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 »

Business Travel Is Returning, And Elite Frequent Flyers Are In The Air Again

by Gary Leff

Jul 21 2021

Business travel seems to be coming back, with airlines generally reporting that it’s returned to about 40% of 2019 levels, heading towards 60% in the current quarter, with two primary drivers that will lead to its further return.

United Airlines reports that while frequent flyers still make up a reduced percentage of travelers overall – they are “7 to 8 points below normal” for even MileagePlus members on a given flight – three quarters of elite members have either flown or booked travel this year. They believe those elites who haven’t are primarily people who fly to international markets that have been closed. United also claims that 84% of MileagePlus members are vaccinated.

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Europe From The $300s Roundtrip Including Seat Assignment, Checked Bag

by Gary Leff

Jul 21 2021

What makes this deal is that you can fly from many U.S. cities – Chicago, San Francisco, Washington Dulles, New York, Boston and Miami – to much of Europe, for a price in the $300s roundtrip and it isn’t basic economy – the fare includes a seat assignment and a checked bag. And it’s on TAP Air Portugal, a Star Alliance airline, so you can even credit the miles to Air Canada if you wish.

With this fare you can fly to Manchester, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin, Madrid, Milan, Nice, Oslo, Rome, Paris, Stockholm, Venice, Vienna and more – even Moscow or Casablanca.

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American Airlines Says Their Boxed Lunches Represent The “Return To Pre-Covid Meal Service”

by Gary Leff

Jul 21 2021

American Airlines has introduced boxed (cold) meals to flights over 900 miles. In an employee meeting last week, Jodi Spicer (Managing Director of Onboard Dining), argued that this is a return to pre-Covid meal service.

A year ago American planned for cheaper catering when service returned. Lets hope these boxed meals are just the bridge to something better and not the destination themselves.

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Passenger Attacked On Miami Flight After Taking Too Long To Retrieve Bags From The Overhead Bin

by Gary Leff

Jul 20 2021

On Sunday night’s Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Miami, two passengers got into a fight as the aircraft started deplaning – because “the person in front of him was taking too long to get his bags from the overhead bins.”

Since the man who was attacked was black, and the man who got away with it white, social media discussion focuses on the racial elements of the incident. Although you might say this is just what happens on a Frontier Airlines flight bound for Miami.

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Air Canada Told The DOT It Was Ok To Commit Fraud, The U.S. Government Response Was Brutal

by Gary Leff

Jul 20 2021

The U.S. government proposed to fine Air Canada $25.55 million for selling tickets to customers, cancelling their flights, and refusing to issue refunds. When customers complained to the Department of Transportation, Air Canada claimed they weren’t subject to U.S. law. And Air Canada sought to dismiss the fine arguing that, despite U.S. government claims, the law doesn’t require refunding customers when an airline fails to provide the paid-for service anyway.

The response from the Department of Transportation to this nonsense is brutal.

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