American Express is suing the mayor of London over $713,851 in unpaid Business Gold card debt — London, Kentucky, that is. Also: Hawaiian ends free coach meals to Hawaii, Japan Airlines bans flight attendants from drinking on layovers, and JAL offers lunar transport that frequent flyer programs arguably beat decades ago.
Minneapolis airport just got a new Priority Pass lounge that’s got 17 gaming stations and an Italian robot bartender — and because it is treated as a lounge rather than an “experience,” Amex Platinum, Bilt and Capital One Priority Pass members should be able to use it too.
Hyatt held its investor day on Thursday and they shared that they are “targeting Germany and Spain” for cobrand credit cards and that they’re looking at the UK, Japan, and Mexico markets for cards as well.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford says Trump’s first air traffic control modernization push was “hijacked” into a privatization debate by airlines — but Trump himself explicitly proposed moving ATC into a self-financing nonprofit. Bedford’s Airlines Confidential interview reveals a broader problem: the FAA wants more central control over airline schedules while still running, regulating, and excusing the system whose failures it is supposed to fix.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn exploded during a launch pad test before an Amazon Leo satellite mission. Amazon’s airline Wi-Fi plan depends on getting thousands of satellites into orbit fast, and losing New Glenn launch capacity removes precious slack while Starlink-equipped rivals race ahead.
Delta’s reliability problems are showing up where they can least afford them: New York–Los Angeles, the premium transcon route packed with business travelers and high-profile customers. An internal note to pilots asks them to help make up for increased delays and plunging net promoter scores among customers by making extra efforts at communication during disruptions.
Italy’s top court says a five-star hotel can refuse free tap water and offer $8 bottled water instead. Also: American blocks close-in partner saver awards, Amadeus gets fined over traveler profiling, Qantas adds Philippine Airlines, and Bilt adds Mindbody fitness bookings.
Southwest’s CEO is now openly talking about first class, airport lounges, and long-haul international flying — the very things the airline spent decades not being. The reason is ncredit card economics. Aspirational destinations, premium products, and lounges will drive Chase cardholders spending, including on a new premium card product..
A passenger denied boarding at Manchester Airport after urinating on himself turned the refund fight into a livestreamed bridge standoff, shutting down access to Terminal 2 while demanding £2,700 back for his missed Jamaica trip. Police eventually brought cash to the scene — and then arrested him anyway
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom says the airline has caught up at selling first class upgrades instead of giving them away. That may be good merchandising, but it guts the core value of elite status: if American will sell the seat for $40, the customer spending tens of thousands chasing upgrades is being told exactly where they stand.
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 »
