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.
Spirit Airlines is in talks with bondholders about a pre-packaged bankruptcy that would allow the airline to reduce debt in exchange for equity. This move would potentially allow the carrier to reject leases on aircraft grounded due to engine problems. Twenty one Airbus narrowbodies are currently in storage (or heavy maintenance) out of 94 with Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan engines, according to Cirium fleet tracking data.
Out of $3.3 billion in debt, one third of that comes due in under a year, and it must refinance or extend the debt by October 21 under covenants with its credit card processor agreement.
They are asking for 3% – 4% more than what American Airlines flight attendants just won. The bigger percentage increases are for more senior crew, who already earn more. And they are asking for bigger future raises, too.
A first class passenger got violent on Wednesday night’s American Airlines flight 310 from Miami to Charlotte, with other passengers jumping up to subdue the man to protect the female customer next to him, that he appears to have been traveling with.
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.
Points Path is a free browser extension that lets you search for award flights using Google Flights. When you search for paid travel, it also shows you the price of an award. And if helps you compare whether it’s a good use of points or not. I covered it earlier this year.
One thing about tools like this is that they accumulate a lot of data from their searches. And they’ve organized things so that they can mine that data for insights.
In 2011 Delta was accused of antisemitism for its partnership with Saudia. Delta argued at the time that it wasn’t really partnering with Saudia – and that it would not do so.
A year and a half ago American AAdvantage introduced the ability to redeem miles to gift status for a day. The status you’ve earned unlocks the ability to do this. However in my view it was too expensive to be useful. American heard that feedback and has adjusted down mileage costs significantly. An American spokesperson offers, Beginning today, Oct. 2., AAdvantage status members will notice a better deal on mileage redemptions to give the Gift of status for a day. American introduced the Gift of status for a day in 2023 to continue to give members more ways to use their miles and give their friends or loved ones a chance to experience the benefits of status. Now a year in, American is adjusting the mileage redemption amount to provide even more members with an…
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 »
