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Excerpt from Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (svd.se).

FAKE PILOT SCAM. Did you think a pilot’s license and training are at least some kind of a guarantee for a safe journey?

Think again.

Nobody could guess the dark secret of Swedish pilot Thomas Salme: He had no pilot’s license. But for thirteen years, he navigated the skies as an airline pilot, much like the character in the 2002 Hollywood blockbuster movie Catch Me If You Can about Frank Abagnale Jr who presented himself as a pilot go gain

Iberia launches "IBHelp", revolutionising customer service via mobile devices

• Original and innovative new in-house technology connects more than 100 iPads and PDAs to check-in kiosks, the new Quick Service Points and other devices that can issue the documents customers may need
• IBHelp enables Iberia staff to deal with any incident or customer request at any point from check-in to boarding, making connections, retrieving luggage, etc.
• The initiative is part of Iberia’s Ágora scheme to make its T4 hu

El despacho de vuelos es la “cocina” donde se amasan los preparativos de un vuelo. A escasos metros de la puerta de embarque, mientras esperamos la salida del vuelo, se fragua la planificación de lo que será nuestra travesía. Es lo que se conoce como despacho del vuelo. Su funcionamiento podría comparase al de la cocina de un gran restaurante. Es una sala a la que llega todo tipo de información desde muchos lugares diferentes. La persona encargada de recabar esa información es el despachador del

The FAA gets it wrong again.

When Virgin Atlantic announced recently that passengers could make calls on their cell phones on VA’s Airbus A330 and Boeing 747 between London and New York, it was another wake up call to the Federal Aviation Administration to face reality.

Although cellphones can not be used during take off and landing, and the price per call is still steep (about a $1.60 per minute and twenty cents per text),  the point is, as we have reported, about 100 other airlines allow an

One of the dreads of air travel is sitting next to someone who is either crazy or can drive you crazy with annoying habits, non-stop chatter or just plain old boorishness, resulting in impulses to jump out of the plane or slowly throttle your seatmate.

So, Hotel Marketing.com  states the obvious when it says air travel has gone from “glam to glum.”  But as in so many cases, social media is being touted as the panacea for air travel doldrums. It seems some travel-media web sites are engaging in wh

For a hundred bucks, you can go to dinner at a decent restaurant, purchase a DVD box set, or—if you're flying Spirit—tote a bag onto a plane.

Effective November 6, fee-sucking Spirit will charge $100 for carry-on bags paid for at the gate. It's an increase of 122 percent over the current price of $45. If you reserve your carry-on privileges ahead of time online, it'll cost you $35 bucks as of November 6. (Current price is $30.) And if you pay for your carry-on bag at the airport counter, you'll b

For the first time ever today I decided to give American Airlines a chance. I have never flown AA and have been OVERLY loyal to Delta. I have always flown Delta and their partners and have had status with Old Northwest Airlines and Delta for the last 6 years (Since I was 19) and fly on average of 75,000 miles+ a year. However a good friend of mind is AA Executive Platinum and ensured me I would enjoy AA if I flew business class and was Executive Platinum. So I took his word and booked myself a f

Flight attendants are not inherently anti-romantic or anti-social, they’re just brainwashed when it comes to using cell phones in the air.

“Please switch off all mobile phones as they can interfere with the aircraft’s rafts navigation system,” is the flight attendant’s mantra.

But there  is no verifiable  reason why one shouldn’t use a  cell phone on a plane.

We’re told it may  interfere with mobile networks on the ground. But that makes no sense.

But if cell phones were so dangerous to the pla

2/21/2012 Was FINALLY the day I got to fly the new A380, and this wasn't just any A380 - it was the ONLY A380 with the entire upper-deck dedicated to business class, a full bar/lounge in the back of the business class deck reserved for Business class and First class passengers ONLY, a small self-service bar in the front of the plane and a "duty free showcase." Needless to say I was MORE than excited to fly the Big Blue Smurf!

After leaving the Prestige Class loun

Has Spirit started a disturbing trend? Beginning April 4, Allegiant will impose a hefty fee for carry-on bags.

The carrier will charge $35 for the "privilege" of carting a suitcase on a plane and stuffing it into an overhead bin. But it's cheaper if you plan ahead. According to an Allegiant spokesperson, "If purchased online at time of reservation purchase, carry-on bags will be $10 to $30, route specific, though the majority of markets will be $15 or less."

The carry-on surcharge onl

In the travel world, few topics incite more contention and indignation than seatback etiquette—as we learned a while back when we published Six Shocking Stories of Travelers Gone Wild, which stirred up a wild debate among our readers.

In the piece, an editor from Family Vacation Critic (our sister site) and I both shared stories about other passengers reacting churlishly when we inched our seats backward. "When flying out of Portugal," I wrote, "I reclined my seat and fell asleep. I woke up when

Alaska Airlines is one of our picks in 10 Best Airlines You've Never Flown. Now, the carrier is getting even better with the introduction of several new pet-friendly passenger perks.

Today Alaska announced a partnership with Banfield Pet Hospital, a veterinary practice that has more than 800 hospitals across the U.S. Passengers traveling with pets on Alaska—either bringing them in the cabin or shipping them via the airline's PetStreak Animal Express service—will receive a free office visit, a tra

At some point in the future, you may be able to continue skimming your Kindle or playing Words with Friends when jetting off the runway, The New York Times reports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may be reconsidering its policy on use of electronic devices during take-off and landing.

Laura J. Brown, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs for the FAA, told the Times, "With the advent of new and evolving electronic technology, and because the airlines have not conducted the t