About Gary Leff

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 »

More articles by Gary Leff »

The Real Reason Coach Travel Isn’t As Pleasant As It Used To Be

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
Feb 16 2020

The reason that air travel in coach isn’t as luxurious as it was 50 years ago is because of deregulation. Air travel is much less expensive. Planes are full – and the number one determinant of a pleasant flight in back is whether you have an empty seat next to you. Airlines don’t operate with the high margins they did when government prevented them from competing with each other on price. As a result they don’t invest in luxurious food to lure travelers away from competitors, since they weren’t allowed us use low prices.

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One Restriction That Will Be Placed On Elites When Alaska Joins oneworld

by Gary Leff

lounge
Feb 16 2020

If you are a oneworld sapphire member – think British Airways Silver – you get lounge access domestically within the U.S. even though American Airlines frequent flyers don’t.

In fact oneworld sapphires, which is the mid-tier elite level, get American’s Flagship lounge (international business class lounge) access on U.S. domestic itineraries. American gets a carve-out in oneworld rules so they do not have to offer this to their own members.

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The Gate Agent Who Argued With Me About The Difference Between 40 Seconds And One Minute

by Gary Leff

Feb 15 2020

When I made it onto the aircraft my first class seat was still empty. They were going to send the flight out with an empty first class seat, which was great for me, not great for the next person on the upgrade list.

We arrived on time and that makes American’s operational stats appear improved but the little pieces that matter to customers along the way are still a problem.

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Two American Asian Men Denied Hotel Check-in Because They Could Be Chinese, And Coronavirus

by Gary Leff

Feb 15 2020

Two Hmong men were turned away from the Super 8 hotel in Plymouth, Indiana. Then they tried the nearby Days Inn and were turned away there too. In both cases the front desk employee was afraid they might be Chinese, and therefore a coronavirus risk. They wound up sleeping in their car.

Kaopra Lor videotaped the incidents and posted them to Facebook.

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