A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Air France CEO Commits Corporate Seppuku, Labor Unions Notch Victory in France
While it’s not clear yet what the shakeup will mean, a union official says planned strikes Monday and Tuesday will “probably” go forward.
For now the unions have a scalp. It’s unclear whether the company appoints someone more conciliatory and caves to wage demands, or whether they’ll dig in to maintain a line on costs.
Nurse Boarding Houston Flight Had $41,000 Confiscated – Money Meant For a Medical Clinic
The government confiscated $41,000 on the jetway from a 59 year old nurse departing Houston back in October. She was never charged with a crime.
The woman, a US citizen living in the Houston suburb of Katy, had taken her savings with her to start a medical clinic in Nigeria. She was bringing medical equipemnt and supplies on the flight along with the cash. Customs and Border Protection stopped her during boarding.
United Express Flight Attendant Accused of Flying Drunk, Making Bizarre Announcement
A passenger from onboard United Express flight UA4689 from Denver to Williston, North Dakota posted a photo to twitter yesterday of a flight attendant that she said was “drunk and disorderly” on Thursday.
Reportedly “police and an ambulance were waiting for the plane when they landed Thursday afternoon.”
American’s Vice President-Planning Explains Killing Chicago – Beijing, Swapping Routes with BA
In American Airlines weekly employee podcast Vasu Raja, Vice President of Planning for the airline, explains Chicago O’Hare as a connecting hub and their decision to cut Beijing flying.
He says they are profitable on “every flight Chicago – West” though presumably here that means domestic. And they’ve tried a number of Chicago international routes – Delhi, Helsinki, Moscow, Frankfurt, Beijing – that they’ve killed.
Basics of Better Air Travel and Why Delta Charges More for Tickets
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Southwest Reveals The Cities That Will Get Hawaii Services
After speculation that’s been going on for years (indeed, I’ve been covering the murmurs since at least 2010) Southwest Airlines announced plans to fly to Hawaii back in October.
They’ll initially operate with 737 Next Generation aircraft and eventually replace those with longer range 737 MAX planes.
Obama’s Press Secretary Has a New Tougher Challenge: Spinning for United
Since leaving government he’s worked as a commentator for NBC. And now United has hired them to become their new senior vice president and chief communications officer.
In other words, in his new job it’ll be as if he stayed on as Press Secretary through the new administration.
Court Threatens Jail Time and Fines for Publicizing Airline Mistake Fares
Of course we all love it when mistake fares happen and they’re honored and we get to travel the world at insanely cheap prices, especially in business or first class.
For some readers booking a $28 ticket to Paris presents a moral challenge: should you take advantage of something you know is a mistake? My own view is that I’m happy to book it, airlines will choose to honor it or they won’t, but if they’re going to fly people to Paris for $28 I’d like to be one of those people.
American Buying Even MORE Planes
Yesterday I wrote that American was expected to order new Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft. These are large regional jets with first class cabins. They did place an order for 15 of these and 15 options.
It turns out at the same time that American is also ordering 15 Embraer E175 76 seat regional jets. That’s on top of the 10 of these planes they ordered in the fall. So American remains committed to two separate fleets of 76 seat regional jets.