Woman Loses It: She Was Told To “Pipe Down” After Defending Passenger’s Right To Vape Inflight

by Gary Leff

Nov 18 2023

Things didn’t go so well on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife to Bristol, where two inebriated women caused chaos. One, caught vaping in her seat, denied it despite holding the vape pen. Her friend’s loud defense turned into a profanity-laden tirade – she lost it after being told to “pipe down” – even after a passenger asked them to stop due to children nearby.

She then began defending her parenting.. using explicit language. Crew members attempted to escort her off the aircraft, but she responded with a vulgar insult towards a flight attendant.

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On Monday, American Airlines Flight Attendants Will Announce Plan To Strike Over Christmas

by Gary Leff

Nov 18 2023

American Airlines flight attendants have been in protracted negotiations over a new contract. Cabin crew voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The airline and union met for federal mediation talks on Friday, and the union set that as a deadline for significant progress. They said that after the meeting the union board would hold a strike vote. The union plans to make an announcement on Monday. This afternoon, your APFA Negotiating Committee met with your Board of Directors to brief them on the status of negotiations, including the next step: a request to the National Mediation Board to release us into a thirty-day cooling-off period. On Monday, November 20th, we will communicate information regarding this week’s negotiations and next steps, including the APFA Board of Director’s action on the request to the NMB to be…

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Sky-High Kindness: Delta Pilot Returns Lost Library Book, Offers to Pay Fees

by Gary Leff

Nov 17 2023

Early this month a public library in Shawnee, Kansas received a strange letter. One of their books was returned in the mail – but it didn’t come from the reader who borrowed it. A Delta Air Lines captain found Whatever After: If the Shoe Fits on the Atlanta airport’s B concourse while commuting to their home in Florida.

The pilot may have saved the young reader significant late fees, and protected their future borrowing privileges – expressing a hope that whomever had checked out the book “grows up to be an avid reader.”

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Airline Battle Royale: The Fight for Tokyo’s Coveted Haneda Slot

by Gary Leff

united planes runway
Nov 17 2023

United Airlines has attacked the American Airlines plan, saying that the DOT should look at connections served rather than the local market to determine consumer benefit. Now that the federal government has broken up its JetBlue partnership, American’s ability to serve connections in the New York market is far more limited. The Department of Justice handed a huge win to United and to Delta in New York by preventing American-JetBlue from becoming a large competitor with their New York duopoly.

According to United, DOT set a precedent in preferring connecting markets to Tokyo Haneda over non-stop ones in their 2019 proceeding originally awarding the routes since that was a justification for denying Las Vegas a Haneda flight.

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How Southwest Is Racing To Prevent Another Billion Dollar Holiday Travel Meltdown

by Gary Leff

Nov 16 2023

The Southwest Airlines operational failure during last year’s holiday season led to the stranding of two million passengers and a financial loss of approximately $1 billion. The chain began with inadequate de-icing equipment and inexperienced staff. Southwest has a play book to prevent a repeat this year, which they’ve shared internally with employees. It includes technological upgrades and improved training.

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