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.
Passengers Are Being Forced To Gate Check Bags—Even As Airlines Leave Overhead Bins Empty. Here’s Why It’s Getting Worse
f you aren’t at the boarding gate when your flight is called, you probably aren’t going to get overhead bin space. If the flight is full, and you aren’t among the first half of passengers on the plane, your carry-on bag is likely going to be taken away from you and gate checked.
Half the time when you get onto the plane, though, you still see overhead bins with plenty of space. You were lied to! The bins weren’t full after all. So what gives?
Airline Said Her Dog Couldn’t Fly. Florida Woman Walked Into The Orlando Airport Bathroom—And Left Alone
A Florida woman (naturally) has been arrested after drowning her 9-year old miniature schnauzer in the bathroom of the Orlando International Airport.
ATC Halts Southwest 737 At 70 Knots As It Attempts Takeoff From Orlando Taxiway
Southwest Airlines flight 3278 almost took off from a taxiway at Orlando International Airport at around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The Boeing 737-800 was flagged down by air traffic control as it approached 70 knots according to ADS-B data before hitting the brakes.
Heathrow Blackout: Fire Cuts Power, Shuts Airport, Flights Divert As 100,000+ Stranded Worldwide
Approximately 1,300 arrivals and departures were cancelled with flights enroute to Heathrow turned back around or diverting elsewhere because the airport couldn’t accept them. According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, as many as 145,000 passengers could be affected based on scheduled seats and flights.
‘You Have Enough Room To Climb Over’—Then This Delta Passenger Read Her Texts And Snapped: ‘You’re Just Racist!’
If you’re in the aisle seat, especially, you need to offer to get up whenever a passenger needs access. That’s part of the deal of the aisle seat. You have more direct access to the lavatory, but you need to grant access to others.
Marriott Guest Finds Lewd Scribble On Bulk Toiletries—Front Desk Shrugs: ‘I Saw It’
A guest at Marriott’s Courtyard Battle Creek in Michigan discovered a lewd drawing on the wall-mounted toiletries that was presumably left by a previous guest.
Housekeeping either doesn’t clean and refill the bottles, or saw it and didn’t care enough to change them out when turning the room. Since the guest reports that showing a photo to the front desk elicited a shrug, either option seems equally likely.
Can Southwest Airlines Handle Paid Seats, Bag Fees, And Boarding Changes—All At Once—Without A Total Operational Meltdown?
Are all of the changes Southwest Airlines is making too much, too fast? Not for the passengers who have been largely negative on this like checked bag fees and basic economy restrictions, one thing after another taken away from customers with nothing really added that makes life better.
Here what I’m troubled by is whether they’ve taken on too many projects to quickly in order to actually pull them off without significant service disruptions and customer inconvenience.
Politician’s Daughter Punches Flight Attendant—Her Father Made Sure There Were No Consequences [Roundup]
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 Flyers Feel Betrayed—And American Airlines Quietly Makes Its Biggest Status Match Offer Ever
Everyone is mad mad at Southwest Airlines for abandoning its business model, customer focus, and core principles. They’re laying off employees, outsourcing, eliminating free checked bags, moving to (paid) assigned seats and devaluing Rapid Rewards.
So now is the perfect time for another airline to go after their customers aggressively, court them, and win them over. American Airlines is doing that – but just isn’t really telling anyone about it?