American Airlines Has Already Written Down a Quarter of Its Investment in China Southern

by Gary Leff

china memorial
Sep 02 2019

In the second quarter American Airlines wrote down the value of its investment in China Southern airlines. In response to a question about financials, the airline told employees “Non-operating special items principally included $52 million of mark-to-market net unrealized losses primarily associated with the company’s equity investment in China Southern Airlines.” $52 million would equate to 26% of the original $200 million investment in China Southern made just two years earlier.

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Germs: Window Seats are Dirtier Than Aisle Seats

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
Sep 02 2019

We all know (or should know!) not to stick our hands down inside seat back pockets. Those are bigger germ farms than the monkey in Outbreak. All seats have them though, usually even bulkhead seats. So those seat back pockets don’t differentiate one seat from another.

The question is, if you want to avoid the plague, which seats are the most infected on an aircraft? Which ones do you want to avoid?

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6 New Cost Cuts at JetBlue: Are They Even Trying to Be Just a Little Less Bad Than Competitors Anymore?

by Gary Leff

jetblue plane
Sep 01 2019

The airline is beloved, though much of the credit they get is based on past efforts. JetBlue isn’t nearly as good as it once was, they even led last year’s checked bag fee increase. They’ve squeezed seats, just not as much as American, Delta, and United. And their Achilles heel is operational reliability,

Six new cost cuts continue the multi-year quest to become merely ‘a little less bad’ than competitors continues apace.

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Man Arrested in Singapore for Buying Refundable Ticket to Escort His Wife to Her Gate But Not Flying

by Gary Leff

Sep 01 2019

A man who ate free for a year buying a refundable ticket, accessing the China Eastern lounge in Xi’an, China, and the refunding his ticket. Every. Day. There can be consequences to this scam: Lufthansa sued a passenger and won 200 euros after the man booked and cancelled 36 tickets in a year for the purpose of obtaining business class lounge access.

Another passenger was even arrested after living in 9 different Priority Pass lounges at the Singapore airport over the course of 3 weeks.

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In Three States You Can Now Sue If TSA Employees Intentionally Harm You

by Gary Leff

airport security
Sep 01 2019

The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that lawsuits are permitted for abusive searches under the Federal Tort Claims Act. An en banc panel of the court decided 9-4 that TSA security checkpoint employees are “officers or employees” of the federal government and that they “execute searches.” The TSA for its part claims not to search passengers, only to ‘screen’ them.

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Delta Gives Non-Union Employees Big Raise For Labor Day

by Gary Leff

delta plane
Sep 01 2019

Yesterday I shared a leaked Delta memo showing that the airline would be giving 4% raises to flight attendants and ground employees. In addition the airline said employees could expect bigger bonuses. That’s big news this Labor Day weekend.

The authenticity of the memo was being called into question in some quarters because another (obviously fake) memo was circulating earlier in the week promising 9% raises. However the real memo is.. real… and Delta employees get news of a 4% raise for Labor Day.

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A Bunch of Underpriced Hotel Rooms

by Gary Leff

Hawaiian resort
Sep 01 2019

I’ve written in the past about Luxury Travel Diary hotel auctions. Unfortunately I frequently forget to check them. Somehow they manage to get great rooms to auction off, and not enough people bidding so — with no reserve — rooms often go for a lot less than I think they should.

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American Airlines Will Start Rotating Snack Baskets Much More Often Starting October 9

by Gary Leff

Aug 31 2019

Currently American Airlines changes up their domestic first class snack baskets every six months. I don’t love most of what they offer, and boy the contents get boring after awhile. The last changeover was April 10.

While I don’t think the new choices starting October 9 are better the good news is that the airline will begin rotating out contents every two months beginning with this next refresh. Here’s what’ll be in the new baskets.

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