American Airlines Is Running Five Employee Boeing 737 MAX Flights To Nowhere

by Gary Leff

Nov 29 2020

The Boeing 737 MAX is officially allowed to fly again in commercial service. A lot of things need to take place before that happens, but while Southwest Airlines plans to take 4-5 months to get the plane back in the air, American Airlines is far more aggressive – planning to fly it again on December 29th.

Employees of American Airlines and its wholly-owned regional carriers (Enjoy, Piedmont, and PSA) and of the American Airlines Credit Union are being invited to take one of five ‘flights to nowhere’ on the Boeing 737 MAX before it re-enters commercial service at the end of December.

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New “Midnight Regulation” Means Less Oversight Of Unfair And Deceptive Airline Practices

by Gary Leff

Nov 28 2020

The Department of Transportation is the primary avenue passengers have to see redress when being treated unfairly or otherwise harmed by an airline. Since airlines can’t be as heavily regulated as other industries elsewhere, and lawsuits against them are harder too, DOT was granted broad latitude to combat “unfair and deceptive” practices by airlines.

A new DOT rule defines unfair and deceptive more narrowly than in the past, and these new definitions will have to be used going forward when the considering consumer protections.

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Why Did The Berlin Airport Take 23 Years To Build?

by Gary Leff

ber airport counters
Nov 28 2020

After contracting disputes, the government walked away from private contracts to build the airport in 2003, and instead handed out 30-40 contracts to smaller companies and decided to oversee the project itself – which they lacked the expertise to do – instead of hiring an experienced design-build firm responsible for delivering on a budget. The airport didn’t just take 23 years, it came in at triple the cost too.

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You Can No Longer Visit Kauai Without Quarantine, As The Hawaiian Island Opts Out Of Testing Regime

by Gary Leff

Nov 28 2020

Effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, December 2 visitors to the Hawaiian island of Kauai will have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Pre-travel testing for Covid-19 will no longer excuse arriving passengers from this requirement, as the Governor of Hawaii approved a request by the Mayor of Kauai to opt out of the state’s testing program.

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Man Cooks Steak In A Delta Air Lines Lavatory (And There’s Video)

by Gary Leff

Nov 28 2020

A man posted a video to TikTok where he cooks a steak in a Delta lavatory. He puts a Sterno can in the toilet, lights it, and places an aluminum grilling sheet over the seat. Then he puts the raw steak on the sheet and pours white wine over it to marinate (perhaps it’s an old steak he’s trying to hide the spoiling flavor on, a good piece of meat should never require this!). He plates it and returns to his seat. There’s no question he should be banned from the airline, and probably charged with a crime if this really happened as-shown, for lighting a fire in the lavatory.

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U.S. Prepares To Drop European Travel Ban (In Order To Troll Joe Biden On China)

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
Nov 27 2020

It’s rather odd timing – when some health systems in the U.S. are being overloaded, and the virus is spreading widely in Europe – but the Trump administration is considering lifting the ban on arrivals from Europe and Brazil. They are not, apparently, considering lifting the ban on arrivals from China which has largely had its Covid-19 outbreak under control for more than half a year.

It would appear that the administration is looking to make this change before the handover of power, so that the story about any future relaxation of restrictions is specifically focused on China – rather than allowing a Biden administration to lift all restrictions at once, making the story about travel restrictions broadly.

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Delta Air Lines Flight Attendant Fired For Calling Out A Troll On Social Media

by Gary Leff

Nov 27 2020

Kiersten Bak, who was just hired as a flight attendant by Delta in March, was fired last month for posts she made on her Facebook account. She “called out a man who had been trolling her” and her comments were reported to her employer, which was identified based on a profile picture she used in her uniform.

She was questioned about a photo with her top sweater buttons unbottoned and, she says, asked whether she’s racist against white men, before being terminated for violating the airline’s social media policy.

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