Category Archives for Airlines.
Sixty five United passengers alleged antisemitic abuse after their Tel Aviv flight was diverted back to Newark, including claims that crew blamed “the Jews” and that passengers were held for hours with little help. But because this was an international flight, the court never reached whether the allegations were true — the Montreal Convention barred the claims before the facts mattered.
British Airways already angered elite members by moving to a revenue-based status program that makes qualification much harder. Then it told some customers they had been renewed after all — only to reverse course, downgrade them anyway, and offer nothing for the mistake.
Delta is dropping coach drink service entirely on flights under 350 miles starting May 19, even as United and American still serve drinks on similar short hops. The airline is restoring full beverage service on some longer short flights, but for hundreds of shorter ones Delta will now be less generous than the rivals it likes to position itself above.
American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper told employees that rivals backfilled hub traffic in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Miami that “should be ours” — and that American is going back to take it. The strategy is not just more seats: it is more premium revenue, better customer experience, faster AAdvantage growth, and a renewed fight in markets where Delta, United and Southwest moved in while American pulled back.
After American Eagle Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk over the Potomac, the internet rushed to blame Jo Ellis, a transgender Black Hawk pilot who had nothing to do with the crash. She was alive, 100 miles away, and now her defamation lawsuit against an influencer who amplified the false claim has survived an early attempt to throw it out.
A flight attendant has her job back, and nearly $1 million, after Southwest Airlines and her union worked together to fire her over her union and religious politics.
JetBlue and Frontier are now being flagged as the airlines most exposed if the industry’s financial pressure turns into more Chapter 11 filings. The warning makes sense as a ranking exercise — both carriers face high fuel costs, weak margins, and difficult competitive positions — but the precise bankruptcy odds look too confident, and a ‘by 2027’ timeline may be too aggressive.
American Airlines customer chief Heather Garboden told employees the airline has “too many broken seats,” bad inflight entertainment screens, and duct tape where duct tape should not be. She says a dedicated Tech Ops team is now being built to fix aircraft interiors, with visible improvements expected by the end of summer.
American Airlines opened its Charlotte Provisions lounge as a grab-and-go option for Admirals Club members who do not have time for a full lounge visit. On my latest visit, though, the concept had a very American Airlines twist: staff told me guests are now limited to one food item each.
American Airlines generated $54.6 billion in revenue but just $111 million in profit last year — while its top officers and board received about $50 million in compensation. CEO Robert Isom gave up his bonus, but profit collapsed 87% while his total pay fell just 11%, and the proxy shows management remained largely insulated from the company’s financial failure.
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 »
