A Delta Air Lines passenger flying from Atlanta to Houston this week found themselves sitting in coach besides not one but two support dogs.
Two separate passengers seated beside each other in the same row, in the window and aisle seats, brought on support animals. These were two dogs that did not know each other prior to the flight.
She was leaving the property at 2:30 a.m., realized she’d left her phone in the guest room they were partying in, and her friends went back to get it for her. They left her alone, apparently for an hour and she stumbled into a kitchen and into a walk-in freezer at 3:32 a.m.
It turns out that the union no longer has confidence in the integrity of the ballot. They’ve discovered vulnerabilities that would have allowed the vote to be manipulated, and errors that may have failed to tally some votes. And they’re going to hold the vote over.
Southwest used to say that if you need an extra seat and there’s one available, they won’t charge you. Now they’re willing to give up revenue from ticket sales to accommodate. One plus-sized advocate cheers them on.
Alaska Airlines just announced changes to how Mileage Plan members will qualify for status starting next year, and painted a picture of changes to expect to elite benefits starting in 2025. It’s generally good news.
They frequently trumpet themselves as offering the most generous airline loyalty program in the U.S. It’s largely true, and they’ve absorbed that it is a real competitive advantage for them.
At Southwest Airlines each passenger gets two free checked bags. Some people don’t want to leave a benefit unused. Sure, you could check your pickleball in your luggage. But if you’ve only got one bag to check, you could also send the pickleball off on its own as your second free checked bag – and see whether it makes it, gets caught in the airport baggage system, or bounces away?
Back in March I wrote that Delta Air Lines was planning a Sky Club for Charlotte, the major American Airlines hub in the Southeast.
Construction on the club is now evident.
The last segment of our trip was a flight home from London Heathrow to Austin on British Airways in business class. They use an Airbus A350 on the route, with no first class but with the airline’s Club Suites – essentially a bespoke version of the current American Airlines seat with doors added. It is a very good but not great seat.
This was the flight I already told one story off of: being refused water as a predeparture beverage, with the crewmember snapping that I already had a bottle at my seat.
A flight attendant with South American airline LATAM was working her first flight, and getting hazed by fellow crewmembers. For passengers, it was more than a little flair – turning trash collection into an elegance extravaganza for her rite of passage.
Picture this: a cabin aisle turning into a runway, where the simple act of collecting trash was performed with an extra touch of grace and humor.
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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 »
