Passengers could be heard pleading with the men to calm down, before one was manhandled away from the brawl by another flier.

The flight, which departed from Oakland, California, was mid-air over the Pacific Ocean when the scuffle began, but completed its journey and avoided an emergency landing.

Both men were reportedly detained after they landed in Hawaii.

It is unclear what triggered the fight, with the footage beginning with one of the men lightly slapping the other across the face.

The slap was quickly responded to with a frenzy of punches, several landing squarely on the other man’s face.

After delivering a flurry of blows to the first man’s jawline, the infuriated passenger pauses for a moment as others grab his arms and urge him to stop.

While the passengers are gradually separated, one assailant could be heard telling the other to ‘get over here’, before one concerned-looking passenger tells him ‘it’s not worth it.’

‘Take it easy, take it easy,’ another passenger could be heard saying from the back of the jet.

The hostile situation was eventually calmed as a man in a blue hoodie held the man back and ordered him to ‘just stop,’ while moving him to the back of the plane.

Witnesses told Hawaii News Now that the fight erupted around an hour after the flight departed California.

‘I heard yelling, screaming and punches. I turned around and saw one man bleeding and then the other man being separated,’ passenger Jim Wieder told the outlet.

‘Frankly, I was a little nervous because we’re 35,000 feet and you’ve got two guys swinging at each other, which makes no sense whatsoever.’

Despite mid-flight altercations often resulting in emergency landings, the pilot decided to continue on to land in Kauai.

Both men were detained upon arrival, although it is unclear if any charges were brought.

Read the original full published story on dailymail.co.uk

The post Shocking video shows two men in mid-air brawl aboard Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Hawaii appeared first on Aviation Figures.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) consent order resolves a lengthy government investigation into the massive travel disruption and provides ‘a strong deterrent,’ the agency said.

The settlement includes a $35 million cash fine and a three-year mandate that Southwest provide $90 million in travel vouchers of $75 or more to passengers delayed at least three hours getting to final destinations because of an airline-caused issue or cancellation.

The first-of-its-kind U.S. delay compensation program, which will start by April, is part of the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to get tough on airlines as it aims to require new passenger compensation. Vouchers will be awarded ‘upon request,’ Southwest said.

‘If airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,’ said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The 2022 massive winter storm and subsequent chaos prompted travel horror stories: people missing funerals or long-awaited holiday gatherings, passengers with canceled flights forced to make cross-country drives of 17 or more hours across and some cancer patients could not get treatment.

One senior executive told angry lawmakers bluntly: ‘We messed up.’

Southwest, which paid over $600 million to passengers impacted by the storm that cost it more than $1 billion, has made significant technology and consumer service upgrades and other investments including de-icing equipment across its network. The airline has seen significant operational improvements this year.

Southwest did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid litigation and said Monday it was ‘grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement’ with USDOT and now ‘can shift its entire focus to the future.’

The prior largest penalty was $4.5 million imposed on Air Canada after USDOT initially sought $25.5 million. Southwest’s penalty – which includes the $35 million fine payable over three years – is more than all penalties assessed by USDOT combined since 1996. USDOT said in January it planned to start seeking higher fines.

Airlines have sparred with the Biden administration over responsibility for flight delays, landing slots and consumer issues. Buttigieg said in July of airlines: ‘We’re going to beat’em up when we think that’s important to get passengers a better deal.’

USDOT found Southwest violated consumer protection laws by failing to provide adequate customer service assistance ‘via its call center to hundreds of thousands of customers’ as well as failing to provide prompt flight status notifications to more than 1 million passengers and prompt refunds to thousands of impacted travelers.

Read full originally published story on dailymail.co.uk

The post Southwest Airlines is fined record $140 million for December 2022 holiday meltdown where they canceled 16,900 flight leaving 2 million passengers stranded appeared first on Aviation Figures.

Southwest shared with Fox Business its policy, stating that passengers requiring additional space “can choose to buy a single seat initially and address their seating requirements with the Customer Service Agent at the departure gate. If it’s deemed necessary to have a second (or third) seat, the passenger will be provided with an extra seat at no additional cost.” Subsequently, the flight team will make efforts to arrange seating, possibly rearranging other passengers for the “unplanned accommodation.”

Alternatively, customers have the option to buy additional seats in advance and subsequently reach out to Southwest “for a refund of the cost of additional seating after travel.”

The policy states, “Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighbouring seat(s) may proactively purchase the needed number of seats before travel to ensure the additional seat(s) is available… The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification of a special seating need and allows us to adequately plan for the number of occupied seats onboard.”

“It also helps us ensure we can accommodate all Customers on the flight for which they purchased a ticket and avoid asking Customers to relinquish their seats for unplanned accommodation. Most importantly, it ensures that all Customers onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating. You may contact us for a refund of the cost of additional seating after travel,” the policy continues.

Plus size travel expert, Jae’lynn Chaney, told Fox News Digital it was an important move to include people in the “super fat” category.

“Super fat is how we identify,” Chaney, business owner of Jae Bae Productions, said. “There’s a spectrum of fatness. And as a super fat individual, you start needing different accommodations… I just felt really happy that there was something like this for people.”

“I hope to see more airlines implement customer-of-size policies. The Southwest customer size policy helps many travellers offset the disproportionate costs that we incur because of needing extra room. And so, it’s not just about physical accessibility. It’s also about financial accessibility.”

Read full originally published story on ndtv.com

The post Southwest Airlines Praised For “Customer Of Size” Policy That Gives Passengers Complimentary Seat appeared first on Aviation Figures.