First class upgrades were once the reason to chase top-tier airline status. But with American selling those seats instead of clearing elites, and Southwest adding extra legroom, lounges, and likely a premium card, my loyalty math from Austin may be changing: mid-tier American status could be enough, while Southwest may become harder to ignore.
American Airlines is charging $30 for what may be the worst seat on the plane: a last-row middle seat by the bathrooms. The only reason to consider paying is not comfort — it is that skipping advance seat assignment can leave basic economy passengers more exposed if an oversold flight turns into a bumping situation.
Scott Kirby once made his reputation as the spreadsheet-driven airline executive who cut product spending and waited years to add Wi-Fi. Now the United CEO says better wine, seatback screens, Starlink and hundreds of small investments are exactly how an airline builds a brand customers choose.
United Flight 2005 from Chicago to Minneapolis diverted to Madison after pilots declared a Level 4 threat when a Russian passenger allegedly threatened people onboard and charged the cockpit door. Off-duty law enforcement helped subdue him before landing, where police took him into custody.
“Your mother didn’t raise you right.” A woman on an American Airlines flight tried to deplane at Charlotte, moving toward the front of the aircraft and shoving herself past other customers while passengers were still waiting to deplane. The aircraft door apparently is even not open yet. She wants to move forward. Two passengers challenge her cutting the line to get off the aircraft and things get worse when she argues.
Air France charged a passenger $583 at Paris Charles de Gaulle because its records claimed he skipped his outbound flight — even though he says he was onboard and has selfies, the boarding pass, airport receipts, and a KLM delay email to show it. Air France and KLM keep trusting the bad record over the evidence, which means the fastest fix may be to go full GDPR and force them to correct the underlying data.
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.
Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges are adding Friday sweets this summer — dirty sodas, made-to-order sundaes, and ice cream sandwiches — a small but telling sign of how much airline lounges have changed as credit cards, premium travel, and leisure passengers reshape the business.
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.
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 »
