Articles written by David Koenig
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The Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws
The Biden administration is enlisting the help of officials in 15 states to enforce consumer-protection laws covering airline travelers, a power that by law is limited to the federal government. The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday...
Boeing put under Senate scrutiny during back-to-back hearings on aircraft maker's safety culture
An engineer at Boeing said Wednesday that the aircraft company, in rushing to produce as many planes as possible, is taking manufacturing shortcuts that could lead to jetliners breaking apart. "They are putting out defective airplanes," the...
FBI tells passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that lost a panel they might be crime victims
The FBI has told passengers on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max that lost a door-plug panel in midflight that they might be victims of a crime. "I'm contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime," a victim...
With all the recent headlines about panels and tires falling off planes, is flying safe?
DALLAS (AP) — It has been 15 years since the last fatal crash of a U.S. airliner, but you would never know that by reading about a torrent of flight problems in the last three months. There was a time when things like cracked windshields and minor en...
Boeing CEO to exit in broad management shakeup as manufacturing issues plague storied plane maker
Boeing CEO David Calhoun will step down from the embattled plane maker at the end of the year as part of a broad management shakeup Monday after a series of mishaps at one of America's iconic manufacturers. Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing's co...
United Airlines found loose bolts, other issues on a key part of grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — United Airlines said Monday it found loose bolts and other "installation issues" on a part of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets that were inspected after a mid-flight blowout on a similar Alaska Airlines jet on Friday. The i...
Founder of Joby Aviation says electric air taxis will be in service in 2025
The notion that hundreds or even thousands of electric-powered air taxis could be whisking people over jammed roads is inching away from science fiction and closer to reality. Battery technology is improving enough for eVTOLs – short for electric ver...
Jeep maker Stellantis makes a new contract offer as auto workers prepare to expand their strike
General Motors and Stellantis announced fresh layoffs Wednesday that they blamed on damage from the United Auto Workers strike, and the labor standoff grew more tense just two days before the union was expected to call for new walkouts. Stellantis...
US air travel returns to normal after technology breakdown
U.S. air travel returned mostly to normal Thursday, a day after a computer system that sends safety information to pilots broke down and grounded traffic from coast to coast. By midafternoon on the East Coast, about 150 flights had been canceled and...
Southwest: Normal flight operations to resume Friday
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines said it expects to return to normal operations Friday after slashing about two-thirds of its schedule in recent days, including canceling more than 2,350 flights Thursday. Airline executives told employees that c...
Southwest cancels more flights, draws federal investigation
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines scrubbed thousands of flights again Tuesday in the aftermath of the massive winter storm that wrecked Christmas travel plans across the U.S., and the federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged...
Thanksgiving travel rush is back with some new habits
The Thanksgiving travel rush was back on this year, as people caught planes in numbers not seen in years, setting aside inflation concerns to reunite with loved ones and enjoy some normalcy after two holiday seasons marked by COVID-19 restrictions....
Gas prices dip just below $4 for the first time in 5 months
DALLAS (AP) — Gasoline prices have dipped under $4 for the first time in more than five months — good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essentials. AAA said the national average for a gallon of regular was $3....
US gasoline prices rise again on talk of banning Russian oil
Gasoline prices are pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil. Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine and have...
AP FACT CHECK: Biden cleaner-jet-fuel plan far from takeoff
DALLAS (AP) — President Joe Biden and his team are promoting an agreement reached with the U.S. airline industry to cut aircraft greenhouse-gas emissions 20% by decade's end, but the deal might not fly. In an announcement Thursday, the White House u...
How 9/11 changed air travel: more security, less privacy
DALLAS (AP) — Ask anyone old enough to remember travel before Sept. 11, 2001, and you're likely to get a gauzy recollection of what flying was like. There was security screening, but it wasn't anywhere near as intrusive. There were no long c...
Delta will charge unvaccinated employees $200 per month
Delta Air Lines will charge employees on the company health plan $200 a month if they fail to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a policy the airline's top executive says is necessary because the average hospital stay for the virus costs the airline...
Pilot minutes before ocean crash: 'It doesn't look good'
HONOLULU (AP) — Two pilots told air traffic controllers that their engine had cut out and they needed help moments before crashing their cargo plane into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii on Friday. "It doesn't look good out here," one of the pilots s...
Travel numbers climb as Americans hit the road for holiday
Americans hit the road in near-record numbers at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, as their eagerness to break free from coronavirus confinement overcame higher prices for flights, gasoline and hotels. More than 1.8 million people went through...
Big-business pushback against voting measures gains momentum
Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing "any discriminatory legislation." The letter, published Wednesday in The New...
EXPLAINER: Why the power grid failed in Texas and beyond
DALLAS (AP) — The power outages tormenting Texas in uncharacteristically Arctic temperatures are exposing weaknesses in an electricity system designed when the weather's seasonal shifts were more consistent and predictable — conditions that most exp...
US tightens definition of service animals allowed on planes
The days of pets flying with their owners in airplane cabins for free are coming to an end. The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday covering animals on airlines. It decided that only dogs can fly as service animals, and...
Watchdog urges more action to protect planes from hackers
Federal regulators have not taken adequate steps to protect computer systems on airliners from hackers, a government watchdog agency reported on Friday. The agency said the Federal Aviation Administration has not developed a training program for...
CEO says Southwest needs union pay cuts to avoid furloughs
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines will cut pay for nonunion workers in January and says union workers must also accept less pay or face furloughs next year as the pandemic continues to hammer the airline business. Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said M...
United says it will drop widely scorned ticket-change fees
United Airlines says it listened to customers and is dropping an unpopular $200 fee for most people who change a ticket for travel within the United States. "When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of fees is often the...
