It used to be that when the doors of the aircraft closed, passengers could re-arrange themselves freely. If there were empty seats, you’d see passengers spread out for more room. That made sense.
However airlines now charge for seats, and they don’t even just charge for extra legroom seats. An aisle seat and even a window can cost more than a middle. A seat towards the front of the cabin might cost more, too.
Though I’ve been to India many times, it’s been several years since I’ve made the trip. And while I’m familiar with Hyatt’s Alila brand, I haven’t yet visited one in the Mideast or India. So I was happy to hear from reader Doug Hess after his recent trip to India, and to have him share his experience at Alila Fort Bishangarh in Rajasthan. It looks fantastic. It wasn’t on my radar, but I’m inclined to check it out myself now.
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.
Among other things, airlines will no longer be penalized for bringing a Covid case into the country. Yet nothing has changed in China – they still aren’t using Western vaccines, the vast majority of the population remains immunologically naive – except for Xi having broken with precedent to extend his time in office, while vanquishing rival power centers.
Today’s flight from Athens to Newark was 90 minutes into its flight when it held over Sardinia. The Boeing 777 then took an overwater route back to Athens, reportedly unable to gain clearance to fly over France or Italy. As the aircraft entered Greek airspace, their Air Force scrambled jets to intercept and escort it down.
SkyTeam member Middle East Airlines had a bullet pierce an Airbus A320 that was landing in Beirut after a short 40 minute flight from Amman, Jordan.
The bullet pierced the fuselage of the aircraft before it landed on Beirut’s runway 16. It’s not believed to have been intentional or involved terrorism – careless gunfire near the airport hits several parked planes there each year, though it’s the first moving aircraft I’m aware of that was hit.
Not only don’t we have flying cars, we don’t really have full self-driving ones either. Eventually my daughter’s children will ask me, “Grandpa, is it true you used to drive cars yourself? How did you manage to avoid getting in accidents all the time?” The truth is we didn’t!
It feels like the babiest step imaginable in this process, but driverless ‘remote control’ cars are now being tested at the Pittsburgh airport.
Hotels.com does clearly say the rate is only ‘partially’ non-refundable. And 10% is partial, less than the whole (100%). No lies detected!
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.
A passenger who shouted vulgarities at cabin crew on a Singapore Airlines flight was handed over to police. According to the airline the altercation began when crew refused to serve the man alcohol. It’s not only in the U.S. where passengers melt down over alcohol.
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 »
