Cathay Pacific admits to spying on passengers and other news this week

Date: 06 Aug 19

Cathay Pacific spies on passengers

Cathay Pacific regularly tops the best airline in the world lists but has courted controversy by admitting that it films the activities of passengers via onboard cameras and via the in-flight entertainment systems.

A number of airlines have admitted that cameras are installed in their In-Flight Entertainment systems (IFE) but deny that they have ever been activated or have plans to in the future. Security experts have condemned the actions as images could end up in the wrong hands and used for invasive marketing purposes in the future. Last year the airline suffered at the hands of hackers and admitted that upto 10 million passenger details had been stolen.

Airports avoids strike but delays and cancellations continue

Proposed industrial action by the Heathrow and Gatwick staff was postponed yesterday but this didn't help the thousands of passengers that encountered delayed and cancelled flights. EasyJet operations, in particular, suffered from their hub at London Gatwick with a raft of cancelled flights. The proposed strike action which is over pay and conditions is still scheduled to go ahead later this month.

British Airways is already embroiled in its own strike action with pilots union BALPA poised to announce a series of strikes overpay. British Airways offer of an 11% pay rise over 3 years has been mocked as being derisory by union bosses but BALPA has yet to give BA the 14 days notice period required if they intend to strike. 14 days is the minimum notice period an airline needs to give its passengers for cancelled flights to avoid paying compensation.

Customers who have their flights cancelled as a result of industrial action are entitled to a full refund of their flight and in some cases, other costs such as accommodation, travel and out of pocket expenses. Contact us to see if you have a claim.

Hidden city ticketing clampdown

Youve looked online to find the cheapest ticket to your destination only to find a flight that connects there on its way to another destination is significantly cheaper. Welcome to the world of airlines ticketing. Airlines know that a direct flight attracts a premium as opposed to those that involve a connection and prices it accordingly. A popular trick is to book the entire journey and simply alight at the connection and not use the remaining ticket. Great if your travelling light.

German airline Lufthansa has successfully sued a passenger that did exactly this and won 2000 euros in damages for the missed flight. Whereas this is usually the exception to the rule most airlines will cancel your return leg flight if they see you miss a connection. Other airlines are demanding you pay for the missed portion, removal of any Airmiles accumulated and in some cases banning passengers from their airlines. You have been warned.

Jazeera Airways to launch first "budget" flight between UK and Kuwait

Jazeera Airways announced that it will be flying daily from Gatwick to Kuwait from October 2019. The airline currently only has one aircraft of making the journey. Prices are said to start from £350 return - hardly a budget price when both British Airways and Kuwait Airways charge around £400 for the same journey with the additions of in flight entertainment and catering. The 30kg baggage allowance may be enough for some to switch to the no-frills airline.