Category Archives for Airlines.
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.
Airlines don’t buy wine the way you do. They buy through tenders and through vendors that manage the unglamorous parts: forecasting, bonded supply, station-by-station distribution, substitutions, and even menu language and crew training. That’s why economy wine can land around $3 a bottle, while trophy First Class pours can run hundreds—and why both can still taste disappointing if they’re chosen (or served) without any thought to the inflight environment.
New York weather disruptions eased and competitors recovered, but Delta kept cancelling flights anyway—because it still couldn’t cover crews even after the storm was over.
A United Airlines regional jet departing Houston got an automated collision warning seconds after takeoff when another aircraft on the parallel runway turned the wrong way into its departure path. The crews were still low and close enough that the United flight reported a TCAS resolution advisory, the last line of defense designed to prevent midair collisions.
American Airlines already cut basic economy mileage earning to zero, and it is a classic penny-wise move with a bigger hidden cost. The airline is giving up the cheapest hook it has to get price-sensitive flyers into AAdvantage and, ultimately, into its credit card funnel—the business that actually drives profits.
For some families, the holidays aren’t about reunion—they’re about racing the clock. Give A Mile uses donated United miles to fly people to a loved one’s bedside in end‑of‑life situations. One balance can become one last hug.
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 »
