Category Archives for Airlines.
Starting today, WiFi is free on most American Airlines flights for AAdvantage members, putting American alongside Delta and JetBlue while United and Alaska head toward free Starlink service. The catch is rollout: not every aircraft is enabled yet, widebodies come later, and customers paying for monthly or annual WiFi plans should watch for billing until American clarifies cancellations and refunds.
Delta and Marriott have perfected the same loyalty trick: strip the meaningful upgrades, then convince customers they still got one—whether it is Comfort Plus instead of first class, or a fourth-floor room and a “you’ve been upgraded” packet.
There are a lot of things that are unpleasant as an airline passenger. One is how little legroom your ticket buys, though there are options to pay more money to get more space. There is a right way and a wrong way to take matters into your own hands if you’re frustrated by a reclining passenger.
Southwest is going to add first class, and it’s basically unavoidable once the airline is selling basic economy and bag fees like everyone else. The problem is they aren’t built to deliver a true premium product—no seatback screens, limited power, and a cabin and galley setup that would need real investment for hot service—but without a top rung, their new fare strategy has nothing meaningful to upsell.
One creative flight attendant – on what looks like Spirit Airlines – found a way to make passengers help out cleaning the cabin, as captured in a viral video. This flight attendant made an announcement, leading passengers in a stretching exercise.
Airlines pushed passengers into a bring-your-own-screen world—then cut back the built-in hardware that makes watching comfortable. With laptops barely usable in many seats, travelers are inventing their own ergonomics: seat pockets, airsickness bags, Ziplocs, even hats turned into phone mounts. Here are the best (and worst) DIY setups—and what they say about economy flying today.
Starting January 7, British Airways will stop serving a full English-style hot breakfast on its shortest business class routes out of London. Club Europe passengers will get fruit, yogurt, and pastry instead—another cost-cut that chips away at the one thing European business class usually still does well: catering.
That inflight coffee isn’t brewed from a kitchen faucet—it’s made with water drawn from an aircraft tank. A new analysis of three years of EPA aircraft-water records tallied 35,000+ test locations and graded airlines A to F: one carrier scored perfect, while American and JetBlue landed in D territory. Here’s what’s behind the grades, what the data can (and can’t) prove, and what you should take away before you order your next drink onboard.
Delta cancelled 689 flights in just three days, and the problem wasn’t lingering weather — it was a union-contract catch-22 that made last-minute pilot staffing break down. A chain of rules around automated trip offers and “auto-accept” windows created a timing trap: open trips piled up faster than schedulers could award them, and cancellations followed even as conditions normalized.
Two Pakistan International Airlines flight attendants assigned to PK840 (a Boeing 777 from Jeddah to Multan) got into a physical fight in the departure lounge before boarding. Video shows the two women locked up by the arms while a mustached airline official tries to separate them, with bystanders stepping in as they re-engage. The flight ultimately pushed back 2 hours and 19 minutes late, and both attendants were suspended.
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 »
