air travel

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Passenger Has to Stand for 7-Hour Flight
Passenger Has to Stand
for 7-Hour Flight
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 27, 2011 2:30 PM CST

Passenger Has to Stand for 7-Hour Flight

... because of obese person next to him

(Newser) - Another dismal travel tale from the world of packed airplanes: A US Airways passenger flying from Anchorage to Philadelphia had to stand for nearly all of the seven-hour flight, reports the consumer advocacy blog Elliott.org . The problem? The airline booked a late-boarding passenger who weighed in the neighborhood of...

Small Planes to Small Cities Seeing Big Cuts

Soaring fuel prices have made small planes least profitable for airlines

(Newser) - The big airlines may be pampering their first-class passengers more than ever , especially on international routes, but around the United States, small-plane service to small cities is increasingly getting the ax, reports the AP . Over the past two years, the big airlines have cut service entirely to 27 US cities,...

Life in First Class Gets Even Cushier

Airlines chasing big spenders with luxurious perks

(Newser) - It's enough to make a cramped coach passenger cry: US airlines are going after big spenders by making life in first class an ever-more pampered affair. The AP rounds up some of the upgrades: flat-screen TVs, seats that fold into beds, upscale meals served on china, and personal attention...

Pricey Gratitude: Thanksgiving Costs Soar

Gas, airfare up 20% from a year ago

(Newser) - Tens of millions of Americans are now on the move for Thanksgiving, but the soaring cost of travel is keeping many others at home. Some 42.5 million Americans are expected to drive, fly, or ride trains over the holiday, and gas prices are up almost 20% from last year,...

Holiday Forecast: Fewer Fliers but Packed Flights

With demand lower, airlines are offering fewer seats

(Newser) - The good news for Thanksgiving travelers is that fewer people are expected to fly this year. The bad news is that your plane is still going to be jam-packed. An industry trade group predicts that 23.2 million people will fly in the 12 days around Thanksgiving, reports CNN . (The...

Thanksgiving Day Travel Advice: Buy Your Ticket Now
 Tips for Flying on Turkey Day 
Oct 25, 2011 3:59 PM CDT

Tips for Flying on Turkey Day

Flying will be pricier and more crowded than ever

(Newser) - Thanksgiving means turkey, family, football—and excruciatingly crowded airports. This year could be even worse, because the average ticket price will be $376—a 4% spike from last year—there will be fewer planes with fewer seats up for grabs, and the dismal economy is not discouraging people from heading...

Quickest Flight to Cuba Now From Key West

Feds approve flights, but restrictions remain

(Newser) - Americans can now legally hop a plane in Key West and skip over to Cuba: The US government has given the green light to Key West International Airport to run charter flights to the communist state 90 miles away, reports the Huffington Post . Restrictions do remain: Havana-bound flights are limited...

Peanut-Throwing Man Banned From Flying

He also had to forfeit his driver's license and passport

(Newser) - A Utah man may have gotten us that much closer to peanuts being banned on planes. Pogos Paul Sefilian is accused of throwing peanuts and pretzels at crew during a flight, and is now prohibited from flying on commercial airlines, reports Connect2Utah . He also allegedly refused to put away an...

Volcanic Ash Shuts German Airports

But flights expected to resume soon

(Newser) - European air travelers are facing another day of uncertainty because of Iceland's erupting Grimsvotn volcano. Germany is closing its northern airspace today because of volcanic ash, shutting down airports including those in Berlin and Hamburg, the BBC reports. Scottish, Irish, and Scandinavian airspace has also been affected, but officials...

Icelandic Ash Nears UK Airspace

Nervous officials monitoring cranky volcano

(Newser) - Volcanic ash from a spewing Icelandic volcano is drifting toward UK airspace, threatening a possible repeat of last year's travel debacle. Iceland grounded all flights at its main Keflavik airport yesterday after the Grimsvotn volcano shot steam and ash 12 miles into the air. The ash is expected to...

