![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 ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
unitedairlines posts
Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]
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 ...The death of cheap tickets? Four factors to watch!
Dec 7th, 2010 at 1:00PM: Are the days of bargain pricing over? There's a lot of pessimism around this issue. After getting smacked around in 2008 and 2009, this year has been a good one for air carriers, and USA Today reports: "Airfares are on the rise again and unlikely to fall again anytime soon." Yet, a travel industry recovery comes with advantages, as more people want to fly, and they tend to be willing to stomach ...Are airlines bad for your health? Five perspectives on plane food
Nov 30th, 2010 at 3:30PM:
Lately, it seems like the easiest way to lose weight is to fly regularly. There isn't much to munch on in the skies, as airlines have cut back on just about anything that looks like an amenity. Fatty foods have been replaced by none at all, which is great for your waistline, right?
It turns out that you can still pork up on a plane, even if you think the dismal state of customer service ...Earn 1000 bonus miles when you use mobile check-in this Holiday season on United Airlines
Nov 10th, 2010 at 1:30PM: United Airlines is taking a bit of stress off the Holiday travel season with a pretty generous 1000 mile bonus for passengers who use their mobile check-in service.
Mobile check-in is available on all United and United Express operated flights within the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The promotion does have one minor caveat - you need to register at ...Five United Airlines non-answers about the frequent-flier future
Nov 5th, 2010 at 12:00PM: United Airlines decided to dive into the weeds. Executives from the airline met with close to 200 members of the online forum FlyerTalkers to discuss some of the major issues they see with the carrier, according to USA Today. This may not seem like a bold move, but to put the company's top dogs out in front of some of the highest-value customers comes with plenty of risk, especially for an airline ...United puts Economy Plus on sale, $5 more than coach
Nov 2nd, 2010 at 3:00PM: Normally when airlines put fares on sale it's no big news here at Gadling. Not a day goes by when some legacy airline or some large hotel chain releases a paltry discount on overpriced tickets -- a sale that most times is not much cheaper than your average unadvertised, competitive faremongering.
United did something a bit different this time though: they put their Economy Plus section on sale, ...Disruptive passenger arrested in Denver after bomb threat
Nov 1st, 2010 at 11:00AM: A disruptive passenger was arrested at Denver International Airport this past weekend when he said he had a bomb. The passenger was late for a flight to Salt Lake City, missed the connection and left his luggage on the plane. After being "disruptive in the gate area" and making inappropriate comments," a United Airlines spokesman told CNN, the passenger claimed he had a bomb in his bag.
This ...Airlines not alone in poor customer service studies
Oct 30th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
The Airline Quality Rating report was released last week, exposing the five worst airlines in the United States. It's fun to beat up on the airlines ... as it is to beat up on other companies and industries notorious for poor customer service. So, this made me wonder just how the airlines stack up against everyone else.
Back in August, the American Customer Satisfaction Index rated hundreds of ..."America's Meanest Airlines" exposed
Oct 27th, 2010 at 4:45PM:
Today on Yahoo Travel, "America's Meanest Airlines" were revealed. The story, "based on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report, which covers 18 domestic carriers," lambasts American Airlines, United, Delta and several other airlines, including four regional carriers.
The Airline Quality Rating Report is conducted jointly by professors at Wichita State University and Purdue University. The ...Airline profits may mean more elbow room for a little while
Oct 24th, 2010 at 10:00AM: The airline industry wants to thank you. Last year, it was mired in despair. The post-financial crisis recession left the carriers beleaguered and desperate for a turn of fortune. Corporate and leisure travel had fallen precipitously, and doubling down on extra fees, though prudent for profits, alienated both those considering a flight and the passengers with little choice but to hit the road. The ...Airline fees never going away, $1.2 billion in first half
Oct 19th, 2010 at 11:00AM: In the first six months of 2010, U.S. airlines raked in $1.2 billion – and that's just from change and cancellation fees. The industry is on track to see $2 billion in revenue just on ticket-related fees this year.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, here's where the money's going:
Delta had the most at $347.1 million in the first half of 2010
American Airlines was ...New Continental - United combination already leading on-time performance charts
Oct 12th, 2010 at 3:30PM:
The new combination of Continental Airlines and United Airlines is already off to a good start - the two just took the top spots in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights among the leading carriers in the country.
The Department of Transportation measures the on-time performance, and the information is published in the Air Travel Consumer Report. Continental ended the month with ...Fallen American Airlines could be next to merge ... with JetBlue?
Oct 12th, 2010 at 12:00PM: American Airlines used to be the largest airline in the industry – now it's third. Merger activity has narrowed the field, with Southwest-AirTran and United-Continental the latest deals that hit the sector. So, all eyes are on who will succumb to the urge to merge next, and American is being eyed as the next player.
According to a Forbes blog post, analysts from Morningstar believe that ...Five reasons airline fees up 50% year-over-year
Sep 27th, 2010 at 3:30PM: Does your wallet feel a little bit lighter? A new USA Today analysis reveals that airline fees are on the rise, with some up more than 50 percent relative to a year ago. The study compares the extra fees (not to be confused with fares) of 13 airlines and shows just how important this revenue source is to the airline sector.
According to USA Today, "The numerous fees are a sore subject for many ...United Airlines flight attendants create new cocktails - passengers pick the best
Sep 7th, 2010 at 1:30PM:
Last week, United airlines held an event for their most important passengers, and presented them with ten different cocktails, all designed by flight attendants. In total, United crew members submitted 64 different cocktails, and the top ten entries ended up on a table at Trader Vic's in Chicago.
The ten finalists:
Sunset-Sunrise : Finlandia Vodka, cranberry apple cocktail, splash of ...Top five reasons you'll pay more for flights
Jul 27th, 2010 at 1:00PM: It looks like flight deals are a thing of the past. The airline sector is starting to recover, as evidenced by an aggregate $1.3 billion in earnings for the six largest U.S. carriers last quarter, and more profits are said to be on the horizon. Of course, we're still in the early stages, and those earnings do pale in comparison to the $22.7 billion in losses sustained in 2008 and 2009. So, the ...Vegetarian child stranded in airport, fed burgers
Jul 27th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Julien Reid, at only nine years old, is used to air travel. He routinely flies between his parents in Ottawa, and San Francisco, so he's seen it all ... well, he has now. Reid was forgotten in a children's waiting room in Chicago, where he spent eight hours waiting and hoping to be discovered.
According to the Ottawa Citizen:
He was in a "tiny, little room cramped with kids," where they ...United creates Optathlon games for day-of-departure prizes
Jul 26th, 2010 at 5:00PM: It's a long shot, but if all of your attempts to find a better seat, upgrade and improve your upcoming trip on United Airlines have failed then there's one last thing you can do. Last week, United launched a series of video games on their website with prizes aimed at traveling customers.
What can you win? Among other things, it's possible to earn the opportunity to skip those pesky long lines ...Turbulence hurts: leading cause of in-flight injury
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 9:00AM: If you aren't splattered in a fatal crash, you're most likely to be injured by severe turbulence. Don't get shaken up by this, though, odds are the biggest risk you'll face is a middle seat sandwiched by garlic-eater and a heavy talker (choose which way you want to read that one). While you can't be saved from the people around you, you can protect our body from a bouncing plane: put on your ...Airline fines and delays: The world didn't end
Jul 11th, 2010 at 2:00PM: How many planes were stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours in May? You can count 'em on one hand: five. This is the second lowest result since the feds began monitoring this metric back in October 2008. A year earlier, 34 planes sat on the ground loaded with passengers for more than three hours, according to data from the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. ...
