Airlines

MEXICO CITY — An Aeromexico airliner crashed after taking off in the northern state of Durango on Tuesday, a federal official confirmed, but authorities had no immediate word on any casualties. The civil defense office of Durango state said the plane landed in a field near the airport for the state capital, also named Durango. The agency published photos of a smoking but seemingly relatively intact plane lying on its belly in a field. Lines of ambulances were waiting at the accident site. … [Read more...] about Aeromexico plane crashes just after takeoff in northern Mexico

The Taipei-based Civil Aeronautics Administration has asked the airlines to change their websites, saying defining the island as part of China damages Taiwan's sovereignty, deputy transportation minister Wang Kwo-tsai said via telephone. He said authorities were still considering what measures to take and they would take passengers' interests into account before implementing them.The Civil Aviation Administration of China sent a letter to more than 40 foreign carriers in April, ordering them not to place China, Hong Kong and Taiwan on an equal footing. The letter stipulated that Taiwan must be referred to as "China Taiwan" or the "China Taiwan region" and maps must display Taiwan in the same color as mainland China.A search for Taiwanese destinations on the websites of Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. shows Taiwanese cities without a country name or code, unlike say London or Tokyo. … [Read more...] about Taiwan could hit back at U.S. airlines in China spat

Flyers Rights challenged the results of these tests, arguing that they don’t account for the narrower distances between seats and the added girth of the average passenger in 2018.Although the group initially found some support from an appellate court judge last year who ordered a review by the FAA in what she dubbed as the “case of the incredible shrinking airline seat,” the FAA released a report in July refuting many of Flyers Rights’ claims and said it does not plan to take further action to regulate seat sizes.In its report, the FAA said that exiting a seat typically takes passengers only a few seconds — even with a cramped 28 inches between rows.“The FAA continues to regard the issues and requested actions from your petition as having a lower priority than the other issues before the FAA,” the agency wrote in its report. “Given the FAA's limited rulemaking resources, those resources will be dedicated to higher priorities.”Leave … [Read more...] about Exit strategy: How airplane passengers evacuate in an emergency is getting a closer look

Wednesday newsletters always feature a luxury hotel and/or flight review. I recently enjoyed a FABULOUS holiday in Thailand, including a stay at my favorite hotel in the world, Soneva Kiri. You can read my trip reports here: Review: Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport Review: Lufthansa Airbus A380 First Class from Frankfurt to Bangkok Review: Soneva Kiri, my favorite hotel in the world  Review: Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai  Review: The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection resort & spa, Phuket Review: Park Hyatt Hotel Bangkok  Review: Banyan Tree Hotel Bangkok  Review: Thai Airways Boeing B747 First Class from Bangkok to Munich (today) Today (August 1, 2018): Review of a Thai Airways B747-400 First Class flight from Bangkok to Munich. On February 19th 2018, I flew First Class in a Thai Airways Boeing 747-400 from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), also known … [Read more...] about Trip report: Thai Airways Boeing 747 First Class Bangkok to Munich

The airline eventually put passengers on buses to Dallas after deciding that the crew had reached its legal limit on flight time and no other flights were available.Spirit issued full refunds and gave each passenger $100 in future travel credit."Spirit Airlines Flight 917 with scheduled service from New York LaGuardia to Dallas was forced to divert to Tulsa due to dangerous weather in Dallas," a company statement read. "As a result of long ground delays in Dallas, our flight Crew was legally required to be put on rest and therefore no longer allowed to continue to Dallas. Guests were bussed via motor coaches to Dallas and received a full refund for the flight. They also received a total of $100 in future travel credit. "We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration these diversions can cause, but the safety of our Guests and Crew is paramount." Severe thunderstorms struck the Dallas-Fort Worth area Thursday, causing the flight to switch paths. DFW International Airport … [Read more...] about Spirit fliers bused to DFW after bad weather in Dallas turns 3-hour flight into 17-hour ordeal

