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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American Airlines Wifi Overhaul: Why You’ll Be Left Completely Offline On Some Flights For A Year

Jan 09 2025

I’m really looking forward to these planes having functional wifi. It won’t be as good as the Starlink that United will be installing, and offering to passengers for free, but it will solve a pain point that’s kept me mostly off of them. However I’m going to have them even more off of my ‘do not fly’ list until the process is completed because the chance of no internet at all is even worse than slow internet.

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Loyalty Shakeup Coming? Alaska Airlines VP Signals Plan To Reward Ticket Price Over Distance Flown

Jan 09 2025

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will almost certainly move to revenue-based mileage earning for flights. The airline’s Vice President who oversees loyalty has been telegraphing this in multiple conversations. He doesn’t come out and say the decision has been made, but he’s been claiming that they recently looked at it and that members prefer it.

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American Airlines Flagship Suites Are Ready—But Federal Rules Could Keep Them Grounded

Jan 09 2025

The armrests on the seat lower to align with the seat platform and can bear over 500 pounds, facilitating transfers for passengers with mobility impairments. The seat design allows horizontal or assisted transfers without significant obstacles due to pitch of at least 42 inches.

It’s not enough for American to put the seats into service, and be subject to any complaints for violating accessibility rules. Any technical non-compliance requires prior exemption.

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Delta Partners With DraftKings On Sports Betting, But U.S. Law Grounds $1.3 Billion Inflight Gambling Potential

Jan 08 2025

Delta Air Lines is venturing into sports betting as a new frontier in generating revenue. They announced a partnership with DraftKings at CES in Las Vegas. The airline isn’t yet providing details on what the new gambling integration will look like.

PaxEx Aero suggests it could mean onboard gambling through the airline’s inflight entertainment system, but I do not think so. That would be illegal.

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