Expedia Group has filed a lawsuit against partner United Airlines growing out of a contract dispute.

The civil complaint, filed in Southern District of New York Monday, is under seal. The docket said the order would be filed under seal.

As of Monday afternoon, United’s flights were still available on Expedia.com.

It is relatively rare that contract disputes between online travel agencies, on the one hand, and airlines or hotel, on the other, reach the public domain unless they are at a breaking point.

Airlines have gone missing on online travel agency websites in the past. One of the more high-profile disputes involved American Airlines and Orbitz Worldwide, which tangled over distribution costs and direct-connect issues starting in 2010. Orbitz took a substantial financial from the skirmish, which dragged on before being resolved in 2014.

An Expedia Group spokesperson decline to comment about its complaint against United. A spokesperson for United Airlines, citing pending litigation, wouldn’t comment.

Although the cases are likely unrelated, Ryanair and Expedia are locked in a lawsuit in the State of Washington, with Ryanair alleging that Expedia accesses Ryanair’s flight schedules and fairs without permission.

 

 

 

The state Assembly approved a bill that would effectively hike the gas tax on United Airlines, the largest airline company doing business in New Jersey, in order to finance the extension of the PATH Train to Newark Liberty International Airport.

Senate Bill 2892, sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, and approved in a 42-31 vote by the Assembly on Thursday, would close a loophole on the four cent jet fuel tax, but it does not specifically mention United Airlines.

Rather, the bill would see the jet fuel tax hike imposed only on flights in and out of New Jersey airports, which is at least 20,000 annual commercial flights, a distinction currently held only by Newark Liberty International Airport, where the majority of flights are by United Airlines.

The bill would boost state revenue by up to $40 million a year, according to a fiscal note from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

The move has drawn heavy criticism from business advocates and executives, as well as United Airlines, who point to the considerable cost of doing business in New Jersey and argue that the proposed use of the jet fuel tax revenue is illegal under federal law.

“United Airlines, along with other carriers serving Newark Liberty International Airport, have made it very clear this misguided bill would make it more expensive for airlines to operate, adding to the cost of doing business in New Jersey resulting in higher costs for everyone—including the people of the Garden State,” Jill Kaplan, president of the New York/New Jersey region for United Airlines, said in a Thursday statement.

United Airlines has pointed to significant direct and ancillary economic investment into the state—$16 billion in 2017, according to a November 2018 report provided to NJBIZ.

“This change to the aviation fuel tax formula would make New Jersey less competitive and hurt efforts to encourage economic growth,” Andrew Musick, vice president of government affairs for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said in a Thursday statement.

“The expanded tax will cost commercial airlines millions of dollars, and that will drive up the cost of doing businesses in New Jersey, as well as the cost of airfare,” he added.

United made $2 billion of direct investment into Newark airport infrastructure and employed 14,000 airport workers, Kaplan said.

And, Kaplan said, Newark has been the most expensive of United’s six hubs nationwide.

“I want to be very clear, we have choices and we are looking at our choices,” Kaplan said at an October 2018 committee hearing. “We grow in areas where we are able to facilitate the focus of our growth plan.”

Kaplan also said the plan is unlawful under the Federal Aviation Administration’s guidelines, which she said mandates that jet fuel taxes can’t be used for non-aviation purposes.

But supporters of the measure, such as the labor union 32BJ SEIU, say United holds significant amounts of wealth, which it needs to more equitably share.

“Approving this measure is justice for working people in New Jersey and especially for Newark and the communities around the airport,” Kevin Brown, the New Jersey state director for 32BJ SEIU, said in a statement to NJBIZ. “In the face of sizable profits on one hand and a compelling community need for improved infrastructure on the other, the tax loophole that commercial airlines current enjoy in New Jersey stands out as unjustifiable.”

TAMUNING, GUAM, February 4, 2019 – United Airlines is introducing a reimagined mobile app to customers around the world. Already the top downloaded airline app for Apple and Android phones, the refreshed app now features a more dynamic experience that updates customers at each step of their travel journey, making it the perfect travel companion. The app includes features customers know and love from the previous version, while adding enhancements that make managing travel easier from booking to landing.

“Every day we are using technology to improve our customers’ experience and making more information available to our customers at the swipe of a finger,” said Linda Jojo, executive vice president of technology and chief digital officer at United Airlines. “With this updated app, we set out to bring improvements that are meaningful to all our customers, whether they travel every week or only once a year.”

Customers’ favorite features, such as bag tracking, will continue to be available in the updated app, and new highlights include:
• A navigation bar that gives customers quick access to some of the most popular tools such as flight status, and some new handy features like My Trips.

