American Airlines unveiled its America250 commemorative aircraft to honor the nation’s spirit, innovation, and independence. The only catch: the first plane it chose is a Brazilian-built Embraer regional jet, which is either a subtle celebration of global aviation supply chains or the funniest possible aircraft selection meeting where nobody raised their hand.
A flight attendant has her job back, and nearly $1 million, after Southwest Airlines and her union worked together to fire her over her union and religious politics.
JetBlue and Frontier are now being flagged as the airlines most exposed if the industry’s financial pressure turns into more Chapter 11 filings. The warning makes sense as a ranking exercise — both carriers face high fuel costs, weak margins, and difficult competitive positions — but the precise bankruptcy odds look too confident, and a ‘by 2027’ timeline may be too aggressive.
United Flight 1980 was landing in San Diego when the crew reported striking a “red, shiny” drone around 3,000 feet — far above where recreational drones are normally allowed to operate near airports. There is no reported damage yet, but a drone in the arrival path at that altitude is exactly the kind of thing aviation safety rules are supposed to prevent.
American Airlines customer chief Heather Garboden told employees the airline has “too many broken seats,” bad inflight entertainment screens, and duct tape where duct tape should not be. She says a dedicated Tech Ops team is now being built to fix aircraft interiors, with visible improvements expected by the end of summer.
American Airlines opened its Charlotte Provisions lounge as a grab-and-go option for Admirals Club members who do not have time for a full lounge visit. On my latest visit, though, the concept had a very American Airlines twist: staff told me guests are now limited to one food item each.
American Airlines generated $54.6 billion in revenue but just $111 million in profit last year — while its top officers and board received about $50 million in compensation. CEO Robert Isom gave up his bonus, but profit collapsed 87% while his total pay fell just 11%, and the proxy shows management remained largely insulated from the company’s financial failure.
American Airlines says its rebuilt Dallas hub schedule is already paying off: missed connections are down 50%, customer scores are up 22%, and bags are hitting record performance. The bigger story is why it took so long — American is finally spending money to make the operation work better, instead of just squeezing costs.
The State Department is preparing a limited-run U.S. passport variant with Donald Trump’s portrait and gold signature inside, tied to America’s 250th birthday. It appears to be available through the Washington Passport Agency around July 4.
A woman at the Atlanta airport Avis Car Rental melts down when she rented car seats as an add-on for her “babies” but the car seats “do not function” and she’s trying to get help but the employee “reek[s] of marijuana.” She says to call her “Karen” but don’t tell her to calm down because she’s relying on Avis for her children’s “well being” and they “failed.”
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 »
