Travel Week in Review – August 26th, 2022

It’s about to get easier to find out what airlines owe you when your flight is canceled or delayed. The U.S. Department of Transportation is creating a new interactive dashboard where travelers will be able to find “easy-to-read, comparative summary information on the services or amenities that each of the large U.S. airlines provide when the cause of a cancelation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control.” Read More…

After a summer plagued by flight delays and cancellations, U.S. travelers are looking ahead to the fall and hoping for smoother operations. As airlines are doing the same, they’re making the choice to cut thousands of flights into the fall and holiday season. Earlier this week, American Airlines alone cut 31,000 flights from its November schedule, according to Cirium, an aviation data company. Read More…

In 2018, Congress directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set a minimum size for airplane seats, in order to ensure that passengers will be able to evacuate aircraft quickly during an emergency. The FAA has not yet established a minimum size but is now re-examining the issue. As part of its investigation, the FAA has published a request for public comments regarding the “minimum seat dimensions necessary for the safety of air passengers” in the event of an emergency evacuation. Read More…

It’s a situation that’s becoming increasingly common: You’re waiting for your flight to start boarding, when the gate agent announces the plane is overbooked and some passengers will need to be bumped to a later flight. How does this happen, and what can travelers do about it? Planes only make money when they are flying full of paying passengers, so airlines sell a small percentage of seats more than the aircraft allows, assuming that people will not show up. Read More…