News and notes from around the interweb:
- Passengers really need to buy the space that they’re going to occupy, and airlines need to enforce this. A hill I will die on is that in this situation, the customer that is complaining did not receive the product that they paid for, and therefore should not be charged for it.
BIG issue on @AmericanAir flight. Pay for an upgrade to have someone's dogs sit in your space for 9 hours. UNACCEPTABLE and DANGEROUS. pic.twitter.com/glqXk0JR3B
— M (@mdici21) July 24, 2026
- Traveler charged for wiping his phone during a border search re-entering the United States. When Customs and Border Protection officers asked for his phone’s password, he provided a ‘duress’ password that caused the phone to wipe its contents. This is the first known prosecution of its kind.
The U.S. Justice Department is prosecuting an American for allegedly providing U.S. border authorities with a passcode that wiped the contents of his phone, according to an indictment and media reports. …
When Tunick provided his passcode and the authorities entered it, “the screen went blank, flashed several times and the phone appeared to restart.” The authorities seized his phone anyway, before telling him that he was free to go and could enter the United States.
Prosecutors later charged Tunick under a federal statute that makes it unlawful to knowingly destroy or damage property to prevent authorities from seizing it. Tunick has pleaded not guilty.
- Passengers really do make airfare purchase decisions based on Starlink, and Delta is getting left behind.
So @Starlink was so good on @united I would consider making them my #1 over @Delta
It was like being on the WiFi in your home. 💪 pic.twitter.com/647MqNcQoE
— Kenny Totten (@kenny_totten) July 24, 2026
- TIL.
In 1975, where the Stratosphere stands today, you could once get Dee's nuts. pic.twitter.com/8u8q1iBA8n
— Vintage Las Vegas (@summacorp) July 24, 2026
- The screen at the gate would be controlled by the airport…
What’s going on here…. @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/nzQ6qcwCNv
— Jonny* ᗢ (@sharkpizza) July 25, 2026
- Regarding Delta’s plan for Austin – Paris flights, aviation watchdog JonNYC points to a discussion at a meeting of the Austin airport Advisory Commission. (The airport has been offering subsidies for Paris.)
a quote here (at about 10:40 minutes in)
"..we are working on nonstop Paris"
(Important note; does -not- specify Delta Airlines, this is Austin "speaking" )https://t.co/Ub37psnffe
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) July 26, 2026
- Cool:
July 23, 2026, was the busiest day for commercial air travel ever, according to data from @flightradar24.
A whopping 153,359 commercial flights were tracked worldwide. pic.twitter.com/0fJ9mcjZkY
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 25, 2026
Wow, lots of great content here. Two dogs that aren’t yours at your feet for 9 hours. Woof!
Thank you for bringing up the ‘phone-wipe’ story, which is yet another example of how we’re embracing CCP-level tactics, instead of actually preserving privacy and civil liberties in our society. If our Constitution still exists (specifically, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, at a minimum), that vindictive prosecution should be thrown-out. But, but.. ‘if you have nothing to hide…’ (No, friends, it’s not about hiding anything; it’s about not giving away everything.)
On WiFi, yeah… yeah… so United, American, Alaska, Southwest, Frontier, etc., don’t have complimentary WiFi for the near-decade that jetBlue and Delta have had it, but, finally in 2026, United and American start to offer it, and we’re supposed to celebrate and dunk on Delta? Psh. Oh, oh.. because Starlink is ‘better.’ Got it. Ok, get it on all planes, included with everyone’s ticket.
On AUS-CDG, so, Gary, when you going to Paris?
Starlink on planes is definitely a competitive advantage (for now). However, the amount of incels I see on reddit screaming “I streamed netflix on my starlink flight even though I downloaded content and the airline had content” is going to lead to reduced speeds or charges in the future. Tragedy of the commons by the lowest common denominator once again.
“don’t have complimentary WiFi for the near-decade that jetBlue and Delta have had it”
Delta announced it a decade ago. They certainly didn’t turn it on a decade ago. it’s been about 3 years for delta after 7 years of promises. And they still don’t offer free wifi on their entire mainline fleet due to poor planning.
More vapor ware from DELTA
Oh, hell no flying with the dogs at your feet. This is crazy.
If this is the way US airlines are headed, then if you want Fido to come along with you and Fido doesn’t fit under the seat in front of you, but the damn dog a ticket. What’s next? You don’t buy your three year old a ticket and the airline looks the other way as they have the kid spread out asleep on the floor at your feet?
@MaxPower — Fair enough on the specifics, but I included jetBlue there for a reason, because they have. Shame on everyone for not having it since the late 2010s, when it was technologically feasible and a clear passenger experience benefit. (Like, for example, I sure do want me some spicy free ‘wee-fee’ on my way to San Francisco for this September’s ‘festivities,’ my liege.)
The dog issue truly is crazy. How can that be allowed? Why don’t the FAs intervene? I don’t get it, and I would be LIVID. I’ve never ever seen in-cabin dogs on a non-US carrier.
Did The passenger with the dogs at their feet speak up? If so, what did the FA say? They should have immediately complained to the FA to fix it and took their names if they wouldn’t. That is unacceptable and it should not be the passenger’s job to enforce the rules.
The UA Wi-Fi is great. I was able to watch the Wimbledon Men’s final on my way to ORD.
This is very strange. AeroLOPA lists four different 787 variants for American and none of them shows row 10 as a two seater on the right side in front of a bulkhead. There is a configuration that puts row 10 at a bulkhead but it’s three seats on the right and this is clearly two seats only. This is obviously a real photo on a real American 787 but the configuration is not one aeroLOPA accounts for. As for the dogs, I would have raised holy hell before the plane took off. The other passenger should not be allowed to take over a floor like that…especially if it’s non-service animals which these clearly aren’t.
I take it back. I missed the third pair of shoes to the left. I’ve just never seen a bulkhead row seat not have a bulkhead in front of it but apparently 10J only has a sliver of the bulkhead in front of it.
@wileydog
you should’ve been flying AA or DL. the rest of us have had high speed internet for years. what you describe was a comment I made around 8 years ago when AA was done or about done with their high speed internet rollout
So now you’re supposed to incriminate yourself by retaining proof of your guilt of whatever supposed crime? Doesn’t that kinda act as the complete antithesis of the whole Fifth Amendment self-incrimination concept?