NTSB: Southwest Jet Had Fatigue Cracking

Meanwhile, airline grounds 79 planes, cancels hundreds of flights

(Newser) - Fatigue cracking has been found along the entire 5-foot section of a Southwest Airlines jet that ripped open on Friday, forcing an emergency landing in Arizona. The NTSB says that mechanics will cut a 9-foot by 3-foot section of the plane and send it to Washington, DC, for testing. Southwest...

Planes Landed as DC Controller Slept

FAA probing incident at Reagan National Airport

(Newser) - Two planes were forced to land without guidance or clearance from the control tower at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, because the air traffic supervisor was asleep, federal officials say. Efforts to reach the supervisor—the only controller on duty at the time—failed, and the late-night flights early...

Holograms Will Greet Travelers at UK Airport

Digitized employees to explain security measures

(Newser) - Don't be startled if you accidentally bump into a staff member at Manchester Airport and pass right through them. The British airport recently unveiled their latest effort to reduce security queues—holograms of its staff members. The holographic projections will greet travelers and lecture them on topics such as liquid...

Tech-Savvy Travelers Rebook Flights Via Twitter

It beats waiting in line

(Newser) - An extra twist of the knife for the poor souls waiting in line for ticket agents to rebook flights: Some of their fellow travelers got it done with a tweet. Delta, for instance, has had several employees focused mainly on handling direct-message Twitter requests from tech-savvy passengers since the East...

Passengers Brawl as Storms Paralyze Russia's Airports

Airport chaos called the worst in 15 years

(Newser) - Furious Moscow airport passengers scuffled with employees and hundreds tried to rush a passport barrier at Sheremetyevo to board planes as weather continued to paralyze travel. Russian President Medvedev is calling for prosecutors to investigate what is being called the worst meltdown in Russian air travel in 15 years after...

Airlines' Crowded Planes Slow Storm Recovery
Airlines' Crowded Planes
Slow Storm Recovery
analysis
Dec 28, 2010 1:38 PM CST

Airlines' Crowded Planes Slow Storm Recovery

Passenger jets flying at record 82% capacity this year

(Newser) - When a blizzard the size of this week's arrives on the scene, air travel is going to suffer . But Nate Silver points out something else that's contributing to the slow recovery: airlines are flying with more passengers these days. Through September, "load factors on domestic flights—essentially the percentage...

Vicious Dog Forces Plane to Land
Vicious Dog Forces Plane to Land
Dec 7, 2010 1:41 AM CST

Vicious Dog Forces Plane to Land

Terrier runs amok in passenger cabin

(Newser) - A passenger who apparently had trouble following the instruction "Don't let your dog out of its carrier" forced a US Airways flight from Newark to Phoenix to make an unscheduled stop in Pittsburgh. The agitated 12-pound Manchester terrier, set loose in the cabin, bit a passenger and a flight...

Snow Shuts Europe Air Hubs
 Snow Shuts Europe Air Hubs 
Dec 1, 2010 3:30 AM CST

Snow Shuts Europe Air Hubs

Storms, strikes snarl travel across continent

(Newser) - European air travel hasn't been disrupted this much since Eyjafjalljokull was spewing: Winter storms have snarled air and road traffic across Europe for the third day in a row, forcing major air hubs like Edinburgh and Geneva to shut down completely and causing delays at many others, the AP reports....

Complaints on Airport Scans, Pat-Downs Get Louder

Travel industry airs concerns to Homeland Security

(Newser) - Rumblings about full-body scans and airport pat-downs are getting louder, and the travel industry is seriously worried ahead of the holiday travel season, reports CNN . So much so that Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano met with nearly two dozen industry representatives yesterday to hear their concerns. Those reps are not...

Why Airline Food Is So Bland
 Why Airline Food Is So Bland 
Oct 15, 2010 6:40 AM CDT

Why Airline Food Is So Bland

Background noise diminishes sense of taste

(Newser) - Airline food is notoriously bland because of engine noise, not a lack of spice, according to new research. Volunteers who ate sweet or salty foods while listening to silence through headphones found the flavors more intense than a group of volunteers who heard white noise. The latter group found the...

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