Last September, a video of a water salute going very wrong went viral – the plane involved was an Airbus A320 operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines and as it was approaching its gate at Dubai International Airport (DXB) it was…
Airline News
Criticism of British Airways’ Uniform Policy Has Now Turned Into a Full-Blown Sexism Row
Last week, I wrote about an open letter that a senior trade union official sent to the chief executive of British Airways, calling on the airline to update it’s uniform and grooming policy for the 21st century. Diana Holland, Assistant…
Trump Bans All Flights from U.S. to Venezuela But Spanish Airlines Continue Operations
On Wednesday, the Trump administration banned all commercial and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela citing conditions that “threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew travelling to or from” the country. The decision comes two…
Virgin Atlantic Cabin Crew Balloted on Industrial Action Following Rejection of Pay Deal
Cabin crew at Virgin Atlantic are being balloted on their desire to start industrial action against the Crawley-based airline in a dispute over pay and conditions. Last month, crew rejected a two-year pay deal that would have seen basic wages…
United Has Heard its Employees Loud and Clear: Lots More Changes Coming to the New Uniform
United Airlines is currently in the midst of a huge project to design and roll out new uniforms for 70,000 employees around the world. Work started on the project in 2017 with designer Tracy Reese, men’s outfitters Brooks Brothers and…
Senator Bernie Sanders Says Delta’s Union-Busting Has “Violated the Dignity” of Employees
Potential U.S. Presidential nominee, Senator Bernie Sanders has written an open letter to Delta’s chief executive, Ed Bastian decrying the airline’s treatment of employees and union-busting activities. The letter, which was co-signed by eight other senators, comes less than a…
Ryanair Seriously Riled by Proposed New Dutch Aviation Tax – Claim’s it is ‘State Aid’ for KLM
The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has hit out at a new Aviation Tax which is being proposed by the Dutch government. The flat-rate tax of €7 per departing passenger was included in a draft bill introduced yesterday by the Dutch…
Emirates Set’s 2019 Profit Target at $762 Million, Cancels Pay Rises, Slows Down Job Hiring
The cost of living might be rising in Dubai but cabin crew salaries at Emirates (along with every other Dubai-based member of staff at the airline) won’t be going up with it. The chairman and chief executive of the Emirates…
Air France Could Be Hit By Cabin Crew Strikes Within Weeks Over Proposed Pension Reform
Trade unions representing cabin crew groups across Air France have threatened to call strike action within weeks unless airline bosses press the French government not to go ahead with proposed pension reforms. At present, cabin crew are able to retire…
Etihad’s ‘Two-Night Getaway’ Offer Has Just Become A Lot More Attractive
Etihad has just turned a dud of a special offer into a proposition that would actually make me seriously consider a stopover in Abu Dhabi. Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi-based airline launched a free stopover offer whereby the airline…
Another Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 is Involved in Serious Incident… Time to Ground it?
A Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 regional jet operated by Russian airline Aeroflot has been forced to make an emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after a loss of cabin pressure according to the Aviation Herald. The emergency incident happened yesterday and…
Our Verdict on the United x Spider Man Safety Video Collaboration: Nice Effort But Meh…
The humble airline safety video has been well and truly commercialised… It’s a trend that’s been slowly growing over the last few years but this latest effort from Chicago-based United Airlines is possibly the most blatant, or at the very…
Kuwait Airways is Being Sued (Again) for Refusing to Fly an Israeli Passenger from Europe
A legal case has been filed in a German court accusing Kuwait of antisemitic discrimination – the second such case brought against the government-owned Kuwaiti flag-carrier in Germany. On this occasion, an Israeli businessman who booked flights from Munich to…
“It Might Be a Coke, It Might Be a Stroke”: Emirates Cabin Crew Told to Stop Ignoring Call Bells
Every member of cabin crew has been told this line many times in their career: “It might be a Coke, it might be a stroke”. The meaning is that cabin crew shouldn’t ignore call bells, because while we might assume…
Etihad Airways is No Longer a Skytrax Awarded ‘Five Star’ Airline
Skytrax is a British aviation consultancy firm which runs an unofficial but popular Star Rating service for airlines in much the same way that hotels have their own Star Ratings. Up until now, there were just 11 airlines in the…
Ryanair Passenger Threatened to Hit Flight Attendant with Fire Extinguisher, Tried to Open Door
It’s happened again… This time, a passenger onboard a Ryanair flight from Manchester in the North of England to the popular Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria went berserk during the roughly five-hour flight and threatened to hit a member…
British Airways Told to Relegate “Expectations of Makeup, Heel Length and Buttoned up Jackets” to History Books
One of the United Kingdom’s most senior trade unionists has told British Airways it is “high time to relegate expectations of makeup, heel length and buttoned up jackets to the history books.” The call came from Diana Holland, the assistant…
Nearly 50% of German Flight Attendants Have Been “Sexually Molested” On the Job
A new survey has revealed that sexual harassment and violence is a common occurrence for many German flight attendants and campaigners are now calling on airlines to do much more to stamp out the crime – including banning adverts that…
Delta Air Lines Would Rather its Employees Buy a Games Console Than Join a Union
