Monthly Archives for June 2023.
Emirates flight 176 from St. Petersburg, Russia to Dubai caught fire while still on the ground prior to departure. It’s being reported that the fire was in an engine of the Boeing 777, and that passengers were evacuated. The flight currently shows a 3 a.m. estimated departure time, four hours late, but that seems.. optimistic?
Judging from video of the incident I’d have to speculate that it’s not one of the plane’s engines but its auxiliary power unit.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby himself gave up trying to fly United when he needed to go from their Newark hub to their hub at Denver. He flew private out of Teterboro.
The airline says that United “did not pay for his flight.” However Kirby apologizes for abandoning solidarity with his employees and customers trying to get through the morass.
An interesting twitter thread asks for the ‘cheapest thing you do’ and a business broker makes the claim that “points cards” for hotel chains “usually give you lobby privileges.” That’s simply not true, although people use hotel lobbies for meetings and to work all the time having nothing to do with their loyalty program memberships or co-brand rewards cards.
United Airlines sells a burger in coach that’s hugely controversial. Some passengers swear by it, and think it’s the best $10 they could ever spend in coach. They’ll even order it up in premium cabins. I wonder if that’s more a matter of individual taste than a statement of quality.
In mid-May United started offering a first class burger, and trying something bold: serving fries with it. That may be a traditional pairing, but it’s something tough to do as a re-heat on board.
A premium offering in Admirals Clubs or several years has been guacamole and chips, but that’s available not because American is willing to make that (very modest) investment but because the credit card that offers club membership is a Mastercard and Mastercard pays for the avocados.
If you want chicken nuggets inside an Admirals Club, they have those! But they’ll charge you for it. Indeed, they’ll overcharge you for it.
A Minneapolis – St. Paul airport employee has been caught recording passengers in men’s bathroom stalls, and charged with “11 gross-misdemeanor counts of interference with privacy.” He’s apparently been doing it since back in February. Another employee noticed the concessions staffer trying to take pictures of him from underneath the stall in the gate E2 bathroom – and went to police. The suspected admitted that he’d been taking videos inside of bathrooms for months. His cell phone had 143 bathroom videos taken between August 11, 2022 and February 14, 2013 showing males “at various stages using the bathroom.” Still photos were also found from inside bathroom stalls, and of airport video surveillance footage of a male passenger “with low pants exposing his [buttocks].” Airports have cameras everywhere and numerous law enforcement agencies on site, making…
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.
The National Mediation Board’s purpose is to avoid disruption in transportation so they do not have to immediately grant a request for release from negotiations. They can keep the parties at the bargaining table.
A senior citizen – an Airbnb Superhost himself – booked a house for 8 siblings to stay in for their brother’s funeral. A total of 5 of them actually stayed at the property. Over the course of the week several people came over to pay condolences and care for the family.
Flight attendants union head Sara Nelson took to social media to claim that United Airlines flight attendants are being forced to sleep on cots in the airport amidst disruptions. But the photo she shares doesn’t appear to support that allegation.
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 »
