Air Travel News Roundup: Top Headlines From March

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

Some people in the aviation industry might argue that this month came in like a lion and is also going out like one.

Perhaps the biggest news of the month, but certainly not the most surprising, is that Boeing CEO David Calhoun and two other airline manufacturer executives announced their resignations.

And perhaps no airline was more snakebitten than United Airlines.

But the scariest thing might be coming home to find a letter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Here are a few of the standout headlines from the last few weeks.

We are, by nature, a litigious society. But you can’t find fault here for going to court. A passenger on board the Alaska Airlines flight that lost a door midflight on January 5 has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Boeing.

United States Senator Maria Cantwell scolded Boeing. She seemed astonished to learn that the airline manufacturer had not made some employees available to the National Transportation Safety Board.

 

This year marked the 10^th anniversary of one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation, the disappearance of Flight MH370.

 

After posting photos of its new seat design, Southwest Airlines was unprepared for the social media backlash. So, the carrier finally responded to all the criticism.

 

This sounds like the plot of a bad movie. Unfortunately, it’s very real and very sad. A manager at Boeing who raised safety concerns about the company was found dead.

 

Many airlines suspended operations in the Middle East when the war between Gaza and Israel broke out. However, United Airlines said it felt confident about flying there again. The carrier resumed its flight from New York to Tel Aviv this month.

 

Boeing said it would cooperate with the investigation of the Alaska Airlines incident. But the National Transportation Safety Board says otherwise. More than two months later, the government agency said the company had impeded the investigation.

 

Boeing has suffered numerous setbacks so far this year. Now you can add financial. The company’s credit was recently downgraded, making spending and making money more challenging.

 

Well, this is one crisis that has been averted. Southwest Airlines and its nearly 20,000 flight attendants have agreed to a new labor contract.

 

Maybe they think they can accomplish something that government agencies have not. But airline executives, frustrated by Boeing's problems, which have led to numerous delays in airplane orders, want to meet with the company’s management.

 

Was it a crime? That’s what the Federal Bureau of Investigation wants to know. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the January 5 incident in which a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane while in midflight.

 

A hydraulic leak. A tire that fell off just after takeoff. A plane that skidded off the runway. Those are just a few of the mishaps that have plagued United Airlines just in the month of March and have prompted further scrutiny by governing agencies.

 

It used to be that some passengers would pick a particular airline. Now, they are choosing a certain kind of airplane. Or rather, avoiding one. Some passengers do their due diligence and opt not to fly on Boeing-manufactured planes.

 

File this under the folder of trying to capitalize on the situation. Air France is adding flights from the United States to Paris for two of the country's most significant summer events: the Cannes Film Festival and the Summer Olympics this year.

 

Some say it was just a matter of time. With Boeing under extreme scrutiny in the last few months, embattled CEO David Calhoun and two other executives from the airplane manufacturer announced that they are stepping down.

 

We bet you had many long-lost friends and relatives who came out of the woodwork. Southwest Airlines returned its popular Companion Pass program.

 

Airline ticket sales by travel agents are soaring. How high? Try more than $8 billion just in the month of February.

 

The Pre-Check Program is one of the most popular programs offered by the Transportation Security Administration. It helps passengers go through airport security even quicker, which is maybe why eight new airports signed up to participate.