The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is seen in Los Angeles on July 30, 2015. (Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is seen in Los Angeles on July 30, 2015. (Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard took to the stage at a Hawthorne community center Saturday to mobilize more veterans against a $69-million deal to let United Airlines put its name on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — and to pitch a compromise.
“Removing ‘Los Angeles’ and replacing it with a corporate sponsor’s name is an insult to the veterans the Coliseum was built to honor,” Hahn told more than 100 people in the Hawthorne Memorial Center auditorium. “The Coliseum is hallowed ground. It should not be a marquee for sale.”
The appearance by Hahn and Rep. Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who is vying for the 2020 presidential nomination, came two weeks after United Airlines threatened to back out of the agreement with USC that has outraged critics including veterans groups and political leaders.
In an interview, Hahn said that a compromise she suggested, in which the field was renamed but the stadium retained its historic title, was gaining traction “in ongoing discussions among members of the Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission,” which oversees the structure.
At United, our aircraft routers, with support of Tech Ops and network teams were able to protect our customers’ original itineraries by using other aircraft to cover almost all of the MAX flights, including creative solutions like flying 777s and 787s on several MAX routes. That costs us money in the short term, since we obviously can’t sell all of those extra last-minute seats, but it was the right thing to do to take care of our customers.
Unfortunately for Collins, unknown to him at the time, the window in his hotel room wasn’t made of privacy glass. Thus, he was visible, in all his naked glory, to people standing in one of the terminals at the Denver airport.
“It’s very exciting,” Jeffrey Hoffman, an aerospace engineering professor at MIT, said of the successful test. But, he added, “they’re basically trying something that’s very new, pushing materials to extreme limits, and there’s a lot of unknowns in there.”
When you think about it, it’s pretty cool how fast we can get to other places around the world. So hey, here’s a big shout-out to all those rocket scientists and test pilots who made it possible — so many decades ago.
Yeah, decades ago. The big breakthroughs in jet engines happened over the second half of the 20th century, and quite a few decades have passed since we’ve seen any major upgrades. What gives?
There’s been some science hangups that have been keeping engines from getting faster, but maybe not for much longer. A group of scientists just successfully completed an engine test that, if applied to an actual passenger jet, could make the trip from New York City to London take under an hour.
Jet travel then and now
Jet air travel is nothing new, not by any stretch of the imagination. Let’s look at the highlights, so get ready for a brief history lesson.
Work on jet engines really got going in the late 1930s. About a decade later in 1947, test pilot Chuck Yeager achieved supersonic speed and broke the sound barrier over California. He became the fastest man alive when he passed Mach 1, or about 750 miles per hour.
Jets became common throughout the world, both for military and commercial flights. Then, the next big milestone came in 1976 with the debut of the Concorde.
Introduced into Great Britain and France passenger service, it had a cruising speed of about 1,350 miles per hour, or twice the speed of sound. It could make the trip from London to New York in about 3-and-a-half hours. Not too shabby.
Long story short, the planes got old, and maintenance costs kept rising while passenger numbers dwindled. The Concorde, along with commercial supersonic flights, ended in 2003.
BONUS: ARE ROBOTS TAKING OVER PILOTS’ JOBS?
Forget supersonic travel, it’s time for hypersonic
Just about everyone wants to get to their destination faster, and there have been a few pushes over the past few years to bring back supersonic passenger service. But forget supersonic, the future is about hypersonic speed.
Researchers at Reaction Engines in the United Kingdom have been working on new technology to get over the big hurdle that’s been keeping traditional jet engines from getting any faster than Mach 3. And that’s the fact that a lot of jet engines have the pesky habit of melting once they hit 2,500 miles per hour. You know, nothing major.
For their experimental Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), they managed to build a pre-cooler that simulated the speed of Mach 3.3, or just over 2,500 miles per hour – and hey, nothing melted! Take a look at a video about their SABRE technology:
What does it all mean? Reaction Engines said their SABRE engines are capable of Mach 5.4 (4,143 mph) in air-breathing mode. And that means you could get from New York to London in about 50 minutes or so. How cool would it be to cross the Atlantic faster than it takes you to get through a TSA checkpoint?
Future of the SABRE engine
The test was conducted at a facility in Colorado, and they’re planning more. But their work isn’t just about getting passengers from point A to point B on Earth. They’ve got big plans for space, too.
