Bad Behavior Can Now Send Passengers to Back of the Line
The FAA is partnering with the TSA to exchange information on passengers who cause disturbances and are facing fines from the FAA for their unruly behavior. The TSA says once it receives the names of the troublemakers, it can remove them from TSA PreCheck.
The FAA has received 5,644 reports of unruly incidents on flights this year, doling out fines as much as $37,000 for interfering with a flight crew. Of the 5,664, nearly 4,000 of them were mask related.
According to the TSA, PreCheck is a privilege for low-risk travelers, and those that cause on-board incidents can no longer be considered low-risk. The FAA and TSA might really be onto something here – because the fines of tens of thousands of dollars don’t seem to be working but forcing people to the back of the line with travelers who don’t know how to go through a security checkpoint could be just the punishment.
JetBlue Extends Heathrow Through October
JetBlue will continue serving London/Heathrow through at least October 2022 despite not yet securing permanent slots at the London airport.
The EU’s extension of a waiver to reduce the number of flights airlines must operate to maintain their slot authorities opened the door for JetBlue which has been flying to the slot-controlled Heathrow using temporary slots created by the waiver.
JetBlue will operate a daily flight from JFK to Heathrow, departing New York at 9:38 p.m. and arriving in London at 10:05 a.m. the next day. The plane will spend four hours on the ground in London before returning at 2 p.m. with a 5:08 p.m. scheduled arrival into New York. In addition to the once-daily flight to Heathrow, JetBlue will continue to operate daily service from JFK to London/Gatwick.
The carrier still intends to begin flying between Boston and London by next summer but has not yet identified which airport it will operate to in London, the frequency, or the date when the service will begin. So other than an airport to fly to, a schedule, a start date, and putting tickets on sale, it’s totally ready to fly from Boston to London.
EU to Require Compensation When Flights Leave Early
A European Court on Tuesday ruled that passengers should be awarded compensation if their flight leaves at least one hour earlier than it was previously scheduled.
The Court of Justice of the European Union said the €250 to €600 compensation for a cancelled flight under Europe’s EC261 Denied Boarding Restrictions is the appropriate payment. Payment of €250 is due for flights of 1,500 kms or less, €500 for 1,500 to 3,500 kms, and €600 for 3,500 kms and up.
The rule will apply to flights within the EU plus any flight to or from Europe and includes non-European airlines operating to the bloc. European aviation experts say the rule was passed as a preemptive strike to keep Spirit from ever considering operating in the EU. With the carrier using its schedule as more of a soft suggestion than a hard guideline, the EU compensation payments for early or late flights would be too much for Spirit.
- Aegean Airlines completed its takeover or Animawings.
- Air Canada was ordered by Quebec’s Administrative Labour Court to pay 90% of an employees wages based on her worker’s comp claim after falling down the stairs of her home while working from home last fall.
- AirAsia India will be merged into AI Express by new parent company Tata Sons.
- Czech Technics signed a new aircraft maintenance agreement with Austrian.
- Emirates will increase service to Brisbane to 5x-weekly beginning January 1, with Perth moving up to 5x-weekly on February 5.
- Flair will begin service to New York and Chicago this spring. Twice weekly service from Toronto to New York/JFK begins April 7, increasing to 4x-weekly on May 16. 3x-weekly flights to Chicago/O’Hare begin May 17.
- Jump Air took a leap and received delivery of its first aircraft, an AT72-500.
- SAS‘ new A321LR will take its first long-haul flight tomorrow when it flies from Copenhagen to Washington/Dulles. The aircraft will enter commercial service in March.
- SAS Link added its first E195.
- Sherpa Air took delivery of its first DHC-8-300 earlier this month.
- United will put its UA code on Singapore-operated flights between Singapore and Siem Reap (REP).
- UPS purchased 19 B767 freighters.
How much does Santa pay to park his sleigh?
Nothing. It’s on the house.