A Delta passenger brought a “skunk” through TSA in Los Angeles, where officers reportedly laughed at the sight. Hours later it showed up in a first class seat on the flight to Minneapolis—and then the owner explained what it really was.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is being sued by JPMorgan Chase over an unpaid United MileagePlus credit card balance of $11,078—after 17 months without a payment. If the allegation sounds familiar, it’s because the same mix of arrogance and mismanagement defined her time in office.
More stories in this roundup: A leaked rendering of Delta’s forthcoming Airbus A350-1000 business class suite is making the rounds, posted by JonNYC. Plus: Disney just pulled a key hotel perk, United is selling $7 Polaris Therabody kits, Capital One has a 15% LifeMiles transfer bonus, and American’s new menus (including a $13 chicken salad-and-Boursin wrap) are on the way.
An email says Turkish Airlines has placed an aviation journalist on its internal no-fly list for six months, citing his articles and social media posts as the reason. The move has sparked a backlash over whether airlines should be able to bar critics from flying based on what they publish.
Everyone debates which credit card is “best,” but most people are solving the wrong problem. This simple framework cuts through the noise, showing how to decide which card actually fits your spending, benefits, and goals.
Victoria, Texas is offering residents $100 to book a roundtrip flight from the local airport—an effort to prop up lightly used United regional service to Houston that already draws nearly $7 million in federal subsidy. It’s a perfect snapshot of how the Essential Air Service program has evolved from a “temporary” deregulation bridge into a permanent, growing entitlement—often funding near-empty flights even when bigger airports are a short drive away.
United and American are bringing Embraer E175 service to Carlsbad, and the local response is the most California thing imaginable: lawsuits demanding a land-use veto and CEQA review. Federal law makes it nearly impossible to block airline service at a public use airport, but that won’t stop activists and city hall from making it expensive and annoying anyway.
Lisa Vanderpump posted from Miami after a 12-hour American Airlines delay, saying she was deplaned multiple times due to mechanical issues. The irony of the star flying American and suffering like everyone else was not lost on the internet.
Allegiant is buying Sun Country for $1.5 billion, betting it can sell across both airlines’ route networks and smooth out the seasonality that whipsaws leisure demand. The logic is simple—but integrating fleets, work groups, and operations is where mergers get expensive and blow up.
Two coach passengers reportedly sat down in first class on an American Airlines flight departing Miami and refused to move. Airport police were called, and the women were escorted out of the gate area in cuffs—caught on video.
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 »
