airline

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In-Flight Cell Use Cleared For Takeoff in EU

Airlines will choose whether to offer service, which might be pricey

(Newser) - Good news for the EU-based air travelers who suffer BlackBerry withdrawal as soon as their plane takes off: Mobile-phone use in European airspace could be available as early as next month. The European Commission has cleared the technology needed to make calls from 10,000 feet up, and has left...

Passengers Air a Record Number of Complaints

Skies unfriendlier than ever

(Newser) - Airline passengers on domestic flights are unhappier than they've been in years, with consumer complaints up 60%, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating survey. Long delays, cancellations, overbooking, late arrivals, and lost baggage accounted for most of the complaints, which haven't been this bad since 2000, reports the AP....

Skybus Airlines Goes Bust
Skybus Airlines Goes Bust

Skybus Airlines Goes Bust

Low-cost Ohio carrier with $10 fares is airline industry's third casualty in a week

(Newser) - Anybody who wondered how Skybus could make money with its famous $10 airfares can stop: they didn't. The Ohio-based airline has become the latest US carrier to go bankrupt in the face of soaring fuel costs and a sluggish economy, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It made its last flight yesterday...

ATA Goes Bankrupt, Cancels All Flights

No ticket refunds given

(Newser) - Passengers booked on ATA Airlines flights got a rude awakening this morning: The low-cost carrier declared bankruptcy in the middle of the night, shut down operations, and canceled all further flights, Eyewitness News reports. “Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance...

Heathrow Fiasco a 'National Embarrassment'

British Airways reeling as terminal chaos continues

(Newser) - The chaos is continuing at Heathrow's brand-new Terminal 5, with one British politician slamming the fiasco as a "national embarrassment," the Daily Telegraph reports. More than 50 flights were canceled yesterday and British Airways admitted that the mountain of stranded baggage contained as many as 28,000 bags,...

Glitzy Heathrow Terminal a Destination Unto Itself

Tiffany's, 42 restaurants, and a booze-friendly cinema

(Newser) - Heathrow’s new terminal has hit such turbulence with its opening that it may seem an odd time to sing its praises. But once the delays and lost luggage are solved, this massive addition, designed to eradicate the “Heathrow hassle,” will lure fliers with plenty of perks, reports...

Gun-Blasting Pilot Suspended
 Gun-Blasting Pilot Suspended 

Gun-Blasting Pilot Suspended

Can't carry a gun after he blows hole in fuselage during flight

(Newser) - A trigger-happy US Airways pilot whose gun accidentally discharged in the cockpit has been suspended from the federal program that permits pilots to pack heat, reports CNN. He's also been yanked from flight duty pending the results of an investigation by the FAA, the TSA, and US Air. The shocking...

Appeals Court Strikes Down NY's Passenger 'Bill of Rights'

Federal deregulation law takes precedence

(Newser) - A New York law, known as the airline “passenger bill of rights,” was rejected today by a US appeals court, Bloomberg reports. The measure required airlines to provide food and water when their delayed plane has sat on the tarmac for more than three hours. The court said...

How to Get Booted From a Plane
 How to Get Booted From a Plane 

How to Get Booted From a Plane

Skimpy dress, smelly passengers test airline staff

(Newser) - If you've ignored the safety briefing on a flight, consider yourself lucky: A Ryanair passenger was kicked off a plane for talking during one. The Times of London runs down 10 silly reasons why fliers have gotten booted from their flights.
  1. Group cheers: Fans of a British soccer team broke
...

Boarding Passes Are So Last Year
Boarding Passes Are So Last Year

Boarding Passes Are So Last Year

Many airlines are transitioning to using cell phones instead

(Newser) - Airlines are working on transitioning their electronic check-in systems to allow passengers to use their cell phones as boarding passes. Continenal is the first to test the system, in which a scannable bar code is displayed on the phone's screen, and the passenger never has to deal with a paper...

