News and notes from around the interweb:
- Jail, fine for content creator who used Singapore Airlines miles from accounts he bought illegally
An Indonesian, Rizaldy Primanta Putra, bought compromised KrisFlyer accounts via Facebook between May and November 2024, paying $16-$200 per account.
Putra converted KrisFlyer miles to KrisPay, using them to buy pastries, a Samsung phone, cameras, shoes and clothes in Singapore.
Putra was jailed for three months and four weeks after Singapore Airlines noticed unauthorised transactions and reported him to the police.
- Wired profiles me and since they call me “the internet’s biggest travel nerd” I guess it’s fair for you to taunt me as a ‘nerd’ all the way out to when the Zager and Evans prophecy is fulfilled. Conde’ Nast Traveler reprinted the piece as well.
- Muslim passenger on Qatar Airways shouts at a Jew, “This is Muslim airline! No for jews! You go on Jew airline!” Qatar may be state-owned but if you want to avoid Jews, maybe fly Saudia or Kuwait Airways instead?
- British teenager boards flight to Italy without a ticket after losing parents in airport
A British teenager boarded the wrong flight home after being separated from his family at Menorca Airport, Spain and ended up in Italy instead of London yesterday.
The 15-year-old’s parents lost sight of him and raised the alarm before discovering he had successfully boarded a flight to Milan Malpensa without a ticket after police reviewed CCTV.
- Singapore Airlines apologises after Muslim passenger served pork on flight to New York, says crew ‘didn’t know’ what prosciutto is
[H]e was served a dish labelled “Grilled Mediterranean Salad with Prosciutto” during one of the meal services on SQ24.
Unsure what “prosciutto” was, he asked cabin crew if it was bacon. According to Jey, they told him it was not and assured him it was safe to eat. But after tasting the “unfamiliar” dish, he decided to look it up — only to learn that prosciutto is pork.
…He was initially offered a S$150 (RM490) KrisShop voucher, followed by 15,000 KrisFlyer miles and later 30,000 miles — all of which he rejected. Calling the offers “saddening and insulting”, he told Mothership: “No person of faith — Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or otherwise — would ever willingly break a sacred dietary law in exchange for 30,000 miles.”
…Jey has since filed another complaint with the US Department of Transportation. Before the flight, Jey had booked a Muslim meal for the refreshment service. For lunch, he chose the airline’s “Book the Cook” option instead.
- At least he can say that he tried! Most people go through life without even trying. (HT: @crucker)
A 22-year-old Cuban national at MIA tried to smuggle 40 live birds hidden on his body—but FAILED miserably! Smuggling like this strains border security, risks public health, and spreads diseases that endanger both animals and humans. #OFOproud #BorderSecurity pic.twitter.com/T96rUTTBfF
— (A)Executive Asst. Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino (@OFOEAC) August 6, 2025
- This is not how you pivot to premium, American Airlines.
@AmericanAir the plane is put together with packaging tape pic.twitter.com/Fd41sohrSr
— NickLoeb (@NickLoeb) August 6, 2025
I’m gonna guess that’s… ‘haram’
Re: Muslim on Qatar flight.
Seinfeld reference here. Apologies in advance.
It reminds me of the soup Nazi episode. Except with a “no soup for Jew” line.
I’m not sure why a 15-year-old would not look for his family before or after boarding a flight and also couldn’t read the sign that said Milan, not London. Also, apparently Menorca Airport only has 16 gates. How lost can you get?
Regarding avoiding Jews on Saudia:
I’ve flown Saudia (JFK-RUH and JFK-JED) many times (and I’m fortunate: my clients generously reimburse for business class).
I make no secret of my religion (Jewish), either in-flight or in-country, and I’ve been treated only with respect by my clients in KSA, the random guys I workout with in a gym near my hotel in Jeddah, and by the cabin staff on Saudia.
I’m just one data point, but my experience is only positive in the Arab Gulf States (KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE) if you are as polite as your hosts, and just keep your own biases and judgements to yourself.
I have been going to KSA for clients on-and-off for over 20 years, and the changes in KSA are remarkable. On my last trip to Jeddah in December 2023, my wife decided to come with me (on our dime), and she decided, while I was running a two day workshop in Jeddah, to travel to Riyadh by herself. A few years ago this would have been absolutely unthinkable. She flew JED-RUH and back, stayed in a modest downtown Riyadh hotel, and visited restaurants, museums, and markets all by herself, with no problems at all. A few years ago, this side-trip would have been unthinkable, likely resulting in her being arrested by the morality police, having her visa ripped out of her passport book, and being scolded and sent back home on the next flight. Based on my informal dinner conversations with local policy makers, in a few years there will be beachfront resorts on the Red Sea serving alcohol to the guests. KSA is quickly moving into the 21st century.
