Visible Safety: The Link Between Cabin Maintenance and Passenger Trust After 737 MAX Door Incident

Jan 12 2024

Recently the door plug blew out inflight on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, causing rapid depressurization of the aircraft – and a shirt and two phones even flew out of the aircraft. Had anyone been sitting in that spot things could have been much worse.

To passengers, though, cabin interior maintenance matters. Passengers don’t distinguish between airworthiness issues and cosmetic ones. Indeed, the only insight they have into the likelihood that a plane is being well-maintained is what they directly observe, and they infer from there. In light of what happened to the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9, everyone is especially sensitive.

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From Sensible to Senseless? Maldivian Airline’s Questionable Leap to 787s

plane on tarmac
Jan 12 2024

New all business class airline BeOnd has launched service from its hub in the Maldives. That may be a decent business during peak tourist season from November through March but they need somewhere super premium to send these planes the rest of the year.

Local island carrier Maldivian, which flies turboprops from the capital of Male to the country’s island airports, looked at the upstart flying narrowbody planes and said hold my beer.

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Man’s First-Ever Flight Ends In Federal Charges: Does Shots, Asks Crew To Join The Mile High Club

Jan 11 2024

Excited, yet nervous, James Finnister turned to alcohol – shots – to calm his nerves over the first airline flight of his life from Detroit to Orlando on Spirit Airlines.

He drank.. heavily before the flight. Up in the air, his behavior becomes.. questionable. He asks flight attendants to join the mile high club. He reportedly pulled a flight attendant into his seat. And then passes out.

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Refund Runaround: The Harsh Reality Of Airbnb’s Response to Rental Nightmares

Jan 11 2024

M. L. Rio, in a series of tweets on January 9, recounted a disastrous Airbnb rental experience. They’d booked a month-long stay but the place was infested with roaches. The stove malfunctioned. The door didn’t stay locked. And Airbnb wouldn’t help, telling them to pound sand. And that’s after numerous hours on hold with customer service, who even told them they’d get a refund if they moved out within a couple of hours, which they did – despite a broken ankle, which complicated getting in and out of a third-floor walk-up with a month’s worth of belongings.

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