Mimosa in a Starbucks Cup? Airline Passengers Getting Away With Drinking Their Own Booze Onboard

by Gary Leff

Mar 08 2024

Can you put a mimosa in a Starbucks cup, and drink your own booze on board your flight? I’ve been on a flight where the woman sitting next to me had a coffee cup with wine from the American Airlines Admirals Club. A flight attendant realized it and confronted the passenger.

Things escalated quickly. We were in first class, and the woman was offered both a predeparture beverage and could have free wine once we were at cruising altitude. But she wanted her wine for taxi and takeoff, too!

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Both Pilots Fell Asleep In Cockpit Of Flight To Jakarta, Veered Off Course And Lied To Air Traffic Control

by Gary Leff

Mar 08 2024

Both pilots of a Batik Air Airbus A320 fell asleep in the cockpit on a flight from Kendari to Jakarta, Indonesia.

The aircraft was carrying 153 passengers, 4 flight attendants and 2 pilots. While cruising at 36,000 feet, the pilots removed their headsets and increased the cockpit speaker volume. The captain decided to take a short break and rested….

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United Flight 2477’s Runway Misadventure, Heads Into The Grass at Houston Airport

by Gary Leff

Mar 08 2024

United Airlines flight 2477, a Boeing 737 Max 8, encountered an issue after landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Friday. Following its arrival from Memphis International Airport, the aircraft deviated from its intended path during the transition from the runway to the taxiway around 8 a.m. local time. The plane exited the paved surface and entered the grassy area beside the runway.

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American Airlines Tells Court: Members Who Sign Up For A Friend’s Offer Risk Account Closure

by Gary Leff

Mar 07 2024

Several customers are suing American Airlines after their AAdvantage accounts were shut down. They used invitations to apply for Citibank credit cards that circumvented rules limiting how often one could get a new card bonus. People lost millions of miles.

There’s a lawsuit. American has responded. And they advance a pretty draconian theory.

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United Boeing 737-900 Dramatic Engine Flame-Out Sparks MAX Confusion

by Gary Leff

Mar 07 2024

As the aircraft climbed through 12,000 feet, the left engine “emitted a series of bangs and streaks of flames.” Pilots returned to the airport after advising air traffic control of an engine stall, and the plane landed safely around 35 minutes after departure. United assigned another aircraft to operate the flight and passengers were delayed a little over 3 hours.

All seems pretty normal, right? Well, two things are notable about this flight:

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Why Is JetBlue Serving $100 Bottles Of Wine In Business Class?

by Gary Leff

Mar 07 2024

JetBlue does a really nice job with their onboard soft product. Maybe too nice of a job, considering they don’t seem to be earning a revenue premium on their transatlantic flights.

They’re promoting new meals and amenity kits. The meals seem good enough, the amenity kits interesting (especially with American Airlines handing out cardboard boxes), but what is really striking to me is the wine that they’re hardly even promoting.

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