Category Archives for Airlines.
American Airlines is using a new system that will actually hold tight connections for late-arriving passengers when it won’t wreck the rest of the operation — and it now pushes alerts telling you exactly how long your flight will wait. Here’s how it works, how it compares to United’s ConnectionSaver, and what it means for anyone booking those brutal 25–30 minute connections through Charlotte, and Phoenix.
A Delta passenger boarded his Las Vegas flight handing out $100 bills and Ghirardelli candy to the crew — all while filming himself for social media. The internet loved the generosity but hated the performance, and this raises a better question: how should you actually thank flight attendants without crossing lines or creating ethics problems?
United won’t hike the elite thresholds again for 2026, but it is quietly clawing back value by moving PlusPoints to dynamic pricing and tightening access to business-class saver awards for anyone without status or the co-brand card.
American Airlines has finally sent its first Boeing 777-300ER to Hong Kong to start the long-delayed Project Olympus retrofit, trading Flagship First for all-new business suites with doors and much bigger premium cabins.
DOT made headlines bragging about a “record” $140 million penalty against Southwest for its Christmas 2022 meltdown, but the airline was never really on the hook for that number. Now that the agency has quietly waived the final $11 million, and surprisingly that was the right move.
Delta used to be the airline you picked when you were willing to give up miles value for a better inflight experience and rock-solid reliability. Now cabins, wifi, lounges and even upgrades have been cut back enough that United’s hard product and elite treatment often look better by comparison.
Lufthansa tried to crack down on a HON Circle member for “throwaway ticketing” after a flight attendant ratted him out, demanding €414 for a skipped segment. Instead, the case wound up in court, the airline lost, and Lufthansa has now rewritten its rules to allow skiplagging when plans change.
CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin casually admitted on Squawk Box that he just skiplagged a ticket and saved about $1,500, blaming the trick on a travel agent and openly wondering whether he was supposed to cancel the extra legs. Throwaway ticketing is a commercial dispute over pricing, not a moral failing by consumers, even if it is something most people probably should not do often.
American’s COO told the Skift Aviation Forum that the airline’s artificial intelligence initiatives won’t be used to reduce headcount — even as Delta and United are already leaning on AI to automate whole categories of work. His primary example of AA’s “AI strategy” was the HEAT tool the airline has been promoting for more than three years, underscoring just how far behind American has fallen.
United MileagePlus cardmembers can now earn 2 miles per dollar on rent when paying through Bilt, with earnings split between the card issuer and a bonus mile from United. The catch: you’ll pay a 3% fee for the privilege, making the math far less compelling than Bilt’s earlier 3x Alaska offer unless you’re using it to generate elite qualifying miles as well.
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 »
