American Airlines is joining the Starlink Wi-Fi race, but not across the whole airline. The carrier will begin installing Starlink on more than 500 narrowbody jets in 2027, making Airbus aircraft far more attractive while leaving much of the fleet — including widebodies with some of the worst Wi-Fi — behind.
While I write about lounges a lot, I didn’t always have access. In fact the first time I ever entered one as an adult, I snuck in. It was a United Airlines lounge back 24 years ago, and it’s part of my early travel educating me about what airport lounges were all about and why I wanted to use them. It’s also the story of my first international premium cabin award redemption, which I used to visit my family in Australia, so my ‘sneaking in’ holds extra significance to me.
Even a Nobel economist once got stumped by airport self-check-in, which says a lot about why travelers still want a human being to confirm they’re actually good to go. Also: Cathay turbulence sent passengers and crew to the hospital, Singapore Airlines is restricting business class award seat selection, and VPN users may be fair game for government surveillance.
A United Airlines captain reportedly gave one passenger 30 seconds to disable an antisemitic Wi-Fi hotspot name or face law enforcement when the Newark–Miami flight landed. The hotspot was not a bomb threat, but just an offensive slogan. However it could provoke confrontations with passengers which make it a security issue for the flight.
Southwest Airlines has never had airport lounges, but a new Austin permit suggests that is about to change sooner than expected. A 20,000-square-foot “Project Oasis” lounge buildout appears tied to Southwest and targets completion by March.
Park Hyatt Sydney and Park Hyatt Tokyo are classic city hotels, but Hyatt now lets them classify themselves as resorts — a designation that can let them dodge guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout for Globalists. That turns one of World of Hyatt’s most valuable elite benefits into something properties can sidestep at will.
I spent three hours in an American Airlines coach middle seat from Washington National to Dallas — and got two and a half hours of real work done. That should not feel revelatory, but after years of chasing upgrades and paying more for domestic first, it made me rethink when the extra space is actually worth the money.
Travel strips away the version of someone they perform on dates. Delays, bad hotel rooms, money decisions, tired mornings, service workers, bathroom habits, and long stretches of conversation show you how they actually move through the world — and whether they make life easier or harder.
Trains have a near-monopoly on cinematic romance, and Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise may be the best example of why. A plane can throw two strangers together, but it is much harder for a flight to create the same mix of freedom, wandering, and shared possibility that comes from stepping off in a city neither person expected to explore together.
JetBlue’s CEO was spotted onboard a Boston–Fort Lauderdale flight playing “Seat Bingo” with passengers and giving away free tickets — with two of the winners sitting in middle seats. The video is making the rounds again, and while it appears to be recycled, it’s still good to see JetBlue’s top executive making the flight feel a little more human.
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 »
