Southwest Airlines

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And the Airline With the Most Complaints Is...

...Delta. Overall, complaints about US airlines rocketed 28% last year

(Newser) - If you think flying has gotten worse lately, you're not alone. Airline complaints soared an astounding 28% last year. Oddly, though, actual data reveals that planes improved their performance in a number of areas, with fewer lost bags and bumped passengers, and more on-time arrivals. A co-author of the Transportation...

NTSB: Southwest Jet Had Fatigue Cracking

Meanwhile, airline grounds 79 planes, cancels hundreds of flights

(Newser) - Fatigue cracking has been found along the entire 5-foot section of a Southwest Airlines jet that ripped open on Friday, forcing an emergency landing in Arizona. The NTSB says that mechanics will cut a 9-foot by 3-foot section of the plane and send it to Washington, DC, for testing. Southwest...

Southwest Jet Lands With Hole in Cabin

'Pandemonium' erupts as 6-foot gash opens; no serious injuries

(Newser) - A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at a military base in Arizona after a gaping hole developed in the top of the plane. Passengers say they heard a "real quick blast, like a gun," which was followed by "pandemonium" as the Boeing...

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...

Flight Attendant Takes Slapped Baby From Mom

Police say attendant was right to take child into custody

(Newser) - A Southwest Airlines flight attendant stepped in to remove a baby from her parents after her mother slapped the crying 1-year-old girl in the face, police say. Authorities met the plane when it landed in Albuquerque and returned the child to her parents after questioning them, ABC reports. The baby...

Bored Kids Fly Away, Without Parents —or IDs

Teens, little brother have no trouble boarding Southwest flight

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines has some explaining to do after flying a 15-year-old girl, her 11-year-old brother, and her 13-year-old friend from Jacksonville to Nashville—unbeknownst to the kids' parents. The TSA may be in for some questioning, too, because the footloose trio boarded their flight without showing identification. "Everybody else...

Southwest Bumps Thin Woman for Fat Teen

Girl, 14, needed two seats, other flyer furious

(Newser) - A skinny California woman was bumped from a Southwest flight to make room for a fat teenager who needed two seats. "It didn't seem right that I should have to leave to accommodate someone who had only paid for one seat," said the booted passenger. A Southwest spokeswoman...

Southwest Has Nicest Flight Attendants: Survey

68% think passengers with kids should in separate cabin

(Newser) - Southwest has the nicest flight attendants, while Delta's are the rudest, passengers told AirFareWatchDog.com in their first annual survey of flier preferences. Other points:
  • 83% have traveled with kids recently, but 68% think there should be a separate section for parents with children—meaning some of parents wish to
...

Airline Customer Satisfaction Rises (for Once)

Continental, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest earn top marks

(Newser) - After three straight years of losing altitude, airline customer satisfaction ratings are on the rise, according to a study released today by JD Power and Associates. Overall satisfaction with North American carriers rose 15 points on a 1,000-point scale, the Chicago Tribune reports, with 10 of 12 airlines improving...

Stingy Airlines Redeem Few Miles

Study shows big carriers turn down most requests

(Newser) - If you're hoping to redeem some of your frequent flier miles on US Airways or Delta, good luck. Those two airlines could fulfill just 10.7% and 12.9% of standard mileage award requests in a recent study, and while best-in-class Southwest could fulfill 99.3%, other US carriers didn't...

Kevin Smith: Southwest Booted Me for Being Too Fat

Clerks director deemed a 'safety risk', asked to get off flight

(Newser) - Kevin Smith was anything but Silent Bob yesterday after Southwest Airlines booted his plus-size behind from an Oakland-to-Burbank flight. Telling him he had been deemed a "safety risk" after he'd already been seated, the Clerks director was asked to get off the plane—and proceeded to go on a...

Woman Gives Birth on Southwest Flight

Chicago-Salt Lake jet diverted to Denver

(Newser) - A woman gave birth to a baby boy on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City that had to be diverted to Denver. Flight 441 was about 100 miles north of Denver Friday when the unidentified woman went into labor. A doctor and two nurses on board...

Southwest Adds $10 Fee to Board Early

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid Rewards...

Southwest Probed After Hole Opens Midflight

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines' maintenance practices are coming under tight scrutiny after a football-sized hole opened in the top of a Boeing 737 midflight and forced an emergency landing, reports the Dallas Morning News. Nobody was injured, but the NTSB and FAA have launched probes and lawmakers are being briefed on the...

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop
Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop
Jun 22, 2009 10:37 AM CDT

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop

Budget-conscious passengers cram overhead bins

(Newser) - When airlines instituted new baggage fees, they said it was to offset high fuel prices. Since then, even though energy prices have fallen, the fees haven't gone anywhere but up. In the first quarter, airlines pulled in $566 million in fees, putting them on pace to double last year’s...

More Cuts Await Slumping Airlines

Delta, AA among carriers who can't cover costs

(Newser) - As rising oil prices and sluggish demand continued to hammer the airline industry, Delta, American, and several other carriers forecast further cuts to service yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal. Despite massive reductions in service, CEOs said at an industry meeting that they still aren't covering costs. "Earnings are...

Last Octuplet Goes Home
 Last Octuplet 
 Goes Home 
GOSSIP ROUNDUP
Apr 14, 2009 12:38 PM CDT

Last Octuplet Goes Home

Plus, Angelina voted most beautiful woman, more

(Newser) - The last Suleman octuplet went home yesterday, E! reports. Tiny Jonah went from 1 lb, 8 oz to 4 lbs, 10 oz. Elsewhere:
  • Vanity Fair readers overwhelmingly voted Angelina Jolie the most beautiful woman in the world, MSNBC reports. She claimed 58% of votes, with second place Gisele Bundchen only
...

Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals
Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals
ANALYSIS
Apr 7, 2009 8:52 AM CDT

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,...

Jen's 'Do Worth $50K; Paris Pimps Her Ride for $282K
Jen's 'Do Worth $50K; Paris Pimps Her Ride for $282K
GOSSIP ROUNDUP
Mar 4, 2009 12:35 PM CST

Jen's 'Do Worth $50K; Paris Pimps Her Ride for $282K

Priceless: Madge loses it over Britney song

(Newser) - Recession? What recession? Jennifer Aniston has a $50,000 hairdo and Paris Hilton, a $282,000 dashboard. Aniston recently insisted that her stylist accompany her to a week of European film premieres to work his $2,000-a-session wonders on her hair, the Post reports. Meanwhile, the Sun says Hilton recently...

Carry On! Fewer Checked Bags Cut Lost Luggage

Airlines lost 1.3M fewer bags last year as new fees convinced passengers to carry on

(Newser) - Through their relentless fees, airlines have managed to put the task of transporting often-lost luggage in much safer hands. Last year—as passengers carried aboard the baggage they previously checked for free—airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags than in 2007, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 33% improvement was...

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