Beyond the Red Light District: KLM Business Class From Austin To Amsterdam With Our 5 Year Old

by Gary Leff

Jan 28 2024

You may not think of the start of the year as the right time to travel to Europe, but I’ve always loved Paris in December and Amsterdam in January is nice as well. The weather may not be, but it’s cold in the States too! People are home from work and the streets aren’t busy. The place isn’t overrun with American teenagers!

And Amsterdam seems like an odd place to go with a five year old, but the city is a lot more than the red light district. There are great museums for kids, there’s great food, and it was something different. Plus there’s a non-stop flight from Austin, and there were three business class saver award seats on our preferred dates. The perfect trip!

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Olympic Dreams on the Line: How American Airlines Risked a Marathon Runner’s Journey

by Gary Leff

Jan 28 2024

Ashlee Powers was flying American Airlines to the US Olympic Marathon Trials. She has an American Airlines credit card so that she can have priority boarding, which should mean better access to overhead bin space.

Despite plenty of space available still for bags on board, including directly above her seat, Ms. Powers was stressed on the way to the most important moment of her life, having been made to give up her Olympic running gear.

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American Airlines Flight Attendants Voted On New Union Officers, And Nobody Won

by Gary Leff

Jan 28 2024

APFA President Julie Hedrick came out on top in a seven-way race by just 659 votes. She lost Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas – Fort Worth, Miami and New York to A. Marie Plevaritis. In other words, Hedrick’s strength came primarily from legacy US Airways. There remains a split among ex-AFA US Airways flight attendants and those from the American Airlines side.

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The Duct Tape Dilemma: When Shabby Airline Cabins Raise Alarms

by Gary Leff

Jan 27 2024

Customers see a poorly maintained airplane cabin interior, and they begin to question whether the parts of the plane they can’t see are maintained in the same manner. That’s not really how this works, but it’s a logical inference for most passengers – especially with the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 in the news, after a door plug came off an Alaska Airlines aircraft inflight.

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Man Denies Exit Row Seat to Pregnant Woman On 14 Hour Flight

by Gary Leff

Jan 27 2024

Air travel doesn’t always work out the way that you want. Seat assignments don’t always work out the way that you want. Your desire for a different outcome, though, is between you and the airline – it doesn’t impose an obligation on other passengers to disadvantage themselves for your benefit.

Sometimes they will! There’s no harm in asking. But it’s perfectly fine for them to say no.

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American Airlines CEO Puts Boeing On Blast: Hasn’t Delivered “For A Number Of Years”

by Gary Leff

american plane
Jan 27 2024

United’s CEO is talking about backing out of its order for hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft and has lost confidence in the planemaker, having made calls looking for changes at the top of that company.

American’s CEO, too, is unhappy with Boeing – even though his airline doesn’t operate the MAX 9 which was grounded after an Alaska Airlines flight had a door plug separate from its fuselage inflight, suffering rapid depressurization.

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