airline industry

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Co-Pilot Cuffed in Midair After Breakdown

Toronto-London flight makes emergency landing in Ireland

(Newser) - An Air Canada flight from Toronto to London had to make an emergency landing Monday in Ireland after the co-pilot suffered a mental breakdown in midair, the Telegraph reports. The pilot started screaming God's name while at the controls of the Boeing 767; crew members removed him from the cockpit,...

Employees as Hard on Airline as Customers

CEO gets harsh feedback from workers on declining quality

(Newser) - US Airways has the worst on-time performance of any major US airline; it also has 36,000 employees encouraged to e-mail CEO Douglas Parker about everything from smelly planes to lousy in-flight snacks to a reservation system that doesn't work yet, reports the New York Times. Says Parker: The feedback...

Lufthansa Buys $300M Stake in JetBlue

German giant will own 19% of ailing US airline

(Newser) - Lufthansa will purchase a 19% stake in lagging JetBlue Airways for about $300 million, a move that reflects the industry-wide consolidation underway in recent months. The sale price of $7.27 a share is a 16% premium on yesterday's closing price of $6.25. The announcement immediately bounced JetBlue shares...

Boeing: Dreamliner on Schedule
Boeing: Dreamliner on Schedule
Dec 11, 2007 3:25 PM CST

Boeing: Dreamliner on Schedule

Firm grappling with supply issues; will still deliver 1st in late '08

(Newser) - Boeing said today that it remains committed to delivering 109 Dreamliners by the end of 2009 despite persistent supply-chain problems, the Chicago Tribune reports. Although the aviation giant expects to eventually be able to produce one plane in 3 days, the first six—which will be used for test flights—...

Use Your Cell Phone as a Boarding Pass

Houston pilot program said to add security, save paper

(Newser) - Passengers flying Continental out of Houston today will be able to use their cellphone or PDA in lieu of a boarding pass as part of a three-month pilot program, USA Today reports. After checking in, an encrypted barcode is sent to passengers’ mobile handsets, which is scanned by a TSA...

United, Delta in Merge Talks
United, Delta in Merge Talks
Nov 14, 2007 3:47 PM CST

United, Delta in Merge Talks

New company would keep United name, says AP

(Newser) - United Airlines and Delta are in talks to merge and create the nation's largest airline, the AP reports. The new airline would keep the United name and surpass American as the nation's biggest. Delta's CEO denied that any specific talks are under way, but the company said it had formed...

Travelers May Spend Thanksgiving on the Runway

Already-slow industry prepares for the worst Thanksgiving in more than a decade

(Newser) - A 4% increase in holiday passengers will likely cause lengthy delays, the airline industry warned yesterday—bad news for those who miss connections and could wait 3 days for another flight. Though airlines have hired seasonal workers in the first staff expansion since 9/11, some 2.5 million passengers may...

Southwest Unveils Perks for Biz Flyers

Carrier guarantees priority boarding, throws in a cocktail

(Newser) - Southwest unveiled today a raft of new initiatives designed to shore up revenue, including new pricing plans that benefit business travelers. The discount carrier’s new “business select” program will price seats $10-30 higher than regular fares. In exchange, Southwest, which doesn’t assign seats on its flights, will...

Airbus Finally Delivers First A380 'Superjumbo' Jet

But questions persist over company's production abilities

(Newser) - After 2 years of delays, Airbus SAS delivered its first behemoth A380 to Singapore Airlines today. The world’s largest jet fell behind schedule, and development costs ballooned to $18 billion, when workers were forced to install 300 miles of wiring by hand. It should fly on Oct. 25, but...

Not So Fly: Worst US Airlines
Not So Fly: Worst US Airlines
Oct 4, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Not So Fly: Worst US Airlines

Everyone has their travel hell story, but which airlines are the true villains?

(Newser) - Lost luggage, canceled flights and appalling delays seem to be par for the course in air travel these days.  But some airlines are worse than others.  Forbes provides the hit list:
  1. Atlantic Southeast Airlines
  2. Comair (a division of Delta Air Lines)
  3. American Eagle Airlines (a division of American
...

