A new all-business-class airline backed by Maldives-based beOnd is still promising an October 2026 U.S. launch, even after its announced U.S. partner shut down and key financing hasn’t been nailed down. They’re talking franchise structures, Saudi and U.S. bases, Hawaii and premium leisure routes – but with ultra-high costs, no frequent flyer base, and a shaky execution record, actually pulling this off as a scheduled airline looks like a serious long shot.
Instacart isn’t just marking up groceries — it’s running quiet tests to see how much more it can charge different shoppers for the exact same items, potentially adding up to hundreds of dollars a year. Plus airlines forcing gate checks with empty bins, Austin paying subsidies to Southwest, and American’s spin on a reduced wheelchair fine.
A Frontier Airlines flight attendant turned boarding into a cabin lockdown, announcing that someone had smuggled a dog onboard and telling passengers to “snitch on your neighbor” until the hidden pet was found. Instead of quietly fixing a policy problem, the airline effectively deputized a full plane of customers to police each other.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has been boasting that American is “bleeding” $800 million a year in Chicago — but leaked internal figures tell a very different story. They put American’s fully allocated loss at roughly $70 million in just one quarter, a big number but nowhere near Kirby’s claim.
Boom Supersonic is now selling 42 megawatt natural gas turbines to power AI data centers, starting with a billion-dollar, 1.21 gigawatt order from Crusoe. They say the profit will self-fund their Symphony engine and Overture jet — but the economics and execution risk still look like a long shot.
Amex has reloaded its Business Platinum with a 200,000-point bonus and richer perks across travel, hotels, and credits. Even with an $895 annual fee, the math still makes it a no-brainer for frequent travelers.
American Airlines is using a new system that will actually hold tight connections for late-arriving passengers when it won’t wreck the rest of the operation — and it now pushes alerts telling you exactly how long your flight will wait. Here’s how it works, how it compares to United’s ConnectionSaver, and what it means for anyone booking those brutal 25–30 minute connections through Charlotte, and Phoenix.
A Delta passenger boarded his Las Vegas flight handing out $100 bills and Ghirardelli candy to the crew — all while filming himself for social media. The internet loved the generosity but hated the performance, and this raises a better question: how should you actually thank flight attendants without crossing lines or creating ethics problems?
I spent Zorkfest weekend based at M Resort off the Las Vegas Strip, where the rooms were huge, the property was spotless, and the comps and pricing beat what you usually see on the Strip. In this post I walk through the new tower suite, what makes an off-strip stay work (and not work), and why a Five Guys with boozy shakes ended up as one of the most Vegas things I did.
RFK Jr and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy flew into National to scold airports for serving “junk” to travelers, then pivoted to a pull-up competition while ignoring why terminal concessions are so bad in the first place.
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 »
