May 8th, 2013 at 10:00AM: The adage goes something like this:
The worst day of fishing beats the best day of work.
Years ago, I knew I found the right job when I was a co-pilot on a charter flight in a 15-seat Twin Otter for a day of fishing on an Alaskan beach. I remember thinking of that adage, and telling everyone that it was the best day of work and the best day of fishing.
How could it ever be possible to top ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
passenger posts
Cockpit Chronicles - Paragliding In Rio: Best Layover Ever! (Video)
May 8th, 2013 at 10:00AM: The adage goes something like this:
The worst day of fishing beats the best day of work.
Years ago, I knew I found the right job when I was a co-pilot on a charter flight in a 15-seat Twin Otter for a day of fishing on an Alaskan beach. I remember thinking of that adage, and telling everyone that it was the best day of work and the best day of fishing.
How could it ever be possible to top ...Babies and first class: why is this an issue?
Mar 12th, 2012 at 3:00PM: Earlier this week, I saw a story about babies and first class air travel posted on Facebook. The Facebook poster asked our own Heather Poole (flight attendant, mother, and new book author!) for her thoughts on the story, and she replied, "I'm fine with babies in first class. Usually they just sleep." Columnist Brett Snyder is a frequent flier and new dad wondering if he should use miles to upgrade ...Top 5 ways to annoy your airplane seatmate
Jun 22nd, 2011 at 3:30PM: Over on Reddit earlier this month, there was a fascinating and hysterical story written by someone who was on an airplane with two seemingly horrible passengers. In fact, he ended up seated directly in between them [Note: The photo to the right is not the author of the Reddit post]. It seems that a mother (on crutches, mind you) boarded the plane with her young son. Rather than move their seats so ...Mystery bag gets passenger yanked from Boston flight
Jan 4th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Was Ognjen Milatovic a nutty professor? Only time – and the legal process – will tell. The University of North Florida professor of mathematics and statistics put a carry-on in the overhead bin ... and his fellow passengers said it was making strange noises. Then, he wouldn't get off his phone and take his seat when told to do so by the crew.
So, he was turned over to the ...The 10 easiest ways to improve air travel this holiday season
Dec 16th, 2010 at 3:00PM: It's time for you to drag your screaming kids, annoying spouse and endless amounts of overstuffed bags through the airport, as you find your way over the river and through the woods. Thanksgiving is behind us, and that's the really ugly time to travel, but Christmas is no picnic either. The gate areas and bars will be crowded, and it's going to be awfully hard for you to be happy while darting ...Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]
![Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2010/12/airportlounge_thumbnail.jpg)
Dec 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM: There are a whole lot more of us flying this year: 4.3 percent more, to be exact. That's the increase in domestic air traffic from September 2009 to September 2010, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In that month, U.S. airlines had 57.3 million passengers, leading to the largest year-over-year gain since September 2007. Meanwhile, international passenger ...Federal judge will decide on your right to relax, not airlines
Dec 9th, 2010 at 5:00PM: Nobody likes it when the passenger in front of him reclines. I can't fathom any circumstance in which having the person's seatback on your lap is enjoyable. I have numerous tactics I use to prevent the person in front of me from reclining, and I suspect I'm not alone (in fairness to the person behind me, I rarely recline, and if I do, it's never more than half way).
So, when you drive your ...Zagat survey: five ways customers say they hate airlines ... in their own words
Nov 30th, 2010 at 8:00AM: It's almost sport for customers to describe how much they hate airlines. Sure, there are a few that do well from time to time, occasionally delivering high levels of service or eschewing ancillary fees. But, the overwhelming trend tends to be one of customer dissatisfaction.
Zagat, which is in the business of measuring and publishing value and taste, has taken a shot defining the highs and lows ...Qantas luggage "all tied up" in Melbourne
Nov 29th, 2010 at 4:30PM: It must be those adventure travelers ... they're always so high maintenance.
