Mesa Air Group-operated ERJ-145 for Freedom Airlines, which runs for Delta Connection
On October 13, 2006, Emily Gillette was breast-feeding her daughter on a Delta Airline’s flight from Burlington, VT to New York City. Gillette, who was 27 at the time, started breast-feeding her 1 year old daughter while still at the gate. She states she was in a position where her breast was not exposed and nothing was indecent. A flight attendant told her she needed to cover up with a blanket and Gillette refused. The flight attendant ordered a customer service representative to kick Gillette and her family off the plane.
Delta is not saying much. Their spokesman Anthony Black said yesterday that the airline does not comment on litigation but supports a mother’s right to breast-feed.
Gillette is suing three airlines: Freedom, Mesa, and Delta. Mesa operates the aircraft for Freedom, who flies for Delta Connection (I know, confusing). Having all three airlines involved is causing issues. The Human Rights Commission in Vermont is also filing a lawsuit, but only against Mesa and Freedom, finding that they couldn’t hold Delta responsible for the other airline’s actions. The commission states the law is clear, ’œa mother may breast-feed her child in any place of public accommodation in which the mother and child would otherwise have a legal right to be.’
Thanks Jessica for the tip!
Source: Current Image: Pix Picks
Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS arriving into Edinburgh
Ryanair is back in the news again for another crazy stunt. I hate feeling I am helping their greater plan of getting free publicity, but I am always in awe with what comes up next.
This time Ryanair is looking to cater to those who smoke. But do not worry. If you do not like the cigarette smoke, you are in luck! Ryanair will start to offer smokeless cigarettes, which are not lit and have no smoke. They will sell packs of 10 cigarettes for about $8.75 for all passengers over 18.
So is this a good idea? It allows those who are stressed from flights to have some of that relieved and doesn’t negatively affect those around them. But should an airline support an unhealthy addiction?
Source: NY Daily News Image: Gerry Hill
The Continental Blue Skyway livery I got a picture (not a very good one) of today while in Houston.
Alrighty, I am back folks! Sorry about the silence. I took a vacation and was planning on blogging — I don’t see this as work, but as fun. However, you know how vacations can go — I got distracted.
One of the best parts of going on vacation is being able to fly again. On my way back to Seattle from New Orleans, I had a stop over in Houston. I was lucky enough to see Continental’s Blue Skyway special livery (more info).
Anyhow, I don’t want to leave you without your airline news. Here are some of the stories I found interesting this last week:
* Airlines are looking at charging a fee to fly on busy days. (Gadling)
* The hero pilot Sullenberger will start flying again for US Airways (Airline Biz Blog)
* There might be a new flight attendant TV show coming soon (Flight Wisdom)
* United is expanding domestically (BNET)
* New Orleans airport got the green light to go private (USA Today)
* A Southwest Boeing 737-200 ends its glorious career (NutsAboutSouthwest)
That should about do it for now. I will be able to have more regular updates this week, which is great for everyone!
Armavia Airbus A320-214"Hovhannes Aivazovsky"
Armavia was founded in 1996 and is the national carrier of the Republic of Armenia. They have eight different aircraft with six different aircraft types, including 2 Airbus A320’s and 1 Il-86.
Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-132 (N532NK)
Spirit Airlines has been fined $375,000.00 due to customer complaints for overbooking flights, lost bags, and poor advertising practices.
First off, the airline was not properly compensating passengers who were bumped due to overbooking, which Federal law regulates they must. Spirit was also dragging their feet when compensating passengers for lost baggage. Airlines must make payment “within a reasonable period of time” which most people would agree 14 months is not reasonable. If that wasn’t enough, the airline also was charging customers $4.90 for a passenger use fee to fares in their “Travel Deals” portion of the website. According to regulation, such fees need to be added into the advertised price.
This comes at a time where Congress is in process of passing a “passenger bill of rights” which will better protect passengers flying on all airlines in the United States. Over the past two years, Congress has also provided the Transportation Department with $2.5million in the past two years to help enforce customer-protection rules.
’œSelling fares for $9 has made us very popular and, a few years ago when we adopted this model, we had some growing pains during the transition,’ Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson said in an e-mail to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. ’œWe have addressed all the core issues that caused customer experience challenges a few years ago, including upgrading our computer systems and utilizing a new reservations partner.’
Customer treatment is currently on the forefront of the airline industry. I am normally for the industry regulating itself and allowing customers to help steer what the industry does, but it seems some airlines just don’t get it and passengers have a short memory span when choosing what airline to fly. A passenger might have a horrid experience and say they will never fly a particular airline again. But the next time they fly, if that same airline is $25.00 less, they ’œforget’ their previous experience and decide to save a few dollars.
Image: ChicagoKoz