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.
An Air Canada unaccompanied minor reports that they were pushed and cussed at by another passenger, who demanded their upgraded seat.
Late for his flight, a Delta Air Lines passenger began banging on the door at his boarding gate in New Orleans. Perhaps he did not realize that when this door is closed there’s literally no one on the other side of it to open it back up. Pounding on the door won’t get a staffer’s attention.
Once the door is closed it is highly unlikely to be re-opened. You need a gate agent, and it’s only the rarest circumstances that anything can or will be done. This man wasn’t giving up, though.
It’s normally advisable to check in online when you’re flying an ultra low cost carrier. There are often fees for airport check-in, and lines at the airport can be extremely long because ground staff costs are one area for cost savings – passengers don’t pay much for their ticket, but they’ll pay with their time.
Steve didn’t do this, so when he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur he went to use a check-in kiosk. Not checking in in advance, he hadn’t been automatically assigned a seat. This turned out both to be an inconvenience and a benefit.
Even though marijuana is legal in many states, it remains against federal law. You can’t take it on interstate flights. Still, some people apparently pack their pot in checked luggage. And United Airlines baggage handlers steal it.
An already-boarded Delta Air Lines flight from Edinburgh, Scotland to New York JFK was cancelled on Friday when the 61 year old captain was arrested on charges stemming from intoxication either with alcohol or drugs.
Now that Marriott is varying the points price of a room constantly, and no longer has an award chart (or even a commitment to cap their redemption rates), they’re also changing how hotels get paid for member stays when redeeming points.
We got to Cairns safely, only about 25 minutes late, so the trip was fine – just a lot more like Spirit before Spirit improved than the last time I flew Virgin Australia in economy.
The Biden administration’s Department of Transportation has spent a lot of time jawboning airlines into committing to put passengers up in hotels when faced with overnight delays that are the airline’s fault, such as mechanical issues or lack of crew.
However there’s no minimum standard for what ‘counts’ as a hotel that the airline must provide, as this Delta Air Lines passenger shows after their flight was cancelled and they were put up in a Motel 6 with dirty bath towels and a peeling ceiling.
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 »
