JetBlue is back with more major changes to their flying, trying to stem the tide of losses. In a tweetstorm (albeit on Bluesky), aviation watchdog JonNYC lays out changes to routes that JetBlue will be making, both to its Europe flights and to domestic operations from New York, Miami and Seattle and more – changes that the airline hasn’t announced yet.
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing today on airline fees. It’s the end of this session of Congress, the chair is losing his position as control of the Senate changes party. So there was one last opportunity for grandstanding against airlines, who are a popular punching bag.
Sometimes airlines make it easy! But most of the punching would make for bad policy in ways that would drive up the cost of travel and leave consumers worse off.
A flight attendant on the Boeing 777-300ER videotaped this by aiming their phone’s camera at a monitor that was filming the entrance to the cockpit that displayed a live feed. They added their own explicit commentary, and shared it via WhatsApp.
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.
You can rent someone’s car on Turo, as an alternative to renting from a company like Hertz or Avis. It’s not always as seamless a pickup at airports, but you’re renting a specific vehicle rather than a broad category. You can choose much nicer cars, or cheaper cars! Sometimes you’ll get a much better deal renting from a private party. And you can organize dropoffs at your hotel, too.
United Airlines sent out an email to all of its employees about planned wage increases – but this was meant to go out to only corporate non-union employees. Flight attendants, who remain in protracted negotiations with the airline, are apparently furious. Their last raise was in 2021.
United Airlines flight 4830 from Little Rock to Houston diverted to Monroe, Louisiana on Monday due to reported smell of smoke in the cockpit. The Embraer 145 regional jet (registration N14148) was operated by CommutAir and originally delivered to Expressjet in 2003.
There were a few interesting things about this flight.
United’s hub at Washington Dulles has long held a precarious position. It’s been on the potential chopping block many times over the past 25 years. As a result, it’s a place that’s seen little investment – until now.
The carrier has changed the way they sell tickets, offering fare bundles rather than a la carte and more premium services. Now they’re taking it a step further.
This morning Bilt is out with a new message to program members that reveals a real pivot in strategy. The message is ‘we’re not just a credit card’.
In this message they lay out some of their vision for 2025, walk through their economics, and drop what I view as something of a bombshell.
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 »
