New Airline Watchdog Pledges To Name Airlines That Don’t Respond To Customer Complaints

Did you have a bad experience with your airline? Was your on-board meal atrocious? Did a dispute go unresolved? Now you have a place to complain and have your voice heard, as the new Airline Customer Advocate website has just launched on July 1.

The website focuses on Australian carriers, and pledges to call out any airlines that have treated passengers unfairly. When you go on the website, you’ll be able to lodge a complaint that you were not able to resolve on your own. The customer will be asked to first lodge two complaints with the airline directly before using the service, as this gives carriers two chances to solve the problem. Interestingly, the service is funded by the country’s major airlines.

Said advocate Julia Lines, “I see the airline customer advocate as an ally for consumers when things go wrong. It’s another option for travellers. They should raise their complaints with the airline at first instance and if they are dissatisfied with that process they need to let the airline know that.”

Do you think there is a need for a similar service focusing on U.S. airlines?

[Image via Big Stock]

No Frills Airline: 1970s Sitcom Predicts The Future Of Air Travel



Do you think economy class passengers deserve better treatment? Apparently, they also did in the 1970s. This 10 minute clip from the Carol Burnett Show pokes fun at the differences between the ambiance of business class/first class and economy, also known as the “No Frills Section.” While outlandish – hopefully you’ve never been kicked by a stewardess for putting your feet on the floor, had to use a rope as a seat belt or been forced to exit the plane midair – it does have some relevance. And, as Boarding Area points out, the show even anticipated all the extra charges fliers incur. While the video is a little long, it’s definitely worth a look for a good laugh.

Vote for the worst airline employee ever

In all honesty, most airline employees are fine, sensible sorts–stellar even. They are the type that you can count on to get you from here to there with as little fuss and muss as possible. However, there are exceptions and in those cases, the mistakes can be doozies.

Rick Seaney has been keeping track of the airline employee stories that have created head shakes and eye-rolls. The “How stupid can a person be?” stories. These are the six stories he has come up with that are the worst of the bad. Read them and laugh. Or weep. And then vote for which airline employee you think is the worst of the worst. We’ll keep track of what you think.

  • Airline employee who escorts a child to the wrong airplane, thus sends the little darling to the wrong destination. Here’s the latest one of those stories we’ve posted about in the past
  • Baggage handler who falls asleep in the cargo hold and ends up taking off with the plane. The last guy who did this had an unusual ride to Boston from JFK.
  • Pilot who begins slurring his speech during the take-off announcement and scares the heck out of passengers so much that they demand that he return them to the terminal. We caught those details here.
  • Airline employee who helps a friend get a gun on board.
  • Truck driver who drives an airport vehicle across the tarmac in front of moving airplanes.
  • Baggage handler who steals loot from bags and sells bounty on EBay.

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Seany’s ABC News article, along with giving details about each of the mishaps, provides tips on how to avoid these airline employees if you can help it.