Printed wine lists are out in American Airlines long haul premium cabins. Instead of a menu listing options, the printed meal menu given to business class passengers now says “We invite you to engage with our flight attendants to learn more about the selection of wines available for your enjoyment.”
Flight attendants, of course, have been given no extra training on the wines being offered. You can ask, and maybe they’ll show you the bottle.
Sunday afternoon police officers removed a Polish man from Spirit Airlines flight 239 prior to departing Barranquilla, Colombia to Fort Lauderdale.
The man was judged to be inebriated, and any doubts about this were quickly quashed when he attacked the officers on board the aircraft who were trying to remove him.
On Friday it was possible to book transatlantic business class award tickets on Air France for as little as 13,500 Flying Blue miles each way and in fact in some cases for just 1,500 points (!).
This was an error in pricing. Some people who booked it will get to travel, while others will have their plans cancelled.
Flight attendants at American Airlines, frustrated by lack of progress on a new contract, have gone online to commiserate and share how much they’re struggling day to day with a raise. Some don’t have money for gas to get to the airport, or to pay their bills and buy food so they make up for it pocketing snacks from the first class snack basket. Some of the stories are heart wrenching.
The Department of Transportation has settled with Southwest Airlines over its meltdown last Christmas, with the airline agreeing to a $140 million penalty (but not really). It took DOT a year to deal with this. Customers who were inconvenienced in the mess do not get anything from this. And Southwest Airlines doesn’t deserve it in any case.
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.
In early 2020 white collar professionals stopped going to the office. People worked from home, and went online. They stopped flying. And there were varying schools of thought on how much they’d return to office and return to business travel.
Some people were waiting for the economy to tighten, expecting employers to insist that everyone go back to office and get back on the road. Others thought it was just a matter of time.
Delta Air Lines and El Al announced a partnership in June. That partnership is now live and it means the end of El Al’s relationship with Alaska Airlines.
Some people like to give out chocolates to their flight crew, or agents in the airline lounge. Others prefer to hand out small Starbucks gift cards. This isn’t expected. Most people do not do this. But for those considering it, is it a good idea? Is it appropriate?
People complain that room service is too expensive, sometimes takes too long, and isn’t always good. Many people think, do I really want a mediocre hotel’s mediocre food when I have the miracle of choice delivered at my fingertips?
But when the hotel isn’t providing an experience that’s differentiated from Airbnb, there goes their competitive advantage.
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 »