Pilot Impasse May Ground Northwest-Delta Merger

Critical seniority issue could be a deal buster

(Newser) - Merger talks between Delta and Northwest appear to be headed for a hard landing after pilots for the carriers called off their own negotiations over seniority issues, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The airlines boards will meet this week to decide whether the merger should go forward, but Delta's CEO...

Southwest Grounds 44 Planes
 Southwest Grounds 44 Planes 

Southwest Grounds 44 Planes

Missed inspections for cracks drew fine from FAA—which didn't take immediate action

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines grounded 44 planes today after having admitted to flying aircraft that were past due for inspections for structural cracks, the AP reports. The FAA fined Southwest $10.2 million—the largest ever levied on an airline—but the agency itself is under fire for not grounding the jets...

Family Blames Airline for Woman's Death

American disputes cousin's account of in-flight incident

(Newser) - A woman who died en route from Haiti to New York received assistance from the flight crew and fellow passengers, American Airlines said today, disputing the victim's family's account of the incident. "Don't let me die," Carine Desir's cousin recalls her saying after a flight attendant refused to...

Plane Crashes in Venezuela; 46 Aboard

Caracas-bound turboprop went missing after takeoff; no word on casualties

(Newser) - A plane crashed in western Venezuela with 46 people aboard today, AFP reports. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the airliner soon after it took off from the Andean city of Merida bound for Caracas. People in the mountainous Coyado del Condor region reported seeing a plane go down. Merida's...

Did You Pack This Cat Yourself, Sir?
Did You Pack This Cat Yourself, Sir?

Did You Pack This Cat Yourself, Sir?

Feline stowaway jumps out of stranger's suitcase 4 states away

(Newser) - A Texas man got a shock after realizing he'd brought home the wrong suitcase from the airport—and found a cat in it. "I was going to close it, and a kitten jumped out and ran under the bed. I screamed like a little girl," the surprised traveler...

Airline Sleuths Dig Up Data to Save Lives

Flight record scans reveal hidden risks, prevent crashes

(Newser) - Airlines and air safety investigators have a new way to snoop for clues that can help avoid future accidents, the Washington Post reports. While they once depended on crash remains for evidence, they have now gone digital, pursuing daily probes of thousands of computer records and pilots' reports to dig...

Weary Travelers Offer 12 Good Lessons

Columnist pumps experts for hard-earned knowledge, tips

(Newser) - MSNBC travel columnist Christopher Elliott asks those sulky veterans of the airways— business travelers—for their best tips on making life on the road tolerable:
  1. Expect nothing, and you won't be disappointed.
  2. Be nice. It can't hurt, and it might even help.
  3. Never pay cash—credit cards offer some protection
...

Delta Delays Comair Sale
Delta Delays Comair Sale

Delta Delays Comair Sale

Airline holds off on sale while it considers merging with a rival

(Newser) - Delta Air Lines has postponed the sale of its regional division Comair until a special committee completes its merger review. Delta recently emerged from bankruptcy and may join with one of its main rivals in 2008. The six “legacy” carriers, which existed before the 1978 deregulation of airlines, are...

Battery Ban Begins on Airlines
Battery Ban Begins on Airlines

Battery Ban Begins on Airlines

Most batteries in phones, laptops, will likely not violate rule

(Newser) - The Department of Transportation has banned certain kinds of lithium batteries from checked airline luggage, citing worries over short circuiting and fires. Lithium batteries installed inside of electronic devices will be permitted as carryon, but loose batteries, unless sealed inside a plastic bag, will no longer be permitted on board.

Airplane WiFi Poses Sticky Situation

Crammed together passengers may not like neighbor's browsing material

(Newser) - Airlines getting ready to offer Internet access are grappling with how to enforce netiquette at 33K feet. "We think decency and good sense and normal behavior will prevail," said the CEO of one service. If it's not porn or violent images, its annoying ringtones and loud conversations that...

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