Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Should US Airlines Be Outsourcing More of Their Maintenance?

by Gary Leff

american airlines hangar
Aug 09 2018

American Airlines gave employees across the board raises without insisting that the pay changes be part of a contract. The airline says that’s made it harder to get mechanics to agree to a contract. American mechanics have already gotten much of the money they’re going to get with a new contract, so there’s less incentive for employees to agree to rules changes the airline wants.

The carrier is offering terms they say are more costly than what United and Delta have with their mechanics, so a common refrain from management has been that they would happily sign either the United or Delta deal today.

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Your Child’s Health Isn’t This Airline’s Concern During Flight Delays

by Gary Leff

chid with men
Aug 09 2018

So what happens when a Paris – Islamabad flight was delayed on August 3rd, it was hot outside, and there’s no working air conditioning on the plane? The aircraft doors were closed for a couple of hours. And passengers onboard flight PK750 were in extreme discomfort. Indeed, “a mother was begging for to open the door and to save her child who was completely unconscious when the air conditioning system was completely off” according to at least one report.

There’s footage from onboard the plane “show[ing] a woman pleading with the airline staff to open the door as her infant was experiencing breathlessness before take off.”

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Great ANA First Class Award Availability, and a Brief Window to Book at a Discount

by Gary Leff

first class cabin
Aug 07 2018

There’s a 30% bonus on transfers from Amex to Virgin Atlantic right now and Virgin offers the cheapest US-Asia first class awards on their partner ANA.

So it seemed worth taking a look at ANA first class availability. And right now the Houston and Chicago routes especially have great availability beginning in 2019 through end of schedule.

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Book 3-Cabin International First Class With Delta Miles (For Real)

by Gary Leff

china eastern airline cabin
Aug 07 2018

China Eastern flies Shanghai – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (they also serve Honolulu, but with equipment that lacks a first class cabin). Beyond Shanghai of course you can connect to myriad destinations.

Delta of course owns a piece of China Eastern, so I choose to believe this is intentional, making that airline’s best product available for redemption by SkyMiles members.

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United Re-Opens Boarding Door and Delays Flight to Solicit Volunteers, Seat a Family of Three

by Gary Leff

united plane docked
Aug 04 2018

A passenger on United’s flight 1697 from New York LaGuardia to Chicago O’Hare this morning reports that the 11 a.m. Airbus A319 departure was overbooked. United solicited 10 volunteers, offering each $800 travel vouchers.

The plane boards full, the door is shut, and the safety video begins. However the passenger says “I hear [one flight attendant] say to other [flight attendant,] ‘They’re bringing the jetway back out.’”

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American Airlines Calls Police to Kick Off Music Student, Says 737s are Too Small for Cellos

by Gary Leff

man holding cello
Aug 04 2018

The federal government requires airlines to allow musicians to bring small instruments onboard as carry on items and to allow the purchase of an extra seat for larger instruments.

It seems American refused to fly a DePaul University School of Music student home to Chicago because her 10 pound cello – that was fine on her outbound trip – was deemed too large for a 737 departing from Miami. She was removed by police.

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