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 »

Lufthansa Will Introduce New First And Business Class Next Year

by Gary Leff

Mar 04 2022

Lufthansa sees first class as crucial to their brand positioning, but they quite correctly don’t see a market for it on all of their flights. They’ve offered the cabin on more routes than where it made sense because they didn’t want multiple configurations of the same plane, and have wanted the flexibility to deploy an aircraft across different routes.

I wrote three years ago that I expected them to continue offering first class, just with fewer seats, and “could imagine offering just one row of first” on new Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s. The A350 is getting first class, will debut next year, and is expected to be just one row.

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150,000 Russian Tourists Currently Outside The Country, Many Having Difficulty Getting Home

by Gary Leff

Mar 04 2022

There are several elements to Western response: assist Ukraine, cripple Russia’s ability to finance its activities and supply a war, and disrupt Russian life. This last makes life difficult for both oligarchs – but it also makes life difficult for ordinary Russians.

It’s an open question how much making life inside of Russia difficult matters for the outcome of the invasion.

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FAA Hands Out Slot Subsidy To Delta, American and United

by Gary Leff

air traffic control
Mar 03 2022

The U.S. will extend slot waivers at New York JFK, LaGuardia and Washington National through October. United, Delta, and American asked for this jointly, to protect their turf without actually having to fly full schedules.

Among other reasons for agreeing, the FAA cites “global vaccination rates” as well as “continued unpredictability of [international] travel restrictions” and “the disparity between demand for domestic air travel and demand for international air travel” despite the fact that only one of the three slot-controlled airports in the U.S. (New York JFK) carries much international traffic at all.

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Will The Federal Mask Mandate Be Lifted This Month (And Will American Airlines Bring Back Booze)?

by Gary Leff

Mar 03 2022

JetBlue is bringing back fresh food to its premium cabin, and bringing back liquor to its flights starting March 15. American Airlines already brought back food to domestic first class, but its coach cabin remains dry. The airline has said it won’t bring back alcohol until the federal mask mandate is lifted.

When Southwest Airlines starting serving drinks again last month, that seemed like it would mean more pressure on American than JetBlue’s move. After all, both airlines are Dallas-based and Southwest is the traditional largest airline in the U.S. domestic market.

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Hyatt 25% Off Sale Is Coming

by Gary Leff

Mar 02 2022

Hyatt will run a 25% off sale between March 15 and March 22 for stays running April 1 – May 31, 2022. And the deal is even better outside the U.S. because in addition to 25% off the Daily Rate, it comes with free meals and discounts too.

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JetBlue’s Key Executive Who Left For Delta In January Is Already Moving To American Airlines

by Gary Leff

Mar 02 2022

Delta poached JetBlue’s Head of Revenue and Planning in January. Scott Laurence was JetBlue’s architect of the “Northeast Alliance” with American Airlines before becoming Delta’s Vice President of Network Planning.

It was a shocking move. The knowledge he was taking with him of American-JetBlue strategy sent shockwaves. It’s the alliance between American and JetBlue that sets up the two to compete against Delta. The Department of Justice, in part at Delta’s behest, is suing to stop it. And Delta poached one of the key insiders who could help in that fight. And then… in February Laurence was gone from Delta.

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The Impossible Task Of Repossessing 236 Planes Now Illegally Leased By Russian Airlines

by Gary Leff

flight attendants in red
Mar 02 2022

Not only has Europe banned Russian planes from its airspace, European sanctions mean that Russian airlines face repossession of more than half of their planes. That’s because they’re leased and those leases become illegal, and void. Planes must be taken back within 30 days but there aren’t enough repossession crews in the world to do this. And in many cases the insurance on these aircraft has been cancelled, too.

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