Sometimes music really is a weapon. Big surprise, United Airlines messed up some luggage and refused to do anything about it. But I have to give props to this guy for taking a bad situation and making something positive out of it. Bonus points for the song being pretty catchy. I wonder what would happen if that song was so popular that the record label wanted it on the in flight music station...
posted by theichibun on Jul 7, 2009 - 67 comments

"Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned: Emirates' rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it's proffered by a passenger." Inside the life of an Emirates Airlines Flight Attendant.
posted by Heliochrome85 on Jul 3, 2009 - 28 comments

Nothing to Hide. Air New Zealand has introduced new ads and an in-flight safety video which uses body-painted uniforms to ... get your attention. SFW due to strategically placed drink carts, seatbelts and camera angles.
posted by l33tpolicywonk on Jun 30, 2009 - 54 comments

Airlines Use Terrorism Law to Punish Unruly Passengers. Since 2003, more than 200 airline passengers have been convicted of felonies for violating terrorism laws, many for incidents only involving yelling, cursing, or behaving drunkenly. One such passenger, Tamera Jo Freeman, was arrested and convicted for "an act of terrorism under the Patriot Act," after she spanked her children for toppling tomato juice, cursed at the flight attendant who confronted her, and tossed the juice can on the floor.
posted by terranova on Jan 25, 2009 - 91 comments

Mark takes us on the A380 (warning: image heavy) from Dubai to New York with meticulous photographic detail. For $7300 you can fly the A380 with access to amenities like showers and a full-service bar, and stroll down to see the plebs in steerage. Arguably the last time a flying hotel was tried in earnest was the post-WWII Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a staple of Pacific routes until jet-powered 707s appeared on the scene.
posted by crapmatic on Nov 20, 2008 - 90 comments

The Department of Homeland Security has expressed interest [PDFs] in forcing all commercial airline passengers to wear a taser bracelet that can be used to incapacitate anyone on an airline. This video, from the company that will produce the bracelets, explains how the bracelet would be put on the passenger at the point that they clear security, and would not be removed until they leave secure areas. It would take the place of boarding passes, carry personal and biometric information about the passengers, track and monitor every passenger via GPS and shock the wearer on command, immobilizing him or her for several minutes. DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development is also excited about the possiblility of using it as an interrogation tool at airports. Ah freedom, who knew it smelled like burning flesh?
posted by dejah420 on Jul 12, 2008 - 146 comments

A fairly convincing website for a fake airline added to the outrage some felt in Philadelphia when newspaper ads promised airfares based passengers' weights. "Philadelphia to L.A., $2.25/pound" read the ads.
posted by polysigma on Jun 11, 2008 - 90 comments

After just eleven months of operation, Skybus has ceased operations and declared bankruptcy. It's the third American airline to do so in the past week. That, plus the fact that the FAA is coming under fire for its failure to spot missed inspections, makes this a pretty ugly week in American aviation.
posted by showbiz_liz on Apr 5, 2008 - 71 comments

Woman sues American Airlines for not preventing in-flight masturbation. Oh sure, they can tell breastfeeding mothers to cover up, but when it comes to American Airlines and a fellow passenger ejaculating into a sleeping female passenger's hair? No problem!
posted by bitter-girl.com on Mar 17, 2008 - 149 comments

After taking possession of a brand spankin' new Boeing 777-300ER airliner, the pilot decided to celebrate by buzzing the airfield, landing gear retracted, at 28 feet above the ground [YouTube]. Killjoy airline executives promptly fired his ass.
posted by LarryC on Mar 2, 2008 - 47 comments

Why is your plane late? Airlines can make more money selling 70 airplanes worth of tickets per hour than they could if they limited themselves to the 60 airplanes per hour that the runway can handle. A long but excellent post on what is causing the delays at the airport.
posted by Coop on Jan 30, 2008 - 34 comments

It smells like dirty socks, wet dog, oil, chemicals, gymnasiums, burning, vomit, and more. It induces blurred vision, disorientation, shaking and tremors, vertigo, seizures, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, depression, sleep disorders, salivation, nausea and diarrhoea among other symptoms. Is "toxic airline syndrome" the new Gulf War Syndrome? [more inside]
posted by AmbroseChapel on Jan 7, 2008 - 35 comments

Remember when air travel was viewed as glamorous and exciting? Of course you don't. So check out this collection of vintage flight attendant photos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
posted by brain_drain on Nov 13, 2007 - 37 comments

