Category Archives for General.
An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 arriving from Montreal hit a fire truck that was crossing Runway 4 at LaGuardia shortly after landing around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, causing severe damage to the aircraft’s nose and cockpit. The captain and first officer were killed, multiple passengers and first responders were injured, and controller audio captured the tower urgently trying to stop the truck before impact.
United rolled out new business class suites on its latest Boeing 787-9s, but the doors still have to stay locked because the seats are not fully certified yet. Also Bilt is refunding erroneous foreign transaction fees, Trump wants ICE to backfill TSA screeners, GHA Discovery paused points expiration through September 30, the infamous Asiana 214 fake pilot-name prank is back in circulation, and Spirit’s “new vehicle” takes transportation in a very different direction.
United Airlines accidentally emailed its entire flight attendant group telling them they were being transferred to London, creating instant chaos and confusion. Plus why airports using private screeners are holding up better than TSA airports, how erratic security lines waste even more of travelers’ time than the waits themselves, and signs Marriott may be preparing a new brand launch.
Elon Musk says he wants to pay TSA salaries as the DHS shutdown drives airport security lines into chaos, with staffing shortages leaving checkpoints overwhelmed and passengers stuck waiting for hours. But can a private citizen legally step in and pay federal workers?
Denver Airport lost power, the trains went down, and passengers were suddenly stuck with no easy way out of the terminal. Plus, Chicago making hotel taxes the highest in the nation, a line to enter the American Airlines Admirals Club in Miami, and more stupidity.
The line to get into the Delta Sky Clubs in Orlando and New York LaGuardia stretch through the terminal. Delta admits its pilot contract has made meltdown recovery harder, American adds premium economy hot entree pre-orders on some long routes, and politicians still want airport rules that do not apply to them.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan says his top travel rule is never checking a bag, which is a revealing thing to hear from the head of an airline that’s now charging for checked bags.
Also, Delta is tightening its bag guarantee, JetBlue is adding more domestic first class seats, Hyatt is chasing growth through lower-end conversions.
Austin may finally be on the verge of landing its first nonstop flight to Asia, with Delta, Korean Air, and Samsung reportedly discussing service to Seoul. Also, newly released Delta deportation footage, Spirit’s branding problem, Lufthansa’s basic business fares.
Southwest had open seats on a lightly loaded flight, but one passenger says the airline still made her stay crammed into a full row and called her rude for asking to move. Plus Delta snack shrinkflation, American’s scuffed cabin ceilings, and Amex dropping Uber VIP.
United flight attendants still have not gotten a real new contract after 5.5 years, but their union dues are rising anyway. Alaska passengers stuck on the tarmac during a snowball fight, Citi killing ThankYou point sharing, American’s denser new cabin without seatback screens, and more airline absurdity.
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 »
