A United Polaris passenger says he opened freshly packed bedding on a San Francisco–Tokyo flight and touched dried feces—then spent nine more hours in the same seat because the cabin was full.
A couple flying to Las Vegas to elope wound up married at 35,000 feet by an ordained Southwest pilot, with 178 strangers watching and a toilet-paper dress and coffee-stirrer bouquet supplied by the crew.
Sean Duffy’s long-delayed family road-trip series is finally online, complete with Trump cameos and sponsor placement paid for by companies his department regulates. It looks less like tourism promotion than a corporate-funded vehicle for the Duffy family brand—and for the Transportation Secretary’s extraordinary public flattery of the President.
A United pilot allegedly recorded a flight attendant during layovers, posted her intimate images online for seven years and stalked her after their relationship ended. A federal judge dismissed most of her claims against United Airlines, but ruled that the carrier may be liable for allegedly doing nothing for months after police warned its corporate security department.
Members can now redeem Bilt Cash 1:1 for Blacklane ride credits—up to $150 annually for Platinum, $100 for Gold and $50 for Blue or Silver—while earning points on remaining spend. Pay with Citi Strata Elite and its $100 semiannual Blacklane credit stacks.
The Eleventh Circuit vacated DOT’s order breaking up Delta and Aeromexico, finding the agency narrowed its competition analysis and applied an Open Skies rule it ignored at Tokyo Haneda. The partnership survives, but DOT can still try again.
Britain will use Google’s artificial intelligence to reroute hundreds of transatlantic flights around warming contrails—a £5 million test that may accomplish far more for both aviation and the environment than subsidized sustainable aviation fuel.
United is expected to unveil 2027 routes at a Newark hangar event Tuesday, where Scott Kirby will also show off the airline’s first Airbus A321XLR. Denver and Los Angeles have both been tipped for new international service.
Elon Musk warned Delta that passing on Starlink would cost it customers, and travelers now say they’re booking other airlines for better inflight Wi-Fi. Plus: United welcomes a new million-miler, a plane drives down a Florida road, Citi-linked Admirals Club passes beat no-day-pass signs, and a Southwest passenger puts a bare foot atop the seat ahead.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian says artificial intelligence could increase profits 50%. The airline’s plans point toward fewer office jobs, automated decisions and different fares for individual passengers.
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 »
