Northwest cancelled flight 1190 from Las Vegas to Detroit yesterday over the behavior of its captain. The captain was on a cell phone, and at some point during the boarding process, left the cockpit and went into the lavatory, locked the door, and continued his conversation. The conversation could be heard through the door by…
Bruce Schneier has announced his Second Annual Movie Plot Threat Contest…and we’re aiming to win the prize…one of his books autographed… Our goal: invent a terrorist plot to hijack or blow up an airplane with a commonly carried item as a key component. The component should be so critical to the plot that the TSA…
The Cranky Flier has a featured interview between him and Josh Marks, the Senior Vice-Preisdent of Planning and Development for MAXjet. MAXjet is a business-class only airline that started service between New York-JFK and London-Stansted airport in 2005. They offer the “perks of international Business Class (fast check-in and security clearance, spacious departure lounges, deep-recline…
The Consumerist, of which we are an avid reader, posted on the subject of Rule 240…however, we felt their post was somewhat brief on what Rule 240 meant, and decided to revisit the issue. We approached it in a post in September. To reiterate, Rule 240 has no power post-deregulation. Deregulation occurred in 1978. Many…
When we are on a plane, we enjoy reading through the Skymall catalog, which is full of interesting things we have to admit we’ve drooled over, but never gotten around to purchasing. Try this coupon for them… SkyMall – Save $5 no minimum. Some restrictions apply. We’ve placed a Skymall button on the site for…
Southwest Airlines has reupped for another three years of serving Coca-Cola company products, which will extend their offering through 2011. Under the terms of the agreement, Coca-Cola North America will continue to be the beverage provider for Southwest, supplying soft drinks including Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Sprite Zero, Seagram’s mixers, and Minute Maid juices…
A flight from Philadelphia to Rome had to return to Philadelphia two hours into the flight because of a computer glitch in a backup navigation computer. The passengers are being reaccomodated as best possible to their final destinations.
United Airlines and bmi have applied to the United States Department of Transportation to combine their transatlantic operations. The two carriers have no overlapping nonstop service and would take advantage of the open skies pact. Both carriers are members of the Star Alliance. The agreement would only merge their transatlantic operations. Other operations would remain…
The Coalition for Luggage Security once again sounded its trumpet call to require travellers to voluntarily ship their luggage from domestic air travel prior to departure. To be fair, we had a look at Universal Express’s Luggage Express pitch. They plan to charge $70 per piece of dropped off luggage of $85 per pick-up. In…
Some days in the airline industry, it seems a neverending stream of negative publicity. Here are a few things we caught over the last few days. It fails to inspire us. (Note: In every one of our roundups, links to a news source are provided for each item. Feel free to click through for more…
The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. Airlines are expected to start making announcements this summer about the offering of in-flight internet connections. While Aircell is temporarilly out of the game for in-flight cellular communications due to the recent FCC decision not to adjust its ban, Aircell plans to install equipment to establish a wi-fi…
The New York Times offered some advice recently on coping with the TSA liquid and gel ban. As they put it… SINCE the Transportation Security Administration began cracking down on liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on luggage last summer, travelers determined not to check their bags have been haunting the trial-size aisles at Wal-Mart, trolling…
Spirit today announced nonstop service from its hub in Ft. Lauderdale to Guatemala City, Guatemala once daily effective May 10th. Commercial passenger service will be terminating in Lake Havasu City, Arizona effective May 6th. Mesa Airlines, which provides service from the airport to Phoenix and Las Vegas. A Mesa analysis on the Havasu airport showed…
Midwest Airlines continued its rollout of 50-seater regional jets operated by Skywest Airlines as Midwest Connect with the inauguration of service onboard these jets from Milwaukee to Columbus, OH and on select flights between Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia. Midwest’s new route between Kansas City and Seattle/Tacoma launched today. The flights operate as Midwest…
Expressjet launched its new service operated under its own name, as opposed to operating for a larger carrier today with the launch of service from Kansas City, Omaha(Eppley Airfield), Austin, Boise, LA/Ontario, Spokane, and Tucson. Further service will commence over the coming weeks/months. As part of its rollout, the company is offering nonstop service in…
Last week, Kip Hawley, the head of the Transportation Security Administration submitted his own post to the people at Aviation Daily on the subject of employee screening and the recent increase in TSA activity in Florida. You can have a look at the post in full. Here are some highlights and points Terrorists are adaptive,…
Delta has entered into an agreement with Wheeltug plc to assist in developing a new system that might enable pilots to back away from gates with a tow tug, and to taxi without using jet engines. This would reduce fuel consumption on the ground, and may reduce airline ground congestion by assisting in airplane mobility.…
Virginia Buckingham of the Boston Herald this week wrote a misleading article accusing Jetblue of a bait and switch. She had a bad experience on a flight and blames Jetblue for the situation. We felt the need to correct her misleading statements and errors. Buckingham flew from Washington-Dulles to Logan and comments, “Instead of the…
We follow the Consumerist closely, especially when fellow aviation blogger Mark Ashley from Upgrade: Travel Better is guest-blogging. Here is a selection of airline-related stories from their files. An American Airlines pilot was acquitted of the charge of attempting to operate an airplane under the influence of alcohol. He denies trying to co-pilot the plane,…
On Monday, April 2, Expressjet and LA/Ontario International Airport will join together to announce the beginning of scheduled service, which is considered the largest expansion in the airport’s 84 years. United’s service from Washington-Dulles Airport to Rome will be beginning this weekend. Flight 966 will depart Dulles on April 1, and return as flight 967…
Avianca, the flagship carrier of Colombia, announced an order for 10 787s. Later this week, Air Canada will be picking up its first Boeing 777, which will kick off its wide-body modernization program. Over the next two years, Air Canada will receive 19 777s, as well as 45 100-seat Embraer 190s. Delta announced service from…
We caught this Youtube interview from the Today Show through the Consumerist. Nine Times Travel Insurance isn’t a ripoff. Your flight is cancelled. Your bags are lost and your medication is in it. You need to have an emergency prescription filled. Your passport and wallet are stolen, and you need emergency cash and a replacement…
Qantas announced it will increase services from New York effective August 14th to offer daily flights to Sydney via Los Angeles. The new schedule will include seven flights per week from New York to Sydney via Los Angeles. Thirty five flights per week from Los Angeles, with an additional three from June 19th-July 28th. Five…
Authorities are holding 272 passengers from Continental flight 98 from Hong Kong to Newark Liberty Airport because several passengers appeared to have flu-like symptoms. The plane arrived around 2PM local time, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has sent a representitive to meet the passengers before they are allowed to enter Customs &…
As USAToday reports, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. James Oberstar(D-MN), has said that the code of conduct that the airlines agreed to seven years ago to avoid increased industry regulation should be updated. He also said that the Dept. of Transportation(DOT)Â should be given more power to investigate abuses and levy heavy…