Monthly Archives for March 2024.
Instead of something like ‘I’ve got explosives in my pants,’ he might have tried out “are you a runway? Because my heart is ready to take off every time I see you” or “is this the boarding gate to your heart? Because I’ve got a first-class ticket.”
While the man might have gotten slapped, at least he wouldn’t have been arrested!
The customs forms for 1,966 cartons said they were nail clippers and pet grooming supplies. Anyone who opened up the cartons were supposed to just be scared off by the preserved rattlesnakes inside, I guess, though it seems like that would be at least a paperwork violation once found.
Hidden inside – the rattlesnakes were just a decoy – were duck intestines from China.
An Air Canada Boeing 777 was struck by lightning as it departed Vancouver and continued to London’s Heathrow airport. It was inspected on arrival. Video of the strike happening is impressive!
Chase’s Washington Dulles airport lounge is now open. It’s been redesigned as a Chase Sapphire Lounge, in the old Etihad Airways lounge space, and still hosts Etihad premium passengers for their once daily flight as well.
During a holiday stay at the Venetian in Las Vegas, a visitor from California woke up during the night in pain. The hotel guest reported being stung by a scorpion directly on his testicles as he slept. He said it felt like “sharp glass or a knife” in his genital area. And there was a scorpion attached to his underwear.
There’s a lot of confusion over taxes and fees when flying from London, because there are so many of them. European and British airlines like British Airways add fuel surcharges or ‘carrier-imposed surcharges’ onto tickets. These are extra fees for no particular reason, that are quoted as part of the total price when buying a ticket for cash. They are extra fees collected on top of your miles when you redeem points, making them even worse.
While the Airbus A321XLR is still in the future – the aircraft hasn’t been certified yet, so Airbus can’t deliver any – American is beginning the process of switching its existing fleet of A321T planes into the standard, less luxurious configuration.
The onlooker flagged down a flight attendant, asking to at least be able to change seats. She “looked over at them, said it didn’t look like they were doing anything to her” and told him that he couldn’ be moved – that if it bothered him she should “just ignore them, it’s a short flight.”
That’s when he began filming. He showed the video to another flight attendant, who was shocked – not at the behavior of the passengers in congress – that he recorded them.
Delta Air Lines has moved to spending only as a metric for earning status. And they’re considering no longer awarding full credit for your spending, unless you buy more expensive fares. That’s one lesson of a new product survey they’re sending to frequent flyers that helps them sort through how much extra customers will pay to earn qualifying dollars.
Other ideas being tested include bringing back change fees unless customers buy up to a more expensive fare and return of fees for getting help from reservations, with free assistance via chat features only.
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.
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 »