• A My Trips tab in the navigation bar that allows customers to easily access information about their upcoming trip and stores boarding passes when customers are checked in for their flights.
• An inbox that stores important push notifications United sends customers about their flight, such as if a flight status changes, gate changes and alerts about when boarding for a flight has begun.
• Dynamic boarding times will be updated throughout the app in the event that departure times change to give customers the latest information even when they are not at the gate. This builds on the airline’s recent addition of boarding notifications, which were added when United rolled out its Better Boarding process.

One of the biggest updates to the app comes during the travel period, when the home screen updates to give customers the most helpful information for each step of their travel journey. The home screen will begin to update starting 48 hours before a flight, and will continue updating throughout various phases all the way through arrival at the final destination with the most useful information. For instance, customers connecting will find a screen that allows them to easily access airport maps so they can easily navigate to the next gate. Bringing the most useful information to the forefront will make the entire journey less stressful and more intuitive.

The app also includes an updated design with more engaging content. When a customer does not have an upcoming trip, the app will open to a beautiful destination image to provide travel inspiration. Content on the home screen is also more personalized to each user; for example, customers who recently passed loyalty milestones will be recognized on the home screen, and the app will also celebrate customers on their birthday.

United’s in-house digital team spent over a year designing and creating this updated app, including eight months during which customers and more than 18,000 employees provided feedback to create the final version that rolls out worldwide today. United issued seven releases during the beta test, making numerous changes based on user feedback. There were more than 13,000 check-ins during the beta test period. The airline will continue soliciting feedback on the app and expects to roll out additional features later this year to further improve and ease travel for our customers.

As a technology leader, United was the first carrier to offer mobile boarding passes and became the first to introduce boarding passes and flight information in its app for partner airlines. Customers can access boarding passes and flight information for flights on United’s Star Alliance partner airlines when flights are booked with connecting travel on United on the same itinerary. The airline also made it easier for customers to search for fare classes available in the app with Expert Mode, a popular feature from united.com.

Last year, United updated its digital platforms including the united.com homepage and entire mobile website to make them more dynamic and personalized.

For more information about updates to the app, visit the United Hub.

A Florida woman traveling through Houston won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against United Airlines.

Erica Fulton is disabled and was boarding her flight, when she says a flight attendant, who was helping her to her seat, dropped her, and injured her shoulder.

Fulton was traveling to celebrate her son’s 30th birthday.

“Within 30 minutes of being dropped, she’s there telling United what happened,” attorney Sean Roberts said. “They act like it never happened.”

Roberts represented Fulton in court. He says United claimed they didn’t get wind of this until six weeks after the incident, even though he says their internal call logs shows Fulton reporting it immediately.

Roberts also claims the airline didn’t even investigate the incident.

“That was probably what set this thing along the path of a multi-million dollar verdict, when it should’ve been much lower,” Roberts said.

United Airlines ultimately lost in court, and Fulton was awarded nearly $4 million.

“The way United painted their first-class passenger, as a malingerer and a liar, I’m not surprised with how the jury reacted to that,” Roberts said.

ABC13 reached out to United Airlines about the incident. They responded in an emailed statement:

“Our goal is to provide all of our customers with a safe and comfortable travel experience. We disagree with the court’s ruling and will continue to defend ourselves.”

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For years, the right has vilified Federal workers as nameless, faceless bureaucrats. But the truth is they’re Air Traffic Controllers, they’re Food Inspectors, they’re Transportation Security Officers and law enforcement. They’re the people who live in our communities and they’re being hurt.

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5 things about passenger airplanes to that you probably didn’t know

Whether you’re a frequent flier or have only flown on a passenger aircraft once in your life, here are five things to know about passenger planes.

One United Airlines flight attendant truly took a walk on the wild side in honor of her 50th birthday, exiting the aircraft of a small private plane for a special wing-walking stunt as the aircraft soared high above the Pacific Northwest.

When planning celebrations for her recent milestone birthday, Frankfurt, Germany-based United staffer Sabrina Swenson knew she wanted to commemorate the occasion in an epic way, as per a blog post from the carrier. Intrigued for many years by the idea of “wing-walking” – an aerial stunt when one moves onto the wings of an airplane as it flies through the high skies – Swenson traveled to Sequim, Washington, to make her dreams come true.

“Upon reaching the appropriate altitude and slowing down to just above a stall speed, the pilot wagged the wings, letting me know it was time to get out. I looked back to see him giving me the thumbs up,” the fearless flight attendant wrote in the United blog post.
(United Airlines)

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After receiving proper training at the Mason Wing Walking Academy, USA Today reports, Swenson and a pilot took off in a Boeing-Stearman biplane, floating over the Olympic Peninsula and Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“Upon reaching the appropriate altitude and slowing down to just above a stall speed, the pilot wagged the wings, letting me know it was time to get out. I looked back to see him giving me the thumbs up,” the fearless flight attendant wrote in the United blog post. “With that encouragement, I left my seat and grabbed the two handholds above me, fighting the wind the entire time.”

