Category Archives for General.
Southwest Airlines rushed into selling seat assignments, but passengers have discovered they’re paying extra for window seats that don’t actually have windows. Now the airline could face costly legal consequences. Plus, unaffordable Hawaii, the end of hotel breakfast and Amex clampng down.
A British man went on a destructive rampage at Hong Kong airport, toppling and smashing 10 self-service kiosks with a metal pole. Now arrested, he faces serious prison time—not just for the damage, but unexpectedly, for illegally possessing Viagra.
Southwest Airlines has long been known for a fun, relaxed flying experience—but customers and flight attendants now describe the carrier as “America’s most uptight airline.” The airline has tightly enforced assigned seating, introduced new fees, and even grounded the once‑free‑wheeling culture that defined Southwest for decades. This shift in priorities has taken the joy out of flying the airline that used to pride itself on hospitality and personality.
An American Airlines passenger decided to create their own premium experience. A new transfer bonus has launched from Chase. United is launching even more O’Hare flights in its fierce battle to drive out American, and more.
Marriott explicitly says you don’t get elite perks or points when booking through third-party sites—but my recent stay proved reality isn’t always that simple. Without even pushing, I casually asked if they had my Platinum number, and suddenly I had full lounge access, elite benefits, and points on a deeply discounted Citi Travel booking. Here’s how easily the “no elite perks” rule broke down in practice.
The Department of Homeland Security is buying a lavish $70 million Boeing 737 MAX dubbed the “sex plane,” and the Wall Street Journal reveals Secretary Kristi Noem traveled aboard the jet with Corey Lewandowski, fueling long-standing reports of their extramarital relationship.
An influencer’s mid-flight attempt at romance hilariously misfired when the oblivious guy across the aisle completely missed her subtle (and then not-so-subtle) hints. Her awkward efforts—and his total confusion—quickly went viral, turning an everyday Sydney-Melbourne flight into comedy gold.
News and notes from around the interweb: Concessionaires at Denver airport appear to be overcharging customers, violating street pricing rules, across the board: Denver International Airport pricing investigation shows basically every business in the airport is breaking the law There is a law that says items sold can only be marked up 15% from comparable items outside the airport. Here’s how much they are marked up – McDonald’s +114%… pic.twitter.com/pbj8Htcryj — Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 11, 2026 On overlapping routes from Chicago-O’Hare, American and United Airlines share almost equal load factors This is such a bad experience. Airlines keep forcing passengers to give up their carry-on bags, even when there’s still plenty of room onboard. Gate agents are afraid that passengers won’t have room at some point, and it’s better to block them from…
A bride-to-be recommended a non-union DoubleTree hotel for wedding guests. That triggered aggressive backlash from a Chicago union, which sent fake wedding invitations to guests, demanded website changes, and even confronted her at work.
An American Airlines flight was delayed due to a missing ‘no smoking’ sticker above one row—highlighting just how absurd airline regulations can be. Plus, why Americans stopped talking about Singapore, the TSA secretly monitoring your cash, and DOT’s strange obsession with architecture.
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 »
