Category Archives for General.
American Airlines has already announced free Wi-Fi for AAdvantage members starting in January, but some flights are getting it early as “tests” begin — and that’s likely great news for most passengers. The catch is that when everyone piles onto a free connection, performance almost always suffers, so I expect today’s relatively usable paid AA Wi-Fi to look a lot more like Delta’s slog once this fully rolls out.
Instacart isn’t just marking up groceries — it’s running quiet tests to see how much more it can charge different shoppers for the exact same items, potentially adding up to hundreds of dollars a year. Plus airlines forcing gate checks with empty bins, Austin paying subsidies to Southwest, and American’s spin on a reduced wheelchair fine.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has been boasting that American is “bleeding” $800 million a year in Chicago — but leaked internal figures tell a very different story. They put American’s fully allocated loss at roughly $70 million in just one quarter, a big number but nowhere near Kirby’s claim.
Amex has reloaded its Business Platinum with a 200,000-point bonus and richer perks across travel, hotels, and credits. Even with an $895 annual fee, the math still makes it a no-brainer for frequent travelers.
Delta left more than 20 Comfort+ seats empty on a transcon while a Diamond couldn’t self-upgrade into them, which is exactly where their “extra legroom isn’t really an upgrade” strategy has led. In today’s roundup I look at how Delta is throttling upgrades, the new Vegas reality, airport therapy animals, boycott theater at 35,000 feet, and even a pigeon running wild on an IndiGo flight.
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.
Her spouse fell “madly in love” with Executive Platinum status and out of love with their marriage — so she put the legal bills on an AAdvantage card and walked away with elite status of her own. Plus: TSA’s new “proper papers” fee, Chase lounge diners sneaking in McDonald’s, musical Southwest flights, and an IHG points program devaluation.
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.
British Airways once promised “To Fly, To Serve.” Now they are surveying customers on which perks to give up next, from meals and bottled water to pajamas and amenity kits, and dressing it up as environmental responsibility. It is the latest step in a long march from “world’s favourite airline” to asking passengers to help do the cost cutting.
A Delta passenger flying from Tampa to New York glanced over and caught her seatmate texting “HUGE woman sat next to me,” setting off a flood of tears she says lasted the entire flight. She’d recently lost more than 60 pounds and finally felt confident in a middle seat — until that moment. The man appeared to realize what he’d done, frantically sending blank texts to push the message off-screen, but by then she’d already recorded herself crying and posted about how painful “flying while fat” can be.
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 »
