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 ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
passengers posts
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 ...Five business travel factors for Obama and the midterm elections
Sep 8th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Leisure travel is irrelevant during the election season, but the woes of business travelers seem to resonate. With the midterm contests two months away, all eyes are on the White House ... and President Obama's success rate with road, rail and runway repair.
This is the one time business travelers make the presidential agenda, according to Portfolio.com: "Presidents (or people campaigning for ...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 ...Some flight attendants worse than drunk passengers says survey
Aug 23rd, 2010 at 12:30PM: "Surly demeanor" is what bugs passengers most about flight attendants, confirming any suspicion anyone's ever had about customer service in the airline industry. More than 5,100 readers weighed in on a USA Today survey, with 38 percent saying that attitude was the worst part of dealing with flight attendants.
What else can't we stand about flight attendants? According to USA Today, 21 percent ...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 ...Galley Gossip: Funny flight attendant book - Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase!
Aug 9th, 2010 at 9:30AM: Ever since reading the book Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase: Hilarious Stories of Air Travel by the World's Favorite Flight Attendant, written by Betty N. Thesky with Janet Spencer, I've been tempted to do a spin in the middle of the aisle as soon as I've finished serving my three rows to alert the flight attendant working on the other side of the cart that I'm ready to move. Normally we'll ...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 ...Top five reasons passengers are getting nastier
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 2:00PM: As much as passengers complain about airline employees (and we do), we give them reason to complain about us. And, we complain about each other. There's clearly no risk of a love-fest breaking out in the gate area, and if you look closely, you can see how the situation will only get worse. There are all kinds of conditions set to make air travel miserable (well ... more so), and that means ...Galley Gossip: A letter from a flight attendant to Jerry Seinfeld concerning Lady Gaga, bad behavior & free upgrades
Jun 25th, 2010 at 9:30AM: Dear Mr. Seinfeld,
May I call you Jerry? After Lady Gaga removed her shirt and held up her middle finger at a Mets game, she was escorted to your private box seats. Later on you complained about the singer's behavior by stating, "I can't believe they put her in my box that I paid for! You give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we're living in now?"
Hate to break it to ...Galley Gossip: Goodies for the crew
May 26th, 2010 at 9:30AM: I'm taking a trip next week to Las Vegas. Is there anything I can bring the flight attendants and pilots as a little token of my appreciation. You guys work a really hard job. I just saw the Capitalism Micheal Moore movie and I had no idea that pilots and flight attendants got such a raw deal from their employers. I thought about making cookies or muffins? Any ideas would be great - Tina B.
...Galley Gossip: Will the volcanic eruption trigger a baby boom?
Apr 20th, 2010 at 9:00AM: During 9/11 I was stuck in Zurich, Switzerland for over a week. Sure there are much worse places to be, but I spent ninety percent of that time sitting around the airport waiting to get back to the United States. Every single day I checked out the hotel, dragged my bags a few blocks in the dark to the train station, and waited at the airport just like thousands of other stranded passengers. I was ...Galley Gossip: Switching seats, exit row safety & asking for upgrades
Apr 14th, 2010 at 9:00AM: Recently on a flight a passenger took the empty seat beside me. He had an assigned seat that he left behind. If by luck of the draw I had an empty seat (true not paid for), then it seems to me that as a beneficiary of said luck that I have inherited certain rights. If the other guy had stayed in his OWN seat, I would have had the enjoyment of more space. His moving AFFECTED me. The only reason I ...Fees passengers hate actually make sense
Mar 13th, 2010 at 4:00PM: I honestly don't have much of a problem with all the extra fees being tacked on by airlines. They have an obligation to their shareholders to deliver results: it's a fact of life. And, realistically, they don't do us any good if they can't afford to put planes in the air. But, I suspect I'm in the minority on this one. A recent online poll by Airfarewatchdog.com sought to learn which fee ...Photo of the Day (02.20.10)
Feb 20th, 2010 at 5:30PM:
Carpooling is a great way to get to know your coworkers, save money and help the environment. A common concern amongst people who ride-share is that they hate being cramped in the car. Sure, the lack of legroom and sheer number of elbows poking your torso can make for an aggravating commute. But the next time you want to gripe about how uncomfortable your ride to work is, consider this Indian ...Galley Gossip: 5 ways flight attendants handle difficult passengers
Jan 27th, 2010 at 10:00AM: Flight attendants deal with unruly passengers all the time. How we handle a problem passenger depends on the situation. Most of the time a few simple techniques can be used to diffuse a situation, but I'll get to that in a moment. Because sometimes, every once in awhile, we have no choice but to involve law enforcement - not just for our safety, but for the comfort and safety of passengers on ...The most over-the-top first class cabins
Dec 23rd, 2009 at 11:30AM: While most coach flyers would kill for a little extra leg room and a free bag of peanuts, first class passengers are often living the good life with free-flowing drinks and fully-reclining seats. But there are some first class cabins that go beyond simply luxury and begin to cross into the land of excess.
For example, according to a post on Divine Caroline, Singapore Airlines offers its first ...Travel professionals: stop going the extra mile
Nov 6th, 2009 at 9:00AM: It sounds counterintuitive, right? Normally, customers expect that extra effort, and we complain constantly that we don't get it enough. What we sometimes don't understand, though, is that the extra effort is at the root of many of the customer service problems we encounter. Going the extra mile at the wrong time can be a disaster.
I remember a case presented at a conference I attended back in ...
