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Late flights and lost bags, to say nothing of higher fares, are making air travelers grumpy, an annual survey of airline quality says.

The industry posted declines last year in every area of the Airline Quality Rating, amid rising fuel prices, safety problems and bankruptcy filings that shut down three carriers last week alone.

The biggest change was in the rate of consumer complaints, up 60 percent overall. The rate more than doubled at US Airways and Comair, and rose for 15 of the 16 airlines included in the study. The exception was Mesa Airlines.

On-time arrivals dropped for the fifth straight year, with more than one-quarter of all flights late, according to the survey. The rates of passengers bumped from overbooked flights and bags lost, stolen or damaged also jumped in 2007.

source: thetimesonline.com

The sudden demise of Skybus Airlines stranded some passengers and jets at Piedmont Triad International Airport Saturday. The low-cost airline shut down Saturday, making its last flight Friday night out of PTIA and leaving four jets sitting on the tarmac. Airline officials said the company plans to file for bankruptcy protection next week.

All passengers are eligible for full refunds on flights scheduled through Sept. 2. A message on the airline’s Web site Passengers holding reservations for Skybus flights scheduled to depart on or after Saturday should contact their credit card companies to arrange to apply for a refund.

source: tradingmarkets.com

Travelers with visions of Waikiki, sandy beaches and island cruises were stranded Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport and across the nation as low-fare carrier ATA Airlines Inc. abruptly grounded all flights and ceased operations.

A single sheet of paper posted at an empty ticket counter at LAX delivered the bad news for travelers on the carrier’s three scheduled daily flights from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Passengers scrambled — with limited success — to make alternative arrangements.

The Indianapolis-based airline became the second U.S. carrier this week to end passenger service. On Monday, Aloha Airlines ended flights, grounding the only carrier offering nonstop flights from Orange County to Hawaii.

source: LA Times

Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. had just completed a two-day state visit to the Philippines and was not about to subject himself to the indignity of being frisked before boarding his US plane back to his island nation.But the crew of Continental Micronesia Airlines Flight CO 892 was adamant. Their priority was security rather than courtesy, even for a head of state.

After a two-hour standoff, the plane left without Remengesau and his wife Debbie.

In a strange coincidence, the aircraft was recalled back to Manila minutes after it took off following “intelligence information” to the Manila Control Tower from the Philippine Air Force that a bomb might be on board.

source: Inquirer.net

Flybe has given the term low-fare airline an entirely new meaning: it is paying 172 people to fly back and forth across England and the Irish Sea to help it meet a target for passenger numbers at Norwich airport.Flybe was narrowly falling short of a target to deliver at least 15,000 passengers on the Dublin-Norwich route in the 12 months ending on Monday, which meant it would have to forego a 280,000 pound ($550,000) rebate from the airport.

After the airport rejected a request for a partial rebate for almost hitting the target, Flybe hired 172 temps for 30-40 pounds each, plus a free bar and in-flight entertainment, though it admitted “‘it probably sounds like an early April fool.'”

source: Reuters