One hundred and thirty five Holland America cruise ship passengers were turned away by United Airlines on Friday night after cabin crew refused to work a flight to Sydney if they were allowed on board.
One woman had to fly last minute from DC to Boston to see her mother who was close to dying. She was the only passenger on board her American flight. She filmed the flight attendant making her safety announcement, “My name is Jessica and I will be your flight attendant, and we have Sheryl as our passenger today, living it up in first class. Everybody shout out to Sheryl, the only passenger on the plane.”
The experiences traveling today are some of the most human, as each person’s stories can no longer get lost in the millions of passenger hordes stampeding through airports the way they once did.
Aeroflot was scheduled to operate a flight from Moscow to New York JFK on Friday, where it would carry home Americans and bring Russians back to their own country. Full of U.S. citizens desperate to get home in a time of crisis, the plane pushed back and taxied out to the runway only to be ordered back to the gate, the flight cancelled.
Russia closed its borders as the Aeroflot plane prepared to depart. The Russian government then boarded the plane and confiscated passports.
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.
You’d buy coins from the U.S. government at face value, pay by credit card, and get free shipping. There were ever-changing rules about how many coins you could buy and how often, but for a time it was unlimited – and some people bought seven figures worth.
The coins were heavy. You had to take them to the bank. And you had to track shipments. But that there was no net cash cost to the deal, and no real limit for awhile on how much you could earn, plus that it lasted in one form or another for about three years makes it an all-time classic.
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.
In a letter to employees today, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian revealed that the carrier is carrying nearly 94% fewer passengers than a year ago and losing $60 million per day – in addition to a number of other details about the airline’s scaled-down operations.
DOT is telling airlines that continuing to deny refunds for cancelled flights and significant schedule changes is “a violation of the carriers’ obligation that could subject the carrier to an enforcement action.”
However the government will not act against airlines that have improperly refused refunds already provided they get their act together and fix their policy, educate staff about the change, and contact everyone that already took a voucher to let them know they are entitled to a refund.
In an interview Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says that airlines have to refund customers when they cancel flights. That’s clear, published DOT policy.
Secretary Chao also said that the government should not ground the airlines, and that flying decisions should be left up to them – and that the nation needs the airlines flying, even now.
Hyatt has already extended reservations flexibility through June 30, including refunds for prepaid hotel reservations for those who need or want to cancel.
They’ve also now worked through how to handle elite status, upgrade certificates, and free night awards. And they’re also announcing a further pause to expiration of points.
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 »
