A woman in Arizona was kicked off an Allegiant Air flight from Mesa, AZ to Billings, MT after her 2 year old started to cry and then her 4 year old would not say in his seat.

The airline did not refund her money.

Check out the video posted above.

Here is my opinion of the situation after reading through hundreds of comments about this article at the Consumerist.

The biggest complaint in the comments section seems to be regarding the fact that parents should control their children. The argument back and forth is that children get rowdy and restless from time to time as opposed to children should know how to behave in public or be able to be calmed down regardless of the situation. The way I feel about it is I know that kids get fidgety, however if you are on a flight, then he or she has got to stay in their seat. There wasn’t a lot of information as to how the kids were acting exactly, but if there is a 4 year old running up and down the already crowded aisle, then it is a matter of safety (for the child).

So, Do I think the kids should be kicked off the plane? I think that it would have been nice for the news story to have a bit more about the way the kids were acting. If the news station reporting could have gotten some of the other passengers to say either “the kids were misbehaving for a long time” or “I didn’t even notice that there were misbehaving children on the plane” then I could make my decision one way or another.

In this situation, people will argue. I will say that I have been on a few flights where there were children that behaved so well, then there was one where the kid screamed in the back of the plane for an hour. I suppose, screaming children bother me, personally, the worst when I see the parent do nothing about it.

What’s the one thing that no one wants to think about when they’re boarding an airplane? Well, it’s probably something along the lines of “gee, I hope this airplane is safe.” Well, if you’ve flown on some American Airlines flights, then the truth is that flight may not have been as safe as you would have hoped.

Currently the FAA is digging in to see who is responsible for structural problems with rear bulkheads in some of the airline’s fleet of MD 80 jets. A pilot that was flying one of the jets complained about the poor condition of the jet he was flying and the jet in question ended up being ferried from Dallas to Tulsa for maintenance.

Through preliminary testing, the FAA found up to 16 of the MD 80 jets were being operated for MONTHS with the sub-par repairs.

So, eventually the FAA has to find someone responsible for the shoddy repairs right? It looks like throughout the investigation the FAA will begin taking punitive action against not only supervisors that signed off for the work for the mechanics, but actual individual mechanics themselves.

Thankfully nothing bad happened and the pilot noticed the plane’s issues before something bad could happen to someone or a full flight of people.

For a lot of people, flying isn’t an everyday thing and it is pretty intimidating. I like to fly sometimes just because it is something new and different and I really hate awfully long car rides. However, I get nervous when a flight takes off or lands. I even get nervous when the plane hits a pocket of air and the engines cut back.

Flying shouldn’t be that scary, but when you hear stories like this sometimes you have to wonder if you’re really that safe.

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It looks like the airlines are at it again. They are really wanting to get any money that they can from you, the flyer, whenever and however they can. They pull dirty, sneaky tricks and expect consumers to just fall for them or accept them as the way it is. However, it kind of is “just the way it is” because I think in the United States, we have become accustomed to being kicked around by the airline industry.

So, what have the airlines done this time? Well, they have decided, all within hours of each other, to start charging an extra $10 per ticket if you decide you want to fly during the busiest travel days of the year.

The $10 charge that the airlines are imposing will be in the form of a “miscellaneous surcharge” that will be added to all the tickets that are for the days of November 29th, January 2nd, and January 3rd. The four airlines that have all decided to go this route are American Airlines, Delta, Northwest, and U.S. Airways.

Of course U.S. Airways has decided to take part in a new kind of charge. This is the same company that keeps increasing its baggage fees and even charges you an extra $5 if you want to check-in your baggage at the desk in the airport. That is outrageous in my honest opinion. When I was in Maryland for my cousin’s wedding in July, I asked my uncle if I could use his computer to print out my check-in information and when I told him that it would cost me an extra $5 if I waited until I got to the airport he looked at me and said, “Wow…that’s outrageous.”

So, when you go shopping for those plane tickets for this holiday season, remember that not only will you be paying extra for checked baggage, but now you also have to consider this new fee. That means when you’re looking at Orbitz or wherever you go to buy your tickets, the price that you’re seeing is not the price that you will pay. In some instances, your ticket will cost $30 or more than what the internet says. At least that is my understand of how this fee will work.
My guess is that the airlines don’t want to give you an upfront quote due to the fact that the lower price they actually see on the website will draw some customers in who are simply looking for the cheapest fare.