Tired of waiting an hour for your luggage? Can't fit all your gear into a tiny suitcase? Struggling to find the perfect carry-on? OneBag can help.
posted by brain_drain on Oct 4, 2007 - 34 comments

"Dear Continental Airlines" Disgruntled airline passenger writes to customer service. Complete with hand-drawn diagrams.
posted by thatweirdguy2 on Jun 30, 2007 - 113 comments

FlightMemory.com You must remember this: Passengers can wax nostalgic about flights they made and missed. Launched in Germany last year, this free site made its English-language debut last month.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on May 14, 2007 - 6 comments

Jet Blue Unveils its Image Revival/Damage Control Plan. The low-fare airline rolled out a customer bill of rights Tuesday that promises vouchers to fliers who experience delays in a move it hopes will win back passengers after an operational meltdown damaged its brand and stock price.
posted by wfc123 on Feb 20, 2007 - 43 comments

Southwest's obesity ticket policy nearly strands man with medical condition that causes obesity. SWA's extra fee for fat travelers has been covered before. But what if your obesity is caused by a medical condition? An indigent man dying of late-stage Hepatitis C and suffering from related abdominal bloating is told by an SWA gate agent he can't board a connecting flight to a hospital willing to take his case unless he coughs up money for another ticket -- despite the family getting reassurances before he departed that he wouldn't have to pay due to his medical state. He only boards after an SWA in Dallas for the ticket herself.
posted by dw on Jan 24, 2007 - 55 comments

Veritas Airways , the airline that tells it like it is.
The Economist asks, "In-flight announcements are not entirely truthful. What might an honest one sound like?"
posted by thatwhichfalls on Sep 14, 2006 - 51 comments

Last call for Mr Al Kyder and Mr Terry Wrist...
posted by marvin on Aug 19, 2006 - 18 comments

You just made $300 Million (well, you in the "We The People..." sense). The Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) was authorized by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attacks. It was critized by the Bush administration and some members of Congress as a risky bailout of major airlines, offering to guarantee up to $10B in loans. However, only $1.6B in loans were actually guaranteed under this program. And now, as their work wraps up, the American taxpayer stands to see an extra $300M in the coffers of the US Treasury.
posted by SirOmega on May 30, 2006 - 20 comments

Get 'em while they're hot. Northwest Air Lines figures it's gotta pay the bills somehow, starts charging $15 for aisle and exit row seats.
posted by anjamu on Apr 14, 2006 - 75 comments

Is discrimination OK when it's against males in general? Apparently Qantas and Air New Zealand think it is OK to treat all males as potential pedophile. The NZ Children's Commission thinks it is a great move to not seat unaccompanied minors next to males, while the Human Rights Commission tends to disagree. Joe Public can't seem to decide either way.
posted by pivotal on Nov 29, 2005 - 159 comments

After the first time I flew on an upgraded ticket, I wondered why some airline didn't just make slightly more expensive tickets on a plane filled with fewer, roomier seats for those that crave comfort (basically, all business class). Well, it looks like someone has at Eos Airlines. The seating arrangements look fantastic, going from roomy seat area to flat bed to double table with two seats (for a coworker), with privacy and aisle access for all. Unfortunately "slightly more expensive" is pretty high at $5k for NYC to London, though that's cheaper than major airlines. Business Week has the full story on this new venture.
posted by mathowie on Nov 12, 2005 - 47 comments

Last week, a woman was forced off a Southwest Airlines flight for wearing a t-shirt. The shirt in question bore the phrase "Meet the F*ckers" and an image of US President Bush, VP Cheney and Condoleezza Rice. The passenger, Lorrie Heasley, refused to remove it after other passengers complained. Apparently "Southwest rules filed with the FAA say they can remove a passenger that is offensive, abusive, disorderly or violent or for clothing that is "lewd, obscene, or patently offensive," but the airline says the curse (not the political message) led to her being asked to leave. Ms. Heasley is now speaking with the ACLU to see if she can initiate a lawsuit, but the NYTimes checked with experts in constitutional law and they don't think she has a case.

