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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Hyatt In Advanced Talks To Buy Several Kimpton Hotels

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2019

They’ve tried to grow through strategic partnerships with MGM and SLH hotels, and through acquisitions such as Two Roads Hospitality which has given them Alila, Destination Hotels, Joie de Vivre and Thompson Hotels (as well as the nascent tommie brand).

Hyatt has actually tried and failed at other acquisitions. They were in the running for Starwood, probably even offering more money than Marriott, but their complicated stock structure (the Pritzker family retains outsized control) got in the way. Hyatt tried at the last minute to acquire NH Hotels but that door was already shut. They were also a bidder for Kimpton, but IHG beat them out by $100 million. (Hyatt was right not to overpay the way IHG did.)

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Video From Inside American Eagle AA4125 As It Skids Off the Runway at O’Hare

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2019

Weather at Chicago O’Hare is a mess today, with hundreds of flights cancelled. One flight that was supposed to make it in on time was American Eagle flight AA4125 from Greensboro, North Carolina. The Embraer ERJ-145 had pushed back six minutes early.

Thirty eight passengers and 3 crew were on board. The plane touched down on O’Hare’s runway 10L at 7:40 a.m. local time, which would have put it into its gate about 10 minutes late. However the regional jet skidded left off the runway.

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Singapore Airlines Will Introduce New Boeing 777 Business Class Seats and First Class Suites in 2022

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2019

Singapore Airlines has several different first and business class products in its fleet. Their Airbus A380s are in the process of being transitioned from an old business and first class to a new product. Singapore’s A380 business class is an evolution over the old lie flat seat, in which taller passengers still have to sleep at an angle rather than parallel with the aisle. Meanwhile the first class suite has a separate seat and bed and dividers can be taken down for passengers traveling together so that they have a double bed to share. New Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Singapore Suites for Passengers Traveling Together The long haul Boeing 777-300ER fleet began receiving the current version of its business and first class seats in 2013. Long haul Airbus A350s received a version of the same…

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Co-Pilot of US Airways 1549: Cabin Crew Didn’t Know They Landed In Water Until Plane Door Opened

by Gary Leff

Nov 10 2019

Captain Sully Sullenberger became a household name after US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson following a double bird strike during the climb out from New York LaGuardia. But did you know that his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, is still flying for American Airlines.. and is still just a first officer?

He answered some questions about the fateful flight on a recent trip.

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Wide Open Upgrade Space on American Airlines London Flights

by Gary Leff

inside airliner
Nov 10 2019

Since US Airways took over revenue management at American Airlines, the carrier has been incredibly tightfisted with both business class saver award inventory and confirmed upgrade space to business as well. When inventory has popped up it’s been for only a brief period of time.

Right now is one of those times, at least for travel between the U.S. and Europe over winter.

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You May Not Fly the New British Business Class Seat Until It’s Totally Outdated

by Gary Leff

airplane bed
Nov 10 2019

BA announced the roll out schedule for their new business class seat. They hadn’t previously shared that Airbus A380s would ever get the new seat, though now we know they will. However the timetable to put new seats on their planes also reveals that it’ll be 2025 before the project is completed and that’s just for aircraft based at London Heathrow (and not Gatwick).

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