Category Archives for Airlines.
I spent three hours in an American Airlines coach middle seat from Washington National to Dallas — and got two and a half hours of real work done. That should not feel revelatory, but after years of chasing upgrades and paying more for domestic first, it made me rethink when the extra space is actually worth the money.
Travel strips away the version of someone they perform on dates. Delays, bad hotel rooms, money decisions, tired mornings, service workers, bathroom habits, and long stretches of conversation show you how they actually move through the world — and whether they make life easier or harder.
JetBlue’s CEO was spotted onboard a Boston–Fort Lauderdale flight playing “Seat Bingo” with passengers and giving away free tickets — with two of the winners sitting in middle seats. The video is making the rounds again, and while it appears to be recycled, it’s still good to see JetBlue’s top executive making the flight feel a little more human.
Forty-three years ago, a brand new Boeing 767 cruising at 41,000 feet over Canada went quiet as both engines failed — not because of sabotage or mechanical collapse, but because a metric conversion mistake had sent it into the sky with only half the fuel it needed. What happened next became one of aviation’s most famous survival stories: a powerless widebody gliding toward an old air base that was no longer really an air base at all.
American Airlines is trying to look more premium, but one passenger reports the pretzels they were served expired in 2020. Packaged pretzels that old probably are not dangerous if the bag is intact, but six year old snacks are still a ridiculous look for an airline trying to convince passengers its product is improving.
A viral video appears to show United raising a fare by $400 after a passenger enters a senior-citizen date of birth, with the website saying the price changed “based on traveler information.” But this looks like a recurring website glitch where United pulls a senior fare that is not actually the lowest eligible fare.
British Airways already charged some of the highest cash surcharges in the award world. Now it is raising the cash element on Avios redemptions by as much as 33%, while giving members almost no detail beyond a few London-origin examples — because apparently paying hundreds of dollars on top of your points still was not enough.
A United flight from Newark to Guatemala City diverted to Washington Dulles after a passenger tried to open a rear cabin door at cruising altitude and then assaulted another traveler, according to air traffic control audio. The door could not actually open at 36,000 feet — but the behavior was serious enough to send the 737 MAX off course.
Frontier says its online booking fee is optional because passengers can avoid it by buying tickets at the airport. But when customers actually show up at the airport, Frontier has told DOT it charges a $25 booking fee there too — turning a tax-arbitrage trick into something that looks to me like fraud.
DHS officials reportedly told airline leaders last week that they are serious about pulling Customs officers from airports tied to sanctuary cities after the World Cup. That would not just punish local politicians — it could cripple international flights at JFK, LAX, O’Hare, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Denver, Newark and more, hitting lawful travelers, cargo, airlines and the national economy.
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 »
