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Boeing has paid $160 million in compensation to Alaska Airlines for the exit plug blowout on a Jan. 5 Alaska flight out of Portland, Ore. The figure is equal to the amount Alaska Airlines says it lost in pre-tax profit due to the door plug incident and its aftermath, which included a three-week grounding of Alaska's fleet of 65 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. "Additional compensation is expected to be provided beyond Q1, the complete terms of which are confidential," Alaska said in a regulatory filing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded that the exit door plug, which...

Passengers were thrown to the roof of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner during a sudden altitude loss that resulted in at least 50 people being injured Monday on a LATAM Airlines flight. The plane experienced a technical issue that caused "strong movement" on the flight from Sydney, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, according to The New Zealand Herald. Of the approximately 50 people who were injured, a dozen were transported to local hospitals and one person was left in serious condition. The injuries included broken bones and head and neck injuries, per passenger Brian Jokat. Jokat said the plane "just dropped"...

Doesn’t it feel like United Airlines is becoming the ‘Bud Light’ of air travel? Their recent drive towards Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) seems heavily focused on transvestites, cross-dressers, and other assorted freaks. But unlike Bud Light, which was “merely” cynically trying to sell beer, United Airlines is potentially putting people’s lives in danger with their Drag Queen Flying Hour. You may have heard by now, but the CEO of United Airlines enjoys cross-dressing as a woman. Revolver covered this disturbing story. ... Have you noticed? The US aviation industry is crashing, both literally and figuratively. It’s like we’re watching...

What is going on here? Why are so many people having absolute freak out meltdowns on airplanes and in airports? I get it, it’s not exactly the best place to spend time… Hostile environments… Hostile employees… But it’s been like that for a while, why are we suddenly seeing a bunch of these freak out sessions? I’m not entirely sure but here’s the latest.

CDC is conducting a new pilot on samples it is collecting as part of its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program that will provide early detection of flu, RSV, and select other respiratory viruses, in addition to SARS-CoV-2. The pilot, which will last for several months, will be implemented by Ginkgo Bioworks and XpresCheck. Samples that test positive for these viruses will be sequenced and uploaded to public databases to provide valuable information to public health officials and policy makers. “The expansion of the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to flu, RSV, and other pathogens is essential as we head into fall...

Imagine, going to the airport and through all the indignities of security just to eat at the P.F. Chang’s near gate B12 and then go home. Or better yet, imagine trying to get to your gate and having to deal with people just poking around and taking their sweet time while you have a flight to catch. Every side of this scenario is uniquely miserable, yet more airports are trying to tempt locals into visiting the shops and restaurants in their terminals without all the hassle of actually flying somewhere. Orlando International Airport is now getting in on the action,...

In her post on social media, a thirty-six-year-old woman wrote about her experience flying back from Thanksgiving weekend at her parents. As a plus-sized woman, the Original Poster (OP) was accustomed to booking more than one seat on most public transportation. For her early morning flight back home, she spent extra money and booked two adjacent seats “so whoever had the third seat in [her] row would not have to be squished up in [her] business.”.... A gentleman approached and tried to sit his pre-teen daughter in the “empty” middle seat—where OP said that her “bum was taking up a...

VIDEOI remember air travel when I was a kid as an extremely pleasurable experience. On one air trip I travelled to the 1964 New York World's Fair where I was dazzled by images of a golden future. It got me to thinking that if air travel was already so fantastic then how incredible would it be in the future?

As millions of Americans are expected to pack commercial flights over the July 4th holiday, the union representing the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controllers says a recent government watchdog report is proof the agency and Congress must fix a “flawed staffing model.” “The status quo is no longer sustainable,” said Rich Santa, head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. The union says that Congress must “require FAA to immediately implement” new staffing standards and “conduct maximum hiring.” “There are currently 1,200 fewer fully certified controllers today compared to ten years ago,” said Santa. “FAA’s flawed staffing model and...

The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the rulemaking process Monday. The rulemaking pledge continues a push by the Democratic administration to require airlines to improve customer service, and it comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season. The aim of the rules would be, for the first time, to require airlines to pay...

