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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Will the Repo Man Come-a-knocking?

Discount and charter airline ATA is making a little bit of money — unique among airlines — but not enough to cover upcoming debt payments. They don’t have sufficient assets to pledge against additional loans to cover their $300 million in required payments. On the other hand, with the used aircraft market as soft as it is, Boeing is unlikely to simply want the planes back. I expect ATA’s management to be able to refinance. Since there’s actually some profit rolling in, flexibility will be Boeing’s best shot at repayment.

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Well, as long as it’s WITHIN THE GUIDELINES

We’re supposed to rest easy now that the Federal Government has taken control of airport security screening. After all, the Transporation Security Administration does background checks, although I’ve previously noted that convicted criminals slip through. But at least there’s rigorous testing. Or is there? Apparently the TSA gives test takers the answers in advance. The TSA probe, which concluded last month, found that 22 of the 25 questions on the final exam were also on lesson quizzes given during a week of training, Newsday reported Wednesday. The quizzes, which were open book, were given after each of five lessons, and the final exam was made up of questions from the quizzes, the probe found. TSA Administrator James Loy said in a letter to Sen. Charles Schumer that there was no wrongdoing because “training was conducted…

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$249 to Singapore

Another one from ScottC’s airline and hotel deals mailing list. This one isn’t a fare error — just a really inexpensive fare. You can fly out of San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Newark to Singapore for $249 + tax. A maximum of 2,000 round-trip coach seats are available at this fare. It’s good for outbound travel July 1 through August 31, with return travel up to 30 days from the date of departure. Offer ends Saturday, June 14 at midnight or while supplies last. The deal can be found here.

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United redux

Part four of the Denver Post‘s series on United is now online. It’s less interesting — at least to me — than the previous parts of the series, because it more or less just rehashes the current situation rather than providing color and detail to the histories and personalities of United.

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For my (I mean the public’s!) good

Little new can be said in the debate to open up more flights at Washington National airport. The USA Today piece, though, points out that United is lobbying against it, and in an emporer’s new clothes moment explains that it’s because United has significant operations at Washington Dulles and doesn’t want the competition.

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