Would You Notice – and Intervene – If a Guy Was Creeping on a Teenage Girl Inflight?

by Gary Leff

people sitting on plane
Mar 27 2019

There’s something about a plane, or maybe it’s being away from home, that gives people license to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do in semi-public. And they can escape their usual inhibitions and talk up strangers thinking something might come of it.

However in the air, just like on the ground, giving attention to fellow passengers may be unwanted. I remember talking to a co-worker years ago about the number of times she noticed married men on planes taking off their wedding rings when they sat down next to her. She avoided Southwest Airlines because of their open seating policy, a virtual invitation for men to choose the seat beside her and make unwanted advances.

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These are the 20 Airports With the Greatest Likelihood of Cancelling Flights

by Gary Leff

united
Mar 27 2019

You want to fly in the morning when you can. Flights later in the day are affected by each of the segments an aircraft has flown that day and delays stack up. When something goes wrong to delay a flight, usually subsequent flights with the same plane will be delayed too. At the end of the day crew may also be running out of allowable duty time.

And bring patience and plenty of backup planning because things inevitably do go wrong, whether because of weather or technical snafus. Find your own alternate flights (with availability that changes constantly). If the first airline agent doesn’t give you help try someone else. And if you can’t get through on the phone, try a foreign call center.

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United Flight Attendants are Selling Their Seniority – and the Airline Wants it to Stop

by Gary Leff

people posing for picture
Mar 26 2019

Unionized flight attendants — and flight attendants at airlines whose procedures mirror union work rules — get to work the most desirable trips based on seniority. Senior flight attendants at large international airlines can jet away to Sydney, to Buenos Aires, to Paris while more junior flight attendants overnight in Des Moines.

Those longer trips aren’t just more exotic. They pay more (more hours) in a short amount of time, have longer layovers, and may entail staying at better hotels. Secondary markets developed. Last year I wrote about American flight attendants renting out their seniority for $200 a pop. Now United flight attendants are doing it.

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Naked Man Tries to Board Flight Because Clothes Affect His ‘Agility’

by Gary Leff

naked man at airport
Mar 26 2019

This past Saturday a 38-year-old man tried to travel to Simferopol International Airport in Crimea on Ural Airlines flight 525 from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport wearing nothing at all.

The man argued he had a perfectly valid reason for flying naked: he yelled that “clothing impairs the aerodynamics of the body” and that he flies “with more agility when undressed.”

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Limited Window: Get Free Local Flights With Category 7 Hyatt Turks & Caicos Redemption

by Gary Leff

infinity pool
Mar 25 2019

This is an interesting opportunity. Hyatt introduced new category 8 redemptions for the most expensive SLH properties that you can earn and redeem points at.

The Sailrock Resort in Turks & Caicos is currently category 7 (30,000 points per night) but they’re bumping it to category 8 (40,000 points per night) effective April 8. The price is going up because reservations now include roundtrip domestic airfare. And you’ll get that air travel for the lower points price still for bookings made prior to the increase.

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United Now Pricing Awards as Low as 5000 Miles Each Way

by Gary Leff

united-plane
Mar 25 2019

At the beginning of 2019 I flagged that United removed its award chart tables from its website and rolled out premium economy awards without any award chart at all. This made me wonder whether United would eventually eliminate award charts entirely, as Delta has done, and move to align redemption more closely to the price of a ticket.

Interestingly United appears to be making reduced mileage awards available when ticket prices are low on short-distance routes like New York LaGuardia – Chicago, Los Angeles – Las Vegas, and slightly longer flights like Newark – Fort Lauderdale.

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