Monthly Archives for January 2024.
Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger was captain pilot of US Airways flight 1549 which went down in a ditching in the Hudson River after a double bird strike. He was played by Tom Hanks in the eponymous film – the movie as a whole wasn’t very good but the entire thing was worth it for the flight sequence.
Now for the 15th anniversary of the flight, Sullenberger has narrated a “minute by minute replay” of what happened January 15, 2009.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal has outlined to employees the steps the airframe manufacturer plans to take to improve quality assurance in light of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 near-disaster that currently has that plane type grounded by regulators.
The TSA sends passengers through scanners to see beneath their clothing, but one woman was made to put on extra clothing before being allowed to be screened at airport security.
She was headed to Los Angeles, where wearing very little is de rigueur, and was told by screening staff that she was “exposing herself.”
Amidst days of disarray for Delhi flight operations due to fog, passengers are losing their minds. A man slapped the captain of an IndiGo flight. Hundreds of passengers have crowded check-in counters, while many yell at airline staff. And passengers sat down on the tarmac next to one plane to eat a meal during a 12 hour delay.
Over 1,000 IndiGo flights a day have been delayed for each of the last several days.
Customers were quick to flee Delta after the airline announced major changes to earning status and accessing its airport clubs. Loyalty Status Company CEO Mark Ross-Smith says that “100,000+ high-value frequent flyers did a Status Match in 2023” and that this was “[m]ainly driven by the Delta SkyMiles changes.”
What’s special about this is that copious award space is available throughout the month on Singapore Airlines – and that it’s not just for a seat or two, but much of the cabin. And while Singapore is discounting these seats 30%, they’re also available at a reasonable rate through Air Canada Aeroplan as well.
A flight from Beijing to Chengdu was delayed by three hours as a passenger demanded an upgrade. He’d purchased two business class seats and one in economy for his family, and believed he was entitled to a free upgrade once on board.
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 past time may once have been baseball. For Indiana it’s basketball. And with the upcoming NBA All Star Game just over a month away, the Indianapolis airport has installed a regulation basketball court in the center of its main lobby as well as other decorations throughout the passenger terminal.
Junior flight attendants often qualify for food stamps, while the most senior ones can work exhausting hours and turn the role into a six figure job – for as long as they can hold up.
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 »
