An internal American Airlines document says customers can now book online up to 331 days in advance, with the longer window currently shown to 50% of customers as it rolls out. The same doc also claims a real quality-of-life improvement: in most cases, prepaid checked bags can now transfer if travel plans change, making it easier to pay for bags online without worrying you’ll lose the purchase if you rebook.
TSA is sending ICE airline passenger lists multiple times a week, running everyone who flies through an immigration-enforcement match using the Secure Flight pipeline that was built for aviation security. It turns airports into chokepoints for law enforcement: broad roster surveillance first, detain-and-sort-out-later in the terminal, and a structure that invites mission creep beyond immigration.
A SkyWest labor battle just swerved into “computer fraud” territory. A federal judge let a conspiracy theory under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act move forward against AFA-CWA.
American’s new Airbus A321XLR enters service this week on JFK–Los Angeles, bringing its new premium-heavy cabin to the airline’s flagship transcon run. An insider report says JFK–San Francisco is next, with the A321XLR expected to begin flying that route in the spring as American starts replacing the A321T on premium cross-country routes ahead of its longer-haul missions to Europe and South America.
A low-cost carrier passenger got called out at the gate for a carry-on that was just a bit too big, and instead of paying to check it he ripped the wheels off on the spot. The bag technically makes it into the gate sizer — but then he struggles to pull it back out, turning a fee-avoidance “hack” into a perfect live demo of why these rules drive people insane.
News and notes from around the interweb: Hilary Swank freaks out on family at LAX doing Make-a-Wish trip, because she thought they were tasking her picture and maybe they were? My daughter had her first Etihad First Apartment trips at age 4. It had to wait until then because they’d grounded their Airbus A380s during the pandemic. But by that age she was fine in her own enclosed suite (and flying back-to-back long haul, Austin – London Heathrow – Abu Dhabi). At age 3 she would probably have been fine, but I was much more comfortable in more open settings like British Airways club suite and business class on United, Air Canada, Air France, KLM et al. It took me my whole life to sit in first class. She did it before kindergarten pic.twitter.com/hTARKa0wqM —…
Four premium cards, all with $600+ annual fees, might sound crazy — but they more than pay for themselves. Between stacked credits, lounge access, and reward strategies, here’s exactly how I turn those fees into profit every year.
A viral video shows airport security using a handheld wand and patting down a baby while the parent holds them during secondary screening. Once you accept blanket screening powers, officials argue they can’t exempt infants without creating an obvious hiding place — but a truly risk-based system would treat this as a vanishingly small aviation threat, not something worth normalizing.
United flight attendants haven’t had a raise in five years, and 71% voted down a union-backed contract many saw as inadequate. Now, as talks resume, United is putting a major flashpoint back on the table: algorithm-assigned work schedules that replace traditional trip picking with “preference bidding,” a system crews say is opaque and strips them of control.
A gay Catholic United Airlines flight attendant was fired for his tweets online. He argued he was singled out and treated separately due to his specific viewpoints. His union agreed, but refused to defend him – also, he says, because they disagreed with his views. Tiwtter funded the lawsuit, and he’s gotten a settlement.
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 »
