Nov 10th, 2009 at 2:30PM: Starting May 2, 2010, United Airlines fans can fly the carrier from the US to Africa for the first time in the company's history. United will offer flights from DC to Accra, Ghana (and then on to Lagos, Nigeria). Beginning April 18, 2010, passengers flying from DC to Kuwait can also continue on to Bahrain.
Chicago to Brussels nonstop on March 28, 2010. The carrier also added several other new ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Airlines posts
United Airlines adds flights to Africa, the Middle East and Europe
Nov 10th, 2009 at 2:30PM: Starting May 2, 2010, United Airlines fans can fly the carrier from the US to Africa for the first time in the company's history. United will offer flights from DC to Accra, Ghana (and then on to Lagos, Nigeria). Beginning April 18, 2010, passengers flying from DC to Kuwait can also continue on to Bahrain.
Chicago to Brussels nonstop on March 28, 2010. The carrier also added several other new ...Poll: Have you ever passed up the cheapest airfare to avoid a bad airline?
Nov 3rd, 2009 at 1:00PM: People love to complain about the dismal state of air travel these days. Whether it's the stomach-churning airline food (and there's so little of it!), the complete lack of leg room, or the fact that your luggage was for some reason routed through Honolulu, we've come to expect some pretty poor service from quite a few airlines these days.
In any other industry, customers register their ...United to receive heavy fine for towel stuffed in engine
Oct 19th, 2009 at 10:30AM: US Airways and United Airlines both stand to receive multi-million dollar fines from the FAA for maintenance violations.
US Airways' violations include failing to inspect cargo doors and landing gear on a few plans and for failing to perform routine checks on dozen of others. US Airways responded quickly to the news, saying that the violations stem from the integration of their maintenance ...Choosing the right company for your carbon offsets
Oct 15th, 2009 at 3:30PM:
According to Carbonfund, with the amount of flying I do annually, I "produce" about 21,000 pounds of CO2 per year. If I want to make up for the environmental damage I've done, I can pay $125 to offset my carbon contribution.
But what does that really mean? How can paying $125 make the air cleaner or the ozone layer stronger? Where does that $125 go? Am I just paying to make myself feel ...British Airways computer glitch posts super low cost flights to India
Oct 5th, 2009 at 4:00PM:
Late Friday night, an alert went out on Twitter. Fares to Mumbai, India, from locations all over the US were being offered at rock bottom prices on British Airways. Flights from Chicago to Mumbai were just $550 per person.
I quickly logged on to Orbitz, selected my dates, and clicked purchase. I received an email from Orbitz confirming my purchase and then got to work planning the trip. My ...Plane Answers: Why can't airlines wait at the gate vs. in a queue on the taxiway?
Oct 5th, 2009 at 2:00PM:
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Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!
Mike asks:
Hello Kent,
There are ...Galley Gossip: Flight attendants under investigation for bomb threat
Oct 3rd, 2009 at 1:00PM:
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Like I mentioned in my last post, Fly-Girls, a flight attendant docu-series airing soon, it's rarely ever a good thing when flight attendants are in the news...
It happened a few seconds after the Captain on my flight from Miami to New York ...American Airlines employees busted for drug-smuggling
Sep 16th, 2009 at 10:00AM: 22 people were arrested Tuesday amidst allegations of smuggling drugs from Puerto Rico into the US on American Airlines planes. Nine of the people arrested were employees of the airline, who allegedly sent over 9,000 kilograms - almost 20,000 pounds - of cocaine to US destinations that included Miami, Orlando and New Jersey. According to the US Justice Department, the ring has been operating since ...Galley Gossip: 9/11 - We will never forget
Sep 11th, 2009 at 9:30AM: Silence has strength. Often times silence is more powerful than words. Today I have decided not to remain silent.
That's Terry Thames, an American Airlines pilot, hanging out of the cockpit window. This is the first American Airlines flight returning to Washington Dulles after the skies were reopened four days after 9/11. The photo was featured in the book, Reclaiming the Sky, by Tom Murphy.
I ...Airline fees continue, necessary evil
Sep 6th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Yes, you've heard about this all year, and you'll probably hear about it for a while to come. Airlines are still looking for ways to pull every dollar they can out of your wallets, but the reality is that they have no choice. Seven of the nine largest airlines in the United States had a rough time in August, making these measures more important than passengers might realize.