“I carefully made my way up between the cables above me to the pole on top of the plane. I leaned against it and buckled into the four-point harness.”
(United Airlines)

“I carefully made my way up between the cables above me to the pole on top of the plane. I leaned against it and buckled into the four-point harness. After giving the thumbs up, the pilot proceeded to do aerobatics, including loops, barrel rolls and hammerheads,” she continued.

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Taking in the unbelievable scene, Swenson revealed that she “hung on to the pole for the first loop” but soon found the confidence to “[throw] caution to the wind and [hold] out both arms!”

Under supervision of the pilot, Swenson soon carefully made her way back to her seat, and buckled back in.

“You wouldn’t think wing walking is exhausting, but it is,” the birthday girl mused of her feat.
(United Airlines)

“You wouldn’t think wing walking is exhausting, but it is,” the birthday girl mused of her feat. “People often ask if I was tethered to the plane. Yes, I was. I had a long cable attached to me and the strut of the plane at all times. However, it’s imperative that you take the training seriously and are careful while moving around in the air.”

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“My time wing walking in beautiful Sequim will live on in my memory until my last day. You simply don’t forget one of the best days of your life!” she concluded online.

Reps for the carrier soon shared Swenson’s tale to Twitter, where the story has since won applause.

“She was born to fly!!! Congrats!!!!” one fan wrote.

“That’s actually pretty impressive….” another commenter agreed.

“Beats being stuck in the middle seat,” another quipped.

DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 9: Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines speaks to flight attendants in a cut out cabin in the emergency procedure training room during their scheduled reoccurring training in the new $40-million flight training center in east Denver on October 9, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images)Getty

Chicago-based United Airlines is opening its seatback entertainment powered by DirecTV to all customers for free. Previously, the seatback-based satellite streaming service was offered to domestic business class customers for free while economy passengers had to swipe a credit card and pay a small fee to scroll through the spectrum of channels. As of January 30th, however, the service is now free for all passengers.

The updated service applies to all of the carrier’s 211 Boeing 737 fleet with seatback entertainment. All told, roughly 30,000 seats will be affected by the change.

United’s announcement comes in the midst of a transition at American and United to move away from integrated seatback entertainment screens and towards digital, streaming entertainment built for bring-your-own devices. As part of that move, carriers have been quick to offer digital solutions to passengers for free as a distraction from the physical changes happening in the cabin.

Last July, United confirmed to Runwaygirl Network that it was removing seatback screens from a selection of its 757 fleet. At the time, a spokeswoman told Runwaygirl that “as part of a retrofit program, we are updating some of our 757s, including adding our new first class narrowbody seats. During this process, we will be removing DirecTV from nine of our 757s, and will continue offering hundreds of hours of complimentary entertainment via personal device entertainment.” Other narrowbody aircraft that the company has ordered in the last year have been missing seatback screens.

Over at American, the transition has been more aggressive. Many aircraft are in the process of being retrofitted to phase out the seatback screens in favor of digital alternatives; other new aircraft orders are coming in without screens at all.

Unsurprisingly, American has also been aggressive in sharing news about its new streaming capabilities. Just this week, the carrier issued a release together with Apple to share that Wi-Fi (and Apple) users on the carrier could now access streaming music for free. And in September, American launched its own campaign around free television operating through Gogo’s satellite feed.

Though United’s situation is similar to American’s, it’s only complication has been its relationship with DirecTV, which runs the TV satellite service feeding part of its fleet. Last April, United announced that it would offer free streaming entertainment on top of the paid service offered by DirecTV. By now opening up the seatback screens to passengers, the carrier may be acknowledging that its era of satellite-powered seatback televisions is about to be over – and that for this last chapter, passengers can enjoy the ride.

As thousands of federal workers struggled without paychecks during last month’s record-long government shutdown, United Airlines donated $1 million to the Shutdown Response Fund, an organization that helped provide food to federal workers.

“On behalf of the United family, I would like to thank the countless federal employees who have made a large sacrifice to ensure our safety despite not being paid, and we hope this contribution provides them much-needed support,” said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines.

The longest-ever government shutdown ended on last Friday when President Trump signed a bill to reopen the government for three weeks, giving 800,000 federal workers a chance to get paychecks that had been withheld since the shutdown started on Dec. 22, 2018.

Even with the government reopening last Friday, there is still a lingering impact for “many hardworking families,” Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said in a statement.

“This donation will support Feeding America member food banks as they provide immediate and longer-term assistance to people impacted by the furlough as they get back on their feet in the coming months.”

United said that its aim in supporting Feeding America was to help support workers who work side-by-side with its team to get travelers to their destinations safely. It also helped Feeding America, which is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, set up food distribution centers at seven of its hubs and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The airline is distributing care packages to federal employees twice a week throughout February.