News and notes from around the interweb:
- Wow, $19 is the cheapest I’ve ever seen Delta (or any U.S. airline) offer an upgrade. A checked bag fee is twice as much, so if you check a bag you’re saving money. When they’re willing to sell upgrades that cheap, you can see why elites on Delta no longer get upgraded. According to the airline’s own data, they went from giving out more than half their first class seats a decade ago to now just about 12-13%.
I paid $19 on two occasions recently for 1st upgrade IND to DTW. Was Diamond last year, and Platinum this year. Don't yet see any difference with upgrades.
— steveo'no (@SteveM112) January 25, 2026
- Apparently.
Apparently they don’t clean planes anymore @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/MrseePC8ic
— Sayjul18 (@sayjul18) January 24, 2026
- United is not, actually, that much more premium than American. They’ve just better than they used to be and grew their network in major cities.
Just paid for FIRST CLASS on @United and spent the entire flight sitting in someone else’s wet vomit. Crew knew. Did nothing.
This is what $3,000$ bought me. Still waiting for my refund and miles.
Unacceptable. Unsanitary. Unsafe. @UnitedAirlines why??? Flight number 2397 pic.twitter.com/3MrEhg28td— hannah bender (@hannahbend87688) January 24, 2026
How the mighty have fallen
byu/GibberingSloth inunitedairlines - Insane.
Ordered a pizza and now I’m being asked to tip the driver AND the people who made it separately
On a $25 order.
Bro I just wanted dinner not a guilt-powered funding round for everyone in the supply chain
— Ben Pouladian (@benitoz) January 25, 2026
- Ceiling collapses at the Embassy Suites in Norman, Oklahoma. I was once in the restaurant of the Westin City Center in DC, back when it was a Wyndham and something similar happened. That’s the old Vista hotel made famous by Marion Barry.
@itsmichelle1982 #fyp #embassysuites #disaster #Oklahoma #pipebusted ♬ original sound – itsmichelle1982 - The American Airlines free wifi rollout is largely complete.
Be ungovernable pic.twitter.com/WzKKu7HNFG
— Darth Powell (@VladTheInflator) January 25, 2026
I am surprised that there has not been class-action litigation challenging the marketing and administration of complimentary elite status upgrades. There appears to be a plausible, and potentially well-supported, argument that the representations made to consumers regarding such benefits could give rise to claims under state deceptive trade practices statutes.
Elite status members should be offered a discount on the first class upsell on a sliding percentage scale depending on your tier of the elite status program.
(Of course, they’re just as likely to charge elite status members more than non-status members because they know they’re marketing to folks that are engaged with their program.)
although I’m a diamond, I’d pay for it.