Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

Bypass LaGuardia: Seaplane Service Will Challenge New York-Boston Shuttle

by Gary Leff on February 20, 2020

Feb 20 2020

Cape Air won approval to start flights from Boston Harbor to New York City, at East 23rd St. in Manhattan. This is a one year pilot program for four flights a day.

Currently Amtrak is desirable for its downtown-to-downtown service, making up for slow train speeds by avoiding commutes for passengers looking to travel between city centers. This service offers to cut out the airport transit while retaining the speed of flying, though of course is subject to weather more than train travel. The major limitation, however, is frequency.

The JetBlue Flight Attendant Who’s A Dead Ringer For Meghan Markle

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

meghan markle prince harry

Feb 19 2020

Thirty two year old JetBlue JFK-based flight attendant Christine Mathis says she first started getting confused for Meghan Markle in 2011 when passengers would say she ‘looked like that girl from Suits‘ on USA. It picked up when Markle married Prince Harry. She says passengers would ask her why she was working as a flight attendant after marrying a royal?

Now that they’ve been in the news constantly over Megxit she’s signed on with a talent agency as a professional lookalike.

Seriously, Who At American Airlines Thought This Was Food?

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

Feb 19 2020

One passenger shared the meal they were served in first class on an American Eagle breakfast flight from New York LaGuardia to Atlanta. It looks like a broken up granola pieces sandwich and that’s what the passenger thought that it was, describing it as “the driest sandwich known to mankind” although they “thought it was chorizo too at first.”

Airline, Hotel and Catering Conglomerate HNA To Be Taken Over By Chinese Government

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

hongkong airlines plane

Feb 19 2020

HNA group has struggled under a mountain of $100 billion worth of debt. They’ve been unable to pay employees or pay for fuel at Hong Kong Airlines. And that was before coronavirus.

In addition to airline stakes they own stakes in airline caterer Gate Gourmet and Hilton Hotels.

American Released Data to the SEC That Shows How Award Travelers are Doing

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

airline cabin

Feb 19 2020

It’s been tough to be an American AAdvantage member over the last several years if you actually want to use your miles to fly American. Since US Airways management took over in the final days of 2013, far fewer passengers have been traveling on American using their miles. That’s largely the result of a lack of saver award inventory.

The airline pledged to change that, and just released new numbers to the SEC that says how they’re doing.

Starting March 11 You’ll Be Able to Select Your Meal in Advance On American Airlines Regional Jets

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

airplane food

Feb 19 2020

American Airlines started letting customers pre-select their meals online when they’re flying in premium cabins back in the fall of 2012. Delta didn’t roll out this feature until early 2019 and United is still in testing.

While American moved forward with pre-orders for buy on board in coach, they didn’t actually extend pre-orders to first class on regional jets. That’s finally changing.

Qatar Airways Increases Its Ownership Stake In British Airways To 25%

by Gary Leff on February 19, 2020

plane tails

Feb 19 2020

Qatar Airways owns 9.99% of Cathay Pacific, 5% of China Southern (double American’s stake), and 10% of LATAM. They owned 49% of Air Italy before that carrier shut down. Their biggest remaining investment is in IAG, the parent of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and soon Air Europa.

Qatar owned 21.4% of the British Airways parent – and has now increased that to 25.1%.

3 Cases Where American Airlines Gate Agents May Hold The Boarding Door For Passengers

by Gary Leff on February 18, 2020

american airlines lounge

Feb 18 2020

United has a program called ConnectionSaver to hold planes for connecting passengers where it won’t cause system or other passenger delays. United expects 25% of flights to arrive 10 minutes early (or more) every day. So holding plenty of flights still allows for on time arrivals.

American doesn’t defer to a computer for this. Their operations center can make the decision to hold a flight, for instance when there are a large number of connecting passengers they’ll have difficulty accommodating in the event of a misconnect. However there are 3 cases where gate agents are allowed allowed to hold the boarding door for customers past 10 minutes to departure.

First Class Passengers On American Airlines Can Give Up Their Seat To Whomever They Wish

by Gary Leff on February 18, 2020

economy seats

Feb 18 2020

The Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Borden Dairy was flying American Airlines from Dallas Fort-Worth to Charleston, South Carolina with her CEO. The CEO insisted she take his first class seat. However she reports that an hour into the flight a flight attendant realized she wasn’t the passenger on the manifest. That’s when things got heated.

Get A Tax Refund Whenever You Buy Airline Miles And Spend Them On International Travel

by Gary Leff on February 17, 2020

Feb 17 2020

The federal government charges a 7.5% excise tax on domestic air travel. When you buy miles from a U.S. airline you have to pay the tax, because the assumption is the miles are being used for domestic travel.

The IRS notes that if you use purchased miles for international travel (or hotels, gift cards, or anything other than domestic air travel) you can claim a refund of that 7.5% tax.

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 »