airline industry

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Southwest Adds $10 Fee to Board Early

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid Rewards...

As Fewer Fly, Airline Delays Nosedive

Major airports see traffic fall 9%

(Newser) - With fewer travelers taking to the skies, airline delays have dropped significantly compared to recent years, USA Today reports. Delays topping two hours fell by more than a quarter this year from 2008 and 2007 levels, while traffic at big hubs has dropped 9% compared to last year. Traffic at...

Towns Pay Up to Keep Airlines From Taking Off

Small cities pull out all the stops as airports threaten to close

(Newser) - With airlines feeling the pain of the economic crash, many mid-sized cities, too big for federal help but too small to draw many travelers, have resorted to shaking the money tree to keep the planes flying, the New York Times reports. Some, like Myrtle Beach, have slashed fees across the...

Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse
Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse
analysis
Aug 13, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse

(Newser) - The passengers who spent 5.5 hours trapped inside a plane in Rochester, Minn., last weekend didn’t revolt. But if they had, they could have wound up in trouble with the law, USA Today reports. Federal aviation laws give airlines sole authority over whether passengers stay on a plane...

Booking a Flight? Get Ready to State Sex and Age

(Newser) - Air passengers booking flights in the US can expect some extra questions starting this weekend, the Washington Post reports. Travelers will be asked for their sex and birth date, which will be forwarded along with other information to federal officials checking watch lists. The move comes as the Transportation Security...

JetBlue Offers All-You-Can-Fly Monthly Pass for $599

(Newser) - This could set off an interesting price war: JetBlue today began selling a $599 pass for all the flights you can handle between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8, reports Bloomberg. The idea is to try to keep their planes full once the peak summer season winds down. The offer's good...

Going...Going...Gone: Airlines Tweet Low Prices

JetBlue, United get in on speedy, hip marketing move

(Newser) - JetBlue and United Airlines are giving loyal readers of their Twitter feeds chances to grab low fares, USA Today reports. But customers have to act quickly: JetBlue makes the fares available for about 8 hours or while seats last, while United often gives customers just an hour or two to...

Autopilot Safety Under Scrutiny

(Newser) - One minute Qantas Flight 72 was cruising at a level altitude, autopilot humming. Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, the Airbus A320 went into a nosedive, as the pilots helplessly watched. Eventually, they righted the plane, but not before 115 passengers were injured. Nor was this an isolated incident. Automated...

Ryanair Boss: You Want Service? Try Another Airline

(Newser) - The budget-airline boss who's thinking about charging passengers to use the bathrooms on his planes wants you to know that he doesn't feel a bit bad about it. If you expect to be coddled, Michael O'Leary tells the New York Times, Ryanair's not for you. O'Leary—famed for his rudeness...

Doomed United Is Textbook of Biz Don'ts

(Newser) - United Airlines’ dismal service and financial stature may soon send it to Chapter 11, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a “teachable moment,” Shaun Rein writes in Forbes. Herewith, three lessons:
  • Loyal customers return: "Consumers are more price sensitive in this economy, and they are
...

Salt Lake Tops Best Airports List
 Salt Lake Tops 
 Best Airports List 



TRAVEL
Jul 25, 2009 8:24 AM CDT

Salt Lake Tops Best Airports List

(Newser) - Some airports just seem to be charmed when it comes to on-time departures. Travel + Leisure ranks the 10 best in America based on percentage of flights delayed:
  1. Salt Lake City: Last year's winner continues its reign, cutting delays by 2% from 2008, to just 12%.
  2. Portland, Ore.: At 15%,
...

Brit Flights Will Bar 'Flu-ish' Passengers

Docs blast 'nonsense' plan to keep ill off airplanes

(Newser) - British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will refuse to check in passengers with symptoms of swine flu unless they have doctors' notes saying they're healthy, reports the Times of London. Passengers with runny noses, headaches, or sore throats will be told not to board their flights. The new policy has outraged...

Autistic Teen 'Tycoon' Dupes Airline Industry

Fakes out nearly everyone with plan to launch discount airline

(Newser) - Posing as a young airline tycoon with a fleet of jets, a 17-year-old British boy convinced airport and airline officials he was about to launch a cut-rate airline able to service most of Europe, reports the Times of London. For six months, the teen appeared in industry magazines and met...

Airline Uses Naked Staff for In-Flight Safety Vid

'Bare Essential of Safety' also a viral video hit

(Newser) - After a marketing campaign featuring staff in body-paint facsimiles of their uniforms, Air New Zealand is applying its revealing approach to the in-flight safety video as well, the New Zealand Herald reports. “The Bare Essentials of Safety” aims to recapture the attention of passengers who often ignore the mandatory...

France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found
France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found
UPDATED
Jul 1, 2009 3:20 AM CDT

France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found

14-year-old girl is sole survivor of crash; plane failed 2007 inspection

(Newser) - The French government has backed off reports that searchers located one of the black box flight recorders from Yemenia Air Flight 626, the BBC reports. The crash, in which a 14-year-old girl appears to be the sole survivor out of 151 passengers, occurred after the Airbus 310 had aborted its...

Buckle Up for Higher Airfares





  Buckle Up for Higher Airfares 
Jun 25, 2009 10:24 AM CDT

Buckle Up for Higher Airfares

(Newser) - If you’re planning on flying this summer, book your tickets now. After a long period of dropping fares and constant sales, prices went up earlier this month and appear likely to keep rising throughout the summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. “I think for the consumer, it’s...

Boeing Delays Dreamliner Test—Again

(Newser) - The wait for Boeing’s long-delayed first flight of its 787 Dreamliner became even longer today. The company announced it would miss its late June target because part of the plane needs to be reinforced, the Wall Street Journal reports. Boeing stock fell 7% on the news. The 787, Boeing's...

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop
Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop
Jun 22, 2009 10:37 AM CDT

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop

Budget-conscious passengers cram overhead bins

(Newser) - When airlines instituted new baggage fees, they said it was to offset high fuel prices. Since then, even though energy prices have fallen, the fees haven't gone anywhere but up. In the first quarter, airlines pulled in $566 million in fees, putting them on pace to double last year’s...

British Airways Asks Staff to Work for Free

BA boss vows to forego a month of his $1.2M salary

(Newser) - Thousands of British Airways staff have been asked to help boost the airline's battered bottom line by working for free for up to a month, CNN reports. Chief executive Willie Walsh emailed workers urging them to help the company survive by taking several weeks of unpaid leave and considering doing...

Safety Worries Mount as Regional Airlines Soar

Pilot pay and training eyed amid recent accidents

(Newser) - Regional airlines have risen to new heights in recent years as major carriers outsource to the smaller firms. But as the regional outfits have grown, so have safety concerns, reports the Chicago Tribune. Pilots for the smaller airlines are often driven by modest salaries to work overtime, and some wonder...

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