The second bag, ...Galley Gossip: A letter from a frequent flyin', two-timin', cheat!
Aug 25th, 2009 at 9:30AM: Dear Airline, I remember the first day we met. It was love at first flight. We've shared countless hours together- oh the places we've gone. It's been bumpy at times, but I always stuck up for you when people called you old and grumpy. I even stuck by you when you dropped service to Providence, my home town! But lately something has changed. You don't treat me the way you used to. You started ...Southwest to offer wi-fi on all flights by 2010
Aug 22nd, 2009 at 2:00PM: To add to its cheap fares, no-extra-fees policy, and wise-cracking flight attendants, Southwest Airlines is giving us one more reason to love the low-cost carrier. Southwest says that, by the first quarter of 2010, wi-fi internet will be available on all flights.
Southwest and Row 44 have been testing the service on four planes since February of 2009. In a press release, Southwest Airlines' ...Ryanair fumbles check-in, hundreds delayed
Aug 4th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Hundreds of Ryanair passengers were left behind on Sunday, when a shortage of check-in desks caused them to miss their flights out of London's Stansted Airport. The airline, which encourages passengers to check in online, only opened 11 check-in desks on one of the UK's busiest travel weekends of the year, when 255 flights were scheduled to depart. 23 desks were open the previous weekend.
Over ...26 hurt on turbulent Continental flight
Aug 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: On most flights, turbulence is a minor inconvenience. You have to return to your seat and buckle in, and you may have to wait a little longer to get your next vodka and cranberry (oh, is it just me that needs a cocktail, or three, to relax on a plane?). Planes are generally able to avoid the worst of the bumps, thanks to radar and reports from other planes in the area. But sometimes, turbulence ...Galley Gossip: Nonrevs, deadheads & commuters in (and out) of uniform
Aug 4th, 2009 at 11:00AM: Wanna know the best way to change clothes on an airplane? I bet you do. I'll get to that in a moment. (Or you can just scroll down to the bottom of this post.) Now that I've got your attention...
Have you ever seen a uniformed crew member sitting on the jumpseat and flipping through magazines? Or even worse, watching a movie? Don't be too quick to judge. There's a very good chance that lazy ...The best and worst airports in America
Aug 2nd, 2009 at 4:00PM: Chicago O'Hare, my home airport, has been ranked by Travel + Leisure as the 2nd worst airport in the country for its delayed flight percentages. But despite flying to and from the airport fairly often, I've never experienced the major delays it's best-known for. Maybe the airport gods know that, as someone who is terrified of flying, I'm already under enough stress and just couldn't take the added ...Mile High Dining Club: Air France
Aug 1st, 2009 at 9:30AM: Welcome to the first installment of the Mile High Dining Club where I'll be exploring and reviewing all things delicious (and perhaps not so) in the air, on the tracks, and on the ground. As airlines continue to cut more services, the bygone Pan American days of bottomless champagne, caviar and carving stations of roast beef have unfortunately fallen to the wayside as more travelers now find ...Need help? If you're flying Delta, look for the red coats.
Jul 29th, 2009 at 3:30PM: As much as I'm displeased about Delta's new policy to charge $5 more for bags checked at the airport , I do have to say I was pleased with how friendly the gate people were on each leg of our flights to New Mexico and back this month.
I think the people I came across are naturally pleasant, but Delta is making extra efforts to ensure passengers feel as if they can get great service from a real ...Irony alert - airlines not happy with new airport fee hikes
Jul 23rd, 2009 at 5:30PM: In what I can only describe as "you have to be kidding me", the Association of European Airlines (AEA) slammed European airports for increasing the fees they charge for the right to use their facilities. These fees are passed on to passengers in the form of "passenger facility charges". The airlines claim that increasing these fees is not fair in this current economic climate, and that the fees ...US Airways and Gogo Inflight team up for WiFi in the sky
Jul 23rd, 2009 at 10:30AM: Aircell just announced that US Airways will bring WiFi Internet access to their fleet using the Gogo Inflight service. The commercial launch is planned for early 2010, and will initially make its way to all A321 aircraft on domestic routes. When the roll out begins, passengers will be able to see whether their plane is equipped with Internet access by looking for a WiFi icon when booking their ...
