Monthly Archives for September 2022.
I find travel on Spirit to be a value but I am not likely to fly them in the next 3 months, and certainly not enough to requalify after the 3 month status match, so won’t pursue this myself – but several of you will find this helpful.
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.
Delta Air Lines is conducting a test boarding planes using two jet bridges at the same time. This way they can get twice as many passengers onto the aircraft at once, making the boarding process go faster.
If adopted, in the future this could mean a single jet bridge that splits off and then boards passengers through two different doors on the aircraft. For now they are using two gates next to each other to accomplish the feat. Since Cincinnati is a much smaller station for Delta than the hub it used to be, they have extra gate space to allow this kind of test.
American Airlines announced this morning that they’ll be moving to new business class suites with doors, putting more premium seats into planes, and eliminating their Flagship First Class product starting in 2024.
There’s speculation that migrants could be headed to President Biden’s home next, based on filed flight plans for one of the planes that was chartered for the Martha’s Vineyard trip.
Some progress may be on the way making it faster to submit passport renewals – moving those to an optional online system, which saves time in the mail and also should save time waiting for data to be entered upon receipt.
There’s a video going around about an Airbus A321 aircraft in Russia where nothing in the cockpit seems to work. Even the fuel pumps seem to be inoperative. This is being shared as an illustration of the effects of Western sanctions on aviation in Russia – that airlines can’t get parts for Airbus and Boeing planes, and so their fleets are falling apart.
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.
There’s a pretty ingenious new product that could be perfect for road warriors who find themselves frequently flying coach, especially on airlines without seat back entertainment. The Sip ‘n Clip solves two problems at once. Where do you put your drink, maybe your Starbucks, during takeoff and landing when your tray table has to be up (or if you don’t want it intruding into your space during the flight)? Do you really want to use the seat pocket, which is one of the dirtiest places on the aircraft? You’re stuck watching a show on your phone because the airline is too cheap to install screens, but where do you put the phone? The Sip ‘n Clip attaches to the tray table and is a cup holder and phone holder. It doesn’t really work as both…
The government makes it difficult to become a pilot. And the government pushes pilots out while they’re still able to work. This is done in the name of safety, but has little to do with safety.
Instead it is rent-seeking by pilots unions who want to limit the number of pilots. And they want to limit the ability of airlines to fill pilot jobs quickly. Both of those give them tremendous leverage in contract negotiations with airlines. When there aren’t enough pilots, pilots earn more money.
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 »
