British Airways already charged some of the highest cash surcharges in the award world. Now it is raising the cash element on Avios redemptions by as much as 33%, while giving members almost no detail beyond a few London-origin examples — because apparently paying hundreds of dollars on top of your points still was not enough.
Marriott elite upgrades are supposed to be a loyalty benefit. But hotels are increasingly turning better rooms and suites into auctions, asking even top-tier members to bid for upgrades they expected to receive free — and warning that dozens of other guests may already be competing for the same rooms.
Airlines are forcing passengers to check carry-ons because overhead bins are supposedly full — only for them to board and find empty space. Plus: Dulles becomes the focus of U.S. Ebola screening, TSA marijuana headlines overstate what changed, and the Hamptons gets a $150 Popeyes chicken tender tower.
Philadelphia’s tiny Centurion Lounge may finally be getting the expansion it desperately needs. A document describing an Amex PHL lounge extending into lower-level space — matching reports that American Express is taking over the British Airways lounge below.
A United flight from Newark to Guatemala City diverted to Washington Dulles after a passenger tried to open a rear cabin door at cruising altitude and then assaulted another traveler, according to air traffic control audio. The door could not actually open at 36,000 feet — but the behavior was serious enough to send the 737 MAX off course.
Frontier says its online booking fee is optional because passengers can avoid it by buying tickets at the airport. But when customers actually show up at the airport, Frontier has told DOT it charges a $25 booking fee there too — turning a tax-arbitrage trick into something that looks to me like fraud.
DHS officials reportedly told airline leaders last week that they are serious about pulling Customs officers from airports tied to sanctuary cities after the World Cup. That would not just punish local politicians — it could cripple international flights at JFK, LAX, O’Hare, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Newark and more, hitting lawful travelers, cargo, airlines and the national economy.
Spirit’s March operating report shows just how impossible the airline had become: it spent $1.61 for every $1 of revenue, lost $157 million on operations in one month, and still would have been deeply underwater even if fuel had been free. They could not have been bailed out.
Delta SkyMiles has been underdelivering for a quarter century, and somehow customers kept swiping the cards anyway. But when someone with 2 million miles says she still has to pay retail to get to France, you have to ask whether the “SkyPesos” problem is finally becoming obvious to normal people.
A federal civil rights official complaining about an airport sandwich is funny. A $25.60 cold turkey sandwich at Burbank is ridiculous. But the real issue is the airport’s own pricing rules and whether they’re supposed to prevent exactly this kind of gouging in the first place.
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 »