I mentioned that the SABRE could potentially hit Mach 5.4 in air-breathing mode. Put it in rocket mode for space flight, and you’re looking at Mach 25. That’s over 19,000 miles per hour.
Now for the bad news: Testing and development can take a long time. A really long time.
Although this is a promising breakthrough that could one day mean a quick trip across the pond, it won’t be happening anytime soon. Even Reaction Engines says this technology is decades away from use in passenger jets.
So if you were hoping to get to London in the time it takes you to watch one episode of “Game of Thrones,” it’s just not happening. But that’s good news if you’re behind, because you’ll be able to watch almost an entire season during your seven-hour flight. There’s always a silver lining, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Creepy facial recognition technology coming to an airport near you
You’ve probably heard how scary China’s mass surveillance program is, but what if I told you some of those surveillance techniques were making their way to America?
It’s been another big week for air travel news in Europe.
This week JetBlue confirmed its long-rumored plans to expand into the European air travel market with the announcement of its first transatlantic routes, which will run from both Boston and New York – JFK to London starting in 2021. JetBlue said that it plans multiple daily flights on the two routes, and that it is still evaluating exactly which London airport to fly into. The carrier will operate the flights on Airbus A321 long-range aircraft, which will offer a “reimagined” version of its premium Mint product designed for transatlantic flights, as well as a transatlantic update of its core cabin product offering.
Also in Europe, this week marked the official launch of Air Italy’s new San Francisco – Milan service, just one week after the airline launched its new service between Milan and Los Angeles. The new flights out of San Francisco will operate four times weekly on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday on Air Italy’s new Airbus 330-200 aircraft, offering 24 seats in the airline’s newly revamped Business class and 228 in Economy. From Milan, domestic connections will be available to destinations in central and southern Italy, including Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Cagliari and Olbia.
Luxury Travel Advisor’s ULTRA Summit
Finally, this week American Airlines announced it will cancel a number of flights through June due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after the tragic crash of one that had been operating Ethiopian Airlines flight. The move will amount to the cancellation of approximately 90 flights per day, American said. The airline’s customer reservations team will contact affected customers directly via email or phone, and, if a flight is canceled and a customer chooses not to be rebooked, they can request a full refund at aa.com/refunds.
After a lengthy flight delay on United Airlines, Joseph Baloun made a huge compensation request. He calculated that United Airlines owed him $10,000 in future travel credit for his unpleasant 16-hour delay.
But does United Airlines owe him anything at all?
If you’ve ever wondered what you can and can’t expect in compensation after an extended flight delay, then this article is for you.
A flight delay and a $10,000 compensation request
Baloun was on his way to Hawaii to celebrate his parents’ 20th wedding anniversary when his troubles began. When he arrived at the airport, he received an alert: The aircraft scheduled to transport him from Chicago to Honolulu was having “engine issues.”
“We were strung along all day by United from the original flight departure time of 10 a.m.,” Baloun lamented. “We didn’t finally take off until close to 2 a.m. — a 16-hour flight delay. This delay caused considerable challenges as the rest of our family left around 10 a.m. on another flight.”
Once Baloun finally made it to Hawaii, he began to wonder what United Airlines owed him for his inconvenience. After all, he reasoned, the lengthy flight delay caused him to miss one night of his vacation. It also forced him to cancel a planned tour of Pearl Harbor.
So Baloun set out to apply for the flight delay compensation for which he assumed he qualified. He composed his request and sent it off to United Airlines.
His aggravation about the flight delay only intensified when he received a response from customer service. The representative offered him a choice of compensation for his trouble: $250 in travel vouchers or 10,000 miles.
“I wrote back and shared the true impact this flight delay had on our vacation plans,” Baloun recalled. “United Airlines reconsidered and then offered me $450 in vouchers or 20,000 miles.”
Baloun then made one giant leap into the flight delay compensation stratosphere in his counter suggestion. He then asked for a $10,000 future travel credit with United Airlines.
Not surprisingly, United Airlines declined his offer.
So what does an airline owe you after a domestic flight delay?
Next, Baloun reached out to the Elliott Advocacy team for advice. He explained his reasoning for that extra-large flight delay compensation request.
“I asked for the $10,000 travel voucher given the excess delay and inconvenience to my entire family,” Baloun told me. “A day loss was huge given the investment we made in this vacation. We would love your expertise and thoughts on the latest offer.”
