Category Archives for Airlines.
The P.A. system is wired – it is not wifi or bluetooth-enabled. My first reaction when I saw this was, that’s simply not possible, right? It does not seem to be.
American Airlines inspected the Boeing 737-800 as well as the P.A. system itself after these reports. They tell me that maintenance “determined the sounds were caused by an issue with the PA amplifier. There was no external access to the system.”
Southwest Airlines quietly counted award travel towards the flight segments needed for award status for travel January 1 – September 19 of this year. They’ve finally emailed members to say they’ve done it, and they’re doing two more things to make status qualification easier.
American Airlines will no longer offer Flagship First Class. However that doesn’t necessary meal they’ll no longer offer a seat that’s better than business class – indeed, that’s better than their new business class suite with doors.
You should expect a better seat in row one of widebody business class:
I find travel on Spirit to be a value but I am not likely to fly them in the next 3 months, and certainly not enough to requalify after the 3 month status match, so won’t pursue this myself – but several of you will find this helpful.
Delta Air Lines is conducting a test boarding planes using two jet bridges at the same time. This way they can get twice as many passengers onto the aircraft at once, making the boarding process go faster.
If adopted, in the future this could mean a single jet bridge that splits off and then boards passengers through two different doors on the aircraft. For now they are using two gates next to each other to accomplish the feat. Since Cincinnati is a much smaller station for Delta than the hub it used to be, they have extra gate space to allow this kind of test.
American Airlines announced this morning that they’ll be moving to new business class suites with doors, putting more premium seats into planes, and eliminating their Flagship First Class product starting in 2024.
The government makes it difficult to become a pilot. And the government pushes pilots out while they’re still able to work. This is done in the name of safety, but has little to do with safety.
Instead it is rent-seeking by pilots unions who want to limit the number of pilots. And they want to limit the ability of airlines to fill pilot jobs quickly. Both of those give them tremendous leverage in contract negotiations with airlines. When there aren’t enough pilots, pilots earn more money.
A Southwest Airlines passenger brought their fish to the Tampa airport. That’s not a pet you can check, and it’s not something that’s usually allowed on board either .Would you believe that a Southwest Airlines agent offered to keep the fish and care for it until the passenger returned – three months later?
A reader was flying from Charlotte to Cleveland on American Airlines flight 1264 Thursday morning when he caught the moment that an entrepreneurial pilot went the extra mile to ensure their aircraft was ready to fly.
There’s no question that Emirates premium cabin customers who find themselves on board United’s new Newark – Dubai flight will be surprised by the food and beverage program. Sir Time Clark says the airline needs to “make strikes” to improve. That’s an understatement. But he’s not worried. Indeed, Emirates is able to partner with easyJet, Gol, and Jetstar while maintaining their premium image.
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 »
