When I left my camera onboard on a United flight from San Francisco to Vancouver three years ago and miraculously recovered it, my family teased me for weeks about my penchant for leaving things behind on airplanes. While I...
Woman Tracks Down Laptop Stolen on Southwest Airlines Flight Using Craigslist
Sometimes, to catch a criminal you have to think like one. That is exactly what Ambre Boroughs did after finding her laptop stolen from her checked bag on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Charleston, South Carolina–and it...
This Southwest Captain Hates "Gays and Grannies and Grandes"
I would feel sorry for the Captain, if he wasn’t such an idiot. Apparently a Southwest Airlines captain didn’t know his microphone was stuck on the “on” position and broadcast to the FAA and everyone else within earshot a...
United Airlines Offers Assistance to Stranded Southwest Passengers
United has sensed a business opportunity and chance to score corporate brownie points in the aftermath of Southwest Airlines’ decision to ground 80 737-300 aircraft. With about 300 Southwest flights canceled today, stranded passengers now have another reasonable option...
Southwest Fuselage Rips Apart Mid-Flight
Imagine you just boarded a Southwest Airlines flight in Sacramento for a quick hop down to Phoenix. You listen to the safety announcements, rolling your eyes as Southwest FAs throw in a few corny puns and one-liners. The aircraft...
VIDEO: WestJet and Southwest Celebrate April Fools’ Day
Today is April Fools’ Day, a day that airlines always seem to have fun with. Check out the two videos below, the first from Southwest Airlines and the second from WestJet. And people thought the Richard Simmons Air New Zealand...
Southwest Airlines Demonstrates That Some Things Are More Important Than An On-Time Departure
Despite reading about it in The Sun, the following story really moved me: A hero pilot held up an entire flight so a devastated passenger could say goodbye to his dying grandson. The man had been rushing to visit...
Three Reasons Why Airfare Will Be Higher Next Year
David Grossman, writer of the Business Traveler column for USA Today, offers three reasons why airfare will continue to rise in the near future. Capacity cuts and rising demand Prolonged period of higher oil prices Changing business model for...
Delta Not Worried About Southwest’s Arrival in Atlanta
When news broke that Southwest and AirTran would be merging, I opined that the long-term ramifications would not be beneficial to consumers. I stand by that analysis and it seems that Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson agrees. At Delta’s third-quarter earnings...
New JetBlue TV Ad Pokes Fun at Checked Bag Fees
Southwest was on to something when it started mercilessly attacking its legacy rivals for charging for checked bags. WN’s simple message that its passengers would not be nickeled and dimed seems to have resonated with travelers, even noting that leisure and other...
Earn Double Rapid Rewards on Southwest Airlines’ Philadelphia Flights
For all the fun we have ribbing Southwest Airlines, I’m truly a WN fan. That doesn’t mean I’d ever choose them over any of the other airlines that serve Philadelphia (especially when their leisure fares are often the most expensive),...
Southwest Slips to Cellar in On-Time Arrival Performance
United has again captured the on-time arrival award for the month of September (88.9% of flights arrived on time), with US Airways (86.6%) and Continental (85.6%) close behind. Surprisingly, at least on first glance, Southwest Airlines finished last (75.8%) among major...
JetBlue Joins Southwest at Newark, Will Offer Daily Boston Flights
In a move aimed to draw some of the limelight away from Southwest, JetBlue has announced plans to serve Boston next year from Newark’s Liberty International Airport. Right now, only Continental flies nonstop between Newark and Boston and commands a...
Southwest Airlines to Serve Newark with Continental’s Permission
Southwest Airlines will begin service to Newark’s Liberty International Airport next March in a move that was actually encouraged by United/Continental. Southwest already serves La Guardia and Islip/Long Island, but will add service to Continental’s East Coast hub in...
Court Sides with Southwest Airlines, Allows Coupons to Expire
In California, it is against the law for gift certificates to have expiration dates. Furthermore, they cannot even lose value due to inactivity, as is stipulated in the fine print of many gift cards. Enter Southwest Airlines, who recently...
Southwest Airlines Considers Investment in 737-800
Southwest Airlines, America’s largest domestic carrier, is thinking big. Their fleet of 737-300, -500, and -700 series aircraft have served them well, but slot restrictions at airports like BOS and LGA have limited their ability to grow in key...
A return to airline regulation?
Some members of Congress are worried about what the CO-UA merger will mean for the consumer and are considering introducing a bill to restore airline regulation if the merger goes through. Deregulation has been credited with making airline travel affordable...
Commentary on Southwest Airlines’ POS policy
Apparently, Kevin Smith (who the heck is he?) didn’t like being told he was too big to fly on Southwest. David Lazarus, a reporter from the LA Times posted this commentary on YouTube: BS or insighful?
The Southwest Effect at PHL
Do you ever wonder why an 89-mile trip from BWI-PHL on US Airways can cost over $500 but a 2,000-mile PHL-PHX trip can be as cheap as $80? It’s all about competition. Southwest Airlines announced it will be starting service from PHL-BOS this...
Wi-Fi Coming to All Southwest Airlines Flights
The LA Times reports that Southwest Airlines will begin to install wireless internet on all its aircraft, making Wi-Fi available on every Southwest flight by early 2012. SWA already offers Wi-Fi on four of their planes. Ding! You are now...
