News and notes from around the interweb:

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is again offering up to a 50% bonus when you purchase miles through September 29. Specific bonus levels are targeted, but a 50% bonus means purchasing miles at less than 2 cents apiece.

• Stats on digital room key use at Hilton.

  In its first year, Digital Key has been used to open more than two million doors at the 400 US hotels which have the technology enabled.

  The digital check-in and room selection feature is now being used more than one million times a month, it said, and more than seven million rooms have been selected since the start of the year. Some 70% of people who use digital check-in also use the digital key.

• Cranky Flier has a great post showing United’s stark de-hubbing of LAX over the past decade.

• “There was definitely an odor [flying Pakistan International Airlines], which can best be described as a combination of baby powder, body odor, and flatulence.” As they say, at the world’s worst airline, hope springs eternal…

• If a likely over-reported angle on the incident at JFK last night is that the report of shots fired came in right after clapping for Usain Bolt’s third Olympic gold metal then perhaps the under-reported angle: How does it feel to be the two people who reported hearing gunshots inside New York JFK’s American Airlines terminal 8 last night — which caused the terminal to be evacuated, and operation to be halted (not just departures stopped, but inbound aircraft diverted) — when it appears now that they were wrong?

  

• Singapore’s Olympic gold medalist received Gold elite status and a million KrisFlyer miles. Here’s how he can make the most of the points. However I sort of think a Singaporean who wins a Gold medal at the Olympics at least deserves PPS elite status, y’know?

• Hyatt may be looking to sell the Park Hyatt New York (HT: Red) Hopefully they’d retain management as it’s an excellent property.

  

• China considering allowing airline passengers to use their phones as inflight wifi spreads. It’s truly bizarre now being told on Chinese airlines that you cannot use your phone even in airplane mode.