American Airlines Loosens Rules For Refunds When You’re Forced To Fly To An Alternate Airport

by Gary Leff

May 13 2023

When your flights are cancelled or substantially delayed, and the airline can’t get you where you’re going, sometimes you’re willing to… fly somewhere else. If you’re flying cross-country, you might even take something hundreds of miles away from your destination, if the trip is important enough. Maybe you’d fly to Los Angeles instead of San Francisco and drive.

An interesting question is, what if anything does an airline owe you if you do actually fly – but don’t fly where you were trying to go?

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American Airlines Flight Attendants Calls Cops On Dad, Falsely Report Him As A Sex Trafficker

by Gary Leff

May 13 2023

A dad and his 13 year old daughter flying American Airlines from Seattle to Charlotte last week were shaken to their core when law enforcement met them on arrival. The flight’s crew had radioed ahead to report him as a suspected sex trafficker.

The pair were traveling to the man’s oldest daughter’s graduation. The first time he noticed something amiss was during the flight when he got up to use the lavatory.

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What Do United Pilots Think They’re Accomplishing By Picketing?

by Gary Leff

May 13 2023

Say what you will about the business logic of providing United pilots with a richer contract, these aren’t traditional blue collar workers. They aren’t working 80 hour weeks to make ends meet and slowly falling behind, they fly 80 hours a month, and are well-paid, and many of them have side businesses – hardly the image of Cesar Chavez standing up with grape workers, “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.”

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Spirit Airlines Passenger Makes Themselves Comfy, Kicks Feet Up Into The Aisle

by Gary Leff

May 12 2023

Spirit Airlines offers less legroom than other airlines. While Southwest might give you 32 inches of pitch (the distance from seat back to seat back), American Airlines, Delta and United usually offer just 30 inches. Spirit? 28.

So if you want to be comfortable on a Spirit flight, you’re going to need an aisle seat – and to make full use of stretching into the aisle. And once you’re planning to to that, why not kick your feet up and enjoy… with your very own portable ottoman?

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99% Of Southwest Airlines Pilots Vote To Authorize Strike

by Gary Leff

May 12 2023

99% of pilots casting a ballot voted to authorize a strike. This was largely pitched to members as negotiating leverage: vote to strike so you don’t need to strike. It’s a threat to the company to get them to give more in negotiations.

Once a union calls for strike authorization, members have to go along – otherwise the union’s credibility implodes and the company knows there isn’t a strike threat looming in the background.

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