And other travel news you may have missed.
This week in travel, we’ve uncovered several stories that might have flown under your radar. Among them: an airline operated a mystery flight; an American Airlines flight turns around after a passenger charges the cockpit; and passengers sleep overnight on a plane after a thunderstorm diverts them to an airport without available CBP agents.
Dive into these and more as we examine the latest in travel news.
NO.1
VACATION RENTAL START-UP MOCKS AIRBNB AND VRBO
A Texas company called Savvy has entered the ring with Airbnb and Vrbo. The small rental company put up a billboard in Texas declaring itself as the duo’s “hotter, cooler, smarter, younger sibling that never has fees.” The Austin-based company is banking on its no-fees model and has listed 150,000 properties in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The move isn’t really original. Vrbo did something similar last month when it paid for a billboard advertisement outside Airbnb’s San Francisco office and called itself “Airbnb’s hotter, cooler, friendlier, long-lost twin.” Airbnb later called this move desperate, and its CEO, Brian Chesky, had a laugh at it on Instagram.
Savvy is too small for the giants, so the punches might not land yet. Airbnb has 7.7 million properties listed on its platform, while Vrbo hosts 2 million.
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NO.2
FLIGHT TURNS AROUND AFTER MAN CHARGES COCKPIT
Four hours into taking off for Milan, the pilot on an American Airlines flight announced that it would be returning to New York. Passengers said that the cause was a man who became enraged after his preferred meal wasn’t available. What also may have contributed to the temper tantrum was the information that he couldn’t sit in the emergency row with a baby.
According to reports, the meal was the breaking point, and he charged at flight attendants and tried to get into the cockpit. There were no air marshals on board, so they asked for police, army officers, or anyone else able to help restrain the man. The flight landed at JFK at 3 a.m., and the unruly passenger was escorted out by authorities, though no criminal charges were filed.
The passengers received the short end of the stick because the airline didn’t offer any additional support; a mother’s request to use the lounge to breastfeed and change was met with a $79 price tag. Ultimately, the passengers stayed overnight at the airport, and the next flight left at 11 a.m.
Related: Can Airlines Sue You if You Behave Badly?
NO.3
SAS FLIES MYSTERY FLIGHT
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) operated a mystery flight on April 4, 2024, from Copenhagen, with passengers completely unaware of the destination of the flight. They just knew that it was within the Schengen Area, and even the flight attendants were kept in the dark.
Those who embarked on the adventure weren’t given any clues, and the board at the gate said, “Unknown Schengen.” But after almost four hours, the flight landed in Seville, Spain, and fliers had three nights to see the city. Their hotels were booked according to the category they picked.
The airline announced the adventure in February for its EuroBonus members, and it sold out within four minutes, it stated in the press release. It was the second time that the carrier pulled this off; the first mystery flight took travelers to Athens.
NO.4
WINDS CANCEL FLIGHTS IN CHINA
Last weekend, residents in northern China were asked to stay indoors as the region prepared for strong gusts of wind up to 93 mph. The country also witnessed the suspension of hundreds of flights in Beijing’s two airports. By Saturday, more than 800 flights were canceled, while train services were also affected. The city advised people to avoid non-essential travel, and state media warned that the winds could blow away those under 110 pounds.
NO.5
LACK OF CUSTOMS DESK FORCES PASSENGERS TO SLEEP OVERNIGHT ON PLANE
In a bizarre incident, two passenger planes were diverted due to bad weather conditions. However, the passengers got stuck on the tarmac overnight because the airport didn’t have a customs desk.
Delta was operating the two flights, one from Los Cabos and the other from Mexico City. Both were diverted to Montgomery, Alabama, while they were supposed to stop in Atlanta before continuing to Boston. They landed in Alabama around 10:30 p.m. when lightning and thunderstorms made the journey dangerous. Another airport in its vicinity, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, was a better choice because it had Customs and Border Protection staff, but it couldn’t be reached due to storms.
Instead, passengers from both planes spent the night in the aircraft, and only at 5 a.m. were they allowed to disembark and go to the airport in a certain area. There were only cookies and water offered while the planes sat on the tarmac, and the flight took off for Atlanta later that afternoon.
