Yesterday, the FAA proposed a staggering $9.2 million in total fines against United and US Airways for skirting its (not to mention their own) safety procedures – doling out pecuniary penalties of $3.8 million to United (for flying a Boeing 737 hundreds of times with towels covering engine oil sumps, instead of protective caps) and $5.4 million to US Airways (which operated over a thousand flights during the past year on aircraft that violated official maintenance procedures). Read the rest of this post »

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who expertly avoided catastrophe by “landing” goose-struck US Airways Flight 1549 atop New York City’s Hudson River in January, is set to climb back into the cockpit, the airline announced yesterday. In addition to commanding regular commercial flights, Sullenberger will take on new duties as a safety management pilot; the airline says it will announce Sully’s inaugural flight soon.

In mid-2008, when airlines across the country began tacking on extraneous fees to compensate for lower ticket sales and spikes in fuel prices (like charging upwards of $25 each way for the first checked bag on domestic flights), they created an uproar among flyers who felt like they were being flown for all they’re worth. Since then, said fees have been evolving exponentially, leaving the days of the all-inclusive ticket price to memory – with no proverbial “ceiling” in sight. Now, the revolution in luggage rates can no longer be contained by borders: late last month, overseas operators American, US Airways, and Continental announced they’ll be applying the checked-bag charges to all transatlantic flights (Delta was the first in July) – with the only straggler, United, finally joining the ranks last week. Read the rest of this post »

Two consecutive Savvy Flyer posts on airline nudity – oh my (*blush*). We couldn’t help feel but a wee bit bad for this newest fella to face the media limelight, considering the airline industry seems to now be encouraging just this sort of thing (see our recent post on Air New Zealand’s new bare-all campaign). A US Airways flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles on Tuesday was forced to deal with an unrelenting naked man amongst their passengers. Keith Wright, 50, forced the plane to make an unscheduled stop in Albuquerque, NM after he stripped down and refused to cover up. Wright was arrested and handed over to the FBI. 

Delta, US Airways, Continental, American, United, and even budget airline Southwest have all jumped on the fare-hike bandwagon over the course of the past several weeks, bringing about a $10 fare increase (each way) for their domestic routes. Delta has also announced a $10 to $40 rate increase (each way) for select international flights. While consumers had been enjoying significantly reduced fares compared to the highs seen in 2008, airlines’ battle with rising jet fuel prices and drops in business travel have led to this response.

What would you suggest airlines do to cut costs without raising fares?

Following the huge net loss of airline companies in 2008, carriers around the globe are being forced to downsize or turn to increasingly creative and unlikely solutions in hopes of getting their numbers back into the black. The latest of these dubious measures is targeted towards their employees, with British Airways’ sounding a call earlier this week for workers to volunteer up to four weeks of unpaid labor in the name of salvaging company finances. US Airways is also looking for volunteers, 400 in total, to give up their livelihood for up to 16 months as a result of severe overstaffing. Do you think this is an acceptable way for airline companies to cut corners?

Don’t miss out on a summer jaunt to Europe this year – we’re finding an abundance of affordable transatlantic fares to popular cities from Paris to Prague and Brussels to Budapest (and beyond). While many of us have been discouraged to cross the pond lately, thanks to the sky-high peak-season fares of summers past, we’ve been surprisingly delighted to see fares plummet as much as 50 percent from their 2008 highs. So why stay local when you can get your Old World fix without breaking the bank? Fares start for less than $200 each way. Read our full review here.

Lately, instead of getting away to exotic locales, many people are opting for a cost efficient “staycation” that’s closer-to-home. As a result, further off locales like Hawaii have been witnessing a large drop in tourism  – to counter that, airlines have been dramatically lowering rates of late.

Case in point: US Airways has just announced a fare sale to America’s tropical playground starting from just $313 round-trip for travel through June 25. Normally, when our editors come across low rates such as these, it is based on flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu. However, this fare sale also includes fares from over 25 U.S. cities to Oahu, Maui, Kona, and Kauai. This offer ends May 20.

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A chef approaches you and explains tonight’s menu: a tantalizing combination of appetizers and entrées that can be mixed and matched according to the whims of your palate. No, this isn’t a night out at some five-star restaurant – it’s pretty much the norm onboard British airline bmi’s business class cabin, courtesy of their exemplary in-flight chef service. Travelers that are looking for more than a fancy bag of peanuts and complimentary cocktail on their next business-class flight, have found their pie in the sky. Read the rest of this post »

An Ivy League education will no doubt get you far in life – and apparently provide you with a means of making a case for a $1 million lawsuit when your cherished Xbox 360 goes missing on a flight. A 21-year-old Yale student has sued US Airways after his video game console disappeared from his luggage on a flight from New Haven, Connecticut to Cincinnati in December. While the specialized hard drive of the gaming console did purportedly up its worth to around $1,000, he’s justifying seeking the stupendously steeper award due to the distress he endured from the run-around he claims the airline doled out (and of course, we must assume, for the sentimental value – just think of all of those hours they spent together, rocking out to Rock Band –  or those mischievous memories made during Grand Theft Auto). Read the rest of this post »