@SE_Rob — That’s actually pleasantly surprising; thank you for sharing here. Hope they continue with that progress and openness. It’s refreshing, especially for that region.
Prosciutto actually is not bacon.
@Christian — How ‘bout some ‘gabagool’?
Prosciutto is clearly not bacon. Maybe the muslim passenger should learn to ask the right questions.
Not surprising that a teenager did not listen to his parents and went off in the wrong direction.
@Christian Arguing that prosciutto is not bacon is missing the point.
@SR Rob
If KSA changes to become like UAE, specifically Dubai, it’ll be a big win.
Congratulations! Front cover that’ll be saved for future generations, hundreds of other sites with extremely envious peers.. Well deserved, by the way, staying aware of the industry, writing new material seven days a week, managing to travel with young children while feeding the website, responding to our private emails. It’s not as easy as it looks! (Willie Nelson is only 37, that’s what traveling does to you ..)
Why are all the comments in italic now? Or is it just me?
@Mike Hunt – Not just you. Thread formatting for this post is bugged (like a trip from Benguela, Angola to the Delaware Coastal airport).
@ Mike Hunt
And here I thought it was just your ‘italicized eyes.’..
… Isn’t that a Kim Carnes song ?
..lol
Glad to see they got a more recent photo of you.
Seems like you may have more advice about the gym routine while traveling now that you have graduated to Señor Travel Gym Nerd.
@GUWonder – My money is on GLP-1 treatment, but I’ve certainly been wrong before. That medication is the stuff of weight loss miracles.
@Gary – I know you’ve lost weight but at the risk of sounding like a mother hen the contrast in pictures over the past few years makes me wonder if you’ve been fighting cancer or something similar. This is no ill-wish but actual concern. Hope you’re doing okay.
Y no coverage of Aeroplan changes? This blog advertises the card and the mileage redemptions, so it should cover the earning and elite recognition side as well
@Esquiar – it’ll come next week. I have real concerns.
@Christian – my health is fantastic, thank you!
The muslim passenger was likely not devout anyway for selecting book the cook option for something not seafood or vegetarian.
Even if the prosciutto was something like beef/chicken it would’ve not been sourced from “halal” meat thus also forbidden
@L737 — BUG-GED!
I’m not going too far out on a limb when i say the parents of the lost British teen were probably in the bar .
If you are hungry enough, you will eat bacon. This religious crap is stupid – a little bacon never hurt anyone.
It’s one thing to have an allergy that causes pain or death when eating something. But let’s face it, when you choose not to eat something it’s kinda rude to expect everyone to accommodate your choice. Religion is a choice.
@Greg — I’m with you, generally, though I think we should amend to ‘religion *should be* a choice.’ Unfortunately, for some, especially around the world, it’s not a choice; it’s forced on them.
@Gary Leff:
Who is that skinny guy?
Beef or chicken may not be considered halal by many Muslims because of how the animals may have been killed, but that doesn’t mean other Muslims wouldn’t consider the beef or chicken to be halal anyway or just pray or something and proclaim it halal anyway. It’s quite different than the case of pork or other food considered haram by Muslims.
I was told that if a Muslim unknowingly eats pork it’s sort of like if the person unknowingly eats rat meat.
AlanZ should be informed that it’s none other than Señor Leff who has an incentive to to live long enough to invite me to his kids’ weddings (if they so chose to get married in our lifetime after being in their late 20s or early 30s). 😉
@Gary – Glad to hear it. I guess I just got used to the stock picture of you at 35.
On a side note, I have been getting lots of issues with BA sites including yours where if I leave the window open on my phone to come back to view comments there’s some “antivirus” scam on the screen instead. This happened before several months ago and is back. Again, it’s only on my iPhone and on on Boarding Area. Maybe you can pass it on. I saw something on LALF mentioning the same.
This is really no different than Jewish dietary laws re kosher and eating pork.
GUWonder is correct. A mistake is not a sin. Islam is a religion of intent.
The Muslin woman shouting at someone according to Dan’s blog is totally out of line & ignorant of her own faith.
@ Gary: that picture doesn’t look like you!
A subscription is needed to read the article about you, can you reprint a free read?