Category Archives for Airlines.
American Airlines spent years ripping seatback entertainment screens out of domestic aircraft and telling passengers their phones were good enough. Now its customer chief says “stay tuned,” suggesting one of the airline’s most visible passenger-experience mistakes may finally be getting reversed.
The final Spirit Airlines commercial flight to land asked DFW Tower whether any other Spirit flights were coming in behind it. When the answer came back that they might be the last one, the crew signed off with grace — “it was a pleasure working with you guys” — a quiet, dignified ending for the employees who stayed until the end.
United CEO Scott Kirby keeps insisting airfares should rise, and that airlines are too timid to charge what passengers will pay. But after years of predictions that have not panned out, the flaw in his theory is simple: airlines hate empty seats, and supply and demand still set fares no matter how badly CEOs want prices higher.
American Airlines is giving coach passengers something they do not get very often: an actual onboard food upgrade. New snack boxes, name-brand items, a refreshed cheese plate, and a turkey sandwich are coming to buy-on-board — a small but meaningful improvement in the part of the plane where most customers actually sit.
Spirit Airlines could stop flying with little warning, leaving ticket holders scrambling for refunds, replacement flights, hotel costs, and answers about stranded trips. If you have a Spirit reservation, this is the moment to screenshot everything, consider a backup flight, understand your chargeback rights, and accept that Free Spirit miles may have no real escape route.
Spirit Airlines flights are still operating — but possibly not for long. A rumored shutdown could come as soon as tonight after talks over a $500 million federal bailout failed, leaving creditors, the government, and the bankrupt airline unable to agree on who gets paid first.
Sixty five United passengers alleged antisemitic abuse after their Tel Aviv flight was diverted back to Newark, including claims that crew blamed “the Jews” and that passengers were held for hours with little help. But because this was an international flight, the court never reached whether the allegations were true — the Montreal Convention barred the claims before the facts mattered.
British Airways already angered elite members by moving to a revenue-based status program that makes qualification much harder. Then it told some customers they had been renewed after all — only to reverse course, downgrade them anyway, and offer nothing for the mistake.
Delta is dropping coach drink service entirely on flights under 350 miles starting May 19, even as United and American still serve drinks on similar short hops. The airline is restoring full beverage service on some longer short flights, but for hundreds of shorter ones Delta will now be less generous than the rivals it likes to position itself above.
American Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper told employees that rivals backfilled hub traffic in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Miami that “should be ours” — and that American is going back to take it. The strategy is not just more seats: it is more premium revenue, better customer experience, faster AAdvantage growth, and a renewed fight in markets where Delta, United and Southwest moved in while American pulled back.
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 »
