Free Republic

"Unintended Consequence Fee" intended to chide Transportation Department Spirit Airlines is angry over a new Department of Transportation rule—and it's making sure customers know it, by slapping a $2 "Department of Transportation Unintended Consequence Fee" on all tickets. The new rule, which went into effect last week, requires airlines to give customers a full refund, without additional fees, if the customer requests one within 24 hours of booking a flight, USA Today explains. That may sound innocent, but Spirit insists that it's "costing customers millions," arguing that it will lead to unfilled seats on flights, forcing the airline to spread...

NBC 5 has learned that Fort Worth-based American Airlines may cut between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs across the company. It is estimated that 1,000 of those jobs to be cut will be at the company's maintenance base at Alliance Airport in north Fort Worth. A meeting where AMR executives are expected to lay out the company's plan for moving forward began mid-morning Wednesday. The plan is expected to include layoffs, pension and pay cuts, and the possible closure of an airplane maintenance facility at Fort Worth's Alliance Airport. SNIP-------- American Airlines' parent company AMR filed for bankruptcy in November of...

MADRID – Thousands of passengers faced travel disruptions across Spain Saturday after domestic carrier Spanair canceled all of its flights late Friday night and prepared to file for bankruptcy protection. The collapse of the Barcelona carrier took place shortly after Qatar Airways walked away from talks to take over the airline after months of negotiations. "Due to a lack of financial visibility for the coming months, the company has had no option but to cease flying out of a duty of care for the safety of its operation and the well being of all concerned," Spanair said in a statement...

The former chief economist of Quantas Airlines believes the super-sized set is costing airlines way too much. He claims heavier passengers are costing an additional $472 per flight, in added fuel costs. His solution, charge passengers by the pound. If you're above average in weight, you pay a price for each additional pound. Not that he's going to give supermodels discounts even though they're "saving" the airlines a fortune. After all, that lower BMI is money in the bank for every greedy airline industry. The nickel and diming that the flying public is continually subjected to isn't addressed either. From...

A RYANAIR plane with 200 passengers on board had to turn back after tape used to patch up a pilot's window came loose. Passengers watched in horror as ground crew put the tape around the edge of the windscreen shortly before take-off from Stansted, Essex, to Riga, Latvia.

Widely circulated photos of Cathay Pacific crew members apparently engaged in a sex act have postponed the launch of an airline ad campaign, according to the New York Times. The slogan: "meet the team who go the extra mile to make you feel special." The second installment of the international ad campaign focusing on the company's employees was due to launch next month but will be postponed until October 1, the Times reported. "The original timing doesn't suit us," an airline spokesman told the newspaper. The airline announced Friday that the two are no longer employees of the airline.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Airline stocks bottomed Wednesday after Delta Air Lines Inc.’s financial results that missed Wall Street targets and revived anxiety industry profits would shrink quickly at the end of the peak travel season. Shares of the biggest U.S. carriers have been bouncing along at one-year lows this week: Jet fuel prices remain high, and though demand among well-heeled business travelers has held up despite concerns of an economic slowdown, leisure travel looks poised to drop.

What is going on with airlines? I clearly don’t have all the facts, don’t even know where to start investigating, but something IS wrong with airlines in the US. Years ago, when reading PJ O’Rourke’s Eat The Rich, I came across his description of train travel in Siberia, where the train seemed to have been built to maximize discomfort and lack of hygiene. He compared this to travel in the US and I realized suddenly that Portugal, while not as bad as Siberian trains in the USSR was about halfway there: i.e. Portuguese trains had a restroom, but you’d not...

Why is it cheaper to fly round trip than it is for one-way?

Skip to next paragraph Recent posts 06.29.11 Google Ideas's new 'think-do' tank takes on violent extremism 06.29.11 The Himalayas' Little Tel Aviv 06.29.11 Airline baby ban: Why Malaysia Airlines says no babies in first class 06.24.11 Q&A: Germany and the Greek debt crisis 06.24.11 In the West Bank, passport stamps come before statehood .Related stories TSA defends searches of children, elderly, amid fresh complaints PBS and JetBlue partner up to keep kids reading all summer long Southwest Airlines sale: More $40 flights ahead? Topics Consumer Protection •Consumer Complaints •Aircraft Manufacturing •Aerospace and Defense Sector •Transportation •Air Travel •Industrials Sector •.That's...

