This Dad Is A Vacation Hero — Sprinting For Pool Chairs So His Family Can Actually Relax

by Gary Leff

Mar 19 2026

A dad sprinting from lounger to lounger to claim pool chairs for his family has become a kind of folk hero of the resort vacation — because too many hotels now make “relaxation” feel like a competitive sport. At some properties, guests line up before dawn, race to the pool when gates open, or even sleep overnight on beach chairs just to secure a spot for the day. That is exactly why I try to avoid what I think of as ‘resort factories.’ Once a vacation requires early alarms, towel strategy, and a run for scarce lounge chairs, the hotel has already failed at the basic job of making guests feel at ease. If you have to get down to the beach or pool before 8 a.m. to have any hope of getting a chair,…

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American Airlines Blundered New York, LA, And Chicago — Ex-CEO Doug Parker Explains The Credit Card Math Mistake Behind It

by Gary Leff

Mar 19 2026

American Airlines did not just lose ground in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago because competition got tougher. Former CEO Doug Parker’s own explanation of route profitability helps reveal a deeper mistake: the airline treated credit card revenue like generic redemption revenue, instead of tying it to the markets and flights that actually made customers choose AAdvantage cards in the first place.

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American Airlines CEO Just Promised AAdvantage Miles Will Stay More Valuable Than Rivals

by Gary Leff

Mar 19 2026

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom just gave investors an unusually direct promise about AAdvantage: he said the airline intends to keep its miles more valuable for travel than competing programs. That matters because loyalty is American’s biggest profit engine, and Isom is effectively arguing that the airline will grow credit card revenue by making AAdvantage more attractive to customers — not by gutting redemption value.

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Delta Flight 69 To Taipei Diverted After Passenger Used The N-Word And Threatened To Whoop A Flight Attendant

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2026

Delta Flight 69 from Seattle to Taipei was forced to divert to Anchorage after a passenger allegedly grabbed a flight attendant, used the N-word, and threatened to beat him up after landing. What began as an argument over whether a lavatory was occupied escalated into a level-three onboard disturbance serious enough to lock down the cockpit, divert an Airbus A350 heavy with fuel, and end with the passenger in federal custody.

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Where Does Federal Law End On An Airline Trip And State Law Begin? JetBlue Just Lost An Important Test

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2026

JetBlue just lost an early fight in a case testing where federal aviation law ends and state negligence law begins. A judge let a passenger’s claims move forward after she said she was injured while getting off a flight, keeping alive the argument that once a plane reaches the gate and deplaning begins, airlines may no longer be protected by an exclusively federal standard.

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American Airlines Hits Back At United CEO Scott Kirby’s Billion Dollar Loss Claim — Chicago O’Hare Makes Money

by Gary Leff

Mar 18 2026

For months, United CEO Scott Kirby has been publicly portraying American Airlines as a huge money loser in Chicago, framing O’Hare as a battleground his airline could dominate. Now American’s CFO is finally answering back — and his argument is that Kirby is using the wrong profit measure, because by the metrics that actually drive decisions, Chicago O’Hare is not a drag on the airline at all.

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