Less than two years after the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated that airlines and online travel agencies display all-in pricing at all stages of the airfare search, the House of Representatives is considering a bill called the Transparent Airfares...
What the Teen Jet Stowaway Tells Us About Airport Security
Boy wants to fly to Hawaii. Boy sees Hawaiian Airlines jet parked at San Jose Airport. Boy jumps fence and hides in the wheel well. Boy miraculously survives, making once again a mockery of our so-called airport security. I’ve...
Italian Court Says Emirates Must Suspend New York – Milan Route
An Italian Court handed Dubai-based Emirates a stinging defeat yesterday, holding that the carrier could not operate its Fifth Freedom Route between New York and Milan. It all boils down to this–there is a very real (and valid) fear...
Spin-Off of Thai Smile Another Blow to Star Alliance
Thai Airways will spin-off its Thai Smile Air unit into a separate subsidiary that will not participate in Star Alliance. Created in mid-2012 as a low-cost division of Thai Airways, Thai Smile has now obtained its own air operators’ certificate (AOC)...
A Meaningless Supreme Court Decision on Frequent Flyer Miles
While nearly all the national focus on Wednesday morning was on the U.S. Supreme Court’s bitterly divided 5-4 decision on campaign fiance reform, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the Court also handed down a unanimous verdict affecting our old friend Binyomin Ginsberg,...
Leaked Video of Train Derailment at Chicago O’Hare Airport
CCTV footage has leaked out that captures the train wreck on Chicago’s CTA Blue Line Monday at Chicago O’Hare Airport— The train operator has admitted that she “dozed off” before the accident and has done so before. National Transportation...
United Cuts Special Meals on Premium Transcon Routes Between Newark and Los Angeles & San Francisco
There was no formal announcment, but in fine print on the United Airlines North American premium cabin dining webpage, the following has appeared: *Effective May 1, 2014, we no longer offer special meals on flights between New York/Newark and...
Air Canada Suspends Service to the Failing State of Venezuela
Air Canada is halting its thrice-weekly service between Toronto and Caracas as hyperinflation and violence continue to engulf Venezuela. In a statement, Air Canada said– Due to ongoing civil unrest in Venezuela, Air Canada can no longer ensure the...
Chaos at Philadelphia International Airport After Aborted US Airways Takeoff
An aborted takeoff on a US Airways flight bound for Florida from Philadelphia International Airport has shutdown PHL. The culprit: a blown tire; the result: smoke billowing out of the engines and a runway evacuation of the 149 passengers and...
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Wreckage Found?
A Chinese satellite has located what may be the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Then again, we’ve head that before. The Chinese agency gave coordinates of 105.63 east longitude, 6.7 north latitude, which would put it in waters...
Report: Malaysia Airlines 777-200 Crashed in South China Sea
A Malaysia Airlines 777-200 flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing has crashed in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam according to reports breaking now from both Vietnamese and Chinese state media. The flight was carrying...
I Will Not Allow This Plane to Land!
It sure pays to have friends (or fathers) in high places… A passenger plane flying from Lebanon to Iraq was forced to turn back after the Iraqi transport minister’s son missed the flight and phoned Baghdad to stop the...
New Numbers Show the Route Network is Not Saving United Airlines
United Airlines has released its 2014 Quarter One investor guidance and the figures are ugly. United blames the weather, the late Easter holiday, and the reduction of its regional jet fleet, but the signs point to a more ominous...
American Airlines Kills Bereavement Fares
With cost-cutting CEO Douglas Parker at the helm, American Airlines has deep-sixed bereavement fares. Considering bereavement fares rarely make sense to the cost-conscious consumer, this is not a big deal. Still, there was a better way to bury these...
United Airlines Eliminates Canadian Staff
United Airlines’ CEO Jeff Smisek is on a mission to cut $2BN in annual spending and is slashing anywhere and everywhere to meet that goal. The latest casualty is the United Airlines’ employees in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. CHICAGO...
Breaking: Hijacking on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702
No media has picked up this story yet, but after a failed hijack attempt earlier today, it appears Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 from Addis Ababa to Rome was successfully hijacked and after circling Geneva for two hours, has landed. Geneva...
How NOT to Deal with a Flight Attendant who Tells You to Extinguish Your Cigarette
It’s bad enough to smoke on an airplane, but the truth is you can usually get away with a few puffs if you play dumb and extinguish the cigarette immediately when instructed to do so. What you cannot get...
Air India Again Positions Itself for Star Alliance Membership
When I worked for Star Alliance in 2011, the politics surrounding Air India’s failed bid to join the Alliance were fascinating. I am bound from disclosing the nitty gritty details, but the situation opened my eyes to how much...
Delta Actually Improves Skymiles Program with Attractive Upgrade Options
Delta Air Lines has led the U.S. airline loyalty industry in duplicity and penny-pinching for several years running (even with a commendable challenge from United last month) so a day in which positive news is announced is quite rare....
Higher Airline Fees in Congressional Budget Compromise
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), Chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, have unveiled a compromise plan to fund the U.S. federal government for the next two years, eliminating the spectre of...
