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.
This morning Southwest Airlines flight 3695 from Denver to Houston was forced to return to Denver when an engine cowling detached and struck the wing flap of the Boeing 737-800 shortly after takeoff.
The metal covering of one of the engines separated around 8 a.m. local time, after the plane left the ground. Passenger video shows the engine cover peeling away and impacting the aircraft’s wing flap. The plane returned to Denver around 25 minutes after takeoff and was towed to the gate.
Another United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 was forced to divert. But this time it wasn’t a mechanical issue, and it wasn’t even a passenger. It was because a dog pooped in the aisle in front of first class, outside the lavatory.
The Houston to Seattle flight quickly made its way onto the ground at Dallas – Fort Worth on Friday rather than forcing passengers and crew to endure the mess and smell for the duration fo the flight.
A Bonvoy Ambassador elite member reports being offered a room upgrade at a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in Mexico under the condition of signing a non-disclosure agreement, highlighting a series of controversial practices and policies by Marriott in the region.
Guests of the Fairmont Whistler in Canada are required to pay a fee to help cover housekeeping wages, separate from their room rate. And the hotel charges guests an additional fee to manage this fee.
A passenger on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Sydney urinated in a cup and spilled it on a flight attendant after a delay in disembarking, leading to his charge for disorderly conduct and sparking a discussion on airline responsibility and passenger behavior.
A Delta Air Lines passenger declares a ‘crossbody hill she’ll die on’ – that these aren’t personal items that count against your baggage allowance. She’s frequently forced to gate check a bag because of this extra ‘pocket’. And while gate agents may be following their airline’s policy in requiring this, she’s right and the policy should be rewritten.
A United Airlines Global Services member shares that their family got a passenger kicked off a flight after that man behaved badly towards their sister.
There’s a weird status game going on here that at least most of us avoid turning into physical aggression. And as a part of that game we engage in assumptions about the people around us, and about who they are and therefore what they’re entitled to – and those assumptions are wrong more than we’re programmed to realize.
A mother shared that her 10 year old son flew Southwest Airlines on Sunday as an unaccompanied minor. Her son sat in a window seat. A woman was in the aisle. And a creepy man chose to sit between them.
The woman objected and took the middle herself. The man sat down in the aisle, and tried to chat the boy up across her, even passing the kid his phone number.
GHA Discovery’s hotel loyalty program significantly enriches member benefits by introducing a comprehensive breakfast perk for elite members, underscoring the program’s exceptional value, especially within smaller, premium hotel chains, without reducing existing benefits.
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 »
