A United Airlines Boeing 767 landed safely at Newark after striking a light pole on approach — but video and news reports suggest the incident was worse than first disclosed. The aircraft also appears to have hit a bakery truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, with its wheel smashing into the driver’s window and leaving the driver cut by broken glass.
Delta has canceled hundreds of flights while rivals kept running normally, and the airline’s own executives have already warned that the underlying reliability problem will take time to fix. Delta is blaming weather, but the deeper issue appears to be crew recovery and pilot scheduling — meltdowns can be expected to repeat as summer storms roll in.
China Eastern Flight MU5735 did not simply fall out of the sky. NTSB recorder data shows pilots shut off both engines before the Boeing 737 plunged from cruise, killing all 132 people aboard — and four years later, China still refuses to release the crash report, citing “national security” and social stability.
A seven-months-pregnant passenger unexpectedly gave birth on ITA Airways flight 855 from Dakar to Rome, the airline’s first baby born onboard. Also: a New Orleans traveler holds up TSA with more than a dozen bottles of seasoning, Robinhood admits its new platinum card is too coupon-y, and passengers keep finding window seats with no windows.
The IHG Premier Card has a limited-time offer worth up to 185,000 points, which is more than I’ve seen before on this $99 hotel card. The upfront bonus is the reason to get it now, but the annual free night, fourth-night-free award benefit, Platinum status, and 4th night free on redemptions are why it can make sense to keep.
Citi brought back the best-ever welcome offer on its AAdvantage Business card: 75,000 American Airlines miles after $5,000 spend in 5 months, with the $99 annual fee waived for the first year. The headline bonus is great on its own, but the real edge for frequent American flyers is what the card unlocks inside AAdvantage Business—extra earning on tickets and, for many cardmembers, the ability to stack Loyalty Points in ways that can accelerate status.
American Airlines has had to remind agents that not everything passengers call a medical device qualifies for free checked-bag treatment, because people are apparently showing up with items like hospital beds, massage tables, wagons, and even soap. The update is useful not just for what it says about baggage policy, but for what it reveals about the inventiveness of travelers trying to turn oversized or oddball items into fee-free luggage.
A “people-owned” rescue effort for Spirit Airlines has gone viral, claiming $22 million in pledges from would-be founding patrons. It has no cash, no actual bid, and no business plan to fix an airline that was losing money before it shut down.
With Spirit Airlines ceasing operations, other low cost airlines are doubling down on their request for a government bailout.
Delta passengers were stuck at the gate with no obvious help during the airline’s meltdown, so one of them grabbed the PA handset and started making announcements himself: “Delta, is anybody working?” It was a dumb move, but passengers do desperate things when an airline disappears on them.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
