Category Archives for Airlines.
While done under the guise of the environment, it’s really protectionism for the national carrier whose largest owner is the French government – and it’s a move that is actually bad for the environment.
It begins with Saturday’s 4 p.m. American Airlines flight 2333 from Phoenix to Newark which was delayed overnight, with a new 6 a.m. Sunday departure time, after confusion over seat assignments on board led to a group of passengers being removed from the aircraft. Ultimately everyone was deplaned as part of the passenger removal – a common technique post the United Airlines David Dao beating – as a way of avoiding confrontation with a single passenger.
Thursday night’s Philadelphia – London Heathrow flight 728 became a day long journey to nowhere all day Friday as the aircraft, first delayed for three hours, finally took off in the wee hours of Friday morning before making it nearly halfway over the Atlantic… and turning around.
A Delta Air Lines passenger tracked down the noise cancelling headphones he left on a flight at an employee’s house. The airline says the employee is no longer working for them. Mat Krantz left the headphones behind when he got off of a flight from Atlanta to Raleigh. He realized right away that they were still on board as soon as he’d exited the jet bridge, but he wasn’t allowed back on board to retrieve them. He filed a report with the airline and airport, and he tracked the headphones with the help of an Apple AirTag which was attached to the headphones’ case. The man expected the headphones to turn up at lost and found, but the next day they showed at… “a random home in Raleigh.” His wife talked him out of going…
A business class passenger on an American Airlines flight to Tokyo on Thursday boarded and found blood-stained women’s underwear at their seat. On a flight departing Tokyo I’d expect outstanding cleaning. But even departing the U.S., we’re talking about a “Flagship” international premium flight. The standard of cleaning, based on this passenger’s account, is appalling.
There hasn’t been a single safety issue identified with Part 380 carriers complying with the rules applicable to Part 121 operations. In fact, the rulemaking even notes that “the FAA has adjusted its oversight of these increased operations” and has not expressed a concern about JSX or similar carriers.
The only reason the agency cites for potentially banning their operation is they’ve grown, but that is literally what the rules – and the Department of Transportation – are designed for.
They say there are only two kinds of checked luggage: carry on and lost. But that’s not true. The third kind is damaged. The two most common airline complaints with photos on social media are passengers being required to gate check carry on bags when their plane’s overhead bins are actually empty, and scuffed or damaged checked bags.
This was the best American Airlines flight I’ve had all year and I flew long haul first class with them this summer. I gave Allie a “Non-stop Thanks” certificate, for sure.
American Airlines flight attendants voted 99.47% in favor of a strike, with 93% of union members voting.
It’s more likely that flight attendants will strike out against specific flights on specific dates, rather than engaging in an all-out strike. But this won’t happen right away.
United Airlines award space is wide open between the U.S. and India. You can fly out of San Francisco, Chicago, or Newark (or, potentially, connect to one of those cities) and on to Delhi with some availability to Mumbai as well. You’ll find at least two business class seats every day through the end of the schedule.
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 »
