Monthly Archives for May 2024.
British Airways and JetBlue have filed with the Department of Transportation to codeshare. And BA’s transatlantic business suffers from American Airlines weakness with corporate accounts in cities like New York and Boston.
On Monday Singapore Airlines flight 321 from London Heathrow to Singapore experienced severe turbulence, causing injuries to passengers and crew and one passenger even died. The flight diverted to Bangkok to provide medical care. Since then, and this is very much a secondary story, the response from Singapore Airlines has been exemplary.
The best value at Southwest Airlines is the Companion Pass, where you can bring someone with you on all of your trips for just the cost of taxes. This is normally earned through a year’s worth of travel, credit card bonuses and spend and hotel bookings. But Southwest has also offered it on a promotional basis. Recently they’ve offered a Companion Pass to use for a limited time after taking just a single roundtrip as a way to goose business during a slow period, and making it available to use during another anticipated slow period. It’s something we’ve seen at least three times. Now, Southwest has a twist on the offer where that single roundtrip must be to a specific destination: Hawaii. Register then purchase two one ways or one roundtrip by May 24, 2024…
Southwest Airlines famously doesn’t show up when searching online travel agency websites. Historically if you’ve wanted to buy a ticket on Southwest, you’ve had to go directly to Southwest to make the purchase. But desperation and new government regulations appear to be changing all of that.
There’s an old saying about there being just two kinds of luggage, carry-on and lost. That’s not true. The third kind is damaged.
The economics of airport lounges are explored, highlighting access methods, construction costs, profitability, and the impact of credit cards and airline strategies on the competitive landscape.
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.
A Ryanair passenger at Palma de Mallorca Airport was caught on video ripping the wheels off his carry-on bag to make it fit in the airline’s sizer and avoid fees, while fellow travelers applauded his sticking it to the man.
As the man named Daniel prepared to board his flight to Malaga, Spain he was told that his red suitcase exceeded the airline’s carry-on size limits. To bring it onboard, he would have to pay an additional US$76. He thought that was unreasonable – so he took matters into his own hands.
Back in September an American Airlines flight attendant was accused of filming a teen girl passenger in the lavatory using a hidden camera on a American’s flight 1441 from Charlotte to Boston.
It turns out this wasn’t the first or even second time he’d done this. According to the FBI, which searched the crewmember’s iCloud accont, he’d “recorded a minor using the bathroom on a plane” four times already in 2023 before he was caught, capturing children “7, 9, 11 and 14 years old” on video. The Bureau also reportedly found several hundred “AI-generated child pornography images.”
Flight Attendants voted to authorize a strike with nearly 99.5% casting a ballot in favor back in August. The union asked the National Mediation Board to declare an impasse in the fall, hoping to be allowed to strike over the peak Christmas holiday. This was denied. Subsequent requests haven’t received a formal answer.
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 »
