Category Archives for Airlines.
A woman flying Spirit out of Fort Lauderdale left a Louis Vuitton purse on the Gate F6 counter before boarding for Austin. Another passenger turned it in—then surveillance video shows two gate agents allegedly moving the contents and walking off with the bag. Both employees were arrested and charged with petit theft.
United has poured real money into Polaris wine, and it shows on today’s transatlantic menus. Flyers rave about the Catena Zapata “Argentino” Malbec, respect the Domaine Serene, and even the Laurent-Perrier Champagne feels like a deliberate premium signal—though the Whispering Angel rosé drags the lineup down.
The catch: substitutions, inconsistent catering, and limited crew wine knowledge often mean the cart doesn’t match the menu, and the food still can’t keep up.
American’s new Raven + Lily amenity kits are a real improvement—and the first in a while that do not feel cheap. The strange part is how little separates premium economy from Flagship First once you look inside the bag.
Passenger Ankit Dewan says an Air India Express captain confronted him in the staff security line at Delhi Terminal 1 after he objected to crew cutting ahead, insulted him as “anpadh,” and then struck him near the frisking area, leaving him bloodied. Dewan also claims he was pressured to sign a letter agreeing not to pursue the incident so his family wouldn’t miss their flight.
Passengers boarded a Cancún-bound flight expecting a routine departure, but the captain instead barricaded himself in the cockpit and refused to operate the flight. He told those onboard the airline owed him more than five months of unpaid wages and per diems, turning a labor dispute into a 60–90 minute standoff.
Passengers on a London-bound flight out of Málaga say they watched a family wheel an elderly woman onboard and insist she was already dead—after relatives told staff she was “just tired.” The airline disputes that, saying she boarded alive with a fit-to-fly certificate but died onboard before takeoff, forcing the aircraft back to stand and triggering an all-day delay.
Passengers on an Air Congo Boeing 737-800 reportedly sat onboard for hours after landing at Kindu Airport because ground staff couldn’t produce stairs to deplane the aircraft. Eventually, frustrated travelers began exiting on their own—jumping from the forward door down to the tarmac in a non-emergency situation, a stark breakdown in basic ground handling and onboard control.
American just rolled out a November/December lounge food refresh—and it’s already teeing up another one for winter. Flagship lounges are getting new “active stations” like a Pho bar in Philadelphia plus rotating hot dishes (from bulgogi in Dallas to lemongrass salmon in Chicago), while Admirals Clubs are pivoting toward a bagel-based version of the current avocado toast concept—where the whole thing will live or die on whether they can execute a decent bagel.
American Airlines is proactively emailing A321XLR business-class passengers to warn that the new suite doors cannot close yet because they aren’t FAA-certified. To make up for the missing privacy feature, the airline is offering 5,000 AAdvantage miles—another early-service wrinkle on an otherwise impressive new transcon and future long-haul workhorse.
American’s first Airbus A321XLR entered commercial service, debuting its new Flagship Suite. But early reports from onboard suggest flight attendants can’t set the table or serve meals with the swing-out screens deployed—forcing repeated stow-and-serve cycles that make you wonder whether the service flow was ever tested.
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 »
