Category Archives for Airlines.
All that’s ‘different’ to make this is a ‘shuttle service’ is that the 11:50 p.m. Air France departure from New York and 7:35 p.m. departure from Paris will operate on Friday and Saturday nights, which they do not now. Let’s see which travel media get tripped up by just ‘publishing the press release.’
Flight attendants rearrange the beverage carts they’re given in order to serve customers efficiently as they move down the aisle. That’s almost a requirement to provide beverage service. American Airlines is now telling flight attendants that when they do this, they must also restore beverage carts to their original organization prior to the end of the flight.
The airline says that if they do not do this, caterers won’t “salvage and recycle products for future flights.” They want flight attendants, pressed for time and who are supposed to be providing service to customers, organizing things for the benefit of caterers who are on the ground.
Flight attendants sometimes engage in hijinks when there aren’t any passengers around. Sometimes that gets them in trouble, like when an airline decides that viral videos of crew inside of overhead bins shouldn’t circulate or when the photos are too provocative.
And other times the stunts they pull become instant sensations because of the skill and daring they display, like this Virgin Australia crewmember whose gymnastics and yoga gets put to use closing overhead bins. Upside down. With her feet. While maintaining perfect style and grace – and her uniform.
American has now aligned self-service check-in machines to have the same cut-off times as the system agents use at the counter.
However there are still times when you’ll need to see an agent to take advantage of an exception.
For at least five years American Airlines has been saying that the two things that drive premium passenger satisfaction with cabin crew are being addressed by name, and being served a predeparture beverage.
Now they’re turning to fortunate cookies to encourage these flight attendant behaviors.
Airlines, like many businesses, have become far more political in recent years – taking stances on controversial issues like voting rights, affirmative action, and gun control. But perhaps the most salient political topic right now alongside inflation is abortion – and airlines are staying silent even when asked about the issue.
A flight attendant accused Elon Musk of sexual harassment while working on contract for SpaceX corporate jets in 2016. She was paid a $250,000 settlement two years later over accusations that Musk, after she had become a licensed masseuse, sought sex during an inflight massage on a trip to London and offered to buy her a horse.
The CDC says you need to get tested for domestic travel, something they didn’t argue was necessary during the Delta surge or the Omicron surge at the beginning of the year. They’re also saying it’s important to be tested for domestic travel but not for indoor dining or concerts.
More than bringing politics into the aircraft cabin, the problem here is that Let’s Go Brandon has simply become derivative. It’s so 2021. Wearing a Let’s Go Brandon pin isn’t just a juvenile way to express yourself, it’s a way of saying I’m 8 months behind the meme.
Sometimes airline union leaders flat out steal from their members. Sometimes it’s more subtle.
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 »
