Why Your Gift Card Is Empty: $14 Million Fraud Ring Busted In Texas—How The Scheme Works [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

Jan 01 2026

News and notes from around the interweb: Latvians arrested in Texas in $14 million gift card fraud. If you ever wondered why the cards you buy and load somehow have no value when you go to use them…? ​The thieves would then take the items to another location and carefully remove the packaging almost surgically. “The card is removed, and then the material on the back that covers up the numbers to transfer anything or activate the card is then removed so that they can see it,” said Colby. “The numbers that are on the card are then programmed into another program that the criminals are using, which will now monitor that card.” From there, the cards are reassembled to appear new, without scratches, and placed back onto store shelves for someone to buy. ​”As…

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Starting January 7, British Airways Cuts Real Breakfast From Short Business Class Flights — Yogurt and Pastry Replace the Full English

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2025

Starting January 7, British Airways will stop serving a full English-style hot breakfast on its shortest business class routes out of London. Club Europe passengers will get fruit, yogurt, and pastry instead—another cost-cut that chips away at the one thing European business class usually still does well: catering.

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She Pointed Her Feet at the Ceiling To Survive 12 Hours in Economy — Did This Flight ‘Hack’ Cross The Line?

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2025

A Pilates instructor on a 12-hour flight from Paris raised both legs straight up the cabin wall just to get through 10-plus hours in economy — and TikTok turned her stretch into a referendum on coach etiquette. Here’s what really happened on board, what she says about the flight, and where the line is between a harmless long-haul survival hack and going too far in a cramped cabin.

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American Airlines Passenger Shoved Twice, FAA Inspector Said Remove The Aggressor—They Kicked Off The Man Reporting It

by Gary Leff

Dec 31 2025

An American Airlines passenger says he was physically shoved twice—once before boarding and again after taking his seat on AA4586 from JFK to Indianapolis. He claims an FAA inspector onboard urged the crew to remove the aggressive traveler, but that American instead kicked off the man who reported it, leaving him stranded overnight at JFK with an $829 hotel bill and later flagged as “disruptive.”

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Plane Tap Water Report Card—35,000 Tests, One Perfect Score, American And JetBlue Get D Grades

by Gary Leff

lavatory
Dec 31 2025

That inflight coffee isn’t brewed from a kitchen faucet—it’s made with water drawn from an aircraft tank. A new analysis of three years of EPA aircraft-water records tallied 35,000+ test locations and graded airlines A to F: one carrier scored perfect, while American and JetBlue landed in D territory. Here’s what’s behind the grades, what the data can (and can’t) prove, and what you should take away before you order your next drink onboard.

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Delta Cancelled 689 Flights in Three Days — The Union Contract Catch-22 That Left Planes Without Pilots

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2025

Delta cancelled 689 flights in just three days, and the problem wasn’t lingering weather — it was a union-contract catch-22 that made last-minute pilot staffing break down. A chain of rules around automated trip offers and “auto-accept” windows created a timing trap: open trips piled up faster than schedulers could award them, and cancellations followed even as conditions normalized.

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Passenger Eats Cole Slaw From A Gallon Ziploc Bag With Her Hands At An Airport Gate [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2025

One traveler was spotted eating cole slaw with her hands straight out of a gallon Ziploc—yet this barely cracks the top ten of “things you see at airports.” Also in today’s roundup: an Executive Platinum’s burst-open bag that American waved off as “minor,” a cargo-hold nap (British Airways warned staff to stop using holds as bathrooms..), and a filthy long haul business class seat that has people asking whether anyone cleans these planes anymore.

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Frontier Passengers Snap After Missing Flight—Houston Check-In Goes Wild, Police Move In

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2025

A confrontation at the Frontier Airlines check‑in counter in Houston escalated after travelers appeared to be denied check‑in for a missed flight, leading to a police response and multiple detentions. The viral clip has been reposted with exaggerated claims, but the footage shows the incident unfolding at the ticket counter before boarding.

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She Said Goodbye to Her Traveling Boyfriend at Baggage Claim, Then Her Husband Walked Up — Look Closely at the Monitor

by Gary Leff

Dec 30 2025

A woman says goodbye to her “traveling boyfriend” at airport baggage claim — and seconds later her husband appears with flowers, stunning everyone nearby. But look closely at the monitor: this isn’t security footage at all, it’s a production feed, and the on-screen file name gives away what’s going on.

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