American Airlines says it is not in merger talks with United, but its carefully worded response does more than just shut down one specific rumor. By backing broader airline consolidation while ruling out a United deal, American appears to be drawing a line against the merger it cannot survive politically while leaving open the possibility of other combinations that might better fit both antitrust realities and the Trump administration’s dealmaking instincts.
Spirit Airlines is asking the Trump administration for a taxpayer bailout as the airline fights to avoid liquidation in its second bankruptcy in a year. The request is extraordinary not just because Spirit already took hundreds of millions in pandemic aid, but because there is no obvious legal path for the government to rescue a single failing airline without Congress — and if Spirit gets help, other struggling carriers will be lined up next.
American Airlines IT keeps finding new ways to fail in public, plus a useful inKind referral boost, the bizarre question of whether anyone has their spouse unpack them after a trip, Siete cookies coming to Southwest, and more.
A United Airlines pilot was accused of using a slur against a passenger. Then the accuser admitted the whole thing was made up and asked for points anyway, turning the episode into an example of the fake brand complaint meme that airlines and their social teams increasingly have to navigate.
Room service used to be one of the clearest signs you were staying somewhere better than an Airbnb or a limited-service chain: hot coffee in a pot, breakfast on a cart, and food delivered with some sense of occasion. Now even premium hotels too often send up plastic containers in a paper bag, stripping away one of the last touches that made paying more actually feel worth it.
You can’t bring this knife through security and bring it on an airplane – but you can be given this knife on an airplane. Make it make sense! This passenger is wrong to blame this on TSA, though, let alone take it out on the front line screener who isn’t expected to ponder the existential nature of the role. Congress did it!
Southwest Airlines is no longer just testing the idea of lounges. The airline now appears to have at least five lounges in its pipeline, with Honolulu, Nashville, Denver, Dallas Love Field, and Austin all part of a move into premium airport space.
United’s free Starlink internet rollout is still supposed to take until the end of next year, but passengers are now reporting that free Wi-Fi has quietly spread to some non-Starlink aircraft as well. If that holds, it means United has started delivering one of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades in domestic flying faster and more broadly than it has publicly said.
The FAA has capped Chicago O’Hare at 2025 schedule levels for the summer, a move that sharply cuts back United’s much larger growth plan while largely preserving American’s rebuilt position. That makes this more than a routine delay-fighting order: it is a major intervention in the Chicago airline battle, one that blocks United from using aggressive over-scheduling to strengthen its hold on gates and market share.
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card now has its biggest-ever welcome bonus: 80,000 points after $10,000 in spending in the first three months, up from the previous 60,000-point offer. The bigger reason to care is that Hyatt makes this its fastest card for spending your way toward elite status.
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 »
