Airlines, Passengers | featured news

If you fly, chances are you have a story to tell about an uncomfortable airline seat. Vicki Morwitz does. Hers involves a long-haul plane trip, a minuscule economy-class enclosure and a circuitous routing that deposited her at her destination feeling exhausted and irritated.

American Airlines grounded flights across the country Tuesday because of an outage of its main reservations system. Thousands of passengers were stranded at airports and on airplanes.

Should overweight passengers pay more for their flights than skinny fliers? One Norwegian economist thinks so. In an article in this month's Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Bharat P. Bhatta writes that "All passengers are not alike in terms of their weight and the space they take in a plane." Weight and space, he said, are the major concerns on board an aircraft."

Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month under a policy change announced Tuesday by the head of the Transportation Security Administration.

Airlines must pay compensation to passengers who arrive at their destination three or more hours late, even when due to missed connections, the European Union's highest court said on Tuesday.

A cross-country JetBlue flight diverted to Denver after a passenger reportedly became unruly because a flier moved to a seat next to her paid less for the seat.

Southwest Airlines, known for open seating and boarding passengers in bunches, announced this week that fliers can buy a priority spot in boarding group "A" for $40 per flight. Southwest will put unsold slots in the A1-15 boarding group up for sale, when available, at the gate beginning 45 minutes before departure. Passengers will then be able to use a credit card to buy an early boarding spot. The airline tested the program in San Diego in December and received positive feedback.

Southwest Airlines customers will soon pay a fee for not canceling a ticket before their flight. The airline outlined the new policy Friday at an investors' conference in New York. Right now, Southwest lets passengers who don't use their ticket apply the price toward a new ticket. Southwest says it can reduce no-shows and generate more revenue by adding the cancellation fee on restricted tickets.

Airlines are charging premiums for window and aisle seats, making it harder for groups to fly together, say passenger advocates.

According to a new report, the total number of mishandled bags worldwide dropped sharply last year. Soime passengers, however, believe airlines have moved the problem from the cargo hold to the cabin.