Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways still rank highest in the annual J.D. Power survey of passengers on the nine largest North American airlines, and the firm says overall traveller satisfaction with the industry is at a 10-year high. J.D. Power said Wednesday that Alaska Airlines ranked highest among traditional airlines for the ninth straight year and JetBlue was the top-rated low-cost carrier for the 11th year in a row. The researchers said that satisfaction about airline cost and fees improved significantly over 2015. They credited lower fares and more acceptance of paying more for baggage and extra legroom. Widespread fees on checked bags began in 2008 but are now common and raised $3.8b for US airlines last year. The study's findings of happy travelers ran counter to the rising number of consumer complaints to the government about US airlines. Those complaints spiked 34 percent in 2015, although they accounted for a tiny fraction of the millions of people who fly every year. J.D. Power reported results only for nine airlines that have at least $1b in annual passenger revenue, at least 40 destinations in the U.S. and Canada, and for which there were at least 100 survey responses. <br/>
unaligned
A passenger who authorities say forced an Alaska Airlines flight to be diverted after he didn't get a beer has pleaded not guilty in Portland, Oregon, to a charge of interfering with a flight crew. A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday says 32-year-old Luke Watts of Portland threatened to become violent if flight attendants didn't serve him a beer during a March flight from Sacramento, California, to Seattle. Assistant US Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff says Watts then locked himself in the bathroom and screamed and pounded on the door. He also demanded hugs from flight attendants. Concerned about the potential for violence, the pilot decided to land in Portland.<br/>
Relatives of the 110 people killed when ValuJet Flight 592 caught fire and plunged into Florida's Everglades gathered Wednesday at the remote crash site on the 20th anniversary of their deaths. The first time Walter Simonton saw the Everglades, the desolation overwhelmed him as he grieved for his mother, whose plane was swallowed up by the wetlands. It was shortly after the May 11, 1996, crash of the Atlanta-bound flight from Miami, and mourners gathered with airline officials and emergency responders to drop roses into the murky waters. Twenty years later, Simonton still felt haunted by the memory as he prepared to return to the remote crash site with his brother and niece. "Just vast water. Vast grass," he said, unable to find other words to describe the scene. The crash over Mother's Day weekend killed all 110 passengers and crew members. The plane plunged into the Everglades while trying to make an emergency return to Miami International Airport. Federal investigators ultimately blamed a fire caused by improperly stored cargo. Already beset by poor safety ratings, ValuJet never recovered and merged with another low-cost carrier. ValuJet's maintenance contractor, Sabretech, faced criminal charges and went out of business.<br/>