CHICAGO (WLS) - Former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trials and tribulations have inspired one airlines to seize the opportunity to make a quick buck. An e-mail ad from Spirit Airlines debuted on Tuesday and features a man with a Blagojevich-like hairstyle behind bars with the tag line, "We got these fares and they're f-ing golden." "We've got these fares and they are f-ing golden starting from just $17 each way, based on roundtrip purchase. We are guilty of selling seats but don't expect this sale to serve much time. Get booked now," the ad says.

His name is Howard, and he likes to fly while dressed in women's lingerie. That's about all that is known of the mystery U.S. Airways passenger catapulted to international prominence this week via Internet blogs after he was photographed at Concourse E, Gate 9 of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on June 9 while waiting to board a flight to Phoenix. Howard's distinguishing characteristics: He smiles with his mouth closed, and he was dressed in nothing more than blue women's lingerie, black stockings, high-heeled shoes and a tasteful, transparent white sweater. He accessorized with a black choker, and a wristwatch. Greg...

Throngs of passengers stranded in the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport on Friday night were told to go home or get a hotel after a "nationwide computer malfunction" took out the airline's reservations systems. The systems went down shortly after 7 p.m., a United Airlines spokeswoman said. After roughly three hours, passengers were told that there would be no more flights. Local travelers were told to go home and some travelers from out of town were given discount vouchers to nearby hotels. Passengers said they were frustrated they were kept in line waiting for about two hours before...

Entire plane evacuated for man's refusal to pull up his pants. He was flying home to attend best friend's funeralCan a baggy-pants fashion trend land you in jail and clear a plane before takeoff? It can in San Francisco International Airport. Deshon Marman, a 20-year-old football star from San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, was asked to pull up his sagging pajama pants before his U.S. Airways flight home -- a flight to take him to his best friend's funeral. Marman's friend, David Henderson, was shot and killed on those same Bayview streets. Marman told his mother (see video) that he at...

Man Subdued After Disrupting Flight To Chicago May 9, 2011 6:15 AM SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) – Flight attendants had to subdue a man on a flight from Chicago to San Francisco overnight, after he began shouting and banging on the cockpit door. This was the second flight disruption incident involving a flight to or from Chicago in a period of 24 hours. LISTEN: KCBS-AM/San Francisco’s Megan Goldsby reports In the latest incident, the man, who carries a Yemeni passport, was shouting unintelligibly as he banged on the door on American Airlines Flight 1561. San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – If you’re a frequent flyer and interested in “doubling your pleasure” via the TSA, I urge you to take a flight out of the Corpus Christi International Airport in south Texas. And when I say “doubling your pleasure,” well, the boys in blue at CC International seem intent on punishing travelers for “opting out” of having to go through their unethical, naked body radiation scanner. More and more experts are coming out and revealing how dangerous these machines are to human health. The Department of Homeland Security and the TSA won’t reveal this information to the...

LOS ANGELES — A US man has sued Japan Airlines, claiming it wrongfully helped his Japanese ex-wife leave the United States with their son, despite court orders that the child remain in California. Scott Sawyer alleges the airline and a US travel agency agency knowingly assisted his ex-wife, Japanese national Kyoko Sawyer, take their son Wayne to Japan in December 2008 when the boy was two years old. "There is a long list of red flags that existed in this case that should have caused the airline and travel agency to do something," lawyer Mark Meuser told AFP on Saturday....

Southwest Airlines was today reeling after yet another flight was forced to make an emergency landing due to a burning electrical smell in the cabin. The Boeing 737-300 flight to San Diego carrying 142 people was diverted to Los Angeles today after the pilot reported a mechanical problem. The airline had already been forced to cancel 100 more flights today after cracks were found in three more planes, on top of 600 services already grounded over the weekend. Southwest Airlines are not the only company affected. Smoke in the cockpit of a United Airlines plane caused the pilot to lose...

