American Airlines and its flight attendants were at the negotiating table with federal mediators in Washington, D.C. for the last six business days. The union reports back that no agreement was reached. They expect the National Mediation Board to insist on one ‘last ditch effort’ to reach an agreement early in June before declaring an impasse, which would start a 30 day ‘cooling off period’ before releasing the parties to ‘self-help’ (a strike).
United Airlines is bringing a new ice cream flavor to long haul business class, along with refreshed toppings and cake starting June 1
There’s exceptional availability in both business and first class on the New York JFK – Hong Kong route in April and May (generally first class is just back from Hong Kong) and you can use this to connect onward in Asia.
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.
A customs dog alerted to a passenger’s bag off of an arriving Amsterdam flight in Chicago on Saturday and it’s no surprise. The contents were easy to smell: raw African bushmeat that had been decomposing for 30 hours in transit, infested with maggots. The dog was so agitated that it began tearing at the plastic wrap as soon as the luggage appeared.
American Airlines is back flying to Port-au-Prince, Haiti after service was halted in March following planes being hit by bullets at the airport as violent gangs under the direction of Jimmy Chérizier (“Barbecue”) attacked.
The airline’s pilots seem comfortable going back.
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.
A passenger stormed Delta Air Lines gate D7 at the Atlanta airport, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and came out spraying. According to a witness, the woman dined and dashed from Buffalo Wild Wings. When she was asked to pay she unleashed herself on the rest of the terminal.
An American Airlines Airbus A319 had a near miss at Washington’s Reagan National airport on Wednesday. Flight 2134 to Boston was cleared for takeoff on runway 1, while a King Air was cleared to land. Air traffic control realized their mistake, cancelling takeoff clearance for the American Airlines flight – and telling the King Air to abort and go around. They couldn’t because they were already on the ground.
I hate tipping. Full stop. I much prefer a model where employees are compensated by their employers and prices are advertised at a fixed amount and that’s the amount you pay.
It’s hard enough dealing with tipping expectations here in the U.S. What do you do — as a traveler where you may not understand the local custom? Not worry so much about it.
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 »
