President Biden’s New Airline Delay Compensation Legislation Is Cynical Election Fodder

by Gary Leff

Jun 09 2023

The starting gun on taking care of customers in the event of controllable delays and cancellations – compensating customers for failing to deliver the product that airlines have sold – has mass appeal, and signals a concern by the current administration for middle class concerns in a way that they think can differentiate themselves from their opponents. Precisely because this legislation won’t be acted upon, the President can paint Republicans as unwilling to protect voters from unpopular businesses.

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American Airlines Passenger Bought Himself A Seat – And Two Seats For His Dog

by Gary Leff

Jun 09 2023

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a passenger book more than one seat for their animal before. Yet here is a man traveling with his dog. He has one seat, the great dane has two. And the dog needed every inch of it.

Throughout this cross country flight to New York JFK on an American Airlines Airbus A321T, the 140 pound pup stood up, sat down, napped, and interacted with the rest of the cabin.

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Greatest Hotel Guest Of All Time Cooks Baby Back Ribs In The Bathroom

by Gary Leff

Jun 08 2023

One man is a hero to us all, making baby back ribs in his bathroom. He uses a towel to help strip and remove the membrane. He dumps the rib rub out over the meat at the sink. Then he cooks it with a hair dryer. For four hours. He then takes out the dish to add a honey glaze before returning the ribs to the “oven” for an additional three hours of cook time.

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Southwest Airlines Employee Indicted For Stealing And Reselling $15,000 Worth Of Travel Per Day

by Gary Leff

Jun 08 2023

A Chicago Midway airport customer service agent for Southwest Airlines has been indicted for selling almost $2 million in travel vouchers.

After working for the airline for about three years ago, the man figured out that he could issue customer service “LUV vouchers” to compensate passengers… and could do this even when there wasn’t actually a disserviced passenger.

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Congressional Bill Cracking Down On Credit Card Rewards Gets Re-Introduced

by Gary Leff

credit cards
Jun 08 2023

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) have re-introduced their bill to crack down on credit card interchange. That’s the cost businesses pay to accept credit cards. Since banks and card networks like Visa and Mastercard make money on each transaction, they spend money to encourage those transactions. That’s what funds credit card rewards. It’s even to a large extent what funds the airlines, when carriers like American often don’t make money flying planes but ultimately earn money selling their miles to banks. Reducing interchange reduces card rewards. Of course if that were somehow good for the world, it would be tough to argue for our miles and points. But it isn’t good for the world. Countries that have capped interchange haven’t seen prices fall to consumers. Consumers are used here a fig leaf…

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Woman Says She Was “Stranded Outside The Country” Because A Large Passenger Needed Her Seat On Southwest

by Gary Leff

Jun 08 2023

A woman shared her story of flying Southwest Airlines from Montego Bay to Baltimore to Denver where she was refused boarding in Montego Bay, she says, because because the flight was overbooked and they were treating her as a standby passenger. She was traveling with two teenagers on the full flight, and the airline learned that a passenger of size needed an extra seat but hadn’t purchased one. So she was “stuck outside the country” to make room for that other passenger.

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The Real Reason People Hate Airlines (People Hate Comcast For This Too)

by Gary Leff

Jun 07 2023

Have you ever tried to get your cable fixed by calling Comcast? Or have you ever tried to get advice from the IRS 800 number? Most large organizations become sclerotic. The people hired to field calls may be judged not on whether they help customers, but how quickly they get rid of customers (average time per call). At the very least, they probably aren’t evaluated on whether or not they solve a customer’s problem.

Southwest Airlines denied a baggage claim even though there was video evidence, a police report, and an arrest showing the bags were stolen. Their reason? “A discrepancy.” And Southwest is hardly the Comcast of aviation.

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