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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Flying on Separate Tickets? On American You’re Still Protected if Flights Go Wrong

american airline plane
Jun 19 2018

It’s usually risky to fly one itinerary on separate tickets. That’s because when you’re on one ticket, if you face a flight delay or cancellation the airline responsible for the irregularity has to get you to your final destination. But if you’re on separate tickets they usually don’t — they just have to get you as far as the end of the ticket you’re flying them on.

But it’s not always a risk if you know about this American Airlines policy.

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Management Layoffs Coming at American Airlines

american and us tails
Jun 19 2018

When American Airlines and US Airways merged four and a half years ago many legacy American Airlines executives departed. Several management level staff that were holdovers from American before the merger left two years ago, presumably eligible for bonuses based on the length of time they had stayed on.

In any merger of this size there are initial promises of cost savings, and personnel is one area where those need to be delivered.

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American Airlines Sued For Failing to Return Leased Aircraft

airplane in hangar
Jun 19 2018

Keeping track of aircraft is hard. Three years ago American Airlines flew the wrong plane to Hawaii. The aircraft they flew wasn’t certified for extended overwater operations. There wasn’t actually anything unsafe about the decision, but it didn’t match the minimum equipment required. The airline simply dispatched the wrong aircraft by mistake.

Now comes word that American kept leased aircraft beyond the expiration date of their agreement according to a lawsuit filed by Wells Fargo in the Southern District of New York.

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American’s President Says They Need to Fly Better Seats on Cross Country Flights – Hasn’t Figured Out How to Do It

airline cabin
Jun 19 2018

American Airlines President Robert Isom held an employee town hall on Friday in Los Angeles.

A premium services employee asked about whether they’ll get lie flat seats on cross country flights, something her ConciergeKey customers are asking for, “they really are requesting the transcon like the New York flights.. this is just something we see all time.”

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United Flight Attendant Trashes Travel Blogger, Defends Trump Immigration Policy

united plane docked
Jun 19 2018

Zach Honig is former editor now editor at large for The Points Guy. I’ve had the good fortune to know Zach, he’s a good egg though perhaps a bit of a United partisan.

United introduced the old fashioned as a cocktail on its premium transcon flights this spring. Zach was naturally excited to order one while flying San Francisco – Newark on United’s Saturday 2:50 p.m. departure flight UA2044. He was refused…

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Passenger Curses Out Flight Attendant Over Buy On Board Meal: Is Turkey Ham Really Ham?

man looking up on plane
Jun 18 2018

A passenger on board a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Skopje on Sunday demanded a refund for the sandwich he purchased.

He’s Muslim. He bought a ‘turkey ham’ sandwich. It’s not turkey and ham. It’s ham-like meat made out of turkey. But midway through eating the 4.50 euro sandwich he decided it “didn’t taste like turkey.”

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