Catfighting flight attendants put a stop to Delta Connection flight

by Laurel Miller on

A Delta Airlines connection flight was cancelled last Thursday, after two female flight attendants engaged in a catfight. According to the Associated Press, Rochester-to-Atlanta-bound Delta Connection Flight 887 was forced to return to the departure gate after one of the passengers fell ill. Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines spokesman Joe Williams states that there was no physical contact between the dueling attendants, merely a “verbal disagreement.”

Passenger Steve Mazur contradicts Williams’ statement, saying that the women, “Apparently got into a fistfight. The pilot decided to kick everyone off the plane.” Fellow passenger Corey Minton adds that they were ordered to disembark because “stewardesses were fighting.”

Delta damage-controlled the situation by finding alternate travel arrangements for passengers, but likely won’t be able to erase the salacious image of flight attendants scratching one another’s eyes out. Both women have been put on leave until an internal investigation can be done. Says Williams, “The activity described is not acceptable.”

Delta Airlines passengers “fuming” over jet fuel soaked luggage

by Scott Carmichael on

When it comes to luggage, airlines seem to be involved in some kind of secret contest to see who can cause the most damage. In the past, airlines have left luggage out in the rain for days, set bags on fire and one airline saw 100’s of bags end up in a dumpster behind a pet store.

As of last Sunday, there appears to be a new winner in the race for baggage mistreatment – Delta Airlines. When passengers returning home from Puerto Rico retrieved their bags, they discovered that the bags were drenched in jet fuel.

Delta showed it really cares by sending the passengers home with their flammable luggage and a complaint form, telling them to wash everything, then to submit a reimbursement form within 24 hours.

Passengers think the jet fuel contamination happened at the Puerto Rico airport, and are obviously very worried that their bags sat in the luggage hold giving off harmful fumes.

If Delta did indeed load the bags knowing that they were covered in jet fuel, I’m sure someone at the FAA will want to have a word with them – a baggage hold filled with fuel fumes could have created a huge disaster. Then again, knowing how well airlines treat their passengers, I wouldn’t be surprised if these passengers receive a bill for the jet fuel.

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US Airways the latest to increase extra bag fee

by Tom Johansmeyer on

US Airways has joined the ranks of airlines increasing their fees for extra baggage. The low cost carrier is raising its extra baggage fees by $5 each way, which is comparable to the increases levied by Delta, Continental and United. With the new charge, US Airways will be charging $25 for the first bag checked, with a second bag costing you $35 each way. The new fee takes effect on February 1, 2010. If you pay in advance, you can pick up a $2 discount on the first bag and a $3 on the second bag. American Airlines is still charging $20 each way for the first checked bag and $30 for the second one. On JetBlue, the first checked bag is free, and Southwest will let you check two bags sans charge.

The increased fees aren’t terribly surprising. The travel market slump is likely to continue through much of 2010, especially with the job market unlikely to improve until the middle of the year. And, airlines have become accustomed to all the extra cash they pick up from these fees. Since you’re a captive audience, they know you’re likely to pay … what other choice do you have?

So, get ready to cram everything you have into the overhead compartment. You’ll draw the ire of everyone else on the plane, but you’ll have the satisfaction of a few Andy Jacksons sitting in your pocket.

Northwest museum to outlast the airline it honors

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The remaining traces of Northwest Airlines may disappear from the fleet in 2010, but the airline will always have a home in Minnesota. A private, nonprofit museum dedicated to the carrier is going to stay open, even though the object of its affection will be integrated fully into the Delta fold. Delta has its own museum, which undoubtedly will celebrate the acquisition of Northwest someday, but this isn’t standing in the way of the folks at the NWA History Centre.

Located in Bloomington, Minnesota, the museum will maintain a separate record of Northwest, though it will be tough to add to the collection down the road. Pete Patzke, chairman of the museum’s board, tells Minnesota Public Radio, “The history stops today. There is no more Northwest.”

As the existence of the brand winds down, the museum has experienced an influx of memorabilia, with the mundane now assuming greater importance. Letterhead, building signs and other items of daily use are being submitted for the museum to catalog, store and perhaps display.

Northwest to disappear this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Remember Eastern? Pan Am? Well, the next one to join the list of airline has-beens will be Northwest.

Northwest Airlines may have made it to the beginning of 2010, but won’t see another New Year’s Eve. The carrier, which was acquired by Delta in October 2008, has received permission from the FAA to ditch the Northwest name and operate the whole deal as Delta. The cutover process for “legacy Northwest” is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter.

There are, of course, some kinks to be worked out. The entire Northwest operation needs to be folded into that of Delta, and everything from routes to labor to the codes on boarding passes need to be sorted out. Though some groups within Northwest have sorted out contracts and seniority lists, flight attendants, gate and reservation agents and ramp workers still have some work in front of them. Prior to the merger, Northwest was, according to The Associated Press, “heavily unionized,” and Delta wasn’t.

Fortunately, a lot of heavy lifting has been done already. More than 80 percent of the planes once labeled Northwest have been repainted for Delta, the two frequent flier programs have been consolidated and crews are standardized on one set of uniforms.