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Yesterday, United Kingdom airline British Airways, who has seen the largest one-year loss since being privatized in 1987, asked employees to save the company money by working for free. Naturally, a struggling company would try to save money wherever possible, but that might be a little extreme. It is a bit difficult to tell employees that you are expecting them to work for free.

Willie Walsh, chief of British Airways, said he will not draw a salary for the month of July, demonstrating that no employee is exempt to the expectation and that it really is that important to the company. He urged other employees to work for blocks of time entirely unpaid. In a company publication, Walsh commented, “I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company’s survival plan. It really counts.”

BA said it was a request that meant employees would basically volunteer to take a cut in base pay, allowing the lost income to be spread out over the course of several months. The company said last month there was a chance it would ask employees to consider working unpaid hours or shifts.

The UNITE union, which represents airline employees, including thousands of British Airways ground and cabin crew, did not respond well to this idea. UNITE said that while British Airways chief Walsh might be able to afford working a month for free, the employees could not. After all, most employees nearly live paycheck to paycheck.

British Airways said last month that it had lost 375 million pounds ($595 million) in their fiscal year which ended March 31. Compare this with a profit of 712 million pounds in the previous fiscal year and you understand their concern. They are trying to curb their worst totals in more than twenty years of public business. The previous low point was a loss of 200 million pounds in the 2001-2002 year.

With the Air France disaster still very fresh in everyone’s minds, especially those in Paris (where many of the victims were from), the Paris Air Show wasn’t the same spectacle it usually is. With it being the 100th anniversary of the show, it seems that the disaster of Air France Flight 447 is still weighing heavily on airlines.

At the opening day of the Air Show, Boeing didn’t get one single order and its main competitor Airbus was only able to get just one sell from Qatar Airways for 27 jets.

The purchase from Airbus for the 24 A320 single aisle airplanes is worth $1.9 billion, well that’s the list price anyway. Usually airlines, especially given the global economic condition, are able to haggle down the price to a much more reasonable level.

The big winner of the day ended up being Canada’s Bombardier aircraft. The Canadian plane maker announced that it had 35 offers for its CRJ100 jets offered by Air Nostrum, the deal is worth $1.75 billion. Bombardier are typically smaller planes and don’t travel the vast distances that Airbus and Boeing jets do.

Boeing has been having a hard time peddling their wares considering the lack of commercial flying and even weakening military sales. If you look at commercial flight inside the confidential United States, the majority of flights are on smaller regional jets like the Bombardiers now. When I booked a flight from Memphis to Washington D.C., I was only able to fly on smaller regional jets versus just a couple years ago when the same flight could have been booked on a Boeing 727 or Airbus.

Boeing did try to liven up the mood regarding its sales however:

“At this point it appears to us that the economic conditions have bottomed. If they have bottomed and a recovery comes next year, I think we have a shot at getting through,” said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing’s commercial division.

Hopefully things will get better for the Chicago based company, or perhaps it is time for them to start producing the smaller jets that seem to be selling better.

Southwest and NWA runway traffic at Maryland’s BWI Airport

Northrop Grumman, a company that we discussed a few weeks ago as a hiring possibility is now in even better shape. They scored a contract, signed, sealed, and delivered, with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization-Terminal that can be worth as much as $33.9 million.

The nationally expanded Northrop Grumman Co. is the fourth largest defense contractor in the world and the largest naval supply company. They were founded in Denver, Colorado in 1927 under the name Grumman. Upon a 1994 merger with competitor Northrup, the name Northrop Grumman was acquired.

Northrop Grumman has several locations in all sorts of sectors all across America, most notably in Mobile, Alabama, all throughout Texas, California, their Newport News, Virginia shipyard, and the electronic systems headquarters in Maryland, nearby Columbia, the heart of the Maryland economy.

Northrop Grumman is one of four companies selected to receive a contract to provide program management and financial support to the FAA. The total contract negotiations are worth $137.8 million. Northrop Grumman was given a contract for one base year with up to three, one-year options worth a total of $33.9 million if all goes right. Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector is in charge of planning, execution, implementation, cost, and financial support to the FAA.

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It’s summer time and a lot of us are going to start looking at taking trips. While most of the trips we go on are taken in the car, there are so many people who don’t live close enough to “vacation locations” to drive and now that money is tight, it is more difficult to save money when traveling.

Well, I say, don’t fear airline prices. Right now trips to Europe are really cheap, especially if you live near an airport with direct flights.

