The subject of Steenland’s addition to the American Airlines board came up at the end of the carrier’s ‘State of the Airline’ question and answer session with employees following their third quarter earnings call, and Parker explained that Steenland was added for his airline experience – something the board previously lacked – and not for a 15-month mechanics strike where he called management and replacement workers “the dream team” of maintenance groups.
Last week a passenger in a Burger King crown got booted off a JetBlue flight to New York JFK – and banned from the airline – after a racist rant prior to departure from Kingston, Jamaica. It all began when there wasn’t overhead bin space available for him to use.
The man tried to get up in the air again to head back to the States. He got kicked off an American flight on his next attempt to depart Jamaica. There aren’t that many airlines left. At some point could he have no options left but to swim?
Possibly inspired by Goodfellas, two former New York JFK truck drivers and a Delta Air Lines employee pled not guilty to a $6 million heist of luxury goods from the airport this week. Prosecutors allege they showed up with paperwork for the goods, bearing the flight details and serial numbers for the items, and they drove off with their haul. Destination: a “defunct beauty shop in Queens.”
The guest was arrested for possession of crack and disorderly conduct. His car had an “improper license plate” and he had no insurance, either. But he didn’t apparently have to pay extra for overstaying checkout time.
American Airlines courted controversy when they began allowing employees to wear makeshift ‘Black Lives Matter’ pins.
The official Black Lives Matter pin is now available for American Airlines employees. It’s called “Stand for Change” and “celebrates the diversity of our team members and our customers.” It must be ordered by any employee who wants one by November 13.
In the context of a growing epidemic in the U.S., I wouldn’t go anywhere near a cruise ship but also don’t see much public health benefit from banning them either providing rigorous testing is in place. Will you cruise while before the pandemic ends?
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.
American Airlines has relented and put its full tariff or ‘terms and conditions’ back onto its website after a Department of Transportation complaint.
They had removed the the legalese entirely in favor of a plain language FAQ-style conditions of carriage page. But the contract of carriage incorporated the tariff by reference, customers effectively agreed to it when they purchased a ticket, but the airline had removed those rules from a place customers could easily see it. That document matters.
Thailand’s Bangkok Airways is selling an ‘all you can fly’ card valid for a year for 100,000 Thai Baht or ~ $3210. It comes with elite status for a year, and the unlimited domestic flights earn miles and status so if you use it enough you may more than pay for it in future rewards.
There’s no ‘security issue’ with a 747 taking off from the airport, which was allowed until Lufthansa brought theirs there to store. In tactics one associates more with New Jersey than The Netherlands, Lufthansa doesn’t want to do dismantling work with the on-site company, so the government wouldn’t let them leave. Now that there’s been public scrutiny however it’s been deemed ‘a mere paperwork issue’ and the supposed safety issues have gone away.
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 »