Baloun’s question is not unusual. Our advocacy team typically fields several of these “How much am I owed for my flight delay?” requests every day. And every time, we must break the same bad news about the state of required flight delay compensation in the U.S.
As disheartening as it may be, the answer is: If you’re flying domestically, the airline likely owes you nothing.
There are no federal laws that compel airlines to provide compensation after a domestic flight delay in the United States.
The bottom line is that it’s really up to your airline as to what it will offer you during a flight delay. Unlike in Europe, where passengers enjoy protections against cancellations and delays, domestic fliers in the United States aren’t so lucky.
To find out how your preferred airline chooses to handle delays, check its contract of carriage. While many airlines indicate that hotel vouchers may be provided for an overnight delay or cancellation, these aren’t guaranteed. And if the delay is due to the weather or the somewhat dubious “extenuating circumstances,” you won’t even qualify for that.
But no airline in the United States has spontaneously adopted a policy that offers cash compensation for flight delays.
What are your options during a U.S. domestic flight delay?
It comes down to this: During an extended flight delay on a domestic flight in the United States, a passenger has two choices:
You can choose to endure the delay. During that delay, you may (politely) ask airline employees if meal vouchers will be provided. If the delay is extended into the night, you can request a hotel voucher. Depending on the reason for the delay, the airline may offer its passengers accommodations. But this varies by airline and even by airport location within the same airline.
A look at the United Airlines contract of carriage includes vague language that it will provide lodging in some circumstances … except “When such interruption is due to circumstances outside UA’s control.” And the interpretation of what is outside of United Airlines’ control is left up to the airline.
Your second choice when you find yourself in an extended delay is to ask the airline to cancel your ticket. Depending on the airline, after a delay of several hours (again, check the contract of carriage for the specific number) you can ask for a cancellation and refund. Then you can find alternative transportation to your destination.
Often passengers contact us after choosing this second option and ask if the original airline should pay for the new flight.
The answer is no.
There are no regulations that compel an airline to pay for your new flight on another airline after a delay or cancellation. So keep that in mind when making alternative flight arrangements. The airline will only reimburse you for the cost of the original flight — not the replacement one.
But what about European delays?
Travelers in Europe are afforded a wide array of protections we don’t enjoy here in the United States.
EC 261 provides monetary compensation for extended flight delays. The regulation determines the cash compensation owed by a formula that considers both the length of the flight and the length of the delay. The top compensation is for a long-haul flight with a delay of 4 hours or more. That will result in a 600-euro reimbursement (Currently $681).
If you are traveling on a European airline from the United States or within the European Union, EC 261 applies.
It’s important to note that if you are flying to Europe on a non-EU carrier, EC 261 does not apply. However, on your return flight, your journey on that same carrier is protected by the regulation.
In addition to flight delay compensation awards, EC 261 also has provisions for food and lodging for affected passengers. So if you have an upcoming flight to, from or within Europe, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with EC 261 before takeoff.
How to increase your chances of receiving flight delay compensation
When you’re stuck in a flight delay situation, it’s easy to forget that you aren’t alone. But hundreds of others are likely suffering through the same discomfort — at the same time. Keeping that basic fact in mind can help you keep things in perspective, which is important when asking for flight delay compensation.
1. Know your passenger rights
The number one thing you can do to increase your chances of receiving any flight delay compensation is to understand your rights. You might want $10,000 for your inconvenience, but what does the airline actually owe you? Understanding your rights versus your wants will help you to adjust your compensation request and increase the chance of a favorable outcome.
Our advocacy team knows from experience that often consumers who approach a company with an outrageous or unreasonable request receive a quick rejection. Or sometimes, their correspondence gets no response at all.
Once you know your rights, you can adjust your request based on established policy. If you’re not owed anything and are simply asking for a goodwill consideration, your email should reflect that understanding. In many cases, airlines will offer future flight vouchers in the hopes of retaining you as a passenger. Those goodwill gestures should not be misconstrued as a settlement for a required compensation. They aren’t.
And regarding EC 261, U.S.-based airline employees aren’t always aware of its application. If you arm yourself with the facts, you’ll lessen the chance of missing out on compensation to which you’re entitled.
2. Make sure to keep your request short and polite
Since most U.S. domestic fliers aren’t entitled to any flight delay compensation, it’s critical to keep your request short and polite. Keep your cool, and never send a letter that announces your intent to never fly the airline again. This threat almost never results in a positive outcome for the passenger.