It’s not only abroad where you’ll find good deals on airline tickets. You can also find good deals through the continental U.S. Something I found out recently is that Southwest flies directly to Orlando, Florida. I always check prices on Southwest’s website or JetBlue’s websites before I check the travel websites like Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, or Travelocity. Southwest and JetBlue are typically cheaper and more friendly in my opinion than the airlines that you can find on other travel websites.

The best way to save money on travel is to book well in advance. I was checking prices on a flight that was set for a Wednesday and it jumped 50% in two days (this was on one of the travel websites I mentioned earlier and not Southwest or Jet Blue). In this case, the more “in advance” you know that you’re going the better off your wallet will be.

You can’t always rely on the travel websites either! You need to check with each individual airline. Most of the time the price is the same, so you have to ask yourself if you would rather book from a third party like Orbitz or go directly with the airline? I feel more safe booking through the airline because I feel like if something were to go wrong, it would be easier to deal with the airline then through the third party website.

When booking your flight you also need to remember which airlines charge for checked bags. I know that Southwest and JetBlue do not charge for the first checked bag in coach class, but other airlines do. This was news to me when I had to book a flight and ended up taking U.S. Airways because of the proximity to the airport I was arriving at. All airlines charge for bags that weigh over 50 lbs and they typically have bag size requirements also. So if you’re traveling with another person, you can save some money on the baggage fee, but make sure that you check your airline’s website to make sure that your bag fits in the limits!

Happy vacation!

Gasoline prices are going up; about 24 cents a gallon, on average, higher than last month, but down about $1.55, also on average, from a year ago. Memorial Day travelers are paying out the rear end… of the wallet, of course. (What else did you think that referred to?) Traveling expenses go up constantly around Memorial Day. This author took a plane ride to Memphis, Tennessee for Memorial Day 2006. The airfare costs, even on Priceline or Travelocity, was increased by about 15% or more if the trip encompassed any part of the Memorial Day weekend. That is, in part, due to convenient gas price hikes, every May, on or around Memorial Day. This is the exact same price hike the average vehicle operator is paying now.

If gasoline prices mean you decide to forgo that Memorial Day weekend getaway for a barbecue at home, prices for food and ingredients of a traditional barbecue are up more than 6% from a year ago. The price bump is slightly less than the increase from 2007 to 2008, when the cost of the barbecue’s fixings rose more than 7%.

The overall cost of a barbecue is driven up more by the choice of additional items like potato chips, up 20.5% in the last year, and cookies, which rose 12.8%. That potato salad will cost more too. The price of a pound of potatoes is up 13.6%. The good news is the hamburgers, will cost a little less. The price of a pound of ground beef dropped 3.1% from April 2008 to April 2009.

Here are the average findings of barbeque food costs:
Ground beef: down 3.1%
American cheese: down 2.6%
Hamburger buns: up 1.7%
Soda: up 2.3%
Ice cream: up 3.9%
Beer: up 6.2%
Chicken: up 10.2%
Chocolate chip cookies: up 12.8%
Potatoes: up 13.6%
Potato chips: up 20.5%

The price of a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline, according to the Department of Energy, dropped to $2.06 in April from $3.51 one year ago. The price in May though has jumped to about $2.30, which may affect travel plans. That is a 24 cent raise just for May, without obvious provocation other than the summer holiday. For an average 16 gallon, 6 cylinder vehicle (which returns an estimated 23 highway miles per gallon), that is a gas raise of $3.84 per tank. Unfortunately, you may pay more than that holding your own barbecue at home. Can someone pass the mustard? (I hope we have mustard. Prices went up for that too.)

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines was one of the few major carriers to add employees in the latest period. Southwest grew its work force by 1,473 workers in the year-to-year February period and has more than 35,543 workers total.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc., a subsidiary of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) saw its number of full-time employees in February drop 4.4 percent from 73,200 last year to 69,900 in the most recent period. AMR Corp’s regional carrier American Eagle also experienced a 5 percent drop in full-time employees in February, with the airline recording 9,214 jobs in the most recent 2009 survey, down from 9,704 for February 2008.

Southwest has carried out its distinction as a low-cost carrier that cares about its employees. Unlike other carriers, Southwest knows what matters in the long run rather than what will profit them in the short run. While other carriers were charging for the first checked bag, Southwest stayed true to its low cost nature.

Even if the proposed venture would have gone through, it would have been a 10 year deal where UPS would transport DHL freight between airports, not actually delivering packages to DHL customers.

DHL will continue to use ABX Air and ASTAR Cargo as its air service providers since DHL is accepting packages at locations to ship outside the U.S.

