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 »

Bypassing PreCheck: My Unexpected Shortcut Through Airport Security (Tales From ZorkFest)

by Gary Leff on October 21, 2023

Oct 21 2023

I almost felt guilty! I skipped both the general and PreCheck queues, and no doubt many of the people in those lines would have been eligible for the Priority line. They just hadn’t noticed it.

TSA also wasn’t checking eligibility to use that line and there was no one at the entry to the line checking for it either (TSA screeners don’t care how you get to the front of the line, they do not manage the lines). Anyone could have skipped to the front without even appearing to do so.

The Reliability Paradox: Why American Airlines Can’t Outpace Delta Even As It Improves (And Delta Falters)

by Gary Leff on October 21, 2023

Oct 21 2023

For several years American Airlines has said that if they could get their operation running well, everything else would fall into place. But they’ve been running well in 2023 and they aren’t making money. There’s something wrong with the American Airlines business plan.

Europe Considers Declaring Airline Carry On Bags A Basic Human Right

by Gary Leff on October 21, 2023

Oct 21 2023

Europe’s parliament wants to ban airlines from charging for carry on bags. This would benefit large national airlines at the expense of discounters and drive up price, just like the push in France to outright ban the low prices that carriers like Ryanair and easyJet charge.

There Are So Many Airline Complaints, DOT Stopped Publishing The Data [Roundup]

by Gary Leff on October 21, 2023

Oct 21 2023

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.