AFAR Media

If you are boarding a plane in much of the United States during winter, chances are the aircraft will need to have a specially trained crew spray it with de-icing fluid before takeoff to remove ice and snow (or prevent more from sticking).

Over the weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded flights on all Boeing 737-9 Max planes following a harrowing incident on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 in which a plug door near the rear of the plane blew out at 16,000 feet, six minutes into a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, causing the cabin to lose pressure. Oxygen masks were deployed, and passengers described a rough ride as the plane quickly returned to the Portland airport; no one was seriously hurt, but several of the 177 people aboard were treated for minor injuries. The incident prompted a sweeping grounding of most of the 215 Boeing 737-9 Max planes that were flying worldwide.

Welcome to your economy-class seat: 28 inches of legroom and a whopping 16-inch span between your armrests. There’s nothing like the thrill of finding a great airfare deal on an international flight, but after eight-plus hours in your designated 28 x 16-inch space, you might start scheming up ways to make your next long-haul flight more comfortable.

“We regret to inform you that on the evening of January 2, JL516 was involved in a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft during its landing at Haneda Airport, resulting in a fire on the runway. Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased members of the Japan Coast Guard,” Japan Airlines wrote in a memo about a Tuesday evening runway collision that resulted in the Japan Airlines flight 516 erupting into flames.

Soon, whether you drink coffee, wine, water, ginger ale, or any other beverage on a Delta Air Lines flight, it’ll be served in a paper cup.

It’s official: It’s now easier than ever to get to Tulum. What has traditionally been a lengthy journey, usually involving a flight into Cancun and then a two-hour drive south, has now been dramatically shortened with the official opening of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport or Tulum Airport (TQO) in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

This fall, international air traffic reached 98.2 percent of what it was prepandemic, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In other words, global citizens are traveling the world with almost the same fervor as they were in 2019.

Southwest Airlines canceled 16,900 flights and stranded more than 2 million fliers between December 2022 and early January 2023, as operations took a nosedive amid severe winter storms that disrupted holiday air travel across much of the United States last year. But while other major U.S. carriers recovered from the weather-fueled delays and cancellations, Southwest struggled to normalize operations and continued to cancel flights in the days following Christmas 2022. Now, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is making it very clear that that level of failed service comes with serious consequences.

TSA PreCheck, an expedited security program for trusted travelers, has long been an attractive option for fliers who want to get to their gate faster and easier. However, starting next year, having the program’s logo on your boarding pass could net you an additional perk: the ability to breeze through entirely self-service TSA security lines.

As we head into the holidays, air travelers know all too well what to expect—the usual toxic brew of overcrowded airports, understaffed check-in counters, and clogged security lanes.

As if air travel didn’t have enough pitfalls on its own, there’s also the frustrating and real possibility that an airline could lose your checked luggage. According to a study by SITA, an IT company that provides bag-tracking systems to airlines, 26 million suitcases were mishandled in 2022, meaning lost, delayed, damaged, or stolen.

United Airlines is betting big on Spain: On December 6, the carrier announced that for the first time, it is launching new nonstop service between San Francisco and Barcelona for summer 2024. Together with its other Spain routes, that marks a 30 percent increase in flights to Spain in 2024 compared to 2023.

There are few moments in the travel experience more disheartening than watching the baggage carousel come to a halt and realizing your suitcase didn’t make it to your destination. At best, it’s a hiccup in your plans, and at worst, you could lose the suitcase and its contents forever.

If you’re a nervous flier, you may find yourself wondering if there is, in fact, a safest seat on the airplane. Is a window seat statistically more secure than an aisle seat? Does being seated in or near an exit row help? And what about the front versus the back of the plane?

A whiff of new plane smell may be part of your next United Airlines onboard welcome. That’s because the Chicago-based carrier is undergoing a massive fleet renewal strategy as part of its “United Next” plan with 800 new aircraft being added between 2023 and the end of 2032.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines made a big announcement over the weekend—they entered into an agreement under which Alaska will purchase Hawaiian for $1.9 billion.

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.

Over the past decade, airlines have introduced seats (and suites) that deliver the comfort of a five-star hotel, thanks to features such as sliding privacy doors, restaurant-quality dining, and plush bedding that rivals what one would get on the ground.

It’s been nearly a decade since my first time in an airport lounge, but it was an experience that reshaped my predeparture routine. However, as any frequent flier knows, the quality of a lounge can vary greatly, similar to sitting in the last row of economy versus the front of first class.

This year, airlines have been rolling out Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales that have us dreaming about everything from Scandinavian escapes (courtesy of SAS Airlines) to exploring even further afield (hello, South Africa and Seychelles).

This past Friday, November 17, marked the official start of the Thanksgiving travel period, a 12-day stretch during which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) anticipates that it will screen a record 30 million passengers this year. And unfortunately, the period that typically sees the busiest travel days of the year comes just as a major storm is gaining momentum across much of the eastern half of the United States.