Those who have depended on DHL for years have been choosing between UPS, the USPS and/or FedEx as their delivery service.

The company posted a $91 million first quarter loss, a far cry from its net income of $34 million in the first quarter of 2008.

It began offering early-out programs to employees and implemented a hiring freeze as well as freezing the salaries of some of the top managers.

Dallas-based Southwest attributed its weak first quarter to a special charge of $71 million related to the company’s fuel hedge portfolio and a general fall in demand related to the deteriorating economy. Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly also reiterated that Southwest has suspended growth plans and is focusing on boosting cash reserves.

“Our first-quarter 2009 financial results are disappointing, but not surprising given the current economic environment,” said Kelly. “We face the toughest revenue environment in our history. A rapid weakening in passenger demand during first quarter, particularly among business travelers, led to our first-quarter net loss. Although competitively strong and financially resilient, we are not immune to the challenges the worldwide recession is having on air travel.”

It is a bit sad to see Southwest go through such a difficult time too. Unlike other airlines, Southwest has stuck to its guns, even when fuel prices were outrageous. It never charged for a checked bag or soda…

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FedEx should be grounding several of its fleet. The company is losing money every quarter, with the last quarter being particularly harsh.

It has also been talking about laying off a lot of its staff at its Memphis hub.

Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran, which hubs at Hartsfield-Jackson, said March 27 the pilot “wore his uniform to a non-work, NPA union-sponsored event in clear violation of the Flight Operations Manual and the collective bargaining agreement.”

But the union said the pilot was wearing his uniform while dropping off his wife and two children at a circus in Atlanta. The NPA [National Pilot's Association] sponsored a family day at the circus and the pilot was on his way to work when he stopped at Philips Arena to help his wife with their kids, the union said.

The rule seems to be kind of dumb especially sense he was dropping his family off at a NPA sponsored event.

Also when the notice was given, 87% of pilots for AirTran voted to end their independent union to merge with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The move eliminates their affiliation with the NPA.

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Southwest, for example, is offering $39 one way tickets between its airport in Houston to other Southwest airports nearby.

It’s reported that some are even finding great deals to other parts of the world:

Qantas Airways is offering one-way fares between Australia and California for $299, and New York for $399. United Airlines is selling a new Moscow route for as low as $119 one way, before taxes and fees. American has fares from Chicago to Dublin for $147

I haven’t been able to find deals like these for a trip after graduation from Memphis, but I suppose knowing that the airlines are offering them is better than not knowing even where to begin.

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The pilots, 54-year-old pilot Kevin Kylemosley and 49-year-old copilot, Anthony Stephen-Pino were flying into Tokyo from Guangzhou, China when their aircraft skipped along the longer of two runways at the Narita Airport in Tokyo.

The flight ended with the plane upside down and on fire.

If you think that it is financially impossible to get away for a few days due to sky high (no pun intended) airline ticket prices, think again.

With websites like Farecast.com, you can find prices for tickets that are in your price range. Just remember to check all the boxes when you’re searching to search other travel sites too, just to make sure you are getting the best deal. Sometimes sites like Orbitz can be cheaper.

Another thing to remember is that it is generally cheaper to fly on Wednesdays for some reason.

So, maybe this spring break you can get out of town for a few days.

I don’t think anyone was a fan of the extra charges airlines were taking on to passengers’ fares. I still can’t believe an airline, which charges (usually) over $200 a ticket, would charge $15 for a checked bag…one checked bag.

U.S. Airways have said that the reason it is giving sodas away again is because of the economy and reduced fuel prices.

Well, at least it’s doing something.

Last year, Linens-N-Things, KB Toys, Mervyns, Bombay & Co., Aloha airlines, The Sharper Image, all went bankrupt.

This year we could see any of the Big 3 automakers fail. Even with the bailout, they are still in trouble unless they change drastically. They aren’t the only companies that are in trouble, after closing over 100 stores, Circuit City is hanging on by a thread.

These are just big companies and chains. That doesn’t include all the “mom-and-pop” style local shops or even small, regional brands and chains.

Plenty of banks are still in trouble too. This year isn’t expected to be a great year when millions more residential and commercial adjustable rate mortgages reset. While the mortgages may not reset to the outrageous rates they were last year and the year before, hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs and won’t be able to afford the extra interest payment.