If you really never intend to fly that airline again, don’t bother sending this type of email — since most flight delay compensation in the U.S. comes in the form of future flight credit. But keep in mind that all airlines experience delays. And no U.S.-based airline has a policy of offering cash awards for your inconvenience after a delay.
A better strategy is to create a request that engenders a feeling of empathy in the reader. Airline customer service executives receive hundreds of complaint letters each week. In fact, if you’ve been delayed on a flight, there are likely other passengers from the same flight who are also complaining. And you want your letter to stand out — in a good way. By keeping your message concise and cordial and ending it with a reasonable request, you will significantly improve your chances of a favorable resolution.
3. Send your compensation request to the right person
While it may feel good to shoot your complaint straight to the top of a company’s leadership, this tactic often serves little purpose. Ironically, sending your email to the CEO of a company likely will delay your complaint about a delay. The more efficient problem solvers will send their letter to the executive customer service branch of the company. Those are the people who are trained to mediate customer complaints.
So start your complaint at the lower level of the airline. You can solve most problems there.
And if you’re looking for company contacts to get you started on a problem-solving mission, no worries. Our research director, John Galbraith, has you covered. He’s hard at work every day here maintaining our ever-growing Elliott Advocacy company contacts database.
The bottom line for this domestic flier
In the end, Baloun was forced to come back down to earth with his flight delay compensation request. United Airlines did not place a $10,000 value on his 16-hour delay. And, unfortunately, based on current U.S. airline regulations and law, its opinion is the only one that matters.
At United, our aircraft routers, with support of Tech Ops and network teams were able to protect our customers’ original itineraries by using other aircraft to cover almost all of the MAX flights, including creative solutions like flying 777s and 787s on several MAX routes. That costs us money in the short term, since we obviously can’t sell all of those extra last-minute seats, but it was the right thing to do to take care of our customers.
Star Wars designs decorate a special United Airline plane debuting this fall.
United Airlines
It may not be the Millennium Falcon, but United Airlines plans to a debut a plane with a Star Wars look this fall.
During Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, United Airlines announced it will introduce special Star Wars-themed airplane to its fleet to promote the release of The Rise of Skywalker, the latest Star Wars movie.
The Star Wars livery will be on one of United’s Boeing 737-800 planes, according to the company. Along with the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker logo, other artwork on the plane includes imagery of Star Wars vehicles such as a TIE fighter and an X-Wing.
There’s also a different lightsaber on the either side of the plane’s tail. The alternating colors of orange and black on the sides of the plane reflect the two sides of the Force — light and dark.
The plane’s new Star Wars livery artwork is so subtle, even Star Wars actor Mark Hamill tweeted on Saturday that he didn’t notice it. “I’m not seeing the SW connection here,” he wrote. “Cool plane though.”
I’m not seeing the SW-connection here. Cool plane, though.
“The aircraft will be exploring the ‘domestic galaxy’ and will not be assigned a specific route, meaning customers across the US may have the opportunity to travel on this unique plane,” United spokesperson Natalie Noonan said.
As part of the promotion, United is giving away two tickets to the premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Fans reacted to the new United Airlines Star Wars designs on social media. Wrote one: “That’s cool! Does it sound like a Tie Fighter when it’s flying?”
Thanks, Lee! Maybe not quite as cool as the Millennium Falcon, but close. ^DD
Lucasfilm and Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time airplane livery has promoted Star Wars.
In 2015, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) featured BB-8 and R2-D2 designs on the outside of the company’s Boeing 777-300ER wide-body planes and Boeing 767-300 planes in honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Originally published on April 12. Update and correction, April 13, 10:49 a.m. PT: Adds Mark Hamill reaction. Also, the original story suggested United Airlines will fly more than one airplane with a Star Wars look. The airline will fly just one such aircraft.
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Economy class seating in the new WestJet 787 Dreamliner airplane is shown in Calgary on February 14, 2019. In the wake of an onboard incident where flight attendants and bystanders acted swiftly to deal with alleged sexual harassment, Canada’s two biggest airlines say its crews are trained to handle passengers who pose a threat — though one expert warns that airline policy and behaviour are two different matters. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol
Incidents involving unruly airline passengers have been rising in recent years. In 2017, airlines reported one altercation for every 1,053 flights, up 35 per cent from the previous year, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Drugs and alcohol play a leading role in many of these incidents. The association says 27 per cent of the cases involved alcohol consumption or some other kind of intoxication. An additional 24 per cent were related to non-compliance with smoking regulations.
