Alaska Airlines accepted FAA findings that intoxicated passengers were allowed to board 11 flights, triggering a proposed $165,000 fine. But the bigger fight may be over what gets blamed next: first class predeparture drinks, even though the real problem appears to be spotting drunk passengers before they ever reach the aircraft door.
American Airlines banned some AAdvantage members seven years ago, and now it appears “lifetime” really means forever as recreated accounts are being shut down too. Also: Penn Station renderings show Trump’s name with the presidential seal, Delta waits on Amazon Wi-Fi while rivals move to Starlink, and Marriott points can apparently now buy robots.
Bilt’s June Rent Day is built around Madonna, with custom vinyl, album-release events and even a full month of rent covered at the New York building where she was once a tenant. But the real points play is a transfer bonus of up to 125% to TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go — enough to turn ordinary Bilt spending into an unusually rich haul, even if TAP is not the partner I’d usually choose first.
Denver airport’s train system broke down 131 times last year, stranding passengers in a terminal design that often gives them no way to walk to their gates. Now the airport is finally planning pedestrian walkways between concourses so the backup plan becomes walking up to 1.25 miles with your bags.
This is a pretty good deal. Citi Travel is offering cardmembers $50 off a hotel booking of $300 through May 29, 2026 at 11:59pm Eastern. This offer is stackable with the Citi Strata Premier and Citi Strata Elite annual hotel credits.
Flying to Europe this summer may mean more than crowded airports and packed flights. Europe’s new biometric border checks are creating hours-long immigration lines at some airports, with travelers missing connecting flights on arrival and returning flights as first-time registration overwhelms passport control.
Air Canada says Seats.aero’s automated award-search scraping is computer fraud. Seats.aero says Air Canada is trying to block a useful award tool and shut down competition — and now the fight is expanding from website terms and trademarks into antitrust, tortious interference, and unfair competition claims.
American Airlines is joining the Starlink Wi-Fi race, but not across the whole airline. The carrier will begin installing Starlink on more than 500 narrowbody jets in 2027, making Airbus aircraft far more attractive while leaving much of the fleet — including widebodies with some of the worst Wi-Fi — behind.
While I write about lounges a lot, I didn’t always have access. In fact the first time I ever entered one as an adult, I snuck in. It was a United Airlines lounge back 24 years ago, and it’s part of my early travel educating me about what airport lounges were all about and why I wanted to use them. It’s also the story of my first international premium cabin award redemption, which I used to visit my family in Australia, so my ‘sneaking in’ holds extra significance to me.
Even a Nobel economist once got stumped by airport self-check-in, which says a lot about why travelers still want a human being to confirm they’re actually good to go. Also: Cathay turbulence sent passengers and crew to the hospital, Singapore Airlines is restricting business class award seat selection, and VPN users may be fair game for government surveillance.
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 »
