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 »

More articles by Gary Leff »

YUCK: American Airlines Bringing More 50 Seat Regional Jets On Board

Aug 22 2022

To be clear, a route operated by a CR2 is better than a route that doesn’t have air service. And in some cases that’s the relevant margin on which the decision gets made. But that may not be true for every route Air Wisconsin operates for American. It’ll be a downgrade in passenger experience, but still a better passenger experience than a wagon train or horse drawn carriage.

Continue Reading »

Wide Open Etihad Business Class Award Space From Several U.S. Cities

Aug 22 2022

Etihad business class award space has opened wide up. Etihad has business class award space broadly available from New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare, and Washington Dulles to their Abu Dhabi hub. You can use that to get to India, the Maldives, the Mideast or really much of where you’d want to go.

More space is bookable via Air Canada than American AAdvantage or Etihad’s own program at the saver level.

Continue Reading »

5 Reasons To Be Excited About American Airlines

Aug 21 2022

I have offered many focused criticisms of American Airlines over the past several years. I’ve long been of the belief that there is no U.S. airline with more potential to be better than it is today. But in the interest of fairness and balance I wanted to offer 5 reasons to be genuinely excited about American Airlines. They are the airline I fly most, and I’ve been at least an Executive Platinum member of their AAdvantage program for more than a decade.

Continue Reading »

The Pilot Shortage Is Preventing People From Flying Between U.S. Virgin Islands

Aug 21 2022

A pilot shortage, drawing pilots away from small operators, has left St. Thomas and St. Croix with virtually no air service between the two islands. These islands within the U.S. territory are virtually unconnected by passenger air, and this is the result of U.S. laws which limit the number of pilots, and which prevent world airlines from providing service. That needs to change.

Continue Reading »