Airlines Mull Weighing Passengers

He reportedly screamed about bombs and al-Qaeda

(NEWSER) - A pilot tore through the cabin of a JetBlue plane yelling about terror threats, warning passengers about al-Qaeda and bombs on board, passengers tell the Amarillo Globe-News . The captain started "shouting, ‘Iraq, al-Qaeda, terrorism, we’re all going down,'" witnesses said. Passengers tackled him and held him down, and the flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Amarillo, Texas. The pilot was hospitalized. "It seemed like he went crazy," a passenger said. The airline's official statement says the captain had a "medical situation" that forced the flight to be diverted, notes AP . More»

Find tickets, new flights, even lounges

(NEWSER) - Every air traveler armed with a smartphone should load up on these five apps, says the Travel section of USA Today:

• SkyScanner (Free): This app will hunt down the best price for your ticket. It scans not only all of the airlines' websites but all of the online travel agencies (Expedia, Priceline) as well.
• Next Flight ($2.99): Yeah, it's relatively pricey, but worth the cost when needed. If your flight is canceled or delayed, or you just plain miss it, the app provides a list of all available flights from all carriers over the next two days. If none are there, it searches for hotels and car rentals.
• Priority Pass (Free): This app supplies a list of all the lounges at your airport. You can look through photos and amenities before deciding whether to shell out money for a pass.

Carriers must advertise full price starting next month

(NEWSER) - Airlines will soon be forced to advertise the full price of tickets—including government taxes and fees—instead of a stripped-down price with an asterisk. The rule scheduled to go into effect in late January is designed to keep prospective fliers from getting a nasty surprise several steps into the buying process when mandatory taxes and fees raise the fares up to 20%, reports CNN . Baggage fees won't be included in the new rule. More»

"C'Mon Son," chides baggage screener

(NEWSER) - TSA agents are basically known for collectively killing America's buzz, but here's an unusual exception out of the Denver International Airport: A TSA agent there discovered marijuana in rapper Freddie Gibbs' luggage, but instead of confiscating the weed, the baggage screener just left an admonishing note reading, "C'mon son." The agent let the rapper keep his stash. Gibbs tweeted a photo of the note and "probably just got the guy fired," concludes Gawker . How much weed was he able to slide through security? Half an ounce, he says . It doesn't look like the message worked, though. He's apparently "still smokin." More»

Gas, airfare up 20% from a year ago

(NEWSER) - Tens of millions of Americans are now on the move for Thanksgiving, but the soaring cost of travel is keeping many others at home. Some 42.5 million Americans are expected to drive, fly, or ride trains over the holiday, and gas prices are up almost 20% from last year, according to AAA, as is the cost of a round-trip plane ticket on the top 40 US routes. Most Amtrak fares are also up from a year ago, but only by 2% to 5%. More»