A Massachusetts congressman who has been critical of security operations at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport says he will ask a House subcommittee to study two recent cases in which the security fence at the airport has been breached. Rep. William Keating, a Democrat from the Boston area, will raise the issue with the Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee, his office has confirmed. Keating is a member of that panel. Keating has accused the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and Charlotte's airport operations of lax security, after 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale apparently climbed into the wheel well of a Boeing 737...

The [FAA] ecently required the nation’s airlines to disable the oxygen generators located in all aircraft lavatories to eliminate a potential safety and security vulnerability. The FAA, along with other federal agencies, identified and validated the potential threat, then devised a solution that could be completed quickly. Air Worthiness Directive 2011-04-09. That’s the name of the new FAA rule that may kill you one day. It dictates that all emergency oxygen masks should be removed from lavatories in every commercial plane in the United States. The new rule has just been made public by the FAA after a long delay....

I recently connected with someone who has permission to land in Libya and Tunisia to get people out. If you have someone you need helped out, tell me here. Give me your: Name/phone number/fax number/email and I will forward your response to my connection. Any comments that are of a general nature will be deleted and not forwarded. The name and email of the airline owner is: Name: Ali Wehbe Company: Swift Jet Email: aliwehbe@hotmail.com

MOSCOW, Feb. 19 - Russian budget airline Avianova announced it will be hiring clowns, actors and musicians to amuse and entertain passengers during flights. Avianova officials said the first in-flight live entertainment will take place Saturday on a flight from Moscow to Krasnodar. The airline said it was inspired to install stages on the planes when it was forced to reduce the number of seats from 180 to 159 because of a change in Russian customs policy.

It may seem like airlines have thought of every possible way to squeeze more money out of air travelers, charging extra for everything from early boarding to checking bags. But hold on to your wallet: There's probably room for more fees. Might you eventually pay for holding your baby on your lap during a flight? Or talking to an airline employee during check in? The trend of a la carte pricing -- charging rock bottom prices for base fares, then adding fees for anything extra -- helped domestic airlines deliver the biggest profits in a decade last year. The industry...

With an eye toward business travelers, Southwest Airlines Co. today is unveiling the first major update to its Rapid Rewards program since the airline launched the frequent-flier benefits nearly 24 years ago. The changes sweeten the rewards for people who pay more for tickets, since the points earned are directly linked to the ticket price. People who buy full-fare tickets will earn more points per dollar than those flying on advance-purchase fares. But people who were used to flying a lot of short hops to get a free ticket may not like it so much.

WGN Brothers denied flight due to size Southwest Airlines kicks Chicago teens off flight because one was too big Lourdes Duarte WGN News 9:41 PM CST, November 29, 2010 Two Chicago brothers say Southwest Airlines made things too difficult for them when it required one of them to buy a second ticket. The twin brothers were headed to Minnesota to visit their aunt on Thanksgiving night when one of them was told he was too big to fit in a seat and needed a second ticket. The 18-year-old brothers had no cash or credit cards on them so they called...

PASSENGERS and other people entering Shanghai's two airports will no longer be searched for flammable materials, after aviation authorities removed a layer of checks following the conclusion of the World Expo. However, East China Civil Aviation Administration officials insist that security has not been downgraded as passengers will still be screened before boarding flights. Authorities said they are trying to find a balance between the level of security during the Expo and the standard one, as passenger volume this year will reach a record high. The city's two airports beefed up security in April, in anticipation of the Expo, which...

Obama has made a mess, he might need some old fashioned Conservative toilet paper This is an email from an affluent, educated, Liberal female in her thirties, she has an extremely high IQ and a speed reading ability that I have never seen equaled; I know her quite well, I took her camping and fishing and taught her Algebra, Geometry, and mathematics at an age when most kids are still learning their alphabet, she is my daughter. She lives in Alberta and often flies to Maui for holidays; unfortunately, this means going through American TSA sexual fondling. She and her...

