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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: airline passengers

airline passengers stories: 29 news summaries

1 - 20 of 29 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Southwest 
 Adds $10 Fee 
 to Board Early 

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

Sep 2, 09 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid... More »

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airline industry • air travel • Southwest Airlines • boarding pass • airline passengers • fees • seating

(Newser) - The budget-airline boss who's thinking about charging passengers to use the bathrooms on his planes wants you to know that he doesn't feel a bit bad about it. If you expect to be coddled, Michael O'Leary tells the New York Times, Ryanair's not for you. O'Leary—famed for his rudeness... More »

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airline industry • Ryanair • airline • budget airlines • airline passengers • Michael O'Leary

(Newser) - Airlines offer more than you know—and would rather you didn't know about it. The Chicago Tribune runs down a list of ways to benefit from airline secrets:
  • Complain early and often: Whatever the problem, "airlines tend to buy grouchy passengers off with frequent-flier miles."
  • Travel
... More »

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list • ticket • vacation • air travel • airline passengers • upgrades • airlines • flying

(Newser) - Passengers who really want to save money on Ryanair may soon be able to purchase "standing room only" tickets on the discount airline's flights, reports the Sun. Under the plan, passengers would huddle about "bar stools" with seat belts. Ryanair officials have already talked to Boeing about designing... More »

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Ryanair • airline • airline ticket prices • airline passengers • airline seats • airlines • Michael O'Leary

(Newser) - Nobody likes the middle seat on an airplane, and a recent study shows fliers would rather endure some novel discomforts than sit squeezed between two seatmates. BlackBook runs down a few—as well as what's particularly unpleasant about the middle seat.
  • 56% of respondents would rather have their
... More »

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list • airline • air travel • airline passengers • airplane • survey • opinion polls • middle seat

(Newser) - The 14-year-old girl who appears to be the lone survivor of yesterday’s Yemenia Airlines crash is recovering and in no danger, the BBC reports. Bahia Bakari escaped the crash with just a few cuts to her face and a fractured collarbone, though she can barely swim, and wasn't wearing... More »

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France • plane crash • Yemen • survivors • airline passengers • Yemenia Air • Bahia Bakari

UPDATED

France: Yemenia Air Black Box Not Found

14-year-old girl is sole survivor of crash; plane failed 2007 inspection

Jul 1, 09 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - The French government has backed off reports that searchers located one of the black box flight recorders from Yemenia Air Flight 626, the BBC reports. The crash, in which a 14-year-old girl appears to be the sole survivor out of 151 passengers, occurred after the Airbus 310 had aborted its... More »

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France • airline industry • plane crash • airline safety • survivors • airline passengers • Yemenia Air

(Newser) - An elderly woman suffered a heart attack and died today on an AirTran flight from New York to Palm Beach, Fla., WNYW-TV reports. The plane diverted to Philadelphia in an attempt to save the 80-year-old but was too late, BNO News adds. “There was a doctor on board who... More »

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elderly • Philadelphia • heart attack • Westchester • AirTran • Palm Beach • airline passengers • airplane

Crew Asked for Doc But Kept Pilot's Death a Secret

Passengers had no clue

Jun 18, 09 1:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - They didn't explain why, but the crew of Continental Flight 61 asked passengers about halfway through their flight whether there was a doctor on board. It was only when the plane landed that passengers learned their 60-year-old captain had died somewhere between Brussels and New Jersey, the Star-Ledger reports. The... More »

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death • pilot • Continental Airlines • airline passengers

First Debris Retrieved From Flight 447

Air France tells
families no one survived the crash

Jun 4, 09 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - As Brazilian crews begin retrieving the first pieces of Air France flight 447, the airline has told families that nobody survived, the AP reports. A helicopter pulled a cargo pallet and two buoys from the Atlantic, 340 miles northeast of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands. As theories about the crash... More »

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Brazil • death • airline passengers • debris • Air France • Air France Flight 447

 Alert Air Passenger 
 Warns of Fuel Leak 

Air force sergeant spotted leak before 747 headed over the Pacific

May 22, 09 7:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - An eagle-eyed passenger warned a 747 flight crew about a fuel leak on a recent Japan-bound flight from Chicago, CNN reports. Air Force Sgt. Bartek Bachleda, who serves in an air refueling squadron, spotted vapor billowing from behind the wing and realized the jet was losing fuel fast. He alerted... More »

MORE ABOUT:
US military • aviation • plane • airline passengers • US Air Force • Boeing 747

