Article snippet: Between flight cancellations last month at Spirit Airlines that led to a brawl in the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and viral cellphone videos of crew and passenger altercations — most notably a United Airlines passenger being wrestled from his seat and dragged down the aisle — the airline industry has experienced a turbulent spring. The busy summer season presents its own challenges, beginning with congestion. But a combination of new airline classes of service and security practices seems poised to compound the confusion, even as airlines incrementally increase some of the perks common in decades past, such as free meals. Here are four ways in which flying this summer will differ from last year. Travelers will find at least one compelling reason to take to the skies: low fares. Data from the booking service Kayak shows that coach fares have decreased by 23 percent on average, compared with last summer. “It’s going to be crowded this summer, and I think we will have a record number of air travelers in part because of low fares,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, a site that tracks fare sales. The airfare prediction site Hopper forecast that foreign low-cost carriers will increase their capacity to the United States by 61 percent this month, compared with last June. These include Europe-based airlines like Norwegian Air Shuttle and WOW Air. The latter is advertising flights from $189 one way between Pittsburgh and Copenhagen and $189 from Ne... Link to the full article to read more
What to Expect in the Air This Summer - The New York Times
>