News and notes from around the interweb:

• Alaska Airlines restores inflight food and beverage. It’s not the same meal service as before, but it’s progress.

  They’re offering full meal service on cross country and Hawaii flights with two choices or fruit and cheese pre-order. Meals are single tray offerings of appetizer, entree, bread and dessert. Flights over 1100 miles get “Fresh Meal Box” of a sandwich, salad, cheese and fruit or salmon platter. Flights between 670 and 1100 miles get a sandwich or “protein platter.”

  Alcohol is back in coach (complimentary in extra legroom seats, for pay in back). Food for sale is back, too.

• IHG Rewards Club has extended their pause on points expiration through the end of 2021. Co-brand credit card free nights issued in 2020 are extended to at least December 31, 2021. And free night certificates expiring August 31, 2021 are extended to the end of the year as well.

• Oy vey.

  

• Aegean Miles & Bonus double miles on flights through October 31 perfect for Greece re-opening, and this includes their Olympic Air operations as well.

• Those brand new American Airlines ‘Oasis’ overhead bins.

  Keep it classy @AmericanAir. I too have things held together with duct tape 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/aTun3qvS0w

  — Aaron McGriff (@amcgriff87) May 19, 2021

• The carts United Airlines rolls out to gates on long flight delays will no longer have just water. These gate delay carts are themselves a cost-saving measure compared to when they used to hand out scrip to spend at terminal concessions. (American Airlines calls them Refresh and Refuel.)

  As you know, I gauge the U.S. airline recovery based on what I believe to be the key metric: @United’s catering. I’m pleased to report amenity carts soon will return to some non-hub airports. They roll them out during delays. What’s a 3-hour wait if you get free potato chips? pic.twitter.com/Lqo7P3OXCN

  — Brian Sumers (@BrianSumers) May 19, 2021

• Spirit Airlines promised to have wifi fully installed in its fleet as of two years ago. That didn’t happen. But there’s finally progress: they’re finally testing it in a limited number of Airbus A321s.

  Lack of internet is the main thing that keeps me off of Spirit (Big Front Seat, natch). Add wifi and I’ll gladly choose them when they make the most sense (price, schedule). That and if they’d bring back the 13 year old boy sense of humor to their marketing….

  There was the MILF Sale (“Many Islands, Low Fares), the Carlos Danger sale, the Anthony Weiner sale and then in response to the Gulf oil spill they encouraged you to check out the (suntan) oil on their beaches.

  [Deal] We're celebrating a new plane! Fares Just $69.00* Round Trip Incl Taxes & Fees! +Restr http://t.co/n9m7igmvio pic.twitter.com/v04oW71iOu

  — Spirit Airlines (@SpiritAirlines) March 16, 2015

  Then-President Ben Baldanza explained “the only thing we think is obscene is the fares that most of our competitors charge.”