Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for May 2015.

Actor Jeremy Piven Shows Us Why Long Tarmac Delays are Still a Problem – and Why They Aren’t the Airlines’ Fault

by Gary Leff

May 09 2015

We blame the airlines for long tarmac delays, when most of the time the drivers are bad weather and airport constraints or government constraints like security or immigration. Entourage’s Jeremy Piven flew British Airways from London, headed for New York JFK, but his flight was diverted due to weather to Philadelphia. He was on BA183, the 8:05pm departure from London, scheduled into New York at 10:45pm. They wouldn’t let passengers off the plane when it landed in Philadelphia because immigration facilities were closed. He shared the ordeal on Twitter. Surely forcing passengers to wait until the next morning for immigration to arrive is the wrong answer. And surely that’s not BA’s fault, either. The government will fine airlines for long tarmac delays, but airports need to be part of the solution and immigration and customs…

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Review: American 787 Business Class, and Which Seats You Want

by Gary Leff

May 08 2015

The American 787 business class is a gorgeous new product. They offer a fully flat bed, four seats across and all aisle access. Contrast that, for instance, with United which has six seats across rather than four so passengers in the window have someone to climb over. Having shared my story of the American Airlines inaugural Boeing 787 flights, I am circling back to talk about the seats and cabin. How is the seat? And more importantly which seat should you choose? I flew economy on the outbound from Dallas to Chicago, and then I flew in business class Chicago back to Dallas. Here I’m going to focus on the business class product, and will write a separate post on economy seating. Forward Versus Backward Facing Seats In my opinion the best seats are in…

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American’s New Entree Salads Really Are An Improvement

by Gary Leff

May 08 2015

At the beginning of April I reported that American Airlines would be bringing back entree salads as a lunch choice on flights between 2 hours 45 minutes (1000 miles) and 4.5 hours effective May 1. This was a popular offering prior to September when American and US Airways synced up their meal times, and moved their catering options closer to the US Airways standard. This was a very bad change. I was flying a ton of American domestic flights (with pretty much a 100% upgrade success rate) in April, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I wound up on a lunch flight with the new May catering. Here’s the salad, with goat cheese, apples, and nuts and a vinaigrette dressing. For dessert I was given a choice of a cheesecake or the cookie. And since…

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Starwood Now Offers Resort/Casino Elite Benefits in Las Vegas Plus Up to 40% Off Redemptions

by Gary Leff

May 07 2015

Shortly after Hyatt introduced a lucrative partnership with MGM hotels giving them a footprint in Las Vegas and members an option to earn and redeem points, earn elite status, and receive status benefits at casino resort properties Starwood introduced a more limited partnership with Caesars. You can earn up to 10 elite night credits per year with Caesars properties (but not stay credits) While there’s reciprocal earn and burn there wasn’t reciprocal elite recognition That’s now changed. Starwood Platinum members who are register for the SPG/Total Rewards partnership can sign up for VIP Access with Caesars. To sign up, show your Platinum card at the Total Rewards Center at Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace or The Cromwell in Las Vegas. Here are the benefits: VIP line access for hotel check-in VIP line access at participating restaurants…

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How Long Can You Hold It? American Flies New York to Chicago With No Working Lavatory

by Gary Leff

May 07 2015

In late April American flight 3215 operated by an Embraer E140 regional jet from Westchester, New York to Chicago O’Hare flew without a working lavatory. “The captain was apologetic, and furious, when he told the passengers that American couldn’t get maintenance to come out and fix the toilet,” said the passenger, whom the Tribune did not identify on her request. “The pilot said he wanted to wait, but they (the airline) told him to leave now or they would cancel the flight,” the passenger added. It turns out that the FAA requires lavatory access within two hours of a ground delay and to meet the needs of disabled passengers on widebodies. Beyond that operating without functional lavatories is at the discretion of the airline. In this case American viewed the options as: Cancelling the flight…

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