United Airlines supported affirmative action in California, adopted speech codes; committed to choosing board members on the basis of race; and encouraged the use of pronouns by employees. They’re making big bets on biofuels and electric planes. And they imposed vaccine mandates on employees during the pandemic, before the Biden administration attempted to do so.
It was 2018 when I wrote that Centurion lounges are so busy, nobody goes there anymore. I rarely stop in, even when I have the time. They’re too busy. The food isn’t as good as it used to be. And other lounges have improved.
They’ve limited guest access and how much time you can spend in a Centurion lounge, but that hasn’t solved the crowding as they sign up more and more cardmembers with the promise of access. But now they’re doing something that could at least make the waits easier.
Americans don’t know geography, and can’t find Oakland on a map. So Oakland airport and San Francisco airport are locked in a legal battle over whether the Oakland airport can call itself “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.”
“Check-in chicken” is the idea of not checking in for your flight 24 hours in advance – and instead waiting until much closer to departure.
This benefits you if you don’t have a seat assignment because you aren’t eligible to get one in advance, or don’t want to pay for one of the better seats in a cabin but you’d still like a better seat.
A Ryanair flight from East Midlands, UK, to Tenerife was forced to make an expedited landing on November 4 when an unruly passenger behavior urinated in the cabin aisle. Flight FR3152’s 4.5 hour journey went off the rails as several passengers became disruptive – and one became messy.
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 27-year-old flying from Manchester Airport in the U.K. to Lisbon was wrongfully charged $62 (£48) for a carry-on bag even though it fit in his airline’s baggage sizer at the gate. He recorded video about the incident that’s been viewed over 5 million times.
A passenger was restrained by crew and other flyers on Copa Airlines flight 208 from Brasilia to Panama City after attempting to open an emergency exit door approximately 30 minutes prior to arrival. He was reportedly brandishing a plastic knife taken from his meal tray.
The disturbance began when the man grabbed a flight attendant and attempted to use the plastic knife to take her hostage while making his way toward the exit. Another flight attendant attempted to intervene but struggled to restrain him due to his strength. Other flight attendants began to scream.
TAP Air Portugal is offering sextuple status miles. It’s the sixth anniversary of the TAP Miles&Go, and they’re offering 6x status miles on all bookings made at flytap.com by November 10, 2024 for travel through November 5, 2025, across all TAP routes.
When you’re last to board you have few options for comfort anyway. You might as well make the most of your seat choice.
In the spite play, you target passengers you believe are violating social norms and punish them by sitting next to them. You can sit next to the one putting crumpled tissues on the middle seat, or avoiding eye contact hoping you won’t sit there – and reward the passengers who don’t do that.
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 »