But don't feel too bad. It's not you, it's me. Or rather, it's the TSA. I'm not going to lie. It's come between us. If I have to let someone else see me naked in order to be with you--well, I'm just not that kinky. And deep down, I don't think you are either. I think it's the TSA making you act like this. Frankly, you haven't been the same since you started running around together. But I can't put all the blame on them. I think you went along because you thought I had to have you--that I couldn't...

The Stupidity And Incompetence Of Napolitano's TSA [VIDEO AT SITE] or HereWe all know that Muslim women will not be subjected to sexual assault by the perverts of the TSA; Political Correctness will protect Muslim Women and their virtue from TSA agents groping their most intimate feminine organs. The Obama/Napolitano wisdom or lack of wisdom is supposed to keep us safe, even if Muslim women are infinitely more likely to be carrying explosives than American women. When your president has a great sympathy for Muslims and especially the modesty of potential female Muslim terrorists, why should we expect less? After...

Time to take a stand.

My rant: "This is not an airplane, You can tell from the plume. In 40 years I never saw a jet fighter create that kind of plume" says the retired three star Lieutenant General Tom McInerney. And I agree with him. "I am absolutely certain that that is not an aircraft."

Military Jets escorting passenger jet to JFK airport. Hand off to CAP US F15s from VA from NATO CF-18s. DEVELOPING!

The biggest airline in the world will have the United name, Continental's globe logo and potentially far-reaching effects on air travel. Shareholders who on Friday approved combining the two companies hope the new airline attracts more top-dollar corporate travelers with its larger network while reducing costs. Some industry watchers expect the deal to lead to higher fares, but United and Continental say competition from low-cost airlines is sufficient to keep prices from rising.

I wish I could say this was unexpected. Not after what we told you about a few weeks ago. (“Gov’t Response to Dry Runs -- Blanket Denial?”). http://dearbornunderground.blogspot.com/2010/08/govt-response-to-dry-runs-blanket.html ABC News is reporting that two men traveling from Chicago to Amsterdam were arrested today in the Netherlands on charges of “preparation of a terrorist attack.” You mean that’s a crime somewhere?

ABC: Men arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport were preparing terrorist attack Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 9:23 pm | Monica Lawrence | By Monica Lawrence AMSTERDAM (BNO NEWS) -- Two men were arrested aboard a United Airlines flight after landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Monday, ABC News reported. The network, citing Dutch public prosecutor Ernst Koelman, said the men were arrested at the request of American authorities after the flight landed in Amsterdam. ABC said the men were subsequently charged with "preparation of a terrorist attack." The two were allowed to board the flight at O'Hare International Airport in...

The U.S. airline industry is rebounding. For the sixth consecutive month, carriers brought in more money than they did last year. "We are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel," says Dave Castelveter of the Air Transport Association, an industry trade group. "You know we have been faced with challenges like none other." The industry was clobbered after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Then the global economy soured, and people stopped traveling. Fuel prices climbed to record levels. In response, the airlines had to cut costs. They reduced the number of flights and slashed their payrolls. They began...

What you'd really like the hear your pilot say. Audio file.

It just seems like a bad time for any firm with the word "British" in its title. We know all too well the various setbacks experienced by the oil giant once known as British Petroleum; now British Airways has drawn much unwelcome attention to itself with a photo touting its new mobile-boarding pass system as it appears to expedite the air travel of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man.

BA, other airlines seek EU bailout for ash crisis Mon Apr 19, 7:16 am ET LONDON – British Airways says airlines have asked the European Union for financial compensation for the closure of airspace. The British airline says it is losing as much as as 20 million pounds ($30 million) per day since the volcano erupted last week, sending up an ash cloud that has grounded aircraft for five straight days

Breaking News. Headline is all that's in so far.

BRISTOL , England, April 9 (UPI) -- A retired British couple say they were banned from airplane seats with more legroom for which they paid extra because they were deemed "too old" to sit there. Marion Webb, 77, and her husband Derek, 79, paid an extra $150 on top of their $3,600 fare for a March 15 flight from Bristol, England, to Egypt on Thomson Airways, the Daily Mail reported Friday. But airline staff at Bristol International Airport told them they were "too old" for the exit row seats and would be unable to operate the door in an emergency,...

