Category Archives for Airlines.
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.
Spirit’s March operating report shows just how impossible the airline had become: it spent $1.61 for every $1 of revenue, lost $157 million on operations in one month, and still would have been deeply underwater even if fuel had been free. They could not have been bailed out.
Delta SkyMiles has been underdelivering for a quarter century, and somehow customers kept swiping the cards anyway. But when someone with 2 million miles says she still has to pay retail to get to France, you have to ask whether the “SkyPesos” problem is finally becoming obvious to normal people.
An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit diverted to Montreal after passengers were told U.S. authorities refused landing over a “virus” concern. Crew reportedly put on masks, onboard service stopped, and the diversion comes just as the CDC has started enhanced screening and entry restrictions tied to Ebola-related outbreaks in East and Central Africa.
Self-tagging a bag should mean the airline has removed the bottleneck. Instead, passengers can print their own tags in two minutes and still stand in line for an hour just to hand the bag to an employee — a completely unnecessary failure when automated bag drop already exists and some airlines do use it.
Airlines say flight attendants are there primarily for safety, not service. But in an American Airlines teen death case, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed crew confusion and delay during a cardiac arrest on an international flight, saying what matters is whether the FAA-required defibrillator actually worked.
Global Airlines promised a luxury Airbus A380 revival across the Atlantic. Instead, its one used A380 is parked in storage, the airline still lacks the licenses needed to operate scheduled service, and now one of its most credible backers — OnlyFans co-founder Tom Stokely — has left the board.
Philippine Airlines has long had some of the best award availability across the Pacific, but U.S. travelers had few practical ways to book it. Now Qatar Airways Privilege Club can book Philippine Airlines awards online, opening a new path from U.S. transfer points to Manila and beyond — with reasonable taxes, useful availability, and pricing that is good to know before you transfer.
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 »
