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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United Passenger Fined $49,793 For Hitting Flight Attendant Who Refused Him A Cocktail

by Gary Leff

united plane
Feb 17 2021

A passenger on a Los Angeles – Tokyo flight last year attacked a flight attendant who refused him a cocktail. The captain diverted the flight to Anchorage, and now the man has to pay $49,793 to cover meals and lodging for passengers and crew during the diversion.

He doesn’t have to pay the airline’s additional costs, such as fuel or labor costs, resulting from the diversion. He’ll get 5 years of probation. But he won’t go to prison because his lawyer says he has diabetes, which is a co-morbidity for Covid-19. Covid-19 is his ‘get out of jail’ card.

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Las Vegas Plans To Rename Airport For Former Democratic Senator Harry Reid

by Gary Leff

las vegas
Feb 17 2021

A couple of weeks ago I flagged a movement to rename Las Vegas airport, ditching former Senator Pat McCarran’s name and replacing it with former Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid’s. Things have moved quickly, and Clark County voted to move forward and ask the FAA for its blessing to honor the retired Senate Democrat.

This is less about honoring Harry Reid and more about cancelling former Democratic Senator Pat McCarran, for whom the airport is currently named.

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Passenger Hits First Class Flight Attendant, Tries To Open Cabin Door – A Vigilante Helps Take Him Down

by Gary Leff

Feb 17 2021

A passenger on board Delta Air Lines flight DL2349 on Sunday tried to open a cabin door while inflight. That almost never works out the way the passenger wants, because pressurization .

Another passenger on the Boston-bound flight reports that the man was nearly 300 pounds. Law enforcement on board tried to subdue the man after he hit the first class flight attendant, and passenger taking video joined in to help, asking other passengers to hand him a belt to tie the man up.

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American Express Opening Centurion Lounge At Washington National Airport

by Gary Leff

Feb 17 2021

American Express plans to open a new Centurion lounge at Washington National airport at the end of 2022. It will be at the southern end of the B concourse, and by the time it opens B, B/C and C will all be connected post-security through a combined checkpoint (“Project Journey”).

The lounge will be 11,500 square feet. The lounge will offer shower suites and “floor-to-ceiling windows will offer airfield views ”

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Flight Attendants Are Pushing For Creation Of National No-Fly List To Ban Ill-Behaved Passengers

by Gary Leff

Feb 17 2021

In an update from the head of the American Airlines flight attendants union, crewmembers were briefed on the union’s priorities, reflected in their discussions with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

This includes a third airline bailout, vaccine priority, and a “a comprehensive ‘No-Fly List’ to further address threatening and abusive behavior on the airplane”

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Flight Attendant Who Faked Kidnapping, Hoping To Avoid Quarantine In Jamaica Has Been Fired

by Gary Leff

Feb 17 2021

JetBlue flight attendant Kalina Collier reported on social media that she was being held hostage inside of Jamaica hotel. She had arrived on the island on January 28, and was supposed to be on a flight back February 1. First she had to take a Covid-19 test, which came back positive.

Collier took a second test, which came back negative, but a PCR test sent her to quarantine where she took to social media claiming she was kidnapped and held hostage. She’s been fired – and JetBlue’s CEO has even had to apologize to the government of Jamaica.

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JetBlue Introduces Bag Ban For Basic Economy Passengers, Diminishes Value Of Elite Status

by Gary Leff

jetblue plane
Feb 16 2021

JetBlue will ban basic economy customers from bringing full-sized carry on bags on board, and will finally eliminate change fees on other ticket types, which their competitors did last summer.

Elites used to get waived change fees, but the airline says they aren’t contemplating any new elite benefits in exchange – what they do for members is already enough.

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He Gave Us Bonvoy And Defended Resort Fees. Did Arne Sorenson ‘Stand Up For What Was Right?’

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Feb 16 2021

I was sad to learn of the passing of Marriott’s long-time CEO Arne Sorenson, the first non-Marriott to hold the post. My sympathies go out to his family who lost him to pancreatic cancer way too early at 62. I wasn’t going to write about it because the news is well-covered. My reactions though center largely around what’s been said about him since his untimely passing.

His public legacy, I think, is more complicated than the tributes I’ve seen generally recognize. And that flows naturally from the role he filled at the helm of a global business in a very political industry.

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Hotels Called Out For Price Gouging As Unprecedented Weather Event Hits Texas Electrical Grid

by Gary Leff

Feb 16 2021

Texas is experiencing a weather event it hasn’t seen in a generation. We don’t do single digit temperatures, negative wind chills, and significant snow. The problem compounded when the state’s electric grid couldn’t handle demand. Freezing temperatures took some power generation offline (due to frozen natural gas pipes) at a time when everyone cranked up their heat.

Local residents without power are complaining about hotel price gouging.

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