The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed a new rule this week requiring airlines to offer customers refunds if their flight is canceled or significantly changed.
The change would require airlines to refund travelers if their flight’s arrival or departure time changed by three hours or more for domestic flights, or six or more hours for international flights.
Read More
Frequent flyer miles donated over a two-month period will provide around 40,000 flights for Afghan refugees, the Associated Press reported.
The Biden administration is considering doubling the number of miles available to refugees, and around 3,200 flights already covered by the donated miles have allowed Afghan refugees to resettle in communities around the U.S. from temporary housing at military bases, according to the AP. Miles4Migrants organized the donations, and the group has provided aid to refugees using donated airline miles and credit card points since 2016.
“Government resources are limited, and we knew that the American people wanted to support Afghans who were arriving and help them find safe homes,” Miles4Migrants Co-Founder Andy Freedman said, the AP reported. “That’s when we turned to the airlines.”
Read More
Southwest Airlines announced Thursday that it would adjust its December flight schedule to adjust for ongoing labor shortages.
Southwest canceled over 2,000 flights on Oct. 10 and 11, costing the company over $75 million, according to Southwest’s Q3 earnings report. The airline attributed the canceled flights to weather and air traffic control issues but later admitted to experiencing a labor shortage, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The airline expects to cut its Q4 flight schedule by 8% from 2019, compared to a 5% reduction the company initially planned for, according to the WSJ. The company also expects a decline in staffing compared to its historical average, according to its Q3 earnings report.
Read More
American aerospace giant Boeing announced a fresh round of job cuts during its earnings call on Wednesday morning as coronavirus cases continued to surge worldwide.
Boeing said it would cut 7,000 jobs by the end of 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. The job cut, the latest in a series of coronavirus-related cuts, would take the company to 130,000 employees after starting 2020 with 160,000.
Read More