News and notes from around the interweb:
- Clean your planes, American Airlines. These are ostensibly ‘premium cabins’:
Hey, @AmericanAir your planes, especially first class, need to be cleaned better. Gross experience this past week. pic.twitter.com/dH5xPDHgfv
— Tweeter (@LimaJuliettx2) April 7, 2025
On board @AmericanAir 930 to miami business class filthy airplane. And no welcome drink. Are you lowering your standards? Had to wipe my on seat. This plane is being in the ground for over 12 hrs. pic.twitter.com/LXIu6165JB
— michel (@michelcuba5050) April 7, 2025
- The only thing Southwest Airlines has left. (But ‘fly them on your birthday, if you’re like two’ isn’t enough to sustain a business.)
Thank you @SouthwestAir for making Emily’s big day so special. Shout out to the SWA crew 4375 – Trish, Maureen, Rece, FO Alec, and captain Steve for making this happen #LUV #thebestairlines #firstbirthday pic.twitter.com/RdmIiQypr5
— John kuk,MD (@JohnKuk_MD) April 6, 2025
Meanwhile, everyone keeps doing this:
@SouthwestAir one for the suggestion box. #bagsflyfee pic.twitter.com/JZREZWpcEE
— Ben (@brskyrme) April 6, 2025
- When an airline doesn’t deliver the product that it advertises, it shouldn’t be able to keep the money that it charged. Period.
Thanks to @AmericanAir for this excellent seat that is literally labeled “do not occupy” and the broken tray table. I don’t recall receiving a discount… pic.twitter.com/0tfU29qv7Q
— Jess Karbowski Weare (@jkarbowskiweare) April 6, 2025
- What’s the difference between Marriott free standard wifi and ‘enhanced’ wifi (free for Golds and above)?
Yes. Free is supposed to be set at up to 15mbps. Enhanced is supposed to be set at 45mbps, or 3x whatever free is. Each property makes their own decision especially franchised hotels. All marriott managed is “supposed” to be at the rates above.
If you ever have trouble getting the splash page up, connect to the wifi then browse to marriottwifi.com. If you’ve been to the property before and have issues reconnecting, try forgetting the network then rejoin.
- airBaltic fired its CEO which is weird because it seemed like he was doing a pretty good job. Of course it’s a state-owned carrier so ‘doing a good job for the business’ may not have been the primary consideration.
Today, my journey as CEO of @airBaltic comes to an end. The Latvian government, as majority shareholder, has withdrawn its trust — and the Supervisory Board has acted accordingly.
I leave after 13 intense years, proud of what we built: a resilient airline, a loyal team, and a… pic.twitter.com/ofUheGVY8W
— Martin Gauss (@Gaussm) April 7, 2025
- Michelle Williams calls out flight passenger for ‘nasty’ behavior in first class: ‘A lot of audacity’
- IHG Has Increased Reward Points Caps For Luxury Hotels
ALL seats and areas in the plane should be cleaned well- not just premium. Prefer to leave ten minutes later and have a clean cabin- Last two times I flew it wasn’t so clean- not unacceptable but certainly never saw this level of dust and whatever before covid- Clean planes please !!
Wait, you guys don’t ‘wipe’ your seats/tray tables? I still do. Every time. I don’t trust y’all.
I respect cleaning crews, but they aren’t given enough time to perform, and they certainly aren’t paid enough to care much more than the bare minimum.
Delta and United sometimes still provide the alcohol wipes, but I haven’t seen them on American in a while. I guess I’m ‘woke,’ because I still bring my own travel-sized Flygiene wipes with me.
70% alcohol helps with most stuff, but won’t prevent norovirus (seriously, we really need a vaccine for that one, like, it’s overdue).
If you’d like a premium travel experience shared with other elite guests, consider Delta.
Frankly, if you insist on flying AA, you deserve to sit in all the crap! And while you are at it, stop moaning about lack of pre- departure drinks.
And while you are being repeat idiots, bring along those package wet wipes. Starting with covid, we always wipe down our seats, trays, and seat belts.
If you must spend your days whining about your frequent flyer “partner,” take it someone who gives a shit.
You ought to thankful that you have dirty, unbroken seat.
Cleaning is not sanitizing. Airlines do not sanitize surfaces – ever.
No matter how “clean” the surface appears, I assure you it is still teeming with bacteria as well as a non-zero amount of human fecal matter. Every surface, in every public space, (airport, hotel, plane, uber…) is filthy no matter what you see. Bring wipes, wash your hands frequently, and don’t touch your face (or your food then eat it) and you’ll be fine. I wipe down every surface with Lysol/Clorox wipes even it looks clean.
Well that means AA will need to increase turn times, so of which are moronic. You can’t expect a thorough cleaning in less than 5 minutes. I would prefer ontime flights and connections. I always travel with handiwipes and you should too. Airports are also very dirty.
Wow. As a huge American Airlines fan and loyalist, I’m just blown away by the way they’re self-destructing. Gary, thanks for keeping us abreast (multiple times a week), although some of this stuff is getting a bit hard to read. What’s amazing is that they are managing to destroy their brand in every way possible: Hard Product, Soft Product, Food, Drink, Amenities, Gate Experience, Cleanliness, the list is endless. Robert Isom (and a lot of C-Suite Execs below him) need to go.
The reason you get the towels in AA first is so you can clean up. I generally wash my hands before I get on a flight so I don’t need to wet-towel them (which is what it is) so I use it to wipe up the tray table etc. duh