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 »

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Forced Gate Checked Bags Are Down 10% At American Airlines After Boarding Changes—The Airline Isn’t Saying Why

inside plane
Jul 11 2025

American’s new Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden offhandedly mentions that “we’ve seen a 10% reduction in gate checked bags just within the first few weeks” of the carrier’s new boarding process.

If they’ve made changes to consciously drive down the number of bags they’re gate checking, that’s actually a huge win for customers and they should be shouting it from the rooftops! I just can’t figure out why they’re seeing this result.

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9 Big Insights From Delta Air Lines Earnings Call: Upgrades Are Officially Back, Business Class Will Lose Perks, Lounge Crowding Ends Next Year

Jul 10 2025

Delta’s latest earnings discussion revealed a major shift in attitude and planning around bringing back upgrades, slashing premium cabin perks that come from buying business class, and promising to eliminate Sky Club overcrowding within the next 18-24 months. There was a lot more packed into this earnigns call than there usually is!

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