New York Giants defensive tackle A.J. Francis lost his mother unexpectedly two weeks ago.
He’s been traveling to visit with family in Arkansas and then to spend time with friends in California. He had to carry home his mother’s ashes. He checked his bag, and that’s when things went wrong because the TSA decided to inspect it. And open the urn inside. And. Spill. It.
Loyalty fraud — and especially stealing miles from hacked accounts — has been a big issue for years.
Here’s the simple effective way to protect yourself.
Flying has become increasingly accessible and democratic around the world. More people than ever have access to the skies but load factors are up, airlines are squeezing more seats into the same amount of space, and looking for areas to cut back on costs.
So when we see passengers spontaneously break out cheering? That video will go viral with millions of views on Facebook, for sure. And that alone may be enough reason to justify an airline’s investment in inflight entertainment.`
We all have perceptions of risk, and they often vary widely from what the data actually says. My willingness to visit certain parts of the world is colored in the opposite direction from most people. Living for many years in Alexandria, Virginia and working in Arlington my daily commute took me past the Pentagon. This wasn’t just a potential primary military target, it had actually been attacked directly on 9/11 when a hijacked aircraft crashed into the building. Most places have less risk than this. Years ago when I traveled to Cyprus as a result of Alitalia’s $33+tax fat finger business class fare from Toronto which allowed stopovers in Italy, a friend of my wife’s was afraid for us. Turkey invaded, after all, in 1974 following a military coup there. Beach in Cyprus I’ll be…
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 couple of months ago I wrote about American Airlines testing new substantive food offerings in their Admirals Clubs. In Houston, Phoenix, and Chicago O’Hare they’re testing out more dishes. And the specific things they’re offering change monthly.
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.
On one of JetBlue’s Florida – Worcestor flights on Thursday night a 3 year old French bulldog in the cabin started having breathing problems. Its tongue turned blue.
JetBlue proudly proclaimed “We all want to make sure everyone has a safe and comfortable fight, including those with four legs.”
Most of us are at the complete mercy of the airlines we fly. When things go wrong I’m a big fan of taking matters into your own hands as much as possible. Know what your alternate flight options are and suggest those instead of relying on airline agents to find you the best flights. Be willing to book alternatives yourself and seek compensation later, including from your credit card company.
One man though took a different approach.
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.
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 »
