Tagged: airlines

COVID-19 Cancellation Policy Finder for Airlines, Cruise Lines, Hotels, and Other Travel Operators

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 3, 2020 CLICK HERE for our ongoing live blog of COVID-19 coverage with updates on the latest developments. For customers who need to cancel or change vacation…

Amtrak Launches New Ultralow Fares. Is There a Catch?

Amtrak is trying out its own version of a Basic Economy fare. In air travel, that kind of ticket goes for relatively low prices but comes with a number of restrictions. To name a few…

We're Asking If It's Wrong to Recline When We Should Be Furious with the Airlines

Once again, Americans are going after each other. And once again, the infighting is misplaced. Today's battle, like so many other battles these days, confuses the real source of the…

Another European Airline Goes Kaput: Arrivederci, Air Italy

Air Italy is shutting down and going into liquidation, the Milan-based carrier announced this week. According to a statement on the airline's website, "all Air Italy flights will be…

Airline Opens Restaurant to Sell Plane Food on Land

Have you ever dug into an airplane meal of gray salad and gelatinous chicken and thought, Why oh why can't I enjoy this cuisine on land?If not, you probably don't spend much time…

Another Foolish Effort by Trump to Ban Travel to Cuba, Says Arthur Frommer

As if their previous efforts had not been sufficiently foolish, the Trump administration has just announced a further effort to reduce travel to Cuba. Effective in just a few…

Budget XL Airways to Stop Operating Flights

XL Airways, a low-cost carrier based in France, has announced that it is ceasing operations. "Due to . . . financial difficulties," reads a message posted last week on the airline's…

Spit Take! Study Says Don't Drink the Water on Planes

You should probably stick to bottled water in the skies. That's the conclusion of a new study measuring airline water safety, conducted by Hunter College's New York City Food Policy…

High Boarding Group Number? Don't Panic—The Airlines Are Messing with You

Few moments at the airport are more stressful than boarding. Ever since the airlines started charging for checked baggage, the boarding process has been more like a football scrimmage…

The Worldwide Airline Ranking Is Out. Can You Guess Where U.S. Airlines Place?

If you have been aboard a flight operated by a U.S.-based airline lately—where the conditions are cramped and the only mood settings are anxious and angry—you will not be surprised to…

The Aviation Industry is Asked to Do Something About Emissions, Writes Arthur Frommer

If humankind is to survive into the next century, something will have to be done about the drastic climate change currently experienced on earth. Though narrow-minded politicians…

How Families Can Sit Together on Airplanes

Families who need to sit together on a flight often encounter the turbulence of extra fees, unfriendly boarding procedures, and random seat assignments. Airlines have made things so…

Whoa. WOW Air Collapses, Cancels All Flights—What Should Ticket Holders Do?

Low-cost Icelandic carrier WOW Air abruptly announced that it has ceased operations today. All flights have been canceled, according to a "travel alert" on the company's website, and…

Hey, Airlines! Maybe We Don't Want to Watch TV on Our Phones

The airlines have stripped coach passengers of nearly every vestige of dignity—our legroom, our food, our free checked bags. But they're not done yet. Now they are taking away seatback…

Airline Ticketing Will Include Nonbinary Gender Option

The major U.S. airlines are changing their online ticketing sites so that passengers can identify gender with options other than male and female. According to the Associated Press,…

Basic Economy Fares: What You Get and What You Lose, Airline by Airline

Despite what airlines say, "basic economy" fares do not mean lower fares for everyone. In fact, they have increased prices for most of us because they now label the lowest prices as…

Arthur Frommer: Long Live the FAA, Protector of Our Lives in the Air!

Although a great many business interests are constantly opposed to being regulated by the federal government, almost no one objects to a similar supervision of the airline industry. We…

Why Airlines Like to Annoy You with Credit Card Pitches—and Why It's About to Get Worse

The airlines are fond of reminding us that flight attendants are there primarily for our safety. Therefore, as we know, we must pay attention whenever they speak and heed every word…

How Far in Advance Should I Book Flights?

Next to the tax code, there may be nothing more confusing than airfare. Dynamic pricing, capacity-controlled rate tiers, seasonal shifts—how is anyone supposed to know the best time to…

Nuts! Southwest Airlines Stops Serving Them on Flights

If you were on Family Feud and Steve Harvey asked you to name a snack served on an airplane, it's a cinch that peanuts would be on the board, probably as the number-one answer. Which…

Singapore Airlines Bringing Back the World's Longest Flight

Singapore Airlines has announced plans to resume nonstop service between the Asian city-state's Changi Airport (pictured above) and Newark Liberty International Airport just outside…

Avoid Extra Bag Fees with This Fiendishly Clever Packing Hack

We've all been there. You're packing to return home from a trip, but when everything's in the suitcase, you discover you bought just a tad too much stuff. It won't all fit. The…

American Airlines Cracks Down on Support Animals

Emotional support insects are no longer welcome on American Airlines flights.Whoever heard of an emotional support insect, you ask? We have two words for you: Jiminy Cricket.In…

Another Airline to Sell Transatlantic Fares from $200: What's the Deal?

You've heard of Norwegian, XL, and WOW—three low-cost, Europe-based airlines that have made their fame by selling affordable, no-nonsense transatlantic flights from the United…

This New Budget-Priced Transatlantic Airline Is Probably News to You

Most everyone by now has heard of Norwegian Air Shuttle, which flies the Atlantic at rock-bottom prices. Although Norwegian suffered a loss in 2017, it has struck fear into the hearts…