Puppies Born at Gate 80 of Tampa Airport Just Before Boarding American Airlines Flight

by Gary Leff

dog with puppies
May 26 2018

A yellow lab named Eleanor Rigby (like the Beatles song) gave birth at Tampa airport’s gate 80 just prior to boarding a flight to Philadelphia. She had eight puppies. The airport’s fire and rescue team was called to the scene to assist with the delivery.

This is absolutely adorable. But even people can expect to take some time off in the days leading up to giving birth, and certainly shouldn’t be flying. This dog almost gave birth on the plane. And why isn’t this service animal fixed..?

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I Don’t Get It, Why Are People Still Collecting SkyMiles?

by Gary Leff

delta program
May 26 2018

When a loyalty program becomes less rewarding, it moves the needle with consumers less. That’s a fairly basic proposition.

It’s not any different than the idea that if you raise prices consumers buy less of your product. There are exceptions of course, where some goods become more desirable because they’re expensive, but those are real outliers. This works fairly consistently and reliably.

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American Airlines Blocking CLEAR From Setting Up Expedited Security Lines

by Gary Leff

people walking in airport
May 25 2018

CLEAR lets you skip to the front of the security line. You use a fingerprint for identification and even if you’re precheck you go ahead of everyone that’s waiting to have their ID checked.

Delta made an investment in CLEAR two years ago. That’s helped CLEAR to expand, and in turn Delta got their biometric technology which they’ve experimented with for aircraft boarding and for SkyClub access. In the future you should be able to check bags based on fingerprints rather than showing ID.

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