Oct 3rd, 2009 at 12:00PM: The FBI is looking for common denominators in bomb threats on American Airlines flights between Miami and Boston. Two cases have arisen, prompting the FBI to dig a little deeper. The most recent incident occurred on Wednesday, when a flight attendant found "bomb on board, Boston-Miami" written on a bathroom cabinet. A search of the luggage yielded no bombs or other weapons.
On September 17, a ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
American posts
FBI hunts for close in Miami-Boston bomb threats
Oct 3rd, 2009 at 12:00PM: The FBI is looking for common denominators in bomb threats on American Airlines flights between Miami and Boston. Two cases have arisen, prompting the FBI to dig a little deeper. The most recent incident occurred on Wednesday, when a flight attendant found "bomb on board, Boston-Miami" written on a bathroom cabinet. A search of the luggage yielded no bombs or other weapons.
On September 17, a ...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 ...Relationship with JAL: Delta or American?
Sep 13th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Fliers in the United States may get more options when traveling to Japan, but it's unsure which airline will be the one to deliver. Both Delta and American are said to be in talks with Japan Airlines, and the winner is likely to have greater access to the largest travel market in Asia. Delta's deal is reported to be worth several hundred million dollars, while the American Airlines offer is said ...Flying for the rest of the year - fewer seats, higher fares
Sep 13th, 2009 at 2:00PM: As the financial brainiacs of the world slowly start to see some gradual improvement in the global economy, the worlds airlines are pushing through some far reaching changes to their Q4 2009 schedules.
Because the recession hit the airlines so suddenly, none of them were able to make any major cuts to their schedules (these schedules are set in stone in advance).
Overcapacity has meant that ...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, ...American Airlines cleared on racism charges
Sep 4th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Six Iraqi-American passengers sued American Airlines, claiming that racism drove the cancellation of their flight. The men were all residents of Michigan and were employed by a security contract firm and had been participating in training with members of the U.S. military. Their flight was canceled, they believe, because of their nationality.
U.S. District Judge Paul Borman decided that the ...Paris pins its tourism hopes on Americans. . . and shopaholics
Aug 27th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Poor Paris. The city was recently voted "most overrated in the world" and tourism is down by 11% (or more, according to some reports) compared with the first half of 2008. The number of British and Japanese visitors dropped nearly 25% each, while the number of tourists from China declined by over 17%.
Mon Dieu! What's a city to do? Well, according to the AP, the director of the Paris Tourism ...On Southwest, the internet's no longer free
Jun 23rd, 2009 at 5:00PM: Starting tomorrow, Southwest Airlines is going to start charging for internet access on four of its planes. The fees will range from $2 to $12, based on how long you're in the sky and how you connect. For the past few months, access has been free, but the lure of additional revenue must have been hard to resist.
Yep, another extra fee to add to the list ...
Both Delta Airlines and American ...American Airlines' Mitchell: We want to give passengers "what they value most"
May 29th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Mark Mitchell, American Airlines' managing director of customer experience, is the point man for customer service at the airline. With the summer travel season now underway, I asked him how air travelers could have the best possible experience, and what airlines like American are doing to make it better. Q: What can air travelers do to get the best possible customer experience from an airline ...Giving up your seat for a voucher? Only on one condition!
May 19th, 2009 at 4:00PM: It's always pretty tempting. You're sitting in the gate area and hear the voice on the loudspeaker, offering travel vouchers and other perks if you'll give up your seat because your flight is oversold. You know the drill ... "if your travel plans are flexible." Well, while en route to the Gadling meet-up in Chicago, I got this opportunity and decided to roll the dice. Along the way, I learned a ...March airline plunge softens in April
May 9th, 2009 at 3:00PM: Passenger traffic is still falling. That's not going to change for a while. But, the decline slowed in April, signaling that the prolonged sharp dips may be behind us. Some optimists even believe that the worst is over – though I maintain a healthy skepticism.
Note the metric being used: passenger traffic. There's a lot of mileage between asses in seats and money in the bank. On a positive ...American Airlines updates fleets with new Boeing 737s
Apr 21st, 2009 at 2:00PM: With the oldest fleet in the American workforce, it was about time that American Airlines got aggressive with updating their aircraft. This year they're starting the revamp with delivery of new Boeing 737-800s. While the 737-800 airframe has been around for ten years now, American is making sure to include all of the modcons to keep passengers happy. Among those tidbits will be new, numerous ...American Airlines bringing in-flight Internet to more domestic flights
Mar 31st, 2009 at 2:30PM: There is no denying it - in-flight Internet is here to stay. The popularity of being able to get some work (or fun) done during your flight helped make in-flight WiFi one of the winners of the 2008 Engadget awards. This morning, American Airlines announced their commitment to the service by revealing plan to bring the Gogo in-flight Internet service to 300 of its domestic planes. American Airlines ...So is Steve Fossett dead or alive?
Oct 2nd, 2008 at 11:30AM: A few days ago, $1000, a sweater, an ID card and a pilot's license -- both with Steve Fossett's name on them -- were found in a bush west of Mammoth lakes, in eastern California's Inyo national forest. Authorities are investigating the items as well as the entire area in a 10-mile radius. Millionaire adventurer and world-record breaker Steve Fossett disappeared on the 3rd of September 2007. On ...NOT pre-boarding people with young ones saves time
Sep 7th, 2008 at 1:30PM: In an article in the St. Petersburg Times, writer Bridget Hall Grumet tells about her experience waiting with her pre-toddler to pre-board, only to not pre-board after all. The unnamed airline had dropped the practice unbeknown to her. (She later mentions an American Airlines and United flight, but they are not the ones Grumet initially described.)
We've posted in the past about airlines who have ...Booking a Flight from New York to San Francisco Online. But Where Online?
Aug 9th, 2007 at 2:03PM: I used to be a big fan of buying tickets on travel websites such as Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com but lately, I found that it is often cheaper to buy them directly through the airlines's websites. Have we come a full circle?
I picked a random date--a long weekend Sept.13-17 from New York to San Francisco--to see what rates would come back.
A sample of a few direct flights:
...Stereotypes of Tourists, from a British Perspective
Jan 22nd, 2007 at 5:02PM: Travel stereotypes always make good writing topics. On one hand, we hate stereotyping because we are told that "cultured people don't use stereotypes". On the other hand, there is no question that observations become stereotypes because they are based on accurate reality. And isn't travel supposed to be about observing reality?
I came across a funny piece, entitled "The Worst Tourists in the ...
