air travel – News Stories About air travel - Page 12

The Best Day to Buy
a Plane Ticket Is...

The Best Day to Buy a Plane Ticket Is...

Thursday, according to latest airfare study

(Newser) - When should you buy your next plane ticket? According to a new fare study from Hopper , Thursday is the best day to book both domestic and international tickets. But keep in mind that it won't save you much: There's just a $10 difference between the best day to...

Why Can Pilots Still Turn Off Their Transponders?

OPINION

Mar 18, 2014 12:54 PM CDT

Why Can Pilots Still Turn Off Their Transponders?

There's no reason for it, and it's time for a change: Gregg Easterbrook

(Newser) - We might know what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 were it not for one thing: The aircraft's transponder was somehow turned off . In the New York Times , Gregg Easterbrook notes that the 9/11 hijackers were also quick to turn the transponders off, which is what caused air traffic...

Feds Warn Airlines of
New Shoe-Bomb Threat

Feb 20, 2014 12:22 AM CST

Feds Warn Airlines of New Shoe-Bomb Threat

Terror groups working on new bomb designs

(Newser) - Air passengers headed to the US from overseas can expect much tighter scrutiny of their shoes—and bodies—in the days and weeks to come. The Department of Homeland Security has learned of a possible new shoe-bomb plot and told airlines flying to the US to pay extra attention to...

Crew, Passengers Injured During United Turbulence

Baby Flew Out of Parent's Arms During Turbulence

UPDATED

Feb 18, 2014 2:03 AM CST

Baby Flew Out of Parent's Arms During Turbulence

United flight into Montana has rocky descent

(Newser) - Severe turbulence rocked a United Airlines jet out of Denver as it made its descent yesterday afternoon in Billings, Montana, and stories of just how chaotic things got are emerging. "There was a lot of screaming, a lot of hollering," says Flight 1676 passenger Bill Dahlin. Fox31 Denver...

Airfares Rise for
4th Year in a Row

Jan 17, 2014 8:43 AM CST

Airfares Rise for 4th Year in a Row

Average price now at $363.42

(Newser) - If flying seems like an increasingly expensive option, you're not imagining things. Airfares rose for the fourth straight year in 2013, bringing the average domestic ticket, with tax, up to $363.42, according to an AP analysis of travel data. That's up 2% on the year and 12%...

Deep Freeze Engulfs
East, South

Jan 7, 2014 7:54 AM CST

Deep Freeze Engulfs East, South

State of emergency declared in NY

(Newser) - The "polar vortex" deep freeze is spreading to the East Coast and bringing record low temperatures to the Deep South after causing misery in the Midwest, where it got so cold that a Chicago zoo had to move its polar bear and penguins inside, CNN reports. Some 15 deaths...

Snoozing Passenger
Locked in Plane

Dec 9, 2013 3:00 AM CST

Snoozing Passenger Locked in Plane

He found himself alone in dark aircraft

(Newser) - A passenger who dozed off on a short flight from Lafayette, Louisiana, to Houston awoke Friday night to find himself alone in a cold, dark, locked aircraft. When the flight landed and everybody deplaned, workers somehow missed passenger Tom Wagner sleeping in a window seat. He was freed after he...

Here's How Much
Airfares Have
Jumped Since '05

Nov 25, 2013 12:37 PM CST

Here's How Much Airfares Have Jumped Since '05

6.5% overall, and that's after inflation

(Newser) - Feel like you're paying more for a plane ticket these days? You are. USA Today did an analysis of fares at the 100 busiest airports in the country, and found that on average, prices are up 6.5% (after adjusting for inflation) since 2005. The biggest fare change: Savannah-Hilton...

Airlines Should
Charge Cell
Talkers $100
Per Minute

OPINION

Nov 23, 2013 3:30 PM CST

Airlines Should Charge Cell Talkers $100 Per Minute

Let's stop loud conversations before they start: Spud Hilton

(Newser) - Air travel is bad enough with other passengers barging to the front of the line at the gate, greedily taking up luggage-rack space, and getting in each other's way at the carousel; do we really want to add loud cell-phone chatter to the mix, as the FCC is considering...

FCC May Allow Cell Phone
Calls During Flights

Nov 21, 2013 3:27 PM CST

FCC May Allow Cell Phone Calls During Flights

Agency will consider lifting ban next month

(Newser) - This is either great or horrible news for air travelers, depending on perspective: The FCC might soon allow passengers to talk on their cell phones all throughout their flights, reports the Washington Post . The agency will consider lifting its ban on airborne calls next month. Under the proposed change, the...

