A $500 fine has been dropped against a traveler who attempted to bring in an apple to the USA she was given as part of a Delta pre-arrival snack. As I wrote about in April, Crystal Tadlock was on a Delta...
British Airways Class Action Settlement: Why I’m Taking Cash Not Avios
British Airways has agreed to pay up for its obscene fuel surcharges levied on transatlantic travel. I’m taking cash over Avios. In a nutshell, this lawsuit contends that British Airways’ fuel surcharges were disproportionate to the price of fuel...
Why Airlines DON’T Want Doctors Onboard
When a medical emergency occurs onboard a flight, what do airlines do if there is no doctor onboard? As it turns out, often the same thing they do when there is a doctor onboard: consult with professionals on the...
Civil War in Trump Administration Over Gulf Carriers
What happens when two factions within the White House hold differing views on the same agreement? A war of words, to say the least… A fascinating AP story by Josh Lederman outlines the conflict. In one corner, President Donald Trump’s trade...
China Threatens U.S. Airlines
As Marriott can already attest, tensions over China’s sovereignty can hurt business. Now U.S. airlines are under threat. In one corner: China, stating that any business operating within its borders must respect its sovereignty. In the the other corner:...
Jail Time for Publishing a Mistake Fare?
A German court has ruled that websites can be fined and owners jailed for publishing so-called “mistake” fares. The ruling comes out of Bavaria, a more conservative and business-friendly region of the German Republic. Lufthansa sued a travel website...
Passenger Who Survived Fatal Flight is Now Suing Southwest
One passenger onboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 has wasted no time in suing the airline. Lilia Chavez was was sitting three rows behind the smashed window. Per NPR: The lawsuit alleges that the traumatic events of Flight 1380 left...
Free Apple on Delta Ends Up Costing $500
A free snack on Delta ended up making a trip to Paris far more expensive. Crystal Tadlock says a Delta flight attendant gave her an apple toward the end of her flight from Paris. She took the piece of fruit...
Southwest Gives $5,000 to Each Passenger on Flight 1380
Southwest Airlines is trying to minimize its legal exposure by preemptively paying off passengers aboard the ill-fated Flight 1380. Earlier this week, that Boeing 737-700 flight from New York to Dallas was forced to make an emergency landing in...
Aviation Officer Who Dragged Dao is Suing United Airlines and City of Chicago
A disgruntled ex-aviation officer who was terminated for dragging David Dao off an aircraft is suing the City of Chicago and United Airlines. It has now been a year since the Dao incident. Most have moved on, but ex-Chicago...
U.S. Airline Faces $50MN Lawsuit by Chinese Tourists
A group of Chinese tourists as well as five businesses located in a remote U.S. territory are suing Florida-based XTRA Airways for racketeering. The claim: the airline took money for charter operations with no intention of actually starting service. XTRA...
Scam “British Airways” Agent Defrauds My Client
A cautionary tale: be careful when you search Google for an airline’s telephone number. One of my Award Expert clients just got ripped off, big time. We had booked a trip for her in American Airlines + British Airways...
A Novel Way to Collect Compensation from Airlines
Here’s a novel way to collect compensation from an airline. One thing I’ve learned about the law is this: enforcement is often no easy feat. Think about it. EU law, for example, states that passengers are due compensation for...
Airline Defends Strip Searches of its Flight Attendants
Indian carrier SpiceJet is facing harsh criticism for the way it strip-searched flight attendants suspected of stealing cash from onboard. SpiceJet collects cash for buy-on-board sales and suspected that FAs were pilfering this money. But it did more than...
British Airways Tells Passenger to File Police Report, Not Baggage Claim
A disturbing new trend at British Airways: refer passengers to the police when their checked baggage is lost. This is not the way it is supposed to work… Let’s start with this in big bold type: If an airline...
Claim: 75% of Flight Attendants Have Been Sexually Harassed in Last 12 Months
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), told Congress earlier this week that 75% of flight attendants have been harassed in the last 12 months! Nelson testified before the United States House of Representatives Congressional Caucus for...
United Loses $1.5MN in Lawsuit Over FAs Who Watched iPads During Flight
How did firing two FAs for “not doing their jobs” become a civil rights lawsuit in which United Airlines stands to lose $1.5MN? Ruben Lee and Jeanne Stroup had been United flight attendants for over 35 years. But in...
Senators Propose New Bill to Regulate Onboard Pet Storage
As I mentioned on Wednesday, there is technically no rule or law prohibiting the placement of pets in overhead bins. That may be a spirit/letter of the law issue, but at least two U.S. Senators want to fix that....
What Does the United Flight Attendant Manual Say About Dogs?
In light of the horrific dog death aboard a United Airlines flight earlier this week, I reached out to a United FA to see what the rulebook actually says about stowage of pets in-flight. She provided me sections of...
Brilliant: Why A Man Sued Southwest for One Penny Less
Southwest Airlines flew a 737 to the wrong airport in Branson, Missouri. One man sued for damages, but for the seemingly odd amount of $74,999.99 instead of an even $75,000. But his reasoning is sound and his strategy brilliant....
