Category Archives for Airlines.
American is testing route-specific First Class catering: starting February 11, Dallas–New York flights will offer Texas barbecue as a preorder option, It’s the same move Delta used to kick off what became its own catering upgrade—so this could be the start of something bigger.
A Fifth Circuit judge openly laughed when the TSA argued it isn’t set up to refund millions of passengers—while defending a $48 million penalty against Southwest for allegedly failing to return the same security fees. The case tests whether an airline has to cut cash refunds for government fees when travel credits expire unused.
A passenger handed a flight attendant a sealed airsickness bag mid-flight and said, “This is for you”—so she assumed it was trash and set it aside. Later she opened it and found it was packed with cash: $208 that passengers had quietly pooled as a collective tip.
American’s 2026 AAdvantage changes are now live, and the most meaningful shift isn’t elite qualification—it’s the quiet devaluation of partner earning bonuses, now reduced and capped. Combined with basic economy earning zero miles, it points to a broader strategy change: AAdvantage is no longer being treated as the primary reason to choose American, as the airline pours money into premium seats, clubs, and service instead.
On a 5 a.m. Spirit flight, a passenger ordered the Ghirardelli hot chocolate—and says she was sweating, nauseous, and vomiting within minutes, with severe diarrhea for the rest of the flight. The timing makes classic food poisoning unlikely, which raises a more interesting question: was it something she consumed earlier, the stress of an all-nighter, or the reality of making “hot chocolate” with airline tank water?
Sixty-three Ole Miss fans were on the same tight connection through DFW, with a delay threatening to strand them short of the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix. Instead of holding the flight, American simply moved gates—turning what would have been a terminal sprint into a short walk, and the Phoenix flight still pushed back early.
United flight attendants voted down a union-endorsed contract by 71% after five years without a raise—and now the union is demanding pay increases immediately, before a new deal is negotiated. United is pushing back, arguing that any added pay or “quality of life” improvements have to come as part of a full contract package with tradeoffs on work rules.
Starting today, WiFi is free on most American Airlines flights for AAdvantage members, putting American alongside Delta and JetBlue while United and Alaska head toward free Starlink service. The catch is rollout: not every aircraft is enabled yet, widebodies come later, and customers paying for monthly or annual WiFi plans should watch for billing until American clarifies cancellations and refunds.
Delta and Marriott have perfected the same loyalty trick: strip the meaningful upgrades, then convince customers they still got one—whether it is Comfort Plus instead of first class, or a fourth-floor room and a “you’ve been upgraded” packet.
There are a lot of things that are unpleasant as an airline passenger. One is how little legroom your ticket buys, though there are options to pay more money to get more space. There is a right way and a wrong way to take matters into your own hands if you’re frustrated by a reclining passenger.
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 »
