Do you have to be a celeb to tweet for airline help?
February 15, 2010 ·
When film director Kevin Smith tweeted about getting kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight on Saturday, the airline responded in less than 20 minutes. “Dear @SouthwestAir – I know I’m fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?” Smith tweeted at 6:52 p.m. “@ThatKevinSmith [...]
Dodging a storm: Airline fee waiver policies vary
February 10, 2010 ·
A snowstorm is heading for Washington, D.C., and you’ve got a flight scheduled to see the monuments, do some shopping in trendy Georgetown and visit relatives in the suburbs. Your departing airline tells you it will waive its fee if you choose to proactively rebook a flight that has yet to be canceled. You’re all [...]
FAA investigating Southwest Airlines repairs
February 9, 2010 ·
Federal officials are investigating Southwest Airlines over the way it handled structural repairs on dozens of jets, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Tuesday that it is investigating whether Southwest followed safety orders dealing with the maintenance of older planes. Inspectors believe Southwest and a repair shop near [...]
Southwest Airlines launches 3-day fare sale
February 9, 2010 ·
Southwest Airlines Co. is offering a sale geared toward leisure travelers who want to make short trips this spring. The discount carrier said Tuesday it will sell tickets starting at $39 each way on some routes under 500 miles. As usual, the airline didn’t say how many seats it will offer at the sale prices, [...]
Most travelers say obese fliers should pay more
January 29, 2010 ·
Should airlines charge overweight passengers more if they need an extra seat? Yes, according to three-quarters of travelers in a poll. A survey by travel Web site Skyscanner found that 76 percent of people believe airlines should charge a “fat tax.” Only 22 percent of the 550 people questioned disapproved of introducing extra payments for [...]
Leave an item on an airplane? Here’s what to do
January 23, 2010 ·
Let’s face it. We’ve all done it. In part because travel can be so disorienting, it’s easy to disembark a plane without all of our “personal belongings” as the flight attendants refer to them in their deplaning announcements (are there “impersonal belongings”? how about we just call them our belongings). Judging from anecdotal evidence, most [...]
Fewer flights, rising fares at some big airports
December 16, 2009 ·
Air travel isn’t as quick and cheap as it used to be from some big-city airports. Airlines scrambling to reverse their financial free-fall by dropping unprofitable routes has left travelers with fewer nonstop options and, sometimes, higher fares on remaining flights. Blame the recession and airlines that added too many flights to too many places [...]
