Airlines should charge for guaranteed overhead bin space. Most tickets come with a ‘license to hunt’ for space, rather than overhead bin space proper. And customers who believe they are entitled to bring a carry-on bag on board get stuck gate checking their bag and wasting time at baggage claim at the end of their flight.
Two American Airlines passengers tried to force their way onto a flight from Miami to Cancun since they were running late. It appears they rushed the gate.
Their family of four had seven total carry-on bags but were told by the gate agent that their children had to carry their own bags – parents could not help! – or else the bags would have to be checked.
They checked in at the ticket counter and showed their ID. The agent saw that it was an ID issued in the state they were connecting in – suggesting they might be stopping their journey there. The agent said they suspected the passenger planned to skip the final flight segment and warned them they would be banned from American Airlines if they did not take the connection.
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 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.
The ‘number of members’ is really just ‘records in the database.’ The more rooms you have, the more people are booking them, the more sign up for a program usually just to avoid paying extra. A large marketing file is valuable! But it says little about the value of the program. Far more interesting is which programs outperform the size of the chain.
Here’s a dog standing up on the furniture at the American Airlines Admirals Club in Los Angeles. Since customer provisions there lag what United and Delta offer at their clubs, this dog is presumably eating and drinking there just as well as the passengers.
Some of the routes Delta has been running have been ‘intra-Texas’ flights that seemingly make no sense, other than they are short flights using cheap outsourced planes. Cities include Harlingen, McAllen, and Midland, Texas. Harlingen and McAllen seemed like super-strange choices at first, since they’re just 45 minutes apart from each other by car.
Will they be bankrupted by this American Airlines mistake? What’s it going to do to their credit score (that’s some hefty utilization!)? Will American Express close down their account? Will other card issuers?
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 »
