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This could take years to sort out, I suspect.
Some passengers of that “Miracle on the Hudson” landing say, they’re having trouble with US Airways’ insurance company, AIG – they claim they’re not getting reimbursed for all their losses (laptops, clothing, cash and more) or all medical bills (for injuries and/or therapy).
The problem, as the New York Times points out, is that “aviation liability insurance is different. It is activated by a finding of negligence on the part of an airline.” If there is no negligence, then it could be argued, there’s no reason to pay. We, of course, don’t know the whole story, but we do know about the geese-in-the-engines and the heroic captain…
It should be noted that almost immediately after the accident, the airline handed out $5,000 checks to all passengers to help passengers deal with their “immediate losses” – and some of those passengers say they’re being offered an additional $10,000 if they will sign a paper saying they won’t sue the airline.
AIG says they don’t believe liability has been established but they’ve still paid for passenger emergency care (and reimbursed the airlines for that original $5,000 pay-out).
But, then again – these people did go through hell. Readers – what say you?
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American Airlines is cutting capacity, and cutting its workforce as well.
About 1,600 employees will be laid off, most of them flight attendants, most of them based out of Chicago and NY’s LaGuardia. As an AA vice president put it, “These are trying times in the airline industry.” Indeed.
And, that’s probably not the end of it – Delta, which is also cutting capacity, says it too will also have to “reassess staffing needs”.
UPDATE: US Airways is now looking for 400 flight attendants who will take “voluntary leaves of absence”.
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A lot of the respondents in the new SeatGuru survey said, yes, they would like to sit next to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But the majority – 56% — listed another choice for favorite seatmate:
Nobody. Give them an empty seat, every time.
Worst food: According to the 1,600 travelers surveyed, American, United and US Airways serve the worst food (mind you, most of those surveyed took at least eight flights last year, so we are talking business travelers – international business travelers – who actually get food).
Best food: Singapore Airlines (overwhelmingly), followed by British Airways, then Continental.
Most comfortable seats: Singapore for business class, JetBlue for economy seats.
Finally, 42% of those surveyed said they would pay up to 10% of their ticket cost to get another five inches of legroom. What’s not clear is, would they pay? Or would their employers?
If anyone would like to chime in with their own likes/dislikes, I’m all ears.
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The head of US Airways surprised almost no one when he said “ancillary revenue” – corporate speak for bag fees – are here to stay.
No airline can walk away from that kind of money – we are talking billions here.
CEO Doug Parker also told the AP (via USA Today) that the airline industry is just too big – and it needs to get smaller through consolidation – as in mergers.
United decided against merging with US Airways last year – it could still happen, the door hasn’t been completely shut on that – and certainly other mergers are possible.
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Scorching heat and thunderstorms have teamed up to create some delays at the Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) airport.
Do as I did, and check with Flightstats for the latest info. At the moment I’m seeing several cancelled flights, and delays – but of course, this can change, from moment to moment.
Call before you head out the door – but if you’re already at the airport, well – at least at DFW, there’s a good variety of restaurants.
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This just in: You can now get real-time Tweets from FareCompare — telling you about the deals you want — deals specifically geared to your home airport!
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