A rock-climbing rope jammed up some of the Qantas baggage equipment at the Melbourne, Australia airport last night, and as many as 400 pieces of luggage are lying around, waiting to be reunited with their passengers. Of course, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, passengers are welcome to "search through the piles" if ...Passenger put on No Fly List for using iPad
Oct 27th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Think only suspected terrorists and hardened criminals end up on the government's infamous No Fly List? Well you best mind your manners on your next flight - in these days of heightened airline security, all it takes to end up in hot water is some seriously obnoxious passenger behavior and an iPad. According to a recent story on Jalopnik, an air traveler en route from Chicago to New York's ...Flight attendants find dead Filipino passenger in Gulf Air lavatory
Oct 20th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
The cause of death – including suicide – still isn't clear, but the facts are. Gulf Air flight attendants found a 36-year-old Filipino passenger dead in the plane lav today; he was flying home to Manila from Bahrain. Attempts to revive him using CPR were unsuccessful.
The event occurred on Gulf Air flight 154, and is the second strange lav event in as many months. In September, ...Why don't airlines call us customers?
Sep 17th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Language shapes reality – there's no way around it. It is evident in the general absence of profanity in children (at least in front of their parents), forgoing certain expressions except among friends (or, for some people, completely) and the selection of particular phrases for impact. Words have meaning, and thus they have power. So, it makes sense for a major company or industry to ...Four reasons airlines blame passengers for their current woes
Sep 14th, 2010 at 11:00AM: It would be so much easier if we'd just pay more, right? That's what the airlines seem to believe. It's impossible for them to turn consistent profits because we just won't accept higher prices. And, kicking the poor off the plane doesn't seem to be an option.
I got up this morning and read George Hobica's hilarious "interview" with Wilbur Flywright, CEO of BrokenWings Airways. In it, I was ...Centerfold model tries to get off early
Sep 13th, 2010 at 9:00AM: The latest person to try to ditch a JetBlue flight early put forth the boldest attempt yet ... but at least she brought her own flotation devices.
Centerfold model Tiffany Livingston was on a flight from Orlando to Newark and wanted to get off very early. In mid-air, she left her seat and tried to open the plane door – not a bright move, and one for which the emergency slide would provide ...Airlines: Take the poor off the plane
Sep 10th, 2010 at 8:00AM: My recent post on passenger rudeness and airline employee customer service generated a considerable amount of discussion. What really struck me was the number of readers who cited the overlapping factors of deregulation, lower fares and increasingly crowded flights. Basically, because flights are cheaper, more people can afford them, and service levels can't be sustained in light of both increased ...Pregnant passenger badgered into body scanner
Sep 9th, 2010 at 3:30PM: At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, a pregnant passenger saw that she'd have to go through the full body scanner and instead asked for a TSA pat-down. Her request fell on deaf ears, she told The Consumerist, and was pushed into the decision to get scanned. According to the logic applied by the TSA folks, the passenger says, "Oh it is less than an ultrasound, and it's really easy so just go ...Are airline passengers getting ruder? Deal with it!
Sep 8th, 2010 at 8:00AM: Recent mayhem in the skies has obviously raised the question of whether passengers are getting ruder, and the consensus seems to be that we are. The average passenger may cite fuller planes, less room in overhead compartments and an endless array of fees as reasons for the lack of courtesy, not to mention an increasingly tough gauntlet from the curb to the gate. And, the cabin crew will probably ...JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater lies about passenger assault
Aug 16th, 2010 at 8:30AM:
Steven Slater without a reason for his slide to glory is really just a random weirdo with a salient dangerous streak. After all, any goodwill the flight attendant got from the public was based on the horrible working conditions he endured – including being assaulted by a passenger and getting a gash on his head in the process – and the fact that they drove him to his "take this job ...Sweaty passenger chastises Delta on YouTube
Jul 31st, 2010 at 9:00AM:
It's bad enough to hear about the misery of being stuck on the tarmac, but to see it adds another dimension. When Tony Morales was stuck on a Delta plane in Phoenix, sweat dripping from his head, he recorded a portion of his ordeal, even though he risked "getting yelled at for filming right now."
Morales described the situation on the plane as "uncomfortable, hot, miserable – it just ...
Customer service slams airlines in overweight passenger policy enforcement
Jul 28th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Airline rules for passengers who take up more than one seat are neither new nor surprising. Forget about passenger comfort (the airlines already have, of course), it's a financial issue. A passenger who takes up more than one seat is consuming a scarce resource (in the economic sense): seat 42A on Flight ABC123 on July 29, 2010 can only be sold once. If it doesn't bring in any revenue, it never ...
