Frontier Airlines flight 1326 from San Diego to Las Vegas touched down and the underside of the Airbus A321 burst into flames on Saturday. Smoke emitted from the aircraft as it continued to taxi. Firefighters at the scene sprayed the aircraft with water and extinguished the blaze.
In the legislative fight over five-year reauthorization for the FAA, airlines and other interests had a Christmas tree of of wish lists items they worked hard to get. It’s a $105 billion bill that more than doubles subsidies for small community air service, and makes it harder to track private planes belonging to wealthy individuals. Among many other things, in a victory for Delta over United (which operates a competing hub at Washington Dulles airport) it included 5 new “beyond-perimeter” slot pairs at Washington National airport, that permit flights farther than 1,250 miles. The authors of the bill didn’t just say there could be more flying, and to destinations currently reserved for Dulles airport, they outlined who should get those flights. They had to go to existing big airlines, and couldn’t be given to new…
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.
The pilot of an Iberia flight from Miami to Madrid pushed back the Airbus A330 despite “DOZENS of passengers still waiting to find their seats and stow their bags.”
One passenger, filming the cabin, noted that flight attendants seemed “unconcerned” and wanted to report this to government authorities. In fact, one crewmember is distributing predeparture beverages in the aisle and overhead bins remain open as well.
Airlines and airports tell you to arrive at the airport 2 hours in advance for a domestic flight and 3 hours in advance for an international flight. And then during peak times they warn you to show up even earlier than that. This is insane.
Federal air marshals have gotten together and they want out of the TSA. They want to be real police, and as long as the air marshal service is part of that agency they “feel like they are not performing law enforcement duties.” Instead, they want to be a standalone law enforcement agency with the Department of Homeland Security or, if need be, the Department of Transportation.
Elon Musk tweeted out his frustration, trying to get Starlink connectivity to disaster-affected areas. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responds. And the two connect to solve the issue in real time.
This week, I experienced a range of highs and lows flying American Airlines, from unexpected upgrades and surprisingly tasty inflight meals to discovering that the ambiance of the Admirals Club can surpass the Flagship Lounge’s premium offerings.
Maybe the biggest failure in air travel is something we don’t talk about at all. How is it possible that people are being told to show up at the airport 2.5 to 3 hours before their flight, and that isn’t considered a failure of massive proportions?
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.
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 »
