Monthly Archives for July 2024.
Surprising absolutely no one, Paris airport worker unions have announced a strike to begin days before the Summer Olympics there. Starting July 17, these strikes come in advance of the July 26 Olympics start date, and demand an “Olympics bonus” for all workers from the government-controlled company that operates both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
I purchased miles with this offer last November. A 125% bonus was a no brainer for me and the only question was how big to go. Max out?
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.
When passengers on United Airlines 1996 first landed they weren’t in Puerto Rico. They were in Charlotte. One of the travelers on board suffered a medical emergency and the airline landed as quickly as they could. Everyone waited on board while that was addressed, and then they took off again… for Orlando.
An airport lounge is supposed to be a place to refuge from the terminal. You have a quiet place to wait, some food and a place to for a complimentary drink. It’s not supposed to be a place where you get shaken down but several reports are that this is happening at United Clubs.
The pilot of British Airways flight 501 from Lisbon to London Heathrow reports being struck by lightning while on approach to the airport on Sunday.
He describes lightning having “entered [the aircraft] just underneath the flight deck” and says that it left via the aircraft’s tail. “We saw it shoot through the cabin” – something he’d only heard about in stories and never seen before “in real life.”
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.
Probably the most misunderstood thing in all of aviation is speed tape. Passengers see what looks like ‘duct tape’ on their plane, and they worry whether it will hold together. The plane doesn’t look safe and first impressions over safety matter right now with aviation safety top of mind given the issues we’ve seen with the Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug, air traffic control mishaps, and pilot error over the past year and a half.
A passenger on Friday’s Delta flight 1245 from Boston to West Palm Beach shared a photo of a flight attendant wearing a Palestine flag pin. This has seemed to be more common among Delta employees than other airlines. It violates their uniform standards but they also haven’t spoken to enforcing those – whether because they want to avoid controversy amongst cabin crew during a unionization drive, or out of fear they would alienate customers at their Detroit hub.
It’s always American Airlines or Spirit. At LAX on Saturday around 6 a.m. it was American.
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 »
