While done under the guise of the environment, it’s really protectionism for the national carrier whose largest owner is the French government – and it’s a move that is actually bad for the environment.
It begins with Saturday’s 4 p.m. American Airlines flight 2333 from Phoenix to Newark which was delayed overnight, with a new 6 a.m. Sunday departure time, after confusion over seat assignments on board led to a group of passengers being removed from the aircraft. Ultimately everyone was deplaned as part of the passenger removal – a common technique post the United Airlines David Dao beating – as a way of avoiding confrontation with a single passenger.
Anyone could have put something in those bottles that shouldn’t have been there. Housekeeping clearly didn’t clean them, either.
And what in the world are they thinking using Marriott’s own 39 Degrees North branded shampoo and conditioner at a Westin?
A women brought her baby into the wide open extra row space of a widebody jet to calm down the child. She needed the space to bounce up and down, which isn’t something she could do at her own seat in coach. And she posted video online.
She didn’t expect the backlash because she didn’t pay for the exit row seats, someone else did, and wasn’t she taking their space?
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.
Thursday night’s Philadelphia – London Heathrow flight 728 became a day long journey to nowhere all day Friday as the aircraft, first delayed for three hours, finally took off in the wee hours of Friday morning before making it nearly halfway over the Atlantic… and turning around.
Seven-time competitor on television’s “American Ninja Warrior” Maggi Thorne flew Southwest Airlines from Omaha to Orlando and reports being “shamed” by a flight attendant over her attire. The crewmember let her know that her tank top and “high waisted pants” weren’t appropriate in public. She was on a flight to Florida, though!
A Delta Air Lines passenger tracked down the noise cancelling headphones he left on a flight at an employee’s house. The airline says the employee is no longer working for them. Mat Krantz left the headphones behind when he got off of a flight from Atlanta to Raleigh. He realized right away that they were still on board as soon as he’d exited the jet bridge, but he wasn’t allowed back on board to retrieve them. He filed a report with the airline and airport, and he tracked the headphones with the help of an Apple AirTag which was attached to the headphones’ case. The man expected the headphones to turn up at lost and found, but the next day they showed at… “a random home in Raleigh.” His wife talked him out of going…
An American Airlines passenger, sitting in the bulkhead row of economy, complained that another passenger was storing their luggage in ‘his’ overhead bin. He’s already seated, and has more luggage than he is allowed, and he doesn’t want anyone else adding to the bags above his row.
A business class passenger on an American Airlines flight to Tokyo on Thursday boarded and found blood-stained women’s underwear at their seat. On a flight departing Tokyo I’d expect outstanding cleaning. But even departing the U.S., we’re talking about a “Flagship” international premium flight. The standard of cleaning, based on this passenger’s account, is appalling.
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 »
