A passenger at an airport gate in 2026 wore a helmet and mask, and the internet reacted like someone had proposed bringing back federal mandates. But if nobody else is being forced to wear one, the outrage says less about PPE than about what the mask fight was really about.
Oakland airport can call itself “San Francisco Bay” after settling with SFO — but only if Oakland comes first, with no slash, no hyphen, and no SFO keyword games. Also: Newark’s “I Love New York” shirts inspire a tax-credit fight, Richmond airport courts a Capital One lounge, a United pilot gets dragged into “8647” politics, and American’s O’Hare gate win gets new FOIA receipts.
A United passenger tried to move ahead during deplaning, got blocked, and then posted her own profanity-filled argument as if it would prove she was right. Instead, the video turned into a deplaning etiquette referendum: wait your turn, move only when there is a clean opening, and do not make your case by screaming around kids.
Bilt’s 100% Rent Day transfer bonus was good enough for me to break my usual rule against speculative transfers: I moved 100,000 Bilt points to British Airways with no trip booked. The cap changes the math, I know I’ll use Avios, and I’m earning Bilt points fast enough now that keeping every point flexible no longer makes sense.
Chase Sapphire Reserve now has a record 150,000-point bonus, but the bigger story is that this is still a premium travel card built for actual spending. With strong earning on direct travel and dining, useful protections, valuable transfer partners, and better-than-usual lounge access, the $795 card is not just another coupon book with a big intro offer.
Sixty five United passengers alleged antisemitic abuse after their Tel Aviv flight was diverted back to Newark, including claims that crew blamed “the Jews” and that passengers were held for hours with little help. But because this was an international flight, the court never reached whether the allegations were true — the Montreal Convention barred the claims before the facts mattered.
British Airways already angered elite members by moving to a revenue-based status program that makes qualification much harder. Then it told some customers they had been renewed after all — only to reverse course, downgrade them anyway, and offer nothing for the mistake.
Delta is dropping coach drink service entirely on flights under 350 miles starting May 19, even as United and American still serve drinks on similar short hops. The airline is restoring full beverage service on some longer short flights, but for hundreds of shorter ones Delta will now be less generous than the rivals it likes to position itself above.
A New York hotel guest says kids pulled a fire alarm, banged on doors yelling “fire,” and sprayed people with fire extinguishers when they opened up. They report that the fire department says this is happening citywide. Even if it’s rare, treat an alarm seriously, but do not open your hotel room door blindly.
American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper told employees that rivals backfilled hub traffic in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Miami that “should be ours” — and that American is going back to take it. The strategy is not just more seats: it is more premium revenue, better customer experience, faster AAdvantage growth, and a renewed fight in markets where Delta, United and Southwest moved in while American pulled back.
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 »
