The economics of airport lounges are explored, highlighting access methods, construction costs, profitability, and the impact of credit cards and airline strategies on the competitive landscape.
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 Ryanair passenger at Palma de Mallorca Airport was caught on video ripping the wheels off his carry-on bag to make it fit in the airline’s sizer and avoid fees, while fellow travelers applauded his sticking it to the man.
As the man named Daniel prepared to board his flight to Malaga, Spain he was told that his red suitcase exceeded the airline’s carry-on size limits. To bring it onboard, he would have to pay an additional US$76. He thought that was unreasonable – so he took matters into his own hands.
Back in September an American Airlines flight attendant was accused of filming a teen girl passenger in the lavatory using a hidden camera on a American’s flight 1441 from Charlotte to Boston.
It turns out this wasn’t the first or even second time he’d done this. According to the FBI, which searched the crewmember’s iCloud accont, he’d “recorded a minor using the bathroom on a plane” four times already in 2023 before he was caught, capturing children “7, 9, 11 and 14 years old” on video. The Bureau also reportedly found several hundred “AI-generated child pornography images.”
Flight Attendants voted to authorize a strike with nearly 99.5% casting a ballot in favor back in August. The union asked the National Mediation Board to declare an impasse in the fall, hoping to be allowed to strike over the peak Christmas holiday. This was denied. Subsequent requests haven’t received a formal answer.
After my brief stop at the Air France lounge I continued my tour of Washington Dulles airport Priority Pass lounges. Next stop: the Virgin Clubhouse by gate A32.
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.
You can earn 18,000 extra miles per year and get 10% of the miles redeemed back with can be tens of thousands of miles – or more. That makes the subscription and card worthwhile for those who use LifeMiles.
This is only the lowest of four subscription levels, however. And cardmembers can use the $20 monthly Lite+ subscription cost as a credit to upgrade to the higher subscription tiers where things get pretty interesting.
New Cardless cards for Star Alliance member Avianca LifeMiles are live. I’m really excited about the premium card, which is chock full of benefits.
I’ve heard recently some several readers that customer service calls have gone much more smoothly in recent months, and I’ve seen discussion of this on Reddit as well, so I asked what changes they’ve made. Vincett put me on the phone with Luis Coreas, their Chief Operating Officer, who walked me through the changes they’ve made and those that they have in process.
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 »
