American Express is opening a new lounge at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport that has not been publicly announced, with travelers spotting “American Express Lounge Coming Soon” signage in the terminal. The location is especially notable because it appears to be at Hongqiao rather than Pudong, pointing to a strategy focused on premium short-haul business traffic in China rather than primarly international travelers – or Americans.
Canadian politicians are calling for Air Canadas CEO to be fired because his condolence message after the LaGuardia tragedy was recorded in English, despite French subtitles. Delta adds more Los Angeles–Florida flying, American closes its Washington National D concourse Admirals Club for renovation, and JonNYC hints American may copy Uniteds upgraded small regional jet strategy.
As long airport security lines continue to frustrate travelers, one man has turned the chaos into a business by standing in line for you and selling the spot. His asking price runs from $600 to $1,200, essentially creating a black-market version of paid airport fast-track services.
United Airlines is introducing a new coach product next year that turns a row of three economy seats into a bed-like space with leg rests, extra bedding, and family-focused amenities. The new Relax Row gives United a fresh upsell between standard economy and Premium Plus, and brings the Air New Zealand Skycouch concept to a North American airline.
United Airlines will launch international service on its new Boeing 787-9 on April 22, starting with San Francisco to Singapore. The aircraft introduces doored business class suites and a new premium upsell that adds more space, caviar, and extra service at the very front of the cabin.
United is taking one of the most disliked aircraft in U.S. aviation, the 50-seat CRJ200, stripping it down to 41 seats, adding first class, a luggage closet, and free Starlink Wi-Fi, and rebranding it as the new CRJ450. It is a real upgrade over today’s cramped regional flying, but not a substitute for mainline (or even a larger regional jet).
United is finally replacing its aging Boeing 757s on thinner long-haul flying, turning to Airbus A321XLRs with more premium seats and lower trip costs instead of risking a widebody, betting smaller transatlantic and South America routes can work if enough travelers are willing to pay higher fares for a premium product.
United Airlines is revamping its premium cross country product using Airbus A321neos. They’re dubbing this dedicated fleet the ‘Coastliner’. It’s a refresh of p.s. on the Newark – Los Angeles and San Francisco routes, and eventually JFK as well once they gain access through their JetBlue partnership in 2027. Lie flat business class suites Premium economy Snack bar Polaris lounge access for business class passengers These planes will feature 20 Polaris suites, 12 Premium Plus seats, and 129 economy seats. Seats are removed for a snack bar in back. The first aircraft enter service this summer, with 40 of 50 flying by early 2028. United sees this as an upgrade over a mix of 757s and widebodies, though that remains to be seen since business class is a dense herringbone seat facing away from the…
United just warned that higher fuel prices will force it to trim planned flying, then unveiled a huge fleet plan built around more premium-heavy aircraft and interiors anyway. That is a clear statement of belief: even with oil risk and weaker flying elsewhere, the airline thinks premium demand, lounge access, loyalty, and newer aircraft are durable enough to keep investing hard.
American Airlines returned a checked bag missing a wheel, and the dispute gets at a bigger problem in air travel: airlines routinely lean on “normal wear and tear” to avoid paying damaged baggage claims. The Department of Transportation has warned carriers they cannot simply exclude wheels, handles, and other protruding parts across the board — but in practice, that does not stop airlines from treating almost every broken bag the same way.
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 »
