airline passengers

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Southwest Adds $10 Fee to Board Early

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid Rewards...

Ryanair Boss: You Want Service? Try Another Airline

(Newser) - The budget-airline boss who's thinking about charging passengers to use the bathrooms on his planes wants you to know that he doesn't feel a bit bad about it. If you expect to be coddled, Michael O'Leary tells the New York Times, Ryanair's not for you. O'Leary—famed for his rudeness...

10 Ways to Game the Airlines

(Newser) - Airlines offer more than you know—and would rather you didn't know about it. The Chicago Tribune runs down a list of ways to benefit from airline secrets:
  • Complain early and often: Whatever the problem, "airlines tend to buy grouchy passengers off with frequent-flier miles."
  • Travel agents work
...

Ryanair Passengers May Stand for Cheapest Tix

(Newser) - Passengers who really want to save money on Ryanair may soon be able to purchase "standing room only" tickets on the discount airline's flights, reports the Sun. Under the plan, passengers would huddle about "bar stools" with seat belts. Ryanair officials have already talked to Boeing about designing...

Middle Seat on the Plane? I'd Rather ...

(Newser) - Nobody likes the middle seat on an airplane, and a recent study shows fliers would rather endure some novel discomforts than sit squeezed between two seatmates. BlackBook runs down a few—as well as what's particularly unpleasant about the middle seat.
  • 56% of respondents would rather have their teeth drilled
...

Teen Crash Survivor Clung to Floating Wreckage for 13 Hours

(Newser) - The 14-year-old girl who appears to be the lone survivor of yesterday’s Yemenia Airlines crash is recovering and in no danger, the BBC reports. Bahia Bakari escaped the crash with just a few cuts to her face and a fractured collarbone, though she can barely swim, and wasn't wearing...

France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found
France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found
UPDATED
Jul 1, 2009 3:20 AM CDT

France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found

14-year-old girl is sole survivor of crash; plane failed 2007 inspection

(Newser) - The French government has backed off reports that searchers located one of the black box flight recorders from Yemenia Air Flight 626, the BBC reports. The crash, in which a 14-year-old girl appears to be the sole survivor out of 151 passengers, occurred after the Airbus 310 had aborted its...

Woman Dies in Midair as Flight Diverts Too Late

(Newser) - An elderly woman suffered a heart attack and died today on an AirTran flight from New York to Palm Beach, Fla., WNYW-TV reports. The plane diverted to Philadelphia in an attempt to save the 80-year-old but was too late, BNO News adds. “There was a doctor on board who...

Crew Asked for Doc But Kept Pilot's Death a Secret

Passengers had no clue

(Newser) - They didn't explain why, but the crew of Continental Flight 61 asked passengers about halfway through their flight whether there was a doctor on board. It was only when the plane landed that passengers learned their 60-year-old captain had died somewhere between Brussels and New Jersey, the Star-Ledger reports. The...

First Debris Retrieved From Flight 447

Air France tells families no one survived the crash

(Newser) - As Brazilian crews begin retrieving the first pieces of Air France flight 447, the airline has told families that nobody survived, the AP reports. A helicopter pulled a cargo pallet and two buoys from the Atlantic, 340 miles northeast of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands. As theories about the crash...

Alert Air Passenger Warns of Fuel Leak

Air force sergeant spotted leak before 747 headed over the Pacific

(Newser) - An eagle-eyed passenger warned a 747 flight crew about a fuel leak on a recent Japan-bound flight from Chicago, CNN reports. Air Force Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, who serves in an air refueling squadron, spotted vapor billowing from behind the wing and realized the jet was losing fuel fast. He alerted...

Hijacker of Canadian Jet Surrenders
 Hijacker of Canadian Jet Surrenders 
UPDATED
Apr 20, 2009 3:22 AM CDT

Hijacker of Canadian Jet Surrenders

(Newser) - The hijacker of a Canadian jet demanding to fly from Jamaica to Cuba has freed the six crewmembers he was holding and surrendered, reports the BBC. The man, whom authorities described as "mentally challenged," appeared to check in normally last night, then forced his way aboard the CanJet...

Russian Passengers Reject Drunk Pilot

Slurred speech sparked fear; airline blames 'mass psychosis'

(Newser) - Passengers on a Russian jet mutinied right before takeoff when they heard the slurred speech of their obviously inebriated pilot, the Times of London reports. They insisted on a replacement, despite flight attendants' initial efforts to brush them off, with one noting that drunkenness was no “big deal”...

Flight 1549 Passengers Laud Pilot, Crew

Survivors embrace heroes at '60 Minutes' taping

(Newser) - The passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 thanked and embraced hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger at a meeting in Charlotte, NC, the Charlotte Observer reports. As part of a 60 Minutes episode on the crash, about 50 of the passengers and their families met the crew of Flight 1549. “There...

Struggling Airlines Pitch Clean(er) Planes

As customers become more valued, so does customer service

(Newser) - United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’...

'Sir Richard, What Is That White Stuff?'

Airline chief Branson gets complaint about food

(Newser) - Sir Richard Branson personally responded to a “constructive if tongue-in-cheek” complaint letter from a Virgin Atlantic passenger, reprinted in the Telegraph. The beleaguered (and unnamed) flyer likened the dining experience to an awful Christmas morning. “You open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your...

Hudson Survivors Relive Nightmare, Relish Survival

Passengers amazed to still be alive cope with crash's emotional aftermath

(Newser) - Passengers who cheated death in the Hudson River crash are seeing the world through a fresh set of eyes, they tell the AP. They are celebrating the simple joy of still being alive, but many are also haunted by recurring nightmares. Experts say such reactions are normal after such an...

'I Thought We Were Going to Die'

Stunned passengers recount terrifying moments before emergency landing

(Newser) - A shuddering, heart-stopping boom preceded an eerie quiet in the US Airways jet as it plummeted toward the Hudson River, passengers stunned to still be alive tell the New York Daily News. They prayed and locked arms after the pilot warned them to brace for impact. "I thought we...

Obese? Court Backs Two Seats for One Fare

Those 'functionally disabled by obesity' get fare break in Canada

(Newser) - Obese air travelers in Canada who need two seats must be given the extra seat for free, Reuters reports. The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from Air Canada and two other airlines after they failed to win a lower court appeal on the fare issue....

UK Cabin Crews Knock Passengers Online

Virgin and British Airways workers land in trouble for Facebook comments

(Newser) - Virgin Atlantic has fired 13 cabin staffers for mocking passengers and joking about engine safety on Facebook, the Guardian reports. The online messages quipped about cockroaches on planes and referred to passengers as "chavs," a British term for "white trash." The airline publicly chided the...

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