Pushing fares higherAirline executives have insisted that fares will have to go up to cover the rising costs of fuel, but so far, significant increases have failed to materialize.Ferguson said competition among airlines, especially from fast-growing discount carriers, has made it difficult for major carriers to get a price increase to stick.Earlier this month, American told investors its unit revenue — a closely watched metric of pricing power that represents the amount airlines earn per seat flown a mile — would be lower than anticipated, up at most 3 percent year-over-year compared to a prior forecast of as much as 3.5 percent.Southwest’s outlook is even gloomier, with the carrier forecasting a 3 percent dip in its unit revenues compared to last year, driven in part by slower bookings following a fatal accident aboard one of its aircraft in April. “Going into American and Southwest [earnings], I expect more of the same. American already warned a bit — we … [Read more...] about Why Southwest, American airlines are struggling to raise fares as fuel costs cut into profits

The airline eventually put passengers on buses to Dallas after deciding that the crew had reached its legal limit on flight time and no other flights were available.Spirit issued full refunds and gave each passenger $100 in future travel credit."Spirit Airlines flight 917 with scheduled service from New York LaGuardia to Dallas was forced to divert to Tulsa due to dangerous weather in Dallas," a company statement read. "As a result of long ground delays in Dallas, our flight Crew was legally required to be put on rest and therefore no longer allowed to continue to Dallas. Guests were bussed via motor coaches to Dallas and received a full refund for the flight. They also received a total of $100 in future travel credit. "We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration these diversions can cause, but the safety of our Guests and Crew is paramount." Severe thunderstorms struck the Dallas-Fort Worth area Thursday, causing the flight to switch paths. DFW Airport kept many … [Read more...] about Passengers bused to Dallas after 17-hour wait as Spirit flight diverts to Tulsa because of weather

The route is served by both Southwest and Delta, with Delta operating five daily flights -- it’s sole service out of Love Field -- to its hub in the southeast.Next on the list are Los Angeles -- served by Southwest and relative Love Field newcomer Alaska Airlines -- at $27.2 million; New York’s LaGuardia airport at $25.2 million, San Francisco at $23.1 million, and Washington’s Reagan airport at $19.2.From there, it’s a steep drop off as Love Field’s limited number of maximum daily flights -- a legacy of the Wright Amendment Reform Act -- restricts Southwest and other airlines’ operations.In sixth place is Las Vegas -- where Southwest operates five daily flights -- with $8.2 million, followed by Seattle -- an Alaska stronghold; Denver, New Orleans and, rounding out the top ten, Phoenix, which grossed $5 million in revenue over 12 months, according to OAG data.Noticeably absent from Love Field's top 10 is Houston, where Southwest operates 20 daily … [Read more...] about Here are the DFW Airport and Love Field routes that generate the most cash for airlines

The lavatories are about 22.4 inches across at a passenger's chest level when seated, American said. That's 3.1 inches narrower than the previous models."You're talking inches. We're not talking feet," said David Seymour, American's senior vice president of integrated operations. "I don't know how big of a population falls into 'I can't move around in it.'"'Too far'To passengers already losing space bit by bit, however, trimming a few more inches can be a big deal.Airlines "have decided the lavatory doesn't matter that much" as they try to squeeze in more seats, said Jami Counter, vice president of flights at the TripAdvisor and SeatGuru.com air-travel sites. "I think they might have gone a bit too far. They're taking it off of what already was a very skinny configuration."United Airlines' first Boeing 737 Max 9 flights on June 7 spurred complaints on Twitter about the small restroom. Zach Honig, an editor-at-large for The Points Guy, a travel-tips site, tweeted that the economy class … [Read more...] about How airlines are making more money by making airplane bathrooms smaller

"This is the Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat," Millett wrote in her decision last year. "As many have no doubt noticed, aircraft seats and the spacing between them have been getting smaller and smaller, while American passengers have been growing in size." The court ordered FAA to conduct a "properly reasoned disposition" of safety issues related to seating configurations. It found the agency had used "off-point" studies and "undisclosed tests using unknown parameters" to justify its initial refusal to review the rules. "That type of vaporous record will not do," the court said.In its court-ordered response and eight-page summary of evacuation test results by the agency's senior specialist for cabin survivability, Jeffrey Gardlin, the agency said factors other than seat spacing are what slow evacuations.Evacuation testsIn emergencies, flight attendants must first make their way to exits, check outside before opening emergency doors for fire and ensure that emergency … [Read more...] about FAA won’t set minimum airline seat size after safety review