First, airlines started to charge for checked bags. Now, one airline (Spirit Airlines) plans to start charging you for your 'carry-on' luggage. And it looks like the new plan will kick-in when a lot of folks will be flying.

Singapore Police are questioning a man who threatened to bring down a Qantas airliner flying from Sydney using the power of his mind, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Monday. ABC reporter Nick Luchinelli, who was on the flight, reported that the middle-aged man appeared to be under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both. Stewards cuffed his arms and legs, and Singaporean police came to get him after other passengers got off.

The Federal government on Friday made the anti-hijacking law much tougher by including the death sentence as a punishment. The Cabinet was expected to consider the proposal moved by the Civil Aviation Ministry to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act of 1982 to make it more stringent to deter hijackers from using an aircraft as a missile. With enhanced terror threats, a group of ministers headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram had cleared the "tougher" proposals paving the way for the Civil Aviation Ministry to move the amendments for Cabinet approval. The Cabinet’s approval paves the way for amending Section 4 of...

MONTREAL - A Westmount resident's lawsuit against Air Transat, for failure to provide him with appropriated medical attention during a flight, was dismissed in small claims court this past Tuesday. His illness? Sudden and mysterious bleeding in the area between his legs. The curious incident occurred February 15, 2008 during a flight from Montreal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Marcel Cote was comfortably seated in business class an hour after takeoff when, for some unknown reason, he felt enough discomfort to make an emergency visit to the washroom, where he discovered spots of blood on his body. In a panic, Cote...

Dear Fellow Pilot, This past week, Delta suffered what some suggest are setbacks to its strategic business plan. Japan Airlines elected to remain with the oneworld alliance rather than switch to the SkyTeam Alliance, and the U.S. Department of Transportation approved the proposed slot swap between Delta and US Airways, but with onerous and likely deal-breaking conditions attached. In November, Delta and SkyTeam announced their interest in entering into a strategic partnership with Japan Airlines. Delta’s Asian network, combined with SkyTeam’s worldwide network, would have blended well with JAL. There is no question in my mind that Delta was the...

WELLINGTON — Air New Zealand has drawn the ire of a rape prevention group over a competition aimed at "cougars" -- middle-aged women who prefer younger men. The airline is offering 60 tickets for next month's Wellington Sevens rugby tournament to older women "who prefer their meat rare". The competition invites packs of up to four "cougars" to send in their photographs to the airline to gain a chance of winning the tickets. An accompanying YouTube video parodying wildlife documentaries says cougars are known for living off sparse vegetation during the day and large slabs of meat at night. It...

Updated: Tuesday, 12 Jan 2010, 2:28 PM EST Published : Tuesday, 12 Jan 2010, 2:15 PM EST Dennis Kraniak MyFoxDetroit.com - Sources tell Fox 2 that a flight from Amsterdam into Detroit Metropolitan Airport was held on the tarmac after landing because of unruly behavior by some of the passengers. The source says four men, thought to be of middle eastern descent, acted out in such a way that it forced the plane's pilots to stop it short of the terminal. The men were removed from the plane while it was parked at the tarmac, away from the aiport's passnger...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) The Centers for Disease Control said a passenger with tuberculosis has been detained after boarding a flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco despite being on a "do-not-board" list. CDC officials said the passenger was detained and taken to a local hospital after a U.S. Airways flight arrived in San Francisco Saturday night. The unidentified male passenger was apparently placed on a do-not-board list submitted to the TSA and CDC on January 8, 2010. Investigators are trying to determine how the noticeably ill man made it through security checkpoints and onto the flight. CDC officials said the risk...

A pilot's life: exhausting hours for meagre wages $20,000 pay and lengthy commutes to work renew fears for passengers' safety Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 January 2010 Some co-pilots say they now have second jobs to make ends meet. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA The old hands say there was never much glamour in piloting several tonnes of metal thousands of feet in the air. But there's no denying that to the earthbound back in the jet-set era half a century ago – when Pan Am's "Clippers" ruled the air lanes and service was modelled on transatlantic ocean liners – pilots were...