Category Archives for Airlines.
On Wednesday police raided a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City and arrested the ringleader of a flight attendant sex ring. Officers there “found three active flight attendants in bed with different men.”
If there’s one thing that differentiates Southwest Airlines from other carriers, besides bundling checked bags into the fare and not assigning seats prior to boarding, it’s that their employees don’t seem to hate their jobs. This comes out most clearly on board with flight attendant hijinks, whether it’s hiding inside of overhead bins, making crowns for passengers out of snacks, or offering a creative twist on safety announcements.
NTSB found that the captain, who hand-flew the takeoff, called for flaps to be reduced from 20 to 5. However the first officer “thought that he heard the captain announce flaps 15.”
The cause of the incident was attributed to “[t]he flight crew’s failure to manage the airplane’s vertical flightpath, airspeed, and pitch attitude following a miscommunication about the captain’s desired flap setting during the initial climb.”
According to an internal memo reviewed by View From The Wing, starting August 15 they will no longer offer Early Bird Check-In for all flights, routes, or dates.
Southwest Airlines hasn’t given a date beyond “soon” but all customers will be eligible to stand by for free on another flight, the way that elite, full fare, and customers who buy up to Wanna Get Away Plus fares can do. Additionally, those buying the most expensive Business Select fares (which currently includes being in the first 15 boarding positions (A1-15) and a free drink) will receive free inflight wifi as well.
Saudi Arabia announced a new airline last year, Riyadh Air. They placed an order for up to Boeing 787-9 jets for it back in March. They won’t be flying until 2025. There’s no way for a customer to buy a ticket, or even join a frequent flyer program. But they’re already sponsoring European football, inking a partnership with Spain’s Atlético de Madrid.
Six months ago I wrote about BeOnd which plans to launch as an all-business class airline with a hub in the Maldives.
This seemed a stretch to me. But there are people with real airline experience involved in the project. Their CEO is a former Gulf Air and airBaltic executive. And they’ve just announced they’ve received funding and have plans to launch just a few months from now.
These fares will not last. And I would wait a bit on booking non-refundable arrangements based on these tickets. The deals are good enough that I could see the airlines getting sellers’ remorse and arguing that they should be cancelled. (Although under DOT rules, doing so would require them to cover non-refundable losses you incur in reliance on the tickets.)
On Friday I wrote about a United Airlines ‘1K’ status member threated by a flight attendant with being placed on a no fly list over accepting manicotti from another crewmember while sitting in coach.
It turns out that this passenger, who was on his 80th flight of the year enroute to Seattle, has already been flying United again. And he’s now getting the royal treatment from other flight attendants with the airline.
Pakistan International Airlines is the archetype of what a government-run airline is like. The government has been subsidizing losses for years — totaling billions of dollars — the last time the carrier even claimed to earn a profit (of $16 million) was 2004. Instead it’s been run largely for the benefit of employees, and for politicians, not passengers.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
