Category Archives for Airlines.
Southwest Airlines will begin assigned seating for bookings made in the second half of next year, for flights operated in the first half of 2026.
They’ve announced what this means for their A-List and A-List Preferred elite members, and how this will affect Companion Pass.
Airline first class hasn’t been for the wealthy in 40 years. Domestically, it went from a place filled with upgraded upper middle class middle managers to a place filled with people who have $40 or, sadly, people who have $40 available on a credit card.
Whether or not first class is ‘worth it’ depends, of course, on how much you value it and on your available funds but the modest increment means the extra cost is frequently easy to justify.
With United flight attendants having overwhelmingly voted to authorize their union to declare a strike if the government lets them, the AFA-CWA union is currently soliciting volunteers from amongst their members to be the first to strike.
A decade ago, I spoke with some folks who were trying to enable gambling with frequent flyer miles. And back then what I told them was that no one would touch it because of reputational concerns. That was true at the time. Things have changed so dramatically!
Since it’s now possible to earn Marriott points gambling, the Overton window has shifted sufficiently that more programs may be open to the revenue possibilities of gambling using frequent flyer miles.
American Airlines announced its AAdvantage frequent flyer program changes for 2025 this morning and it’s really great news by omission. There’s nothing bad. In fact there are really just program additions. That’s not something we see often, though it was the case last year with American AAdvantage as well.
So what is changing for the new member year that starts March 1?
Southwest Airlines is turning Orlando into a mini-connecting hub for short haul intra-Florida routes, adding flights to Miami, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach and Sarasota to their existing Fort Lauderdale route.
American AAdvantage is the best program for earning status beyond simply flying. It has the best partner award redemption pricing. But there’s one area where American AAdvantage has lagged behind all of its competitors: rewarding customers with lifetime elite status.
Starting March 1, 2025 they’re revamping the AAdvantage Million Mile program.
Poor quality wifi is something that I avoid when choosing an airline. It costs airlines ticket revenue. While the cost of wifi is part of the cost of travel – airlines that bundle it in with ticket price become more competitive, while charging separately makes little sense when it’s possible to offer it at near-zero marginal cost once installed on the aircraft.
United Airlines flight attendants haven’t had a raise in four years, as contract negotiations drag on. The union says that the airline is making unreasonable demands, like only paying health care benefits for flight attendants who work.
Reconfiguring planes and buying new seats is expensive, and JetBlue is slashing costs. But perhaps the biggest takeaway is that squeezing these seats in is expected to mean less legroom in the coach cabin. JetBlue is, once again, making itself more like the rest of the industry.
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 »