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday, 07 March 2023 that it had filed a lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue Airways' $3.8-billion purchase of Spirit Airlines. In a 43-page document, the DOJ alleged the merger would reduce competition among U.S. domestic air-carriers and drive up consumer air-fares. Specifically, the department argued the deal would adversely impact low-income and cost-conscious travelers who depend on budget airlines—like Spirit—to provide bargain air-fares. In their complaint, DOJ lawyers wrote: "If the acquisition is approved, JetBlue plans to abandon Spirit’s business model, remove seats from Spirit’s planes, and charge Spirit’s customers higher prices....

Lufthansa canceled more than 1,300 flights Friday, compounding a week of nightmares for travelers using the major European airline. Workers at seven German airports, including Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg, took collective action Friday, according to CNN. The full-day strike halted Lufthansa's operations in Frankfurt and Munich Friday, affecting thousands of would-be passengers. "For Friday, 17 February, the German union Ver.di has called for a one-day strike at various airports in Germany," read an update on Lufthansa's website. "Due to the closure of the airports in Frankfurt and Munich on this day, all Lufthansa flights that should have taken off or...

The Biden administration is fighting to maintain a federal mask mandate for air travel and other methods of transportation even after President Biden said months ago the pandemic is "over," and despite calls from travel associations to end mask mandates. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Tuesday from the Biden Justice Department on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to reinstate a mask mandate for air travel, after a federal judge in Florida struck down the mandate last April. "The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is...

President Joe Biden’s administration in a court hearing on Jan. 17 urged judges on a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling from a lower court that struck down the administration’s airplane mask mandate. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had “good cause” to impose the mandate and bypass the notice- and comment period required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Brian Springer, an attorney for the government, told judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. At the time the mandate was imposed, in early 2021, “there were variants that had just been...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will consider sampling wastewater taken from international flights to track any emerging new variants coming from China. The wastewater test policy is one of several options the CDC is considering to help slow the spread of new variants from other countries, the agency told Reuters. Countries around the world are enacting testing requirements after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced an ease in border restrictions and international travel beginning Jan. 8. The CDC announced on Dec. 28 that it will implement a negative COVID-19 test requirement for passengers flying to the United...

yours. What especially makes it so maddening is that you can’t escape, you must endure any disruptions to your day. One man took to Reddit’s “Am I the A–Hole?” forum to express his frustrations while flying one day. He wanted to find out if he was wrong for yelling at a mother to control her children. “Am I the A–hole?” is a place where people can write about conflict in their lives. The 39-year-old began the post by revealing that he was on a flight from New York to London. His seat was in front of a woman and her...

We're on her side! If you've taken a few flights in your life, there's a good chance that at some point, another passenger has asked to switch seats with you. Sometimes, it's totally worth it to sit somewhere else so a family can be together. Other times — when it would mean leaving a truly amazing seat in first class — it makes sense to say no way. In a video she shared on TikTok, @maresasd explained that she was asked to move from her first class seat on a plane. And honestly, her response is something a lot of...

The news agency added, "After checking the public flight information, there are still a few flights taking off smoothly at Quanzhou Jinjiang Airport and Xiamen Gaoqi Airport this morning, but almost all the flights that have not yet taken off have been canceled.".

In America, Pete Buttigieg is proving to be the most incompetent secretary of transportation in American history. Confronted with thousands of canceled flights, he offers tips about how to value cash refunds compared to refunds in the form of miles. That's bad. What's worse is that a writer for a trend site claims to have talked with European insiders and learned that the problem with flights is not limited to America; it's worldwide and deliberate.You can read here about Buttigieg's tin-eared response at the start of the July 4 weekend when it came to canceled flights. For travelers, the weekend...

Airlines have cancelled and delayed hundreds of flights in the U.S. sparking travel chaos during the busiest Fourth of July weekend since the pandemic, which has been dubbed 'Airmageddon.' Around 48 million people are expected to travel this weekend with AAA estimating 3.5million would take to the air. But the actual number of passengers flying may be dramatically higher as, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.4 million travelers at airports on Thursday alone - up 17 percent from the Fourth of July Friday in 2019. Many fliers will be facing disappointment, with 604 flights canceled by 2:30pm, and...