding More Security Screeners To Help Combat Long Lines At The Airport
By 5.4.16
After getting called out by airlines, airport officials, and lawmakers for super long lines at the nation’s airports, the Transportation Security Administration says it’s increasing staff at checkpoints as part of its effort to cut down on those excessive wait times. [More]
American Airlines Apologizes For Preventing Musician From Bringing Violin On Board
By 4.29.16
American Airlines has apologized to a concert musician who wasn’t allowed to board a flight carrying her 18th-century violin, despite the airline’s policy that says small musical instruments can be treated as a traveler’s carry-on. [More]
American Airlines Flight Turns Around After Bird Strike Leaves 2-Foot Dent In Plane
By 4.28.16
A bird might be small compared to a jetliner, but get a whole bunch of them together and they can do some pretty serious damage. Passengers on an American Airlines flight out of Seattle found that out yesterday, when the plane was forced to turn around after a bird strike left a two-foot dent in the nose of the aircraft. [More]
Priceline CEO Resigns After In-House Investigation Uncovers Relationship With Fellow Employee
By 4.28.16
Online travel booking site Priceline announced today that CEO Darren Huston — who has served in that role since January 2014 — will be resigning after a company investigation discovered he was in a relationship with a fellow employee. [More]
How One Flight Attendant Deals With Passengers’ Racism
By 4.20.16
Whenever there’s any kind of friction between passengers, flight attendants have to get involved and try to sort out the situation. While sometimes it’s just a matter of smoothing ruffled feathers over a seating mixup or asking a rambunctious group to settle down, playing referee can get a lot more complicated when passengers turn nasty about their fellow travelers. [More]
JetBlue Installs Napping Pods For Weary Travelers At JFK Airport
By 4.20.16
You know the feeling: your head is full of stuffing, your feet are dragging, and you just need to find somewhere to rest your tired bones after a long flight and before you get on another plane. If you don’t have access to an airline’s lounge, there are limited options for napping at most airports: snoozing upright in a chair or perhaps tucked away in a corner on the ground. JetBlue is offering another choice with new napping pods at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. [More]
Hyatt Offering 10% Discount To Loyalty Members Who Book Their Stay Directly
By 4.18.16
Although it might be nice and convenient for travelers to use an online travel site like Expedia or Orbitz to book hotel visits along with flights and rental cars, hotels win when their guests skip those sites and book directly. That’s why Hyatt Hotels is joining some of its hospitality brethren in dangling a discount for those who book directly on its site. [More]
Which Airlines Charge A Fee To Buy Tickets Over The Phone Or At The Airport?
By 4.15.16
We used to live in a time when some of the only options for buying airfare were over the phone or in person at an airport ticket counter. Technology changed, and many airlines have added fees for those ticket-buying methods. While Delta Air Lines is now turning back the clock and will drop such fees, many of the other major players still tack on extra charges for those ticket-buying options. [More]
American Airlines Calls Out TSA For “Unacceptable” Lines At Airport Checkpoints
By 4.14.16
Not a fan of lengthy lines at airport security checkpoints? You aren’t alone: American Airlines is putting the Transportation Security Administration on blast for the kind of “unacceptable” long wait times that caused 6,800 customers to miss their flights during spring break week this year. [More]
Ryanair Opens Itself Up To Passenger Complaints With New “Rate My Flight” App
By 4.12.16
Ryanair, the European low-cost carrier whose customer service approach used to involve sticking its fingers in its ears and yelling “NANANANA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”, is trying to show it’s really and truly turned over a new customer service leaf: the airline is launching a new “Rate My Flight” app that allows passengers to air their grievances immediately upon landing. [More]
Southwest Airlines Quietly Increases Early Check-In Fee
By 4.12.16
Unlike nearly all other domestic airlines, Southwest does not offer assigned seats and instead boards passengers in groups based on when they check-in for their trip. In some cases, travelers purchase an EarlyBird Check-In option so they can ensure an earlier boarding group without the hassle of setting their alarm clock to check in 24 hours prior. If you’re planning to go that route on your next trip, you should expect to spend a little bit more. [More]
Passengers Suing Spirit Airlines Over In-Flight Brawl Sparked By Boombox
By 4.8.16
Three passengers who were aboard a Spirit Airlines flight when a brawl broke out over an overly loud boombox are now suing the carrier, claiming that Spirit “failed to protect” them from harm. [More]
Former LAX Baggage Handlers Charged With Trafficking Cocaine
By 4.5.16
As a wise uncle to a superhero once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Unfortunately, some folks succumb to the temptation to use that power for their own profit. According to authorities, two former baggage handlers at Los Angeles International Airport are prime examples of this, after allegedly using their jobs to traffic cocaine across the country. [More]
United Airlines Flight Turns Around After Passenger Wouldn’t Stop Doing Yoga
By 3.31.16
We’re no strangers to the idea of one unruly passenger prompting a commercial flight to change course, but who would have ever thought someone could disrupt a flight by doing something so peaceful as yoga and meditation? Folks, it can happen, and it did. [More]