Of the Big Three U.S. airlines, Delta is generally considered to offer the best service. Its employees seem to be more engaged and service focused and in return, they get their share of one of the biggest profit-sharing bonuses in…
British Airways Owner Becomes Only Airline Group in Europe to Make First Quarter Profit
The owner of British Airways and Iberia has become the only airline group in Europe (not including the new Ryanair Group) to report a profit in the first quarter of 2019 (from January to March). The IAG Group, which also…
Norwegian Wet Lease Woes Are Worse Than Previously Thought: Now Affecting Scandinavia
Norwegian has had a really tough start to the year. The Oslo-based low-cost airline is already in major cost-cutting mode but problem after problem seems to hamper every effort it makes to reduce losses and get back into the black. …
Man Who “Terrorised” Cabin Crew and Tried to Open Emergency Exit In-Flight Jailed
A man who British police said “terrorised” cabin crew on a flight between Manchester Airport (MAN) in Northern England and Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey has been jailed for one year and 10 months at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. …
Emirates Reports Profit for 2018 but Chairman Says Disappointed With Performance
The Chairman of Emirates Airline has described the 2018/2019 financial period as “tough” and said “performance was not as strong as we would have liked” after the Emirates Group posted its annual results earlier today. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al…
A Serving Aeroflot Flight Attendant Has Just Made Shocking Accusations About the Airline
A Twitter user who claims to be a serving flight attendant for Aeroflot has made some pretty shocking allegations about the Russian flag carrier in a series of Tweets on the social media site. Going by the name of @PlusUltraFilm,…
There Are Actually Three Different Way’s You Can Leave an Aeroplane: Do You Know the Third?
Did you know there are actually three different ways you can get off an aeroplane? We all know the first two – the plain old standard way of disembarking slowly but surely via an airbridge or steps and, of course,…
American Airlines Flight Attendant Avoids Jail After Being Found Guilty of Attempting to Drink Fly on Duty
A flight attendant for American Airlines was today found guilty by a British court of attempting to operate a flight while over the alcohol limit – sometimes known as ‘drink flying’. Unlike in similar cases, however, the flight attendant was…
Online Petition by Airbus Captain Say’s Current Emergency Evacuation Rules Aren’t Enough
All modern commercial aeroplanes are designed to be evacuated in under 90 seconds. The current rules have been in place since the 1970s and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus have to prove they can get a full load of…
Being in Financial Difficulty Has Been Good for Etihad’s Carbon Footprint
It’s no secret that Etihad Airways is facing some pretty serious financial problems. Over the last two years, the Abu Dhabi-based airline has made a combined loss of nearly $3 billion, it’s been forced to cut routes, cancel aircraft orders,…
Is This a Possible Timeline for a Merger Between Etihad Airways and Emirates?
The rumours of Dubai’s Emirates Airline merging (or perhaps even acquiring) it’s much smaller and debt-laden neighbour in Abu Dhabi have been doing the rounds for several years now. Back in March 2017, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt cited two…
Aeroflot Tragedy Yet Again See’s Passengers Taking Hand Luggage During Evacuation
We now know 41 people, including two children and a member of cabin crew, were killed in a terrifying emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport yesterday afternoon. Less than half of those onboard on Aeroflot flight SU1492 from Moscow Sheremetyevo…
Now U.S. Airlines Try Flattery on President Trump in Bid to Get Him to Take Action on Gulf Rivals
I’ve written extensively about the dispute that the Big Three airlines in the United States have with their Persian Gulf rivals. American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines have been very vocal in their opposition to Emirates and Etihad Airways and…
Norwegian Reverses Decision That Forced Women to Wear Makeup and High Heels
Just weeks after low-cost airline Norwegian posted updated uniform and grooming guidelines that forced female employees, including cabin crew to wear makeup and high heels, the airline has reversed the decision following a big backlash of the “Mad Men universe”…
Lion Air Pilot Suspended After Slapping Hotel Worker Because Uniform Wasn’t Ironed Properly
A video has emerged of a pilot for Indonesian airline Lion Air apparently getting into a furious row with a hotel worker before slapping and hitting the employee around the head – his grievance, it’s alleged, was that his uniform…
The SAS Pilots Strike is Over After Airline Agrees Three-Year 10.5% Pay Rise
The SAS pilots strike that has resulted in over 4,000 flights being cancelled and the travel plans of approximately 360,000 passengers being affected has come to an end after a marathon 34-hour negotiating session between pilot unions and SAS management…
Norwegian’s Continuing Boeing 787 Woes Cause ‘Significant Surplus’ of Cabin Crew
We’ve known since last week that low-cost airline Norwegian planned to use several wetlease operators for flights to Orlando, Miami, Denver and Chicago from its Gatwick base over the busy Summer period. What we didn’t know at the time, however,…
Just How Bad is American’s Operational and Safety Performance? The Stats Don’t Look Good
Just how badly is American Airlines performing at the moment? It’s a question that interests me because just about everywhere I turn there seems to be yet another bad review or social media post bemoaning the state of the airline. …
SAS Has Now Cancelled nearly 3,500 Flights Because of Pilots Strike
The Scandinavian airline SAS says it has been forced to cancel 3,306 flights since a pilots strike started on Friday. The cancellations equal around 70% of the airline’s schedule and have so far disrupted the travel plans of around 326,917…
flydubai Celebrates 10th Birthday: Has it Really Been a Decade Already?
