Air travel is rough. Here's how the government is trying to fix it.

Tech Insider : Travel, Politics

Whether it's a delayed flight, lost luggage, added fees, or long security lines, flying can be painful. It's gotten so bad the government is stepping in to try to make air travel suck a little less. Here's how.

Budget airlines like Spirit and Southwest are getting more desperate. You're going to hate it.

Tech Insider
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8 arrives at Los Angeles International Airport during Memorial Day weekend on May 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Southwest Airlines will soon roll out assigned seating on all of its flights as the industry faces high costs and falling profits.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Southwest is being investigated after a slew of incidents, including a rare 'Dutch Roll' and planes flying too close to the ground

Tech Insider
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-76N sits on the runway readying for takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport.
Southwest Airlines is facing extra scrutiny from the FAA after a series of incidents.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Southwest is ditching its unassigned seat policy for the first time

Tech Insider
Southwest Airlines planes
Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it will join almost every other major airline in assigning seats prior to boarding.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A Southwest jet was just 150 feet above the ocean before being told to pull up, reports say

Tech Insider : Travel
A Southwest Airlines flight
The Southwest Airlines plane (not pictured) had been due to land in Tampa.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A Southwest flight dropped to just 525 feet above an Oklahoma town, prompting an altitude warning and FAA investigation

Tech Insider
Southwest Airlines plane on the runway at Love Field in Dallas, TX
A Southwest Airlines plane on the runway at Dallas Love Field.

HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

I've been a Southwest pilot for 33 years. The loneliness affects my mental health, but I've learned tricks for coping.

Tech Insider
Robert Graves in the center with passport stamps
Robert Graves flies 15 days a month and has 15 days off, on average.

Courtesy of Robert Gaves, anna42f/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

How I took the 'best' photo of the 2017 American solar eclipse — and what I'm doing differently this year

Tech Insider
Jon Carmichael looks at a blown up shot of his photo of the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse.
Astrophotographer and Keynote Speaker, Jon Carmichael (on left) captured this iconic image of the 2017 total solar eclipse that swept across the US.

Jon Carmichael

'We all need Boeing to be better': Airline bosses are getting annoyed that Boeing's problems are derailing their plans

Tech Insider
A Boeing 737 Max is displayed during the Farnborough Airshow, in Farnborough, on July 18, 2022
A Boeing 737 Max.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

American Airlines is raising its checked bag fees and overhauling how customers earn miles

Tech Insider
American Airlines terminal
American Airlines is changing up its baggage and AAdvantage policies.

Lynne Sladky/AP

Subscribe to Southwest