airline

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Italians Impatient With Alitalia Rescue Efforts

Berlusconi's pleas for patriotism fall on deaf ears

(Newser) - Fed up with government efforts to resuscitate Alitalia, many Italians think Rome needs to face reality and let the airline die, Bloomberg reports. PM Silvio Berluconi characterizes Alitalia’s survival as “a matter of national security,” but it hasn't turned a profit in nearly a decade. The latest...

EU Will Make Airlines Pay to Pollute

Deal to cap and trade carbon emissions could drive fares up

(Newser) - The European Union struck a landmark deal yesterday to regulate carbon emissions from airplanes, requiring carriers to buy pollution credits for all flights entering or leaving airports in the EU. The agreement, which should go into effect in 2012, marks the first time that airlines will have to pay to...

Fuel Costs Bump Up Budget Airfares
Fuel Costs Bump Up Budget Airfares

Fuel Costs Bump Up Budget Airfares

Discount carriers forced to dump discounts or go bust

(Newser) - Rock-bottom airfares are going the way of the zeppelin as fuel prices continue their climb into the stratosphere, the New York Times reports. Some budget carriers have gone bust. Others have hiked fares and begun to woo more business travelers, blurring the line between big carriers and discount operations. Southwest...

United Adopts $15 Checked-Bag Charge

Carrier joins American; industry passing oil costs to consumer

(Newser) - United Airlines will follow rival American Airlines in charging $15 for a first checked bag. The new fee was announced today, 3 weeks after American set the precedent. United says the fee affects customers who buy tickets beginning tomorrow for domestic flights Aug. 18 or later.

Fake Airline Has Philly Giggling

'Derrie-Air' vowed to charge passengers by the pound

(Newser) - An ad for "Derrie-Air" airlines made Philadelphia readers the butt of a publicity joke today, the AP reports. The owner of two newspapers and an ad agency revealed that the airline—which claimed to charge passengers by weight, and be carbon-neutral—was cooked up to prove the power of...

As Oil Spikes, Airlines Rethink Business Model

Expect to pay more for less as 'cheap and plentiful' era ends

(Newser) - In the 30 years since Congress deregulated airline travel, the country's major carriers have operated on a bigger-is-better strategy: fly more planes to more routes and you'll come out on top. But with fuel twice as expensive as a year ago, airlines are not just raising prices, they're radically changing...

Man Sues Delta for Ruined Vacation
Man Sues Delta for Ruined Vacation

Man Sues Delta for Ruined Vacation

Delays, lost luggage, rude staff spoiled mom's 80th birthday

(Newser) - A furious lawyer is suing Delta airlines for $1 million for turning a dream trip to Argentina for his mother's 80th birthday into a nightmare, Reuters reports. "Obnoxious and incompetent" airline staff refused to allow the man and his family onto a connecting flight from Atlanta, so it took...

Airline Business Model Won't Work With $130 Oil

Analysts say current model won't work at $130 a barrel

(Newser) - The airline industry as we know it can’t function on $130-a-barrel oil, industry analysts are saying, and cost-cutting, ticket price increases, and bag-check fees won't make it viable. The Dallas Morning News looks at how hopeless it is for airlines to come anywhere near break-even at current costs, noting...

How to Fit Everything in One Bag

Save money by packing wisely

(Newser) - With airlines charging more for extra bags, the trick is to fly light. A packing guru offers these tips for stuffing it all in one bag, NPR reports:
  • Make a no-frills list, and stick to it (see onebag.com for ideas).
  • Don't let any space go unused (stuff things into
...

Air Bargains Still There, But More Hunting Needed

Flexibility in schedule, destination seen as key to finding cheap travel

(Newser) - It’s no secret that airline ticket costs are up—18% on average from last year. But, the Los Angeles Times reports, deals are still there, if you’re wiling to hunt for them. Limited-time online bargains can provide cheap fares, and many travelers are searching smaller airlines’ websites for...

Planes Slowing Down to Save on Fuel Costs

Airlines save millions by adding extra minutes to flights

(Newser) - As airlines feel the pain of higher energy prices, planes are slowing down to save fuel, the AP reports. Southwest, for instance, will save $42 million by adding a few minutes to each flight this year, and passengers are unlikely to notice. But it’s no cure-all: Labor costs go...

Air Safety Experts Most Worried About Runways

Ground incidents increase over last six months

(Newser) - FAA-mandated wiring fixes have grounded thousands of flights lately, but the runway is no safe place for planes, New York Times reports. Serious runway incidents nearly doubled to 15 over the past six months, compared with the same period a year ago. “Where we are most vulnerable at this...

United and Continental May Be Next to Merge

Delta-Northwest deal likely to spark more consolidation

(Newser) - The Delta-Northwest merger will create the world's biggest airline—but that title could fall before the ink is even dry on the deal as industry pressures force other carriers into shotgun weddings, the Houston Chronicle reports. Analysts believe United and Continental would be a good match and a deal between...

Thousands Stuck as Asian Budget Airline Folds

Hong Kong airline becomes 4th carrier to go bust this month

(Newser) - Thousands of passengers have been stranded in Hong Kong, London, and Vancouver with the collapse of Asian budget airline Oasis, the New York Times reports. In a sign that the industry's woes are spreading rapidly, the Hong Kong-based airline joins three US budget carriers to have gone under this month...

Cheap Flights, Passenger Perks Lost in Transit

Soaring fuel prices mean airline fees, shakeups here to stay

(Newser) - The days of discounts and perks on major US airlines have disappeared from the horizon, possibly forever, Marketwatch writes. The stratospheric fuel prices that caused three airlines to shut down last week alone are forcing airlines to boost their bottom lines any way they can. Capacity is being cut back...

In-Flight Cell Use Cleared For Takeoff in EU

Airlines will choose whether to offer service, which might be pricey

(Newser) - Good news for the EU-based air travelers who suffer BlackBerry withdrawal as soon as their plane takes off: Mobile-phone use in European airspace could be available as early as next month. The European Commission has cleared the technology needed to make calls from 10,000 feet up, and has left...

Passengers Air a Record Number of Complaints

Skies unfriendlier than ever

(Newser) - Airline passengers on domestic flights are unhappier than they've been in years, with consumer complaints up 60%, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating survey. Long delays, cancellations, overbooking, late arrivals, and lost baggage accounted for most of the complaints, which haven't been this bad since 2000, reports the AP....

Skybus Airlines Goes Bust
Skybus Airlines Goes Bust

Skybus Airlines Goes Bust

Low-cost Ohio carrier with $10 fares is airline industry's third casualty in a week

(Newser) - Anybody who wondered how Skybus could make money with its famous $10 airfares can stop: they didn't. The Ohio-based airline has become the latest US carrier to go bankrupt in the face of soaring fuel costs and a sluggish economy, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It made its last flight yesterday...

ATA Goes Bankrupt, Cancels All Flights

No ticket refunds given

(Newser) - Passengers booked on ATA Airlines flights got a rude awakening this morning: The low-cost carrier declared bankruptcy in the middle of the night, shut down operations, and canceled all further flights, Eyewitness News reports. “Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance...

Heathrow Fiasco a 'National Embarrassment'

British Airways reeling as terminal chaos continues

(Newser) - The chaos is continuing at Heathrow's brand-new Terminal 5, with one British politician slamming the fiasco as a "national embarrassment," the Daily Telegraph reports. More than 50 flights were canceled yesterday and British Airways admitted that the mountain of stranded baggage contained as many as 28,000 bags,...

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