Category Archives for Airports.
Currently both Star Alliance and SkyTeam run their own lounges at some major airports.. This is a different management model rather than a new customer benefit, although it may lead to there being a single larger lounge in a major airport where alliance member airlines co-locate in the same terminal, versus multiple smaller lounges operated by individual carriers.
oneworld hasn’t done this to date but that’s changing.
The government shutdown continues to affect airport security wait times. Sick out calls have been hovering over 7% for the past week, peaking at 10% this past Sunday.
Air traffic control centers faced staffing shortages today that led to delays across the Northeast including the major New York airports of Newark and LaGuardia as well as Philadelphia. There were delays in and out of Tampa as well.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
My daughter received conditional approval for Global Entry. Unlike precheck where small children can accompany parents, if the child – even a baby – doesn’t have Global Entry then parents cannot use it when they land back in the U.S.. My wife and I wanted her to get Global Entry right away!
Unfortunately her interview was scheduled for early January, and the morning it was scheduled we received a cancellation email because of the government shutdown.
Security wait times have increased as TSA screeners call in sick — coming to work not knowing when they’ll be paid is demoralizing. Air traffic controllers are working without knowing when they’ll be paid, too. But is there any reason that has to be so?
Should US airlines hire the screeners and air traffic controllers and pay them directly?
A Hawaiian family traveling on Sunday night with their one and a half year old baby was stopped at the security checkpoint at Honolulu airport when a TSA screener refused to allow them to pass with their baby food.
Passengers are permitted to bring any amount of baby food, breast milk or formula necessary for the flight through checkpoints in spite of standard rules limiting the amount of checkpoints that can go through security. However it seems the TSA takes it upon itself to decide what is and is not appropriate for babies to eat.
With nationwide sickouts approaching Miami levels, TSA is making a partial payroll payment and bonusing employees despite the government shutdown that would appear to the legality of doing so questionable.
Unscheduled sick leave hit 5.6% on Friday compared to a 3.3 percent who had unscheduled absences on Jan. 13, 2018.”
During the government shutdown most employees are furloughed. TSA screeners, however, are supposed to work. They won’t be paid until funding is restored. Screeners have been calling out sick at a higher rate than normal with what’s being referred to as ‘blue flu’ (screeners wear blue uniforms).
At Miami the sick out rate is higher than average, and the airport will close the G concourse checkpoints in the afternoon to compensate. G primarily serves United, Frontier, Sun County, and Bahamasair.
She danced on the airport train. She danced in the terminal. She danced while having a drink. You can’t get frustrated with travel — with the airlines, with the TSA, with yourself — when you’re dancing.
A man at Washington Dulles is carrying a green bag in one hand and a pink bag in the other. It’s not clear which one was his personal item and which was his carry on — though since he’s departing baggage claim you have to imagine that one of them was checked.
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 »
