Delta pilots are opening contract talks early and pushing for a fast deal even though they already earn as much as $465.13 an hour at the top of the scale, because they know their leverage may not last. Delta is highly profitable now, pilot hiring is resuming, and new aircraft types are entering the fleet, but oil prices, the economy, and politics can all turn quickly — so the union is trying to lock in gains while the window is still open.
The new DHS secretary says the administration is “looking at” pulling Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in sanctuary cities, which would shut those airports off from international arrivals. The idea is absurd by the standards of the administration’s own policy goals. Many of the airports are not even in the cities being targeted, and cutting off major hubs like JFK, LAX, or O’Hare would ripple far beyond red-blue politics into the entire U.S. air travel system and economy.
A traveler at a pet-friendly hotel in China was reportedly sent recommendations for dog meat restaurants, in one of the stranger travel stories of the day. Also: Amex’s Fort Lauderdale lounge waitlist hits 197, politicians are debuting airport holograms, bees delay a flight in Charlotte, and American’s new A319 interiors look far better even as the cabins get tighter.
The White House budget would bar federal spending on COVID air travel mask mandates, reopening one of the most polarizing fights in modern flying even though the federal rule died in court and vanished four years ago. What makes this feel especially strange is that it is not responding to any current mandate at all — it is a symbolic attempt to settle an argument that already ended on April 18, 2022.
Citi new Strata Elite card delivers a surprisingly strong first-year value play. The current offer combines 75,000 points with up to $1,200 in travel credits, and those points can now transfer directly to American Airlines AAdvantage.
JetBlue and Barclays just made the $499 JetBlue Premier Card materially better, adding a companion pass, a 15% rebate on award redemptions, new travel credits, and a 25-tile head start toward status — without raising the annual fee.
Patent Armory has sued JSX over the software that routes customer service calls, the latest move from a plaintiff that has filed more than 90 patent cases in just three years. One of the two patents it is asserting has already expired, and a similar suit it brought against Delta lasted only about three months before being voluntarily dismissed.
Heavy rain turned part of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport into a waterfall on Monday when the ceiling near Gate 7 gave way, sending passengers scrambling clear just before the collapse. The same storm also hammered flight operations, forcing diversions, holds, go-arounds, and one return to the apron for a total of 40 affected flights.
An Alaska Airlines flight attendant was photographed wearing an “ICE OUT” pin while working a recent flight, injecting a charged immigration slogan into one of the few places passengers cannot simply walk away. Whatever someone thinks about immigration enforcement, the cabin is a bad place for crew political messaging: the power imbalance is real, the slogan flattens a complicated issue, and the airline’s brand winds up carrying an employee’s personal politics.
The FAA’s new “temporary” drone restriction is drawing criticism as a backdoor attempt to stop people from filming ICE operations. Also Abu Dhabi preclearance is temporarily closed, Hong Kong’s Centurion Lounge has a premium queue problem, and Park Hyatt Tokyo may have found a clever way around elite late checkout.
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 »
