Cranky on the Web: The 747 at 50, More on the CRJ550, Suing Over Hidden City Ticketing

Feb 16, 2019

More Reading on This Topic: 747, Cranky on the Web, CRJ, United

50 Years On, Boeing’s 747 Is Fighting for Survival – Popular Mechanics
I was asked to comment for a piece on the 50th anniversary of the 747. This celebration has turned into quite a bittersweet affair. It’s amazing to be able to say that an airplane (in some form) is still flying after 50 years, but there is some tarnish as the 747 approaches the twilight of its life as a passenger carrier. It makes sense. No design lasts forever. But I think many of us secretly always hoped the 747 would.

The Real Reason You’re Flying on a United Regional Jet With a Bar – The Points Guy
Now that former AP editor Scott Mayerowitz is at The Points Guy, we can look forward to better industry coverage over there. I was asked to comment on these piece about the CRJ550.

An airline is suing a customer who skipped a leg of his flight to save money – Vox
I’m cheating a little on this once since I didn’t actually talk to them. They just quoted directly from the blog. But it’s an interesting case, so I thought it was worth linking to here.

Brett

5 responses to “Cranky on the Web: The 747 at 50, More on the CRJ550, Suing Over Hidden City Ticketing”

Eric C

Feb 17, 2019 at 12:18 pm

Will the 550 have one Flight Attendant or two? It has to be two, right? Not for legality but the practicality of serving three classes on a single short flight.

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1. Andy
  
  Feb 17, 2019 at 2:32 pm
  
  My theory is the one flight attendant is the reason first gets a self serve snack bar.
  
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2. CF
  
  Feb 18, 2019 at 9:15 am
  
  Eric – I still don’t know the answer to that, but I would just assume it’ll be 1.
  
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Tom in Vegas

Feb 17, 2019 at 8:43 pm

No one is going to have any sympathy for airlines on hidden city tickets. Airlines certainly can oversell a flight and involuntarily bump a customer with a paid, confirmed reservation. But if customer saves a couple of bucks, or euros on a hidden city ticket, all of a sudden its a horror, because the airline cant sell two tickets for one seat. Its no sweat off the airline. They got paid.

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1. CF
  
  Feb 18, 2019 at 9:16 am
  
  Tom – Airlines can oversell a flight and bump people, but there are consequences to doing so. The same goes for a passenger who knowingly breaks the rules. You can do it, but there may be consequences.
  
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