Shocker: Complaints are Up
Complaints from the traveling public to the DOT were up 270% from before the pandemic, with complaints in June of this year managing to rise 35% from May.
The government received 5,682 complaints in June of 2022 when operational issues plagued all major U.S. airlines causing thousands of flights to be delayed and canceled. Complaints ranged from trivial matters to the truly serious, such as the lack of pre-departure beverages in first class.
For the second straight year, Spirit had nearly no complaints filed, as the carrier requires passengers to pay a $19 complaint fee before filing with the DOT, something most passengers pass on. Southwest had the most complaints filed, led by passengers claiming their assigned seat was never available. United was second, with the lead gripe being filed by passengers flying to, from, or through Newark, while Frontier passengers asked why cabin staff was denying boarding to anyone wearing any sort of blue clothing.
Air France Pilots Can’t Play Together Nicely
Two pilots for Air France were suspended by the airline after settling a disagreement with their fists while inside the cockpit and in midair on a flight between Paris and Geneva.
The incident occurred in June, but just came to light recently as neither pilot would agree on who did what any Frenchman would do in that situation – surrender. Reports say that the contentious cockpit environment turned physical shortly after takeoff with the aircraft gaining altitude.
A flight attendant heard the disturbance in the cockpit and entered, opting to stay in the flight deck for the entire flight to serve as the adult in the room.
The Captain and First Officer are not flying pending the outcome of an internal investigation, but the cause of the fight is currently unknown. Reports from the aircraft say some believe the fight was over how much to tip housekeeping in hotels during layovers, while others heard the pilots debating whether they’d select Lebron James or Michael Jordan as the NBA’s all-time GOAT.
Ghana Says New Planes or Bust
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is expected to issue a directive in the coming days that will block any commercial aircraft from flying to the country that is more than 20 years old.
This comes after the government banned one specific Delta B767-300 that had a mechanical issue when flying the carrier’s route from New York/JFK to Accra. The Ghanian government claims this comes following persistent complaints from passengers, and to ensure planes flown to the country are “fit for purpose.”
Delta agreed to no longer operate the specific aircraft the GCAA had beef with – N195DN – but seems unlikely to budge on operating its B767 fleet to Ghana and elsewhere. Ghana should be careful what it asks for, as more than half the aircraft based in the country are more than 20 years old, including domestic carrier Passion Air whose entire Dash 8-300 fleet is over 30 years old.
- Aeroflot is ordering a bunch of Russian-made airplanes. Good luck with that.
- Air Europa is adding a bunch of airplanes.
- Air Explore is exploring the idea of adding more aircraft after adding its first B737-800 freighter over the weekend.
- British Airways took delivery of its lucky number 13th A350-1000.
- Delta is suspending its flight from New York/JFK to Lagos effective October 4 even though it can fly old airplanes there.
- Ethiopian is beginning 3x weekly flights to Amman on September 19.
- EVA‘s ownership group invested in Starlux.
- Finnair is beginning daily service to Doha from Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen.
- FlyOne has one more aircraft than it did last week after wet-leasing an A320-200.
- Malaysia‘s Q2 financials were much better than last year.
- Qantas is doing a thing with its own stock.
- Ryanair is appealing the fine the Hungarian government levied against the carrier.
- Volaris fired a pilot.
- Wizz Air is #1!
Why don’t escaped convicts make good writers?
Because they never finish their sentences.