Category Archives for Airlines.
A Delta regional jet was already landing at LaGuardia when the pilots realized they had been talking to the wrong controller. The crew had switched to the wrong New York tower frequency on approach, and the mistake only became obvious when the controller asked the flight a simple question: where are you?
Passengers on a Delta regional flight say the plane sat on the ground waiting for a late-arriving traveler tied to airline leadership. They also say a man who had already been upgraded was removed from first class so the traveler could take his seat.
United Airlines is pouring resources into premium cabins and new upsell products, but coach travelers are getting upgrades too. The airline says economy flyers will see Starlink wifi, better food, softer blankets, improved earbuds, and more screens — small touches that matter when most passengers still sit in the back.
Delta usually sells its first class seats rather than giving them away as upgrades. So when a gate agent in Salt Lake City still had two empty seats to fill, she did not just clear the list and move on. She turned the gate area into a break dance contest and used that to assign the seats.
American Airlines flight attendants are privately voicing fears of a future bankruptcy, according to previously unreported union meeting minutes that describe the carrier’s finances as “dire.” The real concern is not that Chapter 11 is imminent, but that years of weak profitability and strategic mistakes have left the airline vulnerable if conditions get worse.
American Airlines may finally be ready to bring back seatback TVs. That would reverse years of stripping screens from much of its fleet, and it comes just as the airline faces pressure to upgrade a Wi-Fi product that once stood out but has since been passed by rivals.
Bilt has integrated Points Path into its app, giving members a much better way to search flights by showing cash fares, portal redemptions, and transfer-partner award pricing side by side. It is one of the most useful new features Bilt has added, making it easier to see in a single search when you should pay cash, use the portal, or transfer points out.
United flight attendants have reached a deal that would finally push the top of the pay scale above $100 an hour after going 5.5 years without a raise. The tentative agreement also adds long-sought sit pay and other improvements, giving members a much richer package after they overwhelmingly rejected the last contract.
American Airlines keeps talking about premium travel, but some first class passengers are still being served shelf-stable instant pasta that appears to cost about a dollar a serving. On a nearly 2,000-mile flight from Salt Lake City to Philadelphia, that kind of catering is not just cheap — it undercuts the entire premium story the airline is trying to sell.
An Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 737-400 veered off the runway while landing in Kabul, forcing an evacuation by slides and leaving the aircraft stopped in the grass with apparent wing damage. No one was hurt, but the airline drew attention for an astonishing response: it tried to brush off the incident by pointing to Air Canada’s recent fatal crash at LaGuardia.
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 »
