AirTran

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Couple Sues AirTran Over Roaches on Flight

They claim flight attendant shushed them when they complained

(Newser) - So you settle into your flight with a good book, some music... and a few cockroaches scurrying out of the airplane vents. That's what one couple says happened on an AirTran flight in September from Charlotte to Houston, and they're suing the airline for more than $100,000,...

AirTran 'Customers of Size' Will Have to Buy 2 Seats

Southwest will bring its policy to the company

(Newser) - Now that Southwest Airlines has bought AirTran Airways and is beginning to integrate the company, AirTran will get a “customer of size” policy for the first time. Southwest’s policy requires that larger passengers, who cannot fit in one seat with the armrest down, purchase a second seat. AirTran...

Free This Month: Facebook Access, at 30K Feet

Thanks to a Ford/Gogo promotion

(Newser) - Joyful news for Facebook users who have thus far been unable to post real-time status updates like: "Enjoying Delta's Biscoff cookies ... 47 more minutes til Philly!!" A handful of airlines are dishing up freebie in-flight Facebook access all month long. They're offering the February promo thanks, in part,...

Southwest Airlines to Buy AirTran for $1.4B

Will help it compete with Delta in Atlanta

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines will buy AirTran for about $1.42 billion, the companies announced today. The move will put Southwest in head-to-head competition with Delta in Delta's home base of Atlanta. The buyout, funded mostly with debt, will also give Southwest a bigger slice of the market in cities like Boston...

Computer Glitch Causes Nationwide Flight Delays

Planes in the air not affected

(Newser) - A problem with the FAA system that collects airlines' flight plans has caused widespread flight cancellations and delays across the US today. An FAA spokeswoman says she doesn't know how many flights are being affected or when the problem will be resolved, but the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's...

Flying-Phobic Comic Takes to the Air

AirTran is using him to pump wi-fi service

(Newser) - The best way to get over fear of flying? If you’re comedian Mark Malkoff, living on a plane for 30 days. Malkoff—who once lived in an Ikea store for a week—embarked upon his journey this month, but it wasn’t all for the sake of therapy. He’...

Woman Dies in Midair as Flight Diverts Too Late

(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...

Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals
Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals
ANALYSIS

Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals

Recent changes haven't helped 'legacy' carriers

(Newser) - Despite many rounds of cost-cutting, so-called legacy airlines—United, Delta, US Airways—still face costs 35% higher than low-fare carriers like JetBlue and Southwest, the Wall Street Journal reports. The younger outfits have maintained a “cost gap” analysts thought their older peers could close over time. For one thing,...

Airline Apologizes to Muslims Kicked Off Flight

Family blame racial profiling; Muslim group plans to file complaint

(Newser) - A Muslim American family booted from a New Year's Day flight for allegedly making suspicious remarks has received an apology from AirTran, the Washington Post reports. The family was removed and interrogated after a pair of teenage girls heard two of them discussing which seats on an aircraft were safest...

Muslims Booted From Flight for 'Suspicious' Comments

Discussion over safest place to sit gets family chucked off AirTran jet

(Newser) - An American Muslim family was booted off an Orlando-bound flight at Reagan National Airport after two of them were overheard discussing the safest place to sit on a plane, the Washington Post reports. Suspicious passengers reported the family, dressed in traditional Muslim garb, to the flight crew. FBI agents were...

Passengers Air a Record Number of Complaints

Skies unfriendlier than ever

(Newser) - Airline passengers on domestic flights are unhappier than they've been in years, with consumer complaints up 60%, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating survey. Long delays, cancellations, overbooking, late arrivals, and lost baggage accounted for most of the complaints, which haven't been this bad since 2000, reports the AP....

FAA Orders Inspections of Boeing 737s

Hundreds of jets to be checked for loose nut that caused China Airlines fire

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to inspect hundreds of Boeing 737s after a loose bolt punctured a China Airlines jet last week, causing a fire that destroyed the aircraft. Southwest, Delta, Continental, AirTran, Alaska Air, ATA and Aloha Airlines have 24 days to check for loose nuts on...

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