Gary Leff, Author at View from the Wing

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 »

Duty Free at Baghdad International Airport

by Gary Leff on August 1, 2005

Aug 01 2005

Via Brad DeLong, Iraq’s transportation minister has ordered a ban on alcohol sales at Baghdad International Airport. The airport’s duty-free shop is not complying, in spite of threats to have their $800,000 inventory destroyed. Alcohol makes up 85% of duty free sales at the airport. Oddly enough, the decision to ban alcohol is influenced by how it would look to the outside world. Jabiri expressed concern about Iraq’s image if alcohol continues to be sold. “And this could corrupt the employees also,” he said. “Foreign travelers might not even realize this is an Islamic country when they see alcohol in the airport.” Oh, yeah, if we didn’t go to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist, it must have been to create a secular, democratic state in the Middle East…

Man Charged with Exposing Himself on a Flight

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2005

Jul 29 2005

The alleged incident occurred on a flight from DC to Syracuse, and the guy denies it. Story contains one of the best lines ever in a news article: When he got off the plane in Syracuse, police took him into custody and checked to see if he was wearing underpants, which he was, Gibeau said. But I don’t think this is actually illegal: Police searched Gibeau and found five Polaroid photos of his penis, according to Bragg’s affidavit. Gibeau said he was bringing the photos to his girlfriend to show her the contrast between the sunburned areas of his body and the areas that weren’t exposed on the beach.

I’m shocked! Shocked to find that GAMBLING is going on in here!

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2005

Jul 29 2005

A piece in the Seattle Times explains that State Department travel warnings, which harm tourism in the country on the receiving end, are influenced by political considerations. (I’m shocked!) Noting that the State Department’s treatment of London bombings were delayed, contained scant detail and provided warning for just a few hours, when less serious country warnings don’t expire for monthsJim Grace, CEO of InsureMyTrip.com, an online seller of travel insurance, puts it, “if the State Department issues a travel warning, Tony Blair would be on the phone to President Bush pretty quickly, saying ‘Hey, what are you doing to our economy? We’re supposed to be best allies.’ ” Of course the State Department denies this, and simply claims to be incompetent instead “We are a bureaucracy and unfortunately these things don’t always happen as quickly…

Causes of airline delays

by Gary Leff on July 27, 2005

Tyler Cowen points to a Slate piece that purports to explain airline delays. Mayer and Sinai’s study also identified the real culprit: the deliberate overscheduling of flights at peak periods by major airlines trying to increase the amount of connecting traffic at their hub airports. Major airlines like United, Delta, and American use a hub-and-spoke model as a way to offer consumers more flight choices and to save money by centralizing operations. Most of the traffic they send through a hub is on the way to somewhere else. (Low-cost carriers, on the other hand, typically carry passengers from one point to another without offering many connections.) Overscheduling at the hubs can’t explain all delays—weather and maintenance problems also contribute. But nationally, about 75 percent of flights go in or out of hub airports, making overscheduling…

Advance hotel room assignments

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Hilton is testing out e-checkin. Our new eCheck-In service allows you to have the convenience and control to complete your registration the day before or up to two hours before you plan to arrive. The idea is similar to picking a seat assignment on a plane, you should be able to see what room you’re blocked into and choose a different room if you prefer. It should even process upgrades. This is going to be interesting to watch.

Aircraft on eBay

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

You, too, can own an airplane

Frequent Flyer Miles as Debt in Need of Devaluation

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Tim Harford asks what would be the best way for frequent flyer program to devalue their currency? Last year I explained why a devaluation is inevitable, and why that doesn’t mean you should stop collecting miles. The simplistic version of the problem is too many miles chasing too few seats. Problems have been exascerbated the last couple of years as airlines pulled down capacity. Now, with flights running especially full, getting a nominally free seat can be tough. Award redemption (at least at the usual mileage pricing) is predicated on giving away only those seats that are likely to go unsold. That pot of inventory isn’t growing, but mileages balances are. Given the need for devaluation, how should airlines do it? The first option Harford gives is rejected, but not strongly enough: Airlines could simply…

Faster Free Nights Returns

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Probably the best hotel promo around, Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights, will return from September 1 through November 30. The offer as usual is a free night after every two eligible stays paid for with a Mastercard. Registration for the promo will begin August 15.

To boldy go…

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Boldly going where another travel site has gone before, SideStep has brought on Patrick Stewart as its spokesman. In the online travel world, one of the biggest battles for new customers has come down to this: Captain Kirk vs. Captain Picard. Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is the new company spokesman for travel search engine SideStep. That’s a direct challenge to rival Priceline.com, whose ads have long featured William Shatner, Captain Kirk on the original “Star Trek.” (Via Tripso Daily.)

How did American make money in the second quarter?

by Gary Leff on July 26, 2005

Jul 26 2005

Now that American Airlines announced a profit for the second quarter, there are lots of stories trying to figure out how they did it. One piece contends that they managed to cut costs by listening to ideas from their employees. (Naturally the piece cites no evidence whatsoever that American did this any more than any other airline.) Still, there are some interesting stories about cost savings. For example,Two American Airlines mechanics didn’t like having to toss out $200 drill bits once they got dull. So they rigged up some old machine parts – a vacuum-cleaner belt and a motor from a science project – and built “Thumping Ralph.” It’s essentially a drill-bit sharpener that allows them to get more use out of each bit. The savings, according to the company: as much as $300,000 a…

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About Gary Leff

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About Gary Leff