Two aviation crashes outside the U.S. made headlines this week. Lion Air crash An almost-new Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air crashed shortly after departing from Jakarta International Airport on Oct. 29. Lion Air had operated the aircraft only since August of this year. The 737 carrying 189 passengers and crew went… Read More
It’s getting late. Your flight is indefinitely delayed or outright canceled. A quick scan of your phone or the airport monitors shows another airline still has a flight out tonight. Confidently, you approach the airline agent … Sound familiar? Let’s take a step back and examine the responsibility of airlines when it comes to delays… Read More
As we look back with pride on our successes, and look forward to another year of challenges, we gratefully reflect on the fact that we are an organization financed entirely through the generosity of our members. Again we must ask you, our loyal membership, to continue your generous support in 2018. The fight is far… Read More
From the department of we told you so, American Airlines joined the fee-raising party last week, hiking bag fees to match Delta, United, JetBlue, Air Canada and WestJet. Was anyone really surprised by the move, started by JetBlue in late August and matched by the other carriers within a month? Aren’t airlines supposed to compete against each… Read More
It hasn’t been a particularly good few weeks for American Airlines (AA). To kick things off, AA was forced to scrap its policy of not allowing passengers a carry-on in its Basic Economy class due to the fact that nearly every other airline did. We suspect AA secretly lamented other airlines not jumping on the-lower-the-bar-another-notch-bandwagon. But that’s something… Read More
This Mad Magazine cartoon from a few years ago was as relevant then as it is now. In fact, as we pointed out last week, airlines seem ever intent on increasing existing fees and exploring new ways to make money off things that were once included in the ticket price. Take for instance airline seating.… Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2018 National Consumers League; John Breyault: (202) 207-2819 Alliance for Aviation Across America; Devin Osting: (202) 223-9523 Consumer Action; Linda Sherry: 202-544-3088 FlyersRights.Org; Paul Hudson: 410-940-8934 In The Public Interest; Donald Cohen: 202-429-5091 European air traffic control providers are plagued by massive delays and cancellations⦁ According to a recent AP article,… Read More
It’s deja vu all over again. As Hurricane Lane descended on Hawaii, it brought back bad memories of last year’s price gouging after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey – which devastated Texas, Louisiana and Florida. U.S. airlines have been called out on Twitter for charging several thousand dollars for one-way tickets out of the danger zone – following… Read More
We’ve known for years that America is a target of terrorists. And every expert warns that likely terrorist plots would involve commercial airlines. Yet this week we learn it’s shockingly easy for an airline employee with a job on the ground to steal a plane. “The greatest threat we have to aviation is the insider threat,” said a… Read More
Aeroméxico Flight 2431 was taking off for Mexico City last Tuesday when the aircraft plunged suddenly. The Embraer E-170 crashed as it was beginning to climb in heavy rain in Mexico’s state of Durango. The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 103 people on board, including two infants and four crew members, when it crashed about 4 p.m. local time.… Read More