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.
Southwest Airlines reported a loss of $231 million for the first quarter, and they’ve shared a number of actions that they’re taking to turn around their financial performance. During their earnings call they highlighted several measures they’re taking but one in particular will change what it means to fly Southwest.
This Southwest Airlines pilot cleaned his own windshield in order to make it out safely and on time. That’s not part of the job description, or something you see every day, though here’s an American Airlines pilot who did it, too.
Nick Gray headed to Tokyo and, after his trip there last year, felt like he’d have enjoyed it more after a few days if he had someone to hang out along with him. So he posted to the internet that he’d like a blind date and that he’d fly them there (in coach) for a long weekend and cover all expenses. He created a Google Doc with how to apply. This story is going viral, viewed millions of times.
American Airlines lost $312 million in the first quarter, which is historically the toughest quarter for an airline. Delta made money, and United only lost money because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9. Still, American Airlines is initially trading up on these results because of projections for the quarter ahead.
Everyone who doesn’t read this site, please take advantage of this month’s Rent Day rebate on redeeming points for rent!
A Canadian tourist was charged $1,000 to transfer from terminal 4 to terminal 3 at the Cancun airport. He took a taxi, rather than the airport’s free shuttle, and the taxi driver tried to steal his luggage when the passenger protested the fare. Eventually the police got involved.
The Montreal resident was expecting to pay $5, but his credit card was overcharged by 200 times the usual amount.
A tug driving too fast in wet conditions at the Charlotte airpor hydroplaned into an American Airlines jet, doing serious damage to the aircraft.
I don’t write very much about booking travel with Priceline. I don’t like dealing with Expedia on changes and when things go wrong. But for simple bookings that most travelers might make, is Priceline actually worse?
Give A Mile is a unique charity that takes donations of miles and uses the miles to book flights for to book tickets so that those in need can be together with loved ones in their last moments of life, so that people don’t die alone.
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 »