Both of these decisions were ONLY made after members of Congress criticized executives for taking the jets to Washington to beg for money. What were they thinking? “Let’s look as comfortable and RICH as possible so we can go beg for money?” Hey…that doesn’t work. Honestly, most of these guys could have flown first or business class on American Airlines and no one would have bothered them (or known who they were).

I don’t want my tax payer dollars to go to these kinds of companies. Maybe soon they will see the errors in their ways.

Now, Delta is announcing they will be imposing the $15 first checked bag fee, as well as the $25 second checked bag fee. These fees came directly from the Northwest Airlines playbook.

The fees will begin taking place starting Dec. 5th. Customers who already purchased tickets will not be charged for the first checked bag, but will be charged for the second ($50). Those flying first or business class or members of SkyMiles Medallion or WorldPerks Elite will not be charged for the first 3 bags checked (up to 70 lbs each).

Around 11 am this morning, Bloomberg News broadcast the story as new… That’s when the madness happened. Between the time the story was broadcast as “new” and 12:30 pm, when trading was halted, the stock dropped from around $12 a share, to $3. Even when trading resumed, it still didn’t completely recover from the damage done by the false story.

The staff at the Sun-Sentinel online still don’t know what happened or why the story was posted on their website. I am thinking it was probably just an accident, after all, I’ve seen some pretty disorganized newsrooms. Fowl play would be a little more fun though, as far as reporting on the story goes.

Now let’s see, in the last year the government has had to bailout several banks, Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae. In the past the government has had to bail out the airlines, who are now charging for everything from the first checked bag to soda.

Sure, if the domestic auto makers aren’t able to restructure, in the long-run they’ll probably go out of business, because they’ll be unable to turn a profit. Foreign cars are better made and more fuel efficient, so the domestic brands really need to step it up…I suppose they have decided that a government loan is the only way to restructure their companies.

On April 14, 2008 Delta announced the stock-swap deal to take over Northwest airlines. This would make them the world’s largest airline in terms of traffic.

Delta has also told some Northwest hubs that they would not be losing any jobs. However, with rising fuel costs, job cuts seem inevitable.

I have also had nothing but wonderful experience with the airline. The only complaint I have is that seating is first come, first serve. However, it is still a small inconvenience when compared to the cost of traveling on a different airline.

We live closer to Memphis, TN which does not have a Southwest terminal in the airport. However, with other airlines charging more for fares and bag fees, it is cheaper to drive to Jackson, MS or Little Rock, AR to get to an airport that Southwest flies to than to fly on Delta, Northwest, American Airlines, etc…

I am getting tired of extremely small measures airlines are taking to cut costs. They are nickel and diming the consumer to death. Hopefully I never have to fly US Airways on a long trip and get thirsty. The next thing they’re going to do is charge to use the toilet. Ridiculous!

This is really not something you see everyday. His salary of $500,000 is still less than American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey who was paid $656,500 in 2007 or Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson’s $600,000 for 2007.

The union that represents the workers requested a 9.8% pay increase earlier this year, when Lufthansa offered 6.8% and a one time bonus, the union declined.

The German government is trying to get both sides to reach an agreement quickly to minimize damages caused by the strike. Ver.di spokesman Harald Reutter said that the strike would cost the airline nearly $7.8 per day.

It really seems like a strike is the only way to get things done anymore. Too bad people can’t come to an agreement without it escalating to such a drastic measure. People don’t get paid when they’re on strike.

It doesn’t help that people are more and more unhappy with airline service. People are paying more for tickets and also having to pay for things that were always free like sodas and the first checked bag. I have never been a frequent flier. I’ve only really flown 5 times. I do look though. I mean, if we wanted to take a trip somewhere besides Memphis, St. Louis, Atlanta, or the Gulf Coast, we’d have to fly, because I’m not driving. We drove to Dallas in January and I promised Chris I would never drive that far again.

Airlines are talking about becoming more fuel efficient. They have a long journey ahead of them to find something that will get them off the ground though. It takes a lot of energy to keep a plane in the air. So good luck airlines.

This is disappointing. How did a tick get into the passenger part of the plane, and how did anyone actually see it? I’m thinking this guy who saw it was wearing magnifying glasses as lenses or something, because most ticks, when not engorged, are smaller than the size of the end of a matchstick. In passing, who would be able to see and and tell it’s is for certain a tick? The airline said they found 1 – 3 ticks on the plane and didn’t know how they got there.

It’s just strange to me. I have found ticks on my dogs, but have never actually seen one anywhere else. Well…on other people’s dogs. It’s just good to know that the people made it to their destination, and without having to find ticks on them or their kids.