Longest Flight You Can
Take: 9.5K Miles, 19 Hours

Oct 19, 2013 9:57 AM CDT

Longest Flight You Can Take: 9.5K Miles, 19 Hours

But hurry, because it's set to be canceled

(Newser) - If, for some reason, you have a desire to take the longest commercial nonstop flight you possibly can, book a ticket on Singapore Airlines flight 21 or 22. It'll take you from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey, a distance of 9,500 miles, in 19 hours. It's the...

JetBlue Shifts Strategy,
Will Offer First-Class Seats

Oct 1, 2013 12:02 PM CDT

JetBlue Shifts Strategy, Will Offer First-Class Seats

But 'Mint' will be available only to cross-country fliers

(Newser) - JetBlue has famously eschewed the idea of first-class seating with the mantra that all its passengers get equal treatment. Until now. As USA Today reports, the airline is creating a first-class option in everything but name—instead, call it Mint. The swankier seating will be available next summer but only...

United to Honor
Tickets Sold for $0

Sep 14, 2013 5:30 AM CDT

United to Honor Tickets Sold for $0

Company won't say how much it is losing

(Newser) - Congratulations to all those lucky travelers who booked flights via the United Airlines website during a few magical hours yesterday: Tickets were accidentally sold for free , and the company says it will honor them. United isn't saying how many tickets were sold or much it will lose, reports Bloomberg...

Want to Save the Planet?
Stay Home

OPINION

Aug 13, 2013 12:50 PM CDT

Want to Save the Planet? Stay Home

Slate columnist thinks green-friendly people turn blind eye to travel

(Newser) - Some items for your how-to-be-green list: Recycling bin? Check. Al Gore-approved lightbulbs? Check. Reusable grocery bags? Check. Cancel your vacation plans? Ch... wait, what? Christie Aschwanden thinks lots of enviro-friendly folks are getting off too easy, she writes at Slate . They grab on to all the relatively simple things but...

10-Hour United Flight
Runs Out of Toilet Paper

Jun 22, 2013 2:57 PM CDT

10-Hour United Flight Runs Out of Toilet Paper

Passengers told to use cocktail napkins instead

(Newser) - United Airlines forgot to stock a London to San Francisco flight last week with a crucial amenity. No, not the Sky Mall catalog, but something almost as important: toilet paper. Instead, the airline offered passengers on the non-stop 10-hour flight cocktail napkins, reports ABC Local . The napkins, unfortunately, had a...

TSA Backs Down:
No Small Knives on Planes

Jun 5, 2013 3:46 PM CDT

TSA Backs Down: No Small Knives on Planes

Move to allow them met with outcry from flight attendants, others

(Newser) - The TSA is abandoning a plan to allow passengers to carry small knives, souvenir bats, golf clubs, and other sports equipment onto planes in the face of fierce congressional and industry opposition. By scuttling the plan to drop the knives and sports equipment from TSA's list of prohibited items,...

American
Airlines to Let
Light Packers
Board Earlier

May 16, 2013 4:05 PM CDT

American Airlines to Let Light Packers Board Earlier

Company trying to discourage big carry-ons that go in overhead bins

(Newser) - If you're traveling light, you can board earlier on American Airlines. The airline said today that people carrying just a personal item that fits under the seat—no rolling suitcases—will be allowed to board before most other passengers. American said the change will speed up the boarding process...

Air Traffic System Back
to Normal Tomorrow

Apr 27, 2013 12:54 PM CDT

Air Traffic System Back to Normal Tomorrow

FAA suspends furloughs after fix by Congress

(Newser) - The FAA says it has suspended all employee furloughs, meaning the nation's air traffic system will resume normal operations by tomorrow evening. The announcement comes a day after Congress passed legislation to allow the agency to withdraw the furloughs, which were originally mandated in the sequester cuts. The furloughs...

Congress OKs Bill
to Fix Air Travel Delays

UPDATED

Apr 26, 2013 11:51 AM CDT

Congress OKs Bill to Fix Air Travel Delays

Measure will stop furloughs of air traffic controllers

(Newser) - Congress today easily approved legislation ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily. The House approved the measure on a 361-41 vote, one day after the Senate unanimously agreed to the bill. The measure doesn't give the FAA more money, but allows it to...

And the Airport Delays Begin...

thanks, sequester

Apr 23, 2013 9:22 AM CDT

And the Airport Delays Begin...

Air traffic controllers, TSA workers, customs workers go on furlough

(Newser) - Here we go: Those promised airport delays , the result of furloughs caused by the sequester, have arrived. All three major NYC-area airports saw flights falling behind schedule yesterday and, as the Washington Post puts it, air traffic controllers "never caught up," with delays clocking in at between one...