Category Archives for Commentary.
Two American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are awaiting FAA approval prior to going into service.
This means the government is doing more to improve passenger experience when it’s shut down than when it regulates.
When you don’t follow a flight attendant’s instructions we’ve all learned what can happen. They call the police to go all David Dao on you. But like the American Airlines flight attendant last year who grabbed a stroller and nearly hit a baby sometimes instead of outsourcing they take care of business themselves.
That seems to be what an American Airlines passenger is alleging.
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.
Back in 2012 Ryanair floated the idea of ‘standing seats’ to pack more passengers in and lower costs. And Airbus has a patent for ‘double decker’ seating. But neither idea is supposed to be real or is approved for flying — anywhere.
That was little comfort to the family of three who had paid about $1700 to fly from Mahon in Spain to Birmingham in the UK on TUI airlines. They were assigned seats 41 D, E and F but because of an aircraft swap there were no seats like that.
TSA agents are expressing themselves at New York JFK during the government shutdown, while they’re expecting not to be paid until the shutdown ends — though they’re getting some pay anyway, in hopes they’ll show up to work.
Their choice of music is everything.
Sometimes you forget the code to the reinforced cockpit door, and you’re desperately afraid of management’s obsession with an absolute on time departure (“D0”). So what are you gonna do?
United, like many airlines, has long had special programs for high revenue customers. Their primary offering is Global Services. It was a relaunch of the airline’s old VIP program.
The status is invitation only, except that United 4 million milers are granted lifetime Global Services status. In general flying over 100,000 miles and spending at least 30 cents per mile on United tickets is required. The benefits you receive as a Global Services member are impressive.
I always prefer an aisle seat but the person in the window gets to decide whether the shade is up or down. And more often than not shades should be closed.
Window shades as well as cabin lighting get adjusted for takeoff and landing for safety, to improve reaction time of both passengers and crew. And when you land in a hot city you’ll often be asked to close the window shades before getting off the aircraft, to keep the plane cool for the next flight. But what about when you’re in the air, mid-trip?
The cockpit isn’t a place where you want distractions. It’s also not a place where you want anything other than flying to be a priority.
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.
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 »
