airline industry

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Southwest Resumes Flying After Nationwide Grounding

Tech glitch briefly kept planes from flying, but now many flights are delayed

(Newser) - Southwest has resumed flights after all were briefly grounded Tuesday morning because of a tech glitch. Those flying on the airline can expect delays, however: Roughly 40% were behind schedule as of noon, reports USA Today . The company's explanation for the snafu: "Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall...

American, Southwest Post Drastically Different Q4 Stats

American sees a profit of $803M; Southwest takes $220M loss after a chaotic December

(Newser) - American Airlines offered more proof Thursday of the recovery in air travel, posting a better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter, while Southwest Airlines lost money because of massive flight cancellations last month. Southwest said it also expects another loss in the first quarter, though it added it was encouraged by...

As Airlines Abandon Them, Small Cities Are Forced to Pay Up

'Time' looks at what deregulation has wrought

(Newser) - If you're of a certain relatively youthful age, you may not know that prior to 1978, airlines were regulated. As Alana Semuels recaps in a lengthy piece for Time , until that point the government "saw airlines as an essential service, kind of like the post office." The...

'Emotional Support' Snake Doesn't Fly

Airline doesn't allow woman to carry on a 4-foot boa constrictor

(Newser) - The TSA reports it headed off a real-life sequel when it found a snake on its way to a plane. Agents at Tampa International Airport found a 4-foot boa constrictor in a carry-on bag last month when it showed up on a checkpoint X-ray, the agency said. The passenger told...

Frontier Airlines Has Ditched Telephone Customer Service

Support is now solely online or via text

(Newser) - The waiting time to talk to a person on Frontier Airlines' customer service line has now been extended to forever. The budget carrier says the transition to offering online, mobile, and text support only was completed last weekend, CNBC reports. Callers to the customer service line now get the message:...

Here Are the Best Airlines in the World

None from the US make the Skytrax top 20, with Qatar Airways at No. 1

(Newser) - A new ranking of the world's airlines does not speak well of service in the US. As Thrillist notes, not a single US airline cracks the top 20 in the eyes of Skytrax , an airline and airport review site based in the UK. You have to scroll down to...

Airlines Might Be Forced to Give More Refunds

Department of Transportation proposes rule changes

(Newser) - The Transportation Department is proposing to require airlines to offer passengers a refund if their flight schedule is changed significantly or the airline makes major changes to their itinerary, the AP reports. The proposed rule announced Wednesday would require airlines to give refunds if their departure or arrival time changes...

Latest Travel Nightmare Involves Lufthansa, Germany

Nearly 1K flights were canceled Wednesday in and out of Munich, Frankfurt

(Newser) - Wednesday was a really bad day to be booked on a Lufthansa flight in or out of Germany. The New York Times reports that roughly 3,000 "nonflying" employees walked off the job at 3:45am Wednesday, with plans to protest for higher wages until 6am Thursday. The resulting...

Buttigieg, Who's Been Stranded, Warns of Steps Against Airlines

Industry bosses say they're working to make sure next holiday weekend has fewer disruptions

(Newser) - The day after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with airline leaders to quiz them about widespread flight disruptions, his own flight was canceled and he wound up driving from Washington to New York. "That is happening to a lot of people, and that is exactly why we are paying...

JetBlue Goes Hostile in Takeover Bid of Spirit

It's competing with Frontier to acquire Spirit

(Newser) - JetBlue is going hostile in its bid for Spirit Airlines and asking Spirit shareholders to reject a proposed $2.9 billion acquisition by Frontier Airlines, per the AP . JetBlue is going straight to shareholders of the Florida airline in hopes of pushing its board to the negotiating table. Shares of...

Delta Makes Big Move to Keep Flight Attendants Happy

Airline will be the first in the US to pay flight attendants during boarding

(Newser) - Unlike most flight attendants at other major airlines, Delta Air Lines flight attendants aren't unionized—and the company may be trying to keep them that way with an offer to pay them during boarding, which would be a first for a US airline. Flight attendants are usually paid starting...

US Airlines, Ranked
US Airlines, Ranked 
Apr 19, 2022 9:13 AM CDT

US Airlines, Ranked

Delta is No. 1 in eyes of WalletHub

(Newser) - Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal ranked Delta as the best American airline. Now WalletHub is out with a ranking of its own, and it reaches the same conclusion. The site ranked the nine biggest US airlines, plus two regional carriers, on the usual mix of metrics—price, reliability,...

Companies That Leased Planes to Russia May Lose Them

With Putin moving to keep the aircraft, repossession company isn't sure it can help

(Newser) - Even before Vladimir Putin changed the law to block them, Western companies that own aircraft leased to Russian airlines were coming to the conclusion that they've seen the last of those planes. More than 500 foreign-owned planes are in Russia, worth as much as $12 billion, experts told the...

After Dire Warning, a Change to 5G Rollout

AT&T, Verizon delay turning on some of the new 5G cell towers

(Newser) - AT&T and Verizon will delay launching new wireless service near key airports after the nation’s largest airlines said the service would interfere with aircraft technology and cause widespread flight disruptions, the AP reports. The decision from the companies came Tuesday as the Biden administration intervened to broker a...

Airlines Have a Dire Warning on 5G Rollout

They say it could lead to 'catastrophic' flight disruptions

(Newser) - Verizon and AT&T are set to deploy new 5G service Wednesday—and in a letter to federal officials Monday, major airlines warned there could be "catastrophic" consequences. As Axios notes, the dispute between the airlines and the wireless companies has been going on a while, with the aviation...

Airline CEOs Say Masks Don't Do Much for Passengers

American, Southwest do some clarifying after backlash on testimony

(Newser) - While flight crews battle unruly passengers, most of whom refuse to put on a mask for their trip, the bosses of a couple of major airlines told Congress that the masks don't do much good anyway. "I think the case is very strong that masks don't add...

3 Pilots Canned After Testing Positive for COVID

Alleged breach of Cathay Pacific rules forced hundreds of people to enter quarantine

(Newser) - Three Cathay Pacific pilots who tested positive for COVID after returning to Hong Kong from a layover in Frankfurt have been canned. The Hong Kong-based airline said Thursday that the three cargo pilots were fired over a "serious breach" of crew rules, reports Reuters . Cathay requires aircrews with layovers...

Major Storm Threatens Thanksgiving Travel

Forecasters see a couple of scenarios

(Newser) - A major storm could throw a wrench into the plans of Thanksgiving travelers next week. It's too soon to know how the weather will break, meteorologists said, but several ways could affect millions of people planning holiday trips, USA Today reports. "We could be looking at a huge...

JetBlue, Alaska Airlines Adopt Vaccine Mandates

Biden administrator is pressuring the industry

(Newser) - Alaska Airlines and JetBlue are joining United Airlines in requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, just as the Biden administration steps up pressure on major US carriers to require the shots. White House coronavirus adviser Jeffrey Zients talked to the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest...

COVID Rules May Tighten in Time for Holiday Travel

Senate bill would require vaccination or negative test results

(Newser) - Holiday travelers could face new pandemic rules this season. "We can't allow upcoming holiday air travel to contribute to another surge in COVID cases," Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein tweeted . "Today, I introduced legislation requiring passengers on domestic flights to be vaccinated, test negative or be fully...

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