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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2 Pilots Suspended After Letting 10 Year Old Take Controls of a Commercial Flight

Aug 03 2017

In 1994 Aeroflot flight SU593 from Moscow to Hong Kong crashed into mountains in South Siberia after the pilot’s 16 year old son accidentally disengaged autopilot control of the Airbus A310’s ailerons. That sent the plane into a near vertical dive. While the pilot leveled off the plane, he stalled the aircraft while pulling up.

And that’s why unauthorized passengers don’t sit in the cockpit during flight. Pilots aren’t supposed to let attractive passengers join them up front.

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American Now Limits the Number of Flights You Can Book On An Award (Because Somehow American Awards Were Too Generous Before)

american plane
Aug 03 2017

American is losing partnerships, they’re more restrictive offering award space than ever, and they’re wondering why it’s so hard to convince people to earn their miles rather than a competitor’s. They need to consider doing this that actually benefit their members rather than worry that members might find a way to get value from the program.

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