“Drink-fuelled air rage is becoming more commonplace,” says Robert Quigley, a senior vice-president for International SOS and MedAire, which provides travel-security services. “Multiple agencies that oversee in-flight regulations are now collaborating with the commercial airlines to review present practices of the selling and the consumption of alcohol in both airport bars as well as inflight.”
It looks like a simple problem: too many airline passengers are getting drunk. But the solution is not so simple. Some passengers say the obvious answer is for airlines to limit sales of alcoholic beverages. But airlines are leaning toward a regulatory fix, perhaps because they’re reluctant to lose the revenue from selling alcohol to passengers.
If you’re on a plane this summer with someone who’s had one too many, you can still protect yourself. But you’ll have to be proactive. (More on that later.)
Airline crews are trained to handle intoxicated passengers. They also have strict policies to prevent inebriated passengers from boarding — but they don’t always work.
Randall Flick, a recently retired airline pilot, recalls one traveller who breezed past a gate agent and boarded Flick’s plane while “heavily” intoxicated. “I told him that he wasn’t getting on his flight. I don’t think he really understood,” Flick says.
The inebriated traveller and the gate agent were both at fault. Flick says the passenger should have had less to drink before boarding and the gate agent should have screened him properly and kept him off the plane.
“The gate agents didn’t always notice when a passenger was intoxicated,” Flick says. “Most of the time, the intoxicated passenger just went to sleep as the cabin altitude rose during the flight. But an intoxicated passenger could endanger the safety of others during an emergency.”
Federal law prohibits flight crews from allowing “obviously intoxicated passengers” to board aircraft, and it doesn’t allow flight attendants to serve alcohol to anyone who appears intoxicated.
Another regulation prohibits passengers from “assaulting or intimidating” crew members and interfering with their duties. Doing so carries a fine of as much as US$35,000 and a prison sentence of as many as 20 years.
For some air travellers, the solution to this problem seems clear. If the government can end smoking on flights, then why not ban drinking? Barring that, why don’t airlines better enforce the rules that prohibit intoxicated passengers from boarding an aircraft and continuing to drink on board?
“Don’t allow people to board a plane if they’re obviously drunk and limit the drinks any passenger can have inflight,” says Barbara Howell, a frequent air traveller and registered nurse from Carpinteria, Calif.
But alcohol isn’t always the problem. Consider what happened this year on a Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Los Angeles. A passenger allegedly refused to stay seated and walked toward the cockpit several times. The flight diverted to Portland, Ore., and police arrested the passenger, who told authorities he had been high on methamphetamine before boarding the plane.
The airline industry believes more regulations would help.
The transport association, which represents the worldwide airline industry, has lobbied for stronger international treaties to deter unruly behaviour. It says gaps in the international conventions governing such offences allow many unruly passengers to escape punishment. It wants, at a minimum, for authorities to clarify what constitutes unruly behaviour and to reinforce the right of airlines to seek recovery of the significant costs of dealing with unruly passengers.
“We need more countries, including the U.S., to ratify a new treaty that closes loopholes that enable unruly passengers to elude any legal consequences on international flights,” says Tim Colehan, an assistant director for the association.
Experts believe a few practical steps would also reduce the number of unruly passengers in the air. MedAire’s Quigley says airlines need to develop an industry-wide policy that limits the number of drinks per passenger and to enforce this policy consistently. Gate-screening processes should also be tightened, he says, and should involve airport security personnel, not just airline employees.
“Flight attendants are not trained or expected to act as law-enforcement agents,” Quigley says.
One obvious solution is to stop serving alcohol on board, an idea regularly floated by passengers who have grown tired of the seemingly endless parade of such incidents.
But alcoholic beverages account for more than half of all in-flight sales, so it’s unlikely the airline industry will go there.
As usual, the fix is up to passengers. For your safety and that of your fellow passengers, avoid alcoholic beverages or recreational drugs before and during a flight.
If you’re seated next to someone who is drunk or high, don’t wait for the cabin doors to close. Report the passenger immediately, but discreetly, to a flight attendant. Someone who smells like a distillery shouldn’t be allowed to board.
If the flight crew doesn’t do anything, and there’s no empty seat to move to, ask to take the next flight, time permitting.
Just remember that until we find a workable solution, you don’t have to become another anecdote in an air-rage article.
