Monthly Archives for October 2020.
On Monday evening Spirit Airlines flight NK2322 from Newark to San Juan broke out in a major fight throughout the cabin over a passenger not wearing a mask. What’s remarkable is the extent of the brawl, and that it happened upon landing in Puerto Rico, rather than prior to departure. The woman who wouldn’t wear a mask was ultimately tased by police who responded to the brawl.
A black woman wearing a hat deemed offensive was kicked off a Delta flight. Video of the incident is circulating widely in social media. The woman’s hat has ‘the F-word’ on it to highlight the need for police reform.
Apparently a flight attendant asked the woman to remove her hat and she wouldn’t. And that’s when the captain got involved. He’s objecting to the hat she’s wearing, but the bigger problem seems to me that he isn’t wearing a mask.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Marriott announced that Free Night Awards that were originally supposed to expire in 2020 or that will expire before July 31, 2021, will have their expiration date extended to August 1, 2021. In addition Marriott had previously said they wouldn’t expire any points due to account inactivity until February 1, 2021. That’s been extended to August 1, 2021 as well.
A Lufthansa Group employee memo outlines plans for their airlines to “go into ‘winter mode’ hibernation” from mid-December through the end of February.
American Airlines Senior Vice President Vasu Raja explained that: “it used to be that 25% of the people that sat on our airplanes were AAdvantage elites… Today that number is about 15%.”
So how many people would make top status under ‘normal’ requirements this year? Raja says “there’s about 1000 customers out there who would qualify for Executive Platinum under our old rules. 40% to 50% of those were not our customer last year, they were [elites with another carrier].”
Countries are opening up to travel, but in many cases only where they can assure themselves the likelihood someone entering doesn’t have Covid-19. Some do testing on arrival. Others require tests prior to departure. Eventually we’ll likely see vaccination certificates as a condition of entry as well.
But what if people are faking their negative Covid tests where a predeparture test is required? In some cases that is apparently happening.
A new study purports to show 59 Covid-19 cases ‘linked’ to a single flight, but that’s somewhat misleading.
Inflight transmission seems to be rare, it certainly isn’t impossible, and someone with a high viral load and lots of shedding may overcome the best precautions. The virus might spread at security, in a lounge, at the gate area, or simply transiting the terminal. It could spread on the jetway as well. Flying is safe, but not totally safe. In many ways, just like going to the grocery store.
Travel to places where human rights aren’t fully respected entails risks. Those risks are on the rise in China for instance. I’ve enjoyed visiting Doha. The Museum of Islamic Art is absolutely worth the stop. But this incident certainly gives pause.
A London-based flight attendant who worked United Airlines flight UA15 from London Heathrow to Newark on Tuesday tested positive for Covid-19. That flight attendant quarantined at an airport hotel. Eight London crew were supposed to work United flight UA829 from Newark to Mumbai the next day. They were taken off that four-day trip. The next day, I’m told, four of the eight tried to deadhead back to London Heathrow the next day but the flight’s Captain refused to carry them as passengers. So they traveled back on Thursday. Others pass rode back to Europe.
I asked United why passengers from the flight weren’t notified of their exposure and why the other flight attendants were allowed to deadhead back to Heathrow rather than quarantining?
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 »
