1. Pain in the Ash - Volcanic Ash Stalls Air Travel...For Weeks
NASA / Photodisc
Take one volcano. Place it in the center of the north Atlantic flight routes. Have the volcano erupt. See what happens...
A volcano in Iceland erupted in April and its effects were felt for weeks. The ash had air traffic controllers grounding flights in numbers not seen since September 11, 2001.
2. "Don't Touch My Junk" - Pat Downs and Backscatter Machine Woes
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
November brought on the question of whether security has gone too far. With body-revealing, back scatter machines, or a more intense pat down as part of new airport screening procedures - passengers and pilots were peeved.
"Don't touch my junk" came from one of the viral YouTube videos chronicling the enhanced screening procedures.
TSA Airport Screening - Backscatter Backlash, Pat Downs Get Personal
3. United and Continental Say "I Do" - The Mega-Merger
Hiroko Masuike / Getty Images
United Airlines and Continental Airlines announced their intention to merge as "equals" on May 3, 2010. The merged airline, flying under the banner of United Airlines, is now the largest airline in the world.
United Airlines - Continental Airlines Merger Highlights - Summary of the Merger Announcement from May 3, 2010
4. "I Do" Times Two - Southwest Airlines and AirTran's Surprise Merger
Image from Southwest Airlines - www.southwest.com
Early fall days brought a merger that seemed to come out of nowhere and literally on the heels of the United/Continental Airlines merger being a done deal. As the industry continues to consolidate, what makes this merger particularly unique is it is one that involves two low cost airlines - giant Southwest Airlines, and much smaller Air Tran Airways.
5. Emergency Landing - JetBlue Flight Attendant Takes Off
August brought out the extreme employee in at least one noteworthy story. It seems to have started with an altercation on a plane and ended with a flight attendant cursing and, declaring his own emergency, sliding out of it. JetBlue's now-most-famous employee, Steven Slater, allegedly cursed out a passenger, deployed the emergency exit chute, and went to the employee parking lot to go home.
6. More Cash for No More Service - Paying for Carry-on Luggage
In early April, Spirit Airlines made it tougher to bring any baggage - even carry-on, for free. You are allowed a free personal item, but if you want some overhead bin storage space...well you are going to have to pay for it. The fee ranges from $20 - $45 depending on whether you are a Spirit Club member, to paying at the gate.7. How Tweet it Is...Twares Take Airfares to New Lows
2010 was certainly the year of tweeting twittering twares. A few airlines embraced the instant appeal of Twitter and started offering quick - often a matter of a few hours...sometimes even minutes - airfare deals that really challenged the lowest airfares seen in decades. Swift acting passengers can nab stupendous deals - and this is what Twitter has brought to 2010.
Top 10 Airline Pages on Twitter - Social Media and Twittering Airlines
8. For the Flight-ophile - All You Can Fly Passes
Air Canada was the first North American airline to offer one price - fly as much as you can. JetBlue and Sun Country offered their own versions of all you can fly passes - with JetBlue selling out the passes within days of going on offer. End of summer offerings that filled seats, and made the flying fanatic a very happy passenger.
9. Grounded by Labor - Series of British Airways Strikes
Image from British Airways
British Airways had a series of strikes that hit the airline in May and June 2010. There were the anticipated delays and cancelations, but what was interesting to note was how many affected employees decided to cross the picket lines, ignore their union, and work. Seems not just passengers were tired of striking.
10. For Coupon Clippers Online - Discount Codes
2010, more than any year before it, was the year of the airline discount code. Codes that offered anything from $10 to 25% off of flights kept popping up, and stripping off the cost of many of the fees that passengers have grumbling-ly become only too accustomed to.
Deals, Newsletters and Fare Alerts with Major International Airlines - signing up for airline newsletters is one of the more effective ways of finding out about the latest discount codes.