American Airlines Passenger Tracks Down Missing Luggage At Homeless Camp, Outraged By 27% Compensation Offer

by Gary Leff

Jun 19 2024

Her original May 29 flight was cancelled, and she was rebooked onto a flight the next day. She overnighted in the airport. Her bags didn’t get transferred and American promised to deliver the delayed luggage the next morning. Five days later, the wrong suitcase arrived at her home.

Grace’s AirTag showed the bag moving slowly down Western Avenue in Hollywood. She tracked it to a homeless encampment on Sunset Boulevard. She went there herself and discovered her belongings scattered and partially destroyed. A homeless man told her he bought her belongings “down the street.”

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Boeing Admits Retaliating Against Whistleblowers As More Allegations Surface

by Gary Leff

Jun 18 2024

A new whistleblower was identified in advance of Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s testimony today. A Renton, Washington quality assurance inspector says that the planemaker “improperly tracked and stored faulty parts, and that those parts were likely installed on airplanes including the 737 Max,.”

Furthermore, he claims that supervisors instructed him “to conceal evidence from the FAA,” and that he has faced retaliation. Boeing offered to fly the whistleblower to D.C. on a 737 MAX 9.

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JetBlue Makes Basic Economy Better, Drops Carry-On Bag Restrictions

by Gary Leff

Jun 18 2024

Basic economy matters as a way to differentiate corporate travelers (who generally pay more) from leisure customers (who are price sensitive). The old methods of Saturday night stay and 14-day advance purchase no longer hold.

But customers aren’t as stupid as airlines assume, or maybe even used to be. They compare the offerings of airlines – at the same price, nearly everyone offered better value than JetBlue. Certainly Delta – which has free wifi, too – offered better value in both New York and Boston than JetBlue’s basic fares. That hurts JetBlue, which wins only when customers go out of their way to choose them over competitors.

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Why First Class Falls Short: The Shocking Truth About U.S. Airline Meals Versus The Rest Of The World

by Gary Leff

Jun 18 2024

Increasingly, airline customers have been willing to spend more money for a better experience. It used to be that people booked on schedule and price and were willing to take whatever they had to in order to get where they’re going as long as things operated reasonably on time. That’s no longer the case, yet even premium airline products haven’t adapted, at least domestically.

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Air New Zealand CEO Diverts Flight So It Can Pick Him Up, Then Serves Drinks

by Gary Leff

Jun 17 2024

Air New Zealand’s CEO Greg Foran may have violated his flight attendant union contract scope clause by taking over cabin crew duties to serve drinks to passengers on a flight from Auckland to Tokyo. (I kid, I kid.)

He was trying to make up for having the flight diverted – to pick him up, along with a New Zealand trade delegation of 30 business leaders, government officials, and media.

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