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Airline Industry

Business in the friendly skies hasn't been high-flying of late

It's been a long, hard, half-decade for much of the airline industry. Since 9/11, it has been trying to recover from the decrease in passenger travel, only to be clobbered by high fuel prices in recent years—landing several of the American ‘majors’ in bankruptcy. Some of the upstarts continued to do well, including Southwest and JetBlue in the US and Ryanair and easyJet in Europe. Yet even the new lean airlines stumble from time to time, as JetBlue learned the hard way in February 2007, when an ice storm in New York snarled operations for almost a week.

Stories

Stories 161 - 180 of 339

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April 2008
- In-Flight Cell Use Cleared For Takeoff in EU
  
  BBC | Apr 7, 08 1:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Good news for the EU-based air travelers who suffer BlackBerry withdrawal as soon as their plane takes off: Mobile-phone use in European airspace could be available as early as next month. The European Commission has cleared the technology needed to make calls from 10,000 feet up, and has left many of the details up to airlines and phone companies, BBC reports. More »
- Passengers Air a Record Number of Complaints
  
  Associated Press | Apr 7, 08 3:45 AM CDT
  
  (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. Complaints doubled on US Airways and Comair, and increased for 15 out of 16 carriers in the study. The sole exception was Mesa Airlines. More »
- Skybus Airlines Goes Bust
  
  Columbus Dispatch | Apr 5, 08 5:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Anybody who wondered how Skybus could make money with its famous $10 airfares can stop: they didn't. The Ohio-based airline has become the latest US carrier to go bankrupt in the face of soaring fuel costs and a sluggish economy, the Columbus Dispatch reports. It made its last flight yesterday and passengers boarding planes were warned their return tickets had suddenly become one-way. More »
- A Plane That Runs on Hydrogen
  
  BBC | Apr 4, 08 3:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Boeing has successfully tested the world’s first manned, hydrogen-powered plane, the BBC reports, with one executive calling the three flights in Spain “a historical technological success.” The propeller-driven two-seater runs on a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only heat and water. Boeing engineers say they doubt the cells alone could power full-scale passenger planes. More »
- FAA Too Cozy With Airlines, Whistle-Blowers Say
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 4, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An overly cozy relationship between airlines and the federal agency tasked with inspecting them has lawmakers worried in the wake of hearings yesterday on Capitol Hill, the Chicago Tribune reports. Federal Aviation Administration officials let serious safety issues fly, ignoring maintenance and inspection regulations, safety specialists, government overseers and whistle-blowers testified. More »
- Northwest Hikes Fares, Cuts Flights
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 4, 08 2:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Northwest Airlines is jacking up fares and fees and scaling back domestic operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. The airline, trying to deal with soaring fuel costs and a slowing economy without instituting pay cuts, also plans to freeze hiring. Northwest will keep adding international flights, but will add fuel surcharges as high as $160. More »
- Spitting-Mad Campbell Busted
  
  Sun (UK) | Apr 3, 08 4:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested today at London's Heathrow Airport for allegedly spitting at a police officer, the Sun reports. The "ranting and screaming" Briton was deemed unfit to fly and removed by police after she threw a fit when airline employees couldn't find a carry-on bag Campbell, 37, appeared to have misplaced herself. More »
- Southwest Tried to Cover Up Safety Issues: Inspectors
  
  CNN | Apr 3, 08 9:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Southwest Airlines tried to cover up maintenance problems, and the FAA almost let them, according to two inspectors who will testify before Congress today that the agency is too cozy with airlines. When the inspectors realized Southwest was flying dozens of jets without required inspections, their superiors did nothing, they say. And Southwest was asking those superiors to remove one troublesome inspector from the case, CNN reports. More »
- ATA Goes Bankrupt, Cancels All Flights
  
  WTHR Eye Witness News Indianapolis | Apr 3, 08 7:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Passengers booked on ATA Airlines flights got a rude awakening this morning: The low-cost carrier declared bankruptcy in the middle of the night, shut down operations, and canceled all further flights, Eyewitness News reports. “Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice,” the company said in a statement. More »
- Heathrow Fiasco a 'National Embarrassment'
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 1, 08 7:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The chaos is continuing at Heathrow's brand-new Terminal 5, with one British politician slamming the fiasco as a "national embarrassment," the Daily Telegraph reports. More than 50 flights were canceled yesterday and British Airways admitted that the mountain of stranded baggage contained as many as 28,000 bags, well above the earlier estimate of 15,000. More »
March 2008
- Aloha Airlines Shuts Down
  
  Honolulu Advertiser | Mar 31, 08 7:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Unable to find a buyer and running out of cash, Hawaii’s ubiquitous Aloha Airlines is shutting down operations after today, idling 1,900 workers and ending more than six decades of island-hopping and transpacific flights, the Honolulu Advertiser reports. The airline filed for bankruptcy March 20 because of rising fuel prices and fierce competition from startup go! airlines. More »
- Chaos Continues at Heathrow
  
  Guardian (UK) | Mar 31, 08 3:33 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hundreds of volunteer British Airways staffers spent their day off yesterday helping to return some of the 15,000 pieces of luggage lost when the state-of-the-art baggage system failed at the airline's new terminal at London's Heathrow airport last week. Scores of tech specialists have also been deployed to fix the computer problems, the Guardian reports. More »
- Glitzy Heathrow Terminal a Destination Unto Itself
  
  Forbes | Mar 30, 08 10:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Heathrow’s new terminal has hit such turbulence with its opening that it may seem an odd time to sing its praises. But once the delays and lost luggage are solved, this massive addition, designed to eradicate the “Heathrow hassle,” will lure fliers with plenty of perks, reports Forbes . From caviar to Krispy Kreme, 42 restaurants fill the terminal Two spas serve up complimentary massages and facials Hyper-fast check-in More »
- Boeing Moves to Speed 787 Production
  
  Chicago Tribune | Mar 29, 08 1:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Seeking to stem mounting delays in the production of its breakthrough 787 jetliner, Boeing is getting more involved in the early steps of the assembly process, the Chicago Tribune reports. Boeing said yesterday it will buy out a partner's share of a South Carolina plant that assembles two rear sections of the Dreamliner's fuselage, allowing them to get the company's assembly line and 300 workers back on track. More »
- TSA Changes Rules on Nipple Rings
  
  CNN | Mar 29, 08 6:23 AM CD