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 »

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American Airlines Doesn’t Have Enough Crew To Provide Premium Service

by Gary Leff

Nov 17 2021

The U.S. federal government sets a minimum number of flight attendants on an aircraft for safety (generally, one per 50 passengers). But while many flight attendants announce that they are there “primarily for your safety” (don’t expect more than that!) they’re also the people in most direct contact with customers delivering an airline’s service.

So-called ‘full service’ airlines have historically staffed flights with more than the legal minimum. That started changing even before the pandemic, but accelerated when they weren’t providing much service at all.

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New Fast Track To American AAdvantage Status

by Gary Leff

british tail plane
Nov 17 2021

American Airlines is looking to fast track business travelers to elite status. There’s no registration required, all you need to do is book your tickets including your AAdvantage number and either a Business ExtrAA (small business program) account number or corporate travel program identifier.

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The Disappearance Of Airport Shuttles: Self-Inflicted Wound For Airport Hotels

by Gary Leff

Nov 15 2021

Far fewer airport hotels have free shuttles than did before the pandemic. Hotels are short on labor, and they’re trying to cut costs generally, and many have dropped their airport transportation – one of the key elements of being an airport hotel. There are multiple reasons for this, Airport overnights are most common at major international gateways, and international travel slowed – though it’s coming back, and roaring back across the Atlantic with planes generally quite full. Airport hotels at outstations where crew overnight attract plenty of guests, but airlines need to provide their crew transport whether there’s a free shuttle for other guests or not. Hotels are cutting costs across the board, just like they’re eliminating automatic daily housekeeping and may not operate full restaurant hours. Hotels seem to have a frame of ‘we…

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