One of the biggest frustrations airline passengers face is delays – but not just because they may not get where they’re going when they’d hoped, or even miss a connection along the way, but because they’re frequently kept in the dark about what’s going on. They don’t know when to expect they’ll actually leave, and often feel like they’re being lied to.
And they sometimes are lied to! But one United Airlines flight today offered a little too much truth.
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.
Flight attendants unions are pushing to extend the federal transportation mask mandate which is currently set to end March 18. But their members are far from all on board.
I’ve heard from several flight attendants, and watched discussions in social media, where they’re up in arms over their union leaders pushing for this requirement – because they’re tired of wearing masks on planes themselves.
Marriott has shared that they’re dropping award charts in March and moving to dynamic pricing. We now know that the date this goes into effect will be March 29, though the transition will be gradual and spread into March 30. And we also know how much more expensive some properties may become.
American Airlines saved the day for a school group of 77 passengers stranded during a major weather event in Dallas.
The high school band from Missoula, Montana performed at Disney World. On the way back they were stranded at DFW airport, and forced to sleep at the airport for one night. And this was the first experience flying – and even leaving their home state – for many of the teens.
The late Senator Ted Kennedy was flagged at the airport because his name was similar to someone on the No Fly List.* Delta’s CEO wants to expand the use of these lists. And of course we can totally trust that only bad people will be hassled, right? Because law enforcement doesn’t make mistakes.
Tell that to Bethany Farber who was arrested at LAX and jailed for two weeks because, police say, she had the same name as someone else with an outstanding warrant. Here’s what the two women look like, side-by-side, so you can understand the officers’ confusion.
After 3 year hiatus, the Competitours mystery European team travel competition is back.
Featuring 10 teams of two players zigzagging on a secret routing across the nooks and crannies
of Western Europe, participants earn points by accomplishing a series of daily challenges that pushes them gently out of their comfort zone. The top three teams split a cash pool. In 2019, 70% of the teams were repeat players – that’s how much people love it. Each year is a totally new itinerary.
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.
Iceland has become the latest of many countries to remove pandemic-era restrictions. One Mile at a Time says they’re “encourag[ing] people to get infected.”
I don’t think that’s right, and lifting restrictions isn’t a “let ‘er rip” strategy as some have argued, either. It’s simply that the condition that made restrictions make sense early in the pandemic are no longer in effect today.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian as an op-ed in the Washington Post advocating for a federal No Fly List for ill-behaved passengers. What’s striking about the piece is how dismissive it seems to civil liberties concerns and the rule of law, and how little self-awareness there is over steps Delta itself has failed to take to address the problems their crew face in the air. The No Fly List probably won’t make much difference in any case.
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 »