Well, the makers of the t-shirt have responded: "If any T-Shirt Hell customer is kicked off of any commercial airline flight simply for wearing one of our shirts, we will provide you with alternate transportation to get you to your original destination. This transportation includes, but is not limited to, the T-Shirt Hell corporate jet."
posted by zarq on Oct 11, 2005 - 221 comments

JetBlue flight 292 , with 145 people on board, is currently circling LAX, burning fuel while it prepares for an emergency landing with its nose gear twisted 90 degrees.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Sep 21, 2005 - 180 comments

UAL (United Airlines) dumps four pension plans[optional audio interview with Businessweek expert] ; bankruptcy court authorizes shifting of USD 5 billions (allegedly largest pension default in U.S. history) in pension obligations to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. As a result the burden of private failure and incompetency will be shared by all taxpayers (whose taxes finance PBGC which is already operating on a 23 Billion deficit) and by beneficiaries of the pension plans who will see their pension severely cut : pilots from 100K to 30K pensions but also less privileged workers will be hit. For instance Mrs Tamuk, spokeswoman from Association of Flight Attendants said her pension will be reduced from $1,700 a month to $800 a month.
posted by elpapacito on May 11, 2005 - 94 comments

A comprehensive catalog of airsickness bags from airlines worldwide, Rune's Barf Bag Collection has pictures and descriptions for each one (none are shown used).
posted by breezeway on Apr 25, 2005 - 3 comments

"When stewardesses were sexy and the world was sexist" is the tagline of this years-in-making musical by Suzy Conn, who also runs the blogway baby musicals log (which talks about this musical quite a bit). It's meant to be based around the early 1960's, when airlines were truly a luxury, not unlike a sea cruise or a first-class train ride pre-Amtrak. (The website spends some time going on about Braniff International, and it's worth it to check out the history of that airline. This is also laid out on top of the era of Women's Liberation, although it does so using the aesthetic of 1960's music and phraseology, which was, basically, designed by male-dominated hollywood. For everyone who sits in the cheap seats, if you let the flash animation at the beginning of the site load, it plays the entire opening title song for you. Hey, free show!
posted by jscott on Apr 12, 2005 - 27 comments

Like misbehaving teenagers, Jetsgo passengers find themselves grounded indefinitely. As it turns out you can't both operate on razor-thin margins AND spend millions upon millions in expensive marketing campaigns. Who'd have thunk it?
posted by clevershark on Mar 11, 2005 - 23 comments

Upstart travel sites challenge the big three Catering to skinflints who can't be bothered to check multiple sites for the best fares, travel aggregator sites like Mobissimo, CheapFlights, Qixo, or Sidestep allow you to search Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity with a single query, as well as bargain airlines like JetBlue and Southwest, which aren't covered by the big three. (note: Sidestep requires a download, and only works on Windows; the others are all just regular websites.) But maybe you'd be best off just heading straight to an obscure Belgian travel site.
posted by yankeefog on Dec 13, 2004 - 13 comments

Is John Barlow, cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Grateful Dead lyricist, a threat to national security? "On September 15, 2003, I boarded Delta Flight 310, scheduled to depart San Francisco International Airport for JFK at 7:20 that morning. I was still feeling slightly singed from Burning Man and the hour was one I prefer to see from the other side. I was almost back to sleep when, roughly two minutes before pull-back, I was approached by a Delta employee who informed me that there was 'a problem' of some sort and that it would be necessary to get off the aircraft..."
posted by digaman on Dec 10, 2004 - 172 comments

Chapters in the Sky --- a rich collection of autobiographical aviation storytelling by Paul Niquette. Complete with glossary for non-pilots/enthusiasts. Highlights: two crashes in one day, the flight school riding on the success of Paul's FAA checkride, commuting over LA.
posted by tss on Nov 24, 2004 - 7 comments

Delta Airlines to announce chapter 11 tomorrow around noon.
posted by Keyser Soze on Oct 26, 2004 - 58 comments

Russian Plane Crashes, Another Missing.
posted by johnnydark on Aug 24, 2004 - 41 comments

Patrick "Ask a Pilot" Smith opines on "Terror in the Skies, Again?" Smith: I, for one, fully admit that certain acts of airborne crime and treachery may indeed open the channels to a debate on civil liberties. Pray tell, what happened? Gunfight at 37,000 feet? Valiant passengers wrestle a grenade from a suicidal operative? Hero pilots beat back a cockpit takeover? Well, no. As a matter of fact, nothing happened. Turns out the Syrians are part of a musical ensemble hired to play at a hotel. The men talk to one another. They glance around. They pee. That's it? That's it.
posted by skallas on Jul 20, 2004 - 68 comments