UPDATED

 Hijacker of Canadian Jet Surrenders 


Apr 20, 09 3:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - The hijacker of a Canadian jet demanding to fly from Jamaica to Cuba has freed the six crewmembers he was holding and surrendered, reports the BBC. The man, whom authorities described as "mentally challenged," appeared to check in normally last night, then forced his way aboard the CanJet... More »

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crime • Cuba • Jamaica • airline • aircraft • hijack • hijacker • jet • airline passengers • airplane • crew members • CanJet • Montego Bay


 Russian Passengers 
 Reject Drunk Pilot 


Slurred speech sparked fear; airline blames 'mass psychosis'

Feb 3, 09 2:01 PM CST
(Newser) - Passengers on a Russian jet mutinied right before takeoff when they heard the slurred speech of their obviously inebriated pilot, the Times of London reports. They insisted on a replacement, despite flight attendants' initial efforts to brush them off, with one noting that drunkenness was no “big deal”... More »

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Russia • Moscow • airline • pilot • airline passengers • crew members • drunk

Flight 1549 Passengers
Laud Pilot, Crew

Survivors embrace heroes at '60 Minutes' taping

Feb 3, 09 1:25 PM CST
(Newser) - The passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 thanked and embraced hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger at a meeting in Charlotte, NC, the Charlotte Observer reports. As part of a 60 Minutes episode on the crash, about 50 of the passengers and their families met the crew of Flight 1549. “There... More »

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plane crash • pilot • survivors • hero • airline passengers • Chesley Sullenberger • Flight 1549 • Hudson crash

 Struggling Airlines 
 Pitch Clean(er) Planes 

As customers become more valued, so does customer service

Jan 29, 09 1:48 PM CST
(Newser) - United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Airlines • recession • air travel • airline passengers • airplane • customer service • financial crisis • cleanliness • customer loyalty

'Sir Richard, What Is That White Stuff?'

Airline chief Branson gets complaint
about food

Jan 26, 09 3:46 PM CST
(Newser) - Sir Richard Branson personally responded to a “constructive if tongue-in-cheek” complaint letter from a Virgin Atlantic passenger, reprinted in the Telegraph. The beleaguered (and unnamed) flyer likened the dining experience to an awful Christmas morning. “You open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your... More »

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London • air travel • Mumbai • airline food • Virgin Group • airline passengers • complaints • Sir Richard Branson

 Hudson Survivors Relive Nightmare, Relish Survival

Passengers amazed to still be alive cope with crash's emotional aftermath

Jan 24, 09 3:23 AM CST
(Newser) - Passengers who cheated death in the Hudson River crash are seeing the world through a fresh set of eyes, they tell the AP. They are celebrating the simple joy of still being alive, but many are also haunted by recurring nightmares. Experts say such reactions are normal after such an... More »

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US Airways • plane crash • Hudson River • survivors • airline passengers • trauma • Flight 1549 • Hudson crash

 'I Thought 
 We Were 
 Going to Die' 

Stunned passengers recount terrifying moments before emergency landing

Jan 16, 09 4:16 AM CST
(Newser) - A shuddering, heart-stopping boom preceded an eerie quiet in the US Airways jet as it plummeted toward the Hudson River, passengers stunned to still be alive tell the New York Daily News. They prayed and locked arms after the pilot warned them to brace for impact. "I thought we... More »

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New York City • US Airways • plane crash • Hudson River • airline passengers • emergency landing • Flight 1549 • Hudson crash

 Obese? Court Backs 
 Two Seats for 
 One Fare 

Those 'functionally disabled by obesity' get fare break in Canada

Nov 21, 08 3:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Obese air travelers in Canada who need two seats must be given the extra seat for free, Reuters reports. The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from Air Canada and two other airlines after they failed to win a lower court appeal on the fare issue.... More »

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obesity • disabled • obese • Air Canada • airline passengers • airline seats • Candadian Transportation Agency • Federal Court of Appeal • Supreme Court of Canada

 UK Cabin Crews Knock 
 Passengers Online 

Virgin and British Airways workers land in trouble for Facebook comments

Nov 2, 08 4:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Virgin Atlantic has fired 13 cabin staffers for mocking passengers and joking about engine safety on Facebook, the Guardian reports. The online messages quipped about cockroaches on planes and referred to passengers as "chavs," a British term for "white trash." The airline publicly chided the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
airline industry • Facebook • British Airways • Virgin Atlantic • airline passengers

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