Dubai’s very own homegrown low-cost airline aptly named flydubai will celebrate its 10th birthday in just over a month’s time – it doesn’t feel like the government-owned carrier has been around for that long at all but flydubai actually started…
Confusion Over Air Italy’s Schedules Raise Important Questions About its Performance
Airlines typically set flight schedules and make tickets available for sale across two seasons per year – a winter timetable that runs from late October to March and a summer timetable from late March to October. This way of doing…
The Big Problem With ‘Bring Your Own Device’ Entertainment Streaming That Airlines are Ignoring
Let me start off by saying that ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) entertainment streaming – a service that a growing number of airlines from full-service to ultra-low-cost are starting to offer – isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, in…
Emirates’ President Says Business “Has Not Been Easy” But Full Year Profit Expected
Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market trade fair in Dubai, the President of Emirates said the airline expected “positive” full-year results but cautioned that they would not be as good as has been witnessed in some previous years. Sir Tim…
Etihad Becomes First Airline in the Middle East to Allow Male Cabin Crew with Beards
Airlines notoriously have strict grooming policies for cabin crew with some mandating the exact shades of makeup to be used and only allowing crew to wear their hair in approved styles. These grooming policies normally put a lot more pressure…
Etihad Airways Announces Major Changes to its Economy Service – But it Comes at a Price
Etihad Airways has announced some pretty major changes to its Economy Class experience with a slew of updates including a redesigned main meal service. The ‘Economy Transformation Programme’ as Etihad is calling it includes updated seats on the majority of…
Why Haven’t Key Provisions of the FAA Reauthorization Act Been Implemented Yet?
Just over a week ago, I wrote about how a major flight attendant union was becoming frustrated with implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act 2018. This might sound like an incredibly boring subject seeing that it mainly guarantees funding for…
United Airlines Flight Attendants Being “Pressed” to Clean Planes: That Ain’t Happening
Just over a week ago, American Airlines had to deny rumors that flight attendants would soon be expected to clean planes in between flights. Unlike low-cost airlines where the practice is common place, legacy carriers normally have dedicated cleaning teams…
200,000 Passengers Affected by Pilot Strike as SAS Grounds 70% of All Flights
Upwards of 200,000 passengers will be affected this weekend by a widespread pilots strike at Scandinavian airline SAS. The Copenhagen-based airline has been forced to ground more than 1,500 flights from Friday through Sunday after negotiations with pilots unions in…
It’s Not Just Cathay Pacific: Emirates Warns Cabin Crew as Onboard Property Goes Missing
Just day’s after Cathay Pacific launched a crackdown on petty theft by light-fingered cabin crew, the Dubai-based Emirates has now also warned its crew not to remove onboard items belonging to the airline. The warning, which came in the form…
Norwegian is Being Forced to Use Wetlease Operators on Popular Routes Including Orlando, Miami and Chicago
Earlier today, low-cost long-haul airline Norwegian announced it had made a loss of over $170 million in the first quarter of the year (January to March). While most European airlines typically don’t perform that well in Q1 when demand is…
Australian Man Arrested for Bomb Hoax that Resulted in Singapore-Bound Plane Being Intercepted by F-16 Fighter Jets
An Australian man has appeared in a Sydney courtroom accused of making a telephone bomb threat that resulted in two F-16 fighter jets intercepting a Singapore Airlines plane as it approached Changi Airport (SIN) on March 26th. The 39-year old…
“We Are Not Thieves”: Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants ‘Furious’ Over Allegations of Theft
The Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union says its members are “furious” with recent worldwide media coverage that has labelled cabin crew at the airline as “thieves”. The allegations went viral earlier this week after it was revealed management at the…