Airlines Fail to Deliver at Baggage Claim

This summer sees five-year high in lost luggage

(Newser) - As if delays and cancellations weren't enough of a headache, airline customers have another nuisance to deal with: a surge in lost bags. From May to July, US airlines delayed, lost, damaged, or confiscated a record 1 million pieces of luggage, the Washington Post reports. Airlines blame the air traffic...

Racing to Fly With Biofuel
Racing to Fly With Biofuel
Sep 30, 2007 5:45 PM CDT

Racing to Fly With Biofuel

Air New Zealand, Virgin Air plan green commercial flights

(Newser) - Kiwis are planning to launch the first green commercial flight in about a year, the BBC reports. Air New Zealand promises to fly a 747 with 1 of 4 engines running on a kerosene-biofuel blend, but Virgin Atlantic may beat them to it with a bio-flight in early 2008. "...

Southwest Tinkers With Seating
Southwest Tinkers With Seating
Sep 19, 2007 6:24 PM CDT

Southwest Tinkers With Seating

Airline will introduce boarding queue, keep free-choice seating

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines will keep its trademark open-seating policy but will assign a boarding order to cut down on passengers queuing up far in advance of boarding. Southwest currently boards its airplanes in a sequence of three groups, with passengers free to pick their seat. While Southwest fans enjoy the freedom,...

Antiquated FAA in a Tailspin
Antiquated FAA in a Tailspin
Sep 2, 2007 10:24 AM CDT

Antiquated FAA in a Tailspin

New system won't be ready until 2025

(Newser) - With canceled flights, hours on the tarmac, overbooking and a disturbing increase in near  collisions, one might be better off traveling by pony than plane, reports Business Week, and the authority responsible seems least able to fix it. As FAA chief Marion Blakey steps down, she leaves an antiquated agency...

New Delta CEO Raises Questions
New Delta CEO Raises Questions
Aug 22, 2007 8:48 AM CDT

New Delta CEO Raises Questions

Appointment revives rumors that merger with Northwest is preparing for takeoff

(Newser) - Delta's choice for its new CEO—an outsider who won the job over two internal candidates—is raising questions, the Journal reports. Newly emerged from 19 months of wrangling in bankruptcy court, the airline appointed former Northwest CEO Richard Anderson yesterday, sparking speculation about a future merger with Northwest and...

Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights
Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights
Aug 20, 2007 6:36 AM CDT

Skybus Soars With No-Frills Flights

Passengers snap up $10 seats but extras add up fast

(Newser) - Budget-conscious flyers have snapped up seats on Skybus Airlines from Columbus, Ohio, to 11 cities, with $10 tickets selling out on each new route hours after they go on sale. The Los Angeles Times tests the Skybus experience, where everything costs extra, from pillows to pretzels. The plane, a new...

Cheap Flights: a Ticket to Skin Cancer

Rise in beach holidays blamed for increase in melanoma

(Newser) - Doctors in Britain have blamed a 50% rise in the incidence of skin cancer on cheap flights to the beach, reports the Independent. Statistics from Cancer Research UK and the British travel agents' association confirm that easier access to sunny climates have made melanoma the nation's fastest-rising disease, particularly among...

Airlines Plead Guilty of Price Fixing

British Airways and Korean Air socked with $300M fines in ongoing investigation

(Newser) - British Airways and Korean Air have agreed to plead guilty and pay $300 million each in criminal fines for engaging in massive conspiracies to fix the prices of passenger and cargo flights for the past six years, the US Justice Department said yesterday. BA will pony up another $247million fine...

Plane in Brazil Crash Had Brake Problems

Demand for answers, heat on absent president grow

(Newser) - The Airbus A320 that crashed at the Sao Paulo airport Tuesday was flying with part of its braking equipment disabled, the manufacturer said today, as pressure on the government escalated. Flying without one of the aircraft's two thrust reversers is legal, but the revelation suggests the slick, short runway probably...

Officials Demand Sao Paulo Airport Shutdown

Authorities blame airplane crash on poor runway conditions

(Newser) - In the wake of Tuesday's catastrophic plane crash, Brazilian officials are calling for the closure of Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport pending a review of safety conditions, the BBC reports. The Tam Airlines Airbus 320 landing in heavy rain skidded off a wet runway that was resurfaced last month and had...

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