AFAR Media

JetBlue has always been a pioneer in the in-flight entertainment space: It was the first major U.S. airline to provide free live TV and Wi-Fi on every flight, and today the New York–based airline announced plans to roll out new seatback screens called Blueprint by JetBlue, which will offer more personalized programming for fliers.

If there’s anything that sparks spirited debate among airline passengers, it’s the flight boarding process. No matter what system the airlines develop, the process always feels like a struggle, and some passengers are invariably left disgruntled. Airlines must balance the often-conflicting goals of loading a plane quickly and efficiently with rewarding passengers who purchase high-fare tickets or have airline status that includes an early boarding perk. Given airlines’ constantly increasing fees for checked bags, the passenger battle over early boarding in order to snag coveted carry-on space is likely to only get worse.

Not all airports are created equal. Some are soulless, clinical spaces with little more than bright blueish lighting and endless corridors. They are nothing but a functional building from which to launch your next adventure, be it a weekend away with friends or a big solo trip in a new, far-flung destination.

International travel is back. In 2023, the number of global air passengers reached nearly 8.5 billion, or 27 percent above 2022 levels, and 94 percent when compared to 2019 figures, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

Travelers who live on the West Coast of the United States have long bemoaned the lack of direct flights to the Caribbean from international airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Normally, flying to the Caribbean from the West Coast requires stopovers and plane changes in hubs like Atlanta, New York, Houston, or Miami. Between the time difference and the layovers, flying from the West Coast to the Caribbean can easily take at least a full day—or may even require an overnight stop. With closer warm-weather destinations like Mexico and Hawai‘i beckoning, many travelers in the Pacific time zone simply skip the Caribbean.

AFAR partners with CreditCards.com and may receive a commission from card issuers. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Compensation may impact how an offer is presented. Our coverage is independent and objective and has not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are entirely those of the AFAR editorial team.

United Airlines is growing its international route network once again.

Recently, JetBlue quietly increased its fees for checked luggage. It also introduced what may be the industry’s first surge pricing model for baggage, adding an extra charge for checked luggage during “peak” travel periods.

United Airlines recently announced a pair of new tools aimed at making travel a little easier.

It’s now less of a hassle for some pet owners to bring their furry family members on American Airlines flights.

Aviation geeks are serious about the vocabulary of flying, but the general public, media, and even many airline employees are not as focused on using the correct terminology. For many, it may seem like a simple case of semantics, but knowing how to use these terms correctly will make you a more informed flier—and it may even come in handy when you’re planning your next trip.

A mid-air scare on Alaska Airlines. A rapid descent of another jumbo jet that sent some passengers hurtling into cabin ceilings and seat backs. A cascade of incidents on United Airlines airplanes that caught regulators’ attention. And all of this happened within the first few months of 2024.

It’s easy to forget that there’s so much more to flight attendants’ jobs than serving passengers drinks and snacks, locating free space in the overhead bins, and passing out earbuds for the seatback entertainment. After all, much of their most important duties occur behind the scenes.

You may have noticed in recent years that during the announcements before takeoff, flight attendants have started telling passengers that if their phone falls between the seats, they should alert a crew member. Many passengers might try to retrieve their phone by reaching blindly into the tight space between seats. But there are a couple of important reasons you should resist the urge to do so and instead notify a flight attendant immediately.

On a recent spring day, I started mildly stressing about booking my family’s Thanksgiving flights for four people traveling from San Francisco to Raleigh, North Carolina. Airfare deals have been much harder to come by in the aftermath of the pandemic due to the strong return in travel demand, so I had a feeling we needed to act fast if we were going to fly at a decent price during a popular travel period.

So far in 2024, several in-flight medical emergencies have made headlines around the world. In early January, a passenger on a Jet2 flight from Tenerife, Spain, to Manchester, England, died after being found unresponsive in the lavatory. Passengers on a Munich-bound Lufthansa flight in early February described the “absolute horror” onboard when a man began gushing “liters” of blood from his nose and mouth; the flight returned to Bangkok for an emergency landing, but the passenger died on the plane. A third incident occurred on a flight from Punta Cana to Charlotte in late February when a 41-year-old female passenger began convulsing; the flight was diverted, but she later died at a hospital.

Not long ago, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey was viewed as one of the worst airports to have a layover in. But with the opening of the futuristic 1-million-square-foot Terminal A in January 2023, Newark Airport has had a glow-up—and the travel industry has noticed.

You know the saying, “No shoes, no shirt, no service”? Whether you like it or not, the shoe portion of the warning doesn’t really apply to airplanes. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Kayak, dubbed the Unspoken Rules of Air Travel, 44 percent of Americans think it’s OK to take their footwear off while at cruising altitude.

In recent weeks, United Airlines aircraft have experienced at least 10 maintenance and flight diversion issues, some more dramatic than others. While United CEO Scott Kirby issued a statement this week saying the issues were “all unrelated” and “have our attention and have sharpened our focus,” nervous fliers may be wondering if this “focus” is enough.

Consider yourself fortunate if your next flight has an extra open seat. Over the past several years, U.S. carriers have been able to fill a vast majority of their planes—especially in premium cabins. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation, domestic airlines in 2023 had an 81 percent load factor, a metric that measures the ratio of available seats to the number of actual passengers.

Airports might seem like frenetic, disorienting places, but there’s a lot of very precise orchestration taking place behind the scenes.