Flight crew beat up passenger: Drunken passengers often give air crews trouble, but Russia's leading airline today reported an 'unprecedented' reversal: a passenger was assaulted by intoxicated flight attendants. (via failure)
posted by fizz-ed on Jul 20, 2004 - 11 comments

Want to fly free? Song may accommodate you. All you have to do is be nice.
posted by mr_crash_davis on May 19, 2004 - 5 comments

The Hundred Dollar Hamburger. A pilot's guide to fly-in restaurants.
posted by gottabefunky on Feb 5, 2004 - 16 comments

That U.S. intelligence agencies confuse terrorists with children on passenger jets is a reminder that data collection is easy, but data analysis is hard. That must be why the six-year-old daughter of one of Boing Boing's co-founders is on the CAPPS list as a security risk. All this is also a reminder that we need privacy safeguards for these data mining programs.
posted by homunculus on Jan 11, 2004 - 34 comments

Aerosite.
posted by hama7 on Dec 29, 2003 - 15 comments

Positively the last Concorde flight ever in less than twelve hours time. Here are the Avon police plans for Wed 26 November, when the last Concorde flight ever departs London Heathrow, goes Mach 2 just for the hell of it over the Bay of Biscay, and touches down at Filton, Bristol, where much of the original development took place.

I'll try to get to the Clifton Bridge, to celebrate Brunel at the same time.
posted by gdav on Nov 25, 2003 - 11 comments

SkyHigh Airlines is one of the funniest, most well done and fleshed out parody sites I've seen on the web. Try everything, plan a trip (notice the luxurious ports of call they fly into), track your lost luggage - oh hell, just click everything, you'll be glad you did. Even the Chairman's letter is funny.
posted by Dome-O-Rama on Sep 28, 2003 - 22 comments

Flying Cloud flies for the last time On Wednesday, August 6, the last Boeing 307 Stratoliner landed at Dulles [WaPo; may require registration]. [more] [more] [more] This was the plane that ditched off Seattle in March, 2002 after being fully restored. Now, re-restored, it has arrived at its final destination, the Smithsonian's new Hazy Center. Dry eyes were a rare commodity.
posted by SealWyf on Aug 7, 2003 - 9 comments

Southeast Airlines has plans to install digital video cameras throughout the cabins of its planes to record the faces and activities of its passengers at all times. Furthermore, the charter airline will store the digitized video for up to 10 years. And it may use face recognition software to match faces to names and personal records.
posted by Irontom on Jul 18, 2003 - 17 comments

Mile High Dating: combining Internet dating with unlimited free flights is allowing America West employees to become jet setting bachelors (anyone can do it, but according to the story it's mostly men taking advantage of this combination). It costs them next to nothing for a weekend trip (if everything works out) but seems amazingly romantic to the women. [more inside]
posted by Irontom on Jul 9, 2003 - 15 comments

The horror,the horror. Everybody seems to be an expert on airline travel. Whether it's security issues or the dynamics of flight. There seems to be plenty of places to get it off your chest. With the industry in a nosedive will the survivors have to lift their game. Or just cut more corners to enhance the bottom line. Love those 5 hour on the runway to nowhere tales. Um as long as it's not me.
posted by johnny7 on Apr 20, 2003 - 4 comments

The thought of Concorde services ending saddens me ( possibly because 101 sits less than half a mile from my doorstep). It [with it' s clone Concordeski] was the only supersonic passenger jet to even make it to prototype status. Considering things like it's massive fuel consumption, should we ditch the beast, find something else or go back to subsonics?
posted by twine42 on Feb 26, 2003 - 16 comments

Coffee, tea or should we feel your pregnant wife's breasts? Well, like most of you I've read many personal accounts of the change in air travel since 9/11. But this one packs a major wallop, well written, infuriating and containing one of the best concluding sentences . . . ever. ( via Blogdex )
posted by jeremias on Dec 22, 2002 - 138 comments

Choose your seat wisely. Okay, so you already know what your meal is going to be. But, so much of your travel experience depends on the quality of your seat. Seatguru has not only seat maps, but reviews of most seats on the big 6 US airlines. (For links to more seat maps, brave the pop-ups and go here.)
posted by Vidiot on Dec 18, 2002 - 6 comments