Nov
26
2015
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.
Pilot Diverts for a Booty Call and 2500 Starwood Points
Man Threatened With Ejection from Flight for Being Too Fat Solves Problem in Unconventional Way
Nov
26
2015
Last Friday an American Airlines passenger preparing to depart Dallas Fort-Worth for Orange County was asked to leave the plane “for being too big.” He’s 6 feet tall, 260 pounds, which seems like a weight and height of a person who flies every day without incident.
He was seated in a middle seat, and the woman sitting in the aisle got up and walked to the front, spoke to a flight attendant, and that’s when cabin crew approached to eject him from the aircraft.
The strange thing is the situation was resolved when he agreed to switch seats, giving up his middle seat and taking the complaining woman’s aisle instead.
American Express Centurion Lounge Coming to Chicago O’Hare Soon?
Nov
25
2015
Earlier in the month an alert reader spotted a popup American Express Centurion lounge display at LAX. That turned out to foretell a coming Centurion Lounge at the airport, at least according to an LAX employee newsletter.
Alert reader @tarheeljason tweeted me about an even more extensive popup at Chicago O’Hare. So I went to American Express to find out what’s going on.
4 Free Nights in the Bahamas for Hyatt Platinums and 12 Important Travel Terms
Nov
25
2015
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.
Air Canada Introduces the Toughest Spending Requirement for Elite Status
Nov
25
2015
Three years ago Delta introduced minimum spending requirements for elite status. The revenue requirement was essentially set at 10 cents per mile — e.g. $2500 for 25,000 mile status, $5000 for 50,000 mile status and so on. That was a big conceptual move, but one with limited effect in practice.
However revenue-based requirements for elite status have now spread internationally — to North of the Border. Air Canada is clearly trying to cull their elite ranks, something consistent with their past stated attitudes towards elite frequent flyers.
Delta Running Pre-Black Friday Award Discount Sale
Nov
24
2015
Delta is running an ‘award sale’ for domestic economy ‘starting at 10,000 miles plus taxes and fees each way’ but the discount is only available on roundtrips. So you give up the ability to book one-ways in exchange for a 5000 mile discount on saver awards.
90,000 Mile Signup Bonus for Virgin Atlantic MasterCard is Back
Nov
24
2015
Last August an offer came out promising up to 90,000 miles for the Virgin Atlantic co-brand credit card. It returned at the beginning of October. Links come and go for the offer.
The good news is after the most recent link I had died a couple of months ago the offer is back.
A Cautionary Tale About Booking Through Expedia
Nov
24
2015
Rick Hasen, a law school contracts professor who runs an election law blog, writes about an Alice in Wonderland experience with Expedia.
He purchased non-changeable tickets that Expedia said had a change fee. The tickets didn’t permit advance seat assignments which Expedia failed to disclose. And Expedia says he should have called them during the purchase process to find out if there were any hidden restrictions — a phone call that likely would have taken hours.
A Silver Lining to the AAdvantage Devaluation: Upgrades
Nov
24
2015
One bit of good news for members in the AAdvantage program changes that I haven’t seen get any play is that mileage upgrade award charts don’t appear to be changing.
Delta made upgrades a lot more expensive this year. United has many more upgrade price levels, including some more expensive than AAdvantage. But American hasn’t changed their upgrade prices.
Thanksgiving Airline Strike Coming, New Etihad Lounge Open, and Concealed Carry Permits as TSA ID?
Nov
24
2015
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.
