The Washington Bureau Chief for the Daily Beast took to social media over the weekend to live share the portion of his flight prior to departure where a passenger sitting in front of him was getting his game on over text with two women at the same time, using the same messages with each.
Airports started out close to the city center but the need to expand for more travel and bigger jets, combined with NIMBYism of local residents, pushed airports out to the exurbs. Entire cities built up around the commerce of the destination airport, from shopping to dining in newly planned communities. The aerotropolis was born.
But far from the futuristic vision of perfection, there’s a darker side.
Priority Pass cards from American Express and Capital One no longer include $28 credits at participating airport restaurants but you can still use Chase-issued Priority Pass cards for this.
My favorite is Bobby Van’s in New York JFK’s terminal 8 (the American Airlines-British Airways terminal), because the food is actually pretty good. They have surprisingly decent steaks for an airport, good appetizers, and like the chili and tuna burger too. Decent nachos, though I haven’t tried the crab mac and cheese or crab cakes.
American Airlines has fantastic inflight wifi on most of its planes, but there’s a portion of its fleet that lacks internet entirely and there are many planes where it’s unusable. There was a time when this made sense for technical reasons, because the flights these planes served were usually short, and because passengers weren’t as reliant on what’s become such a basic service.
Ultimately the flight attendant call button is for… calling the attention of a flight attendant. That means, if you need a drink, ask. But understand that they may make you wait, and if you’re on Spirit they may make you pay. They may also make you wait out of spite, because you pressed the call button.
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.
Former Love Island star Kaz Crossley was arrested in Abu Dhabi while connecting from London enroute to Thailand. She was wanted by authorities after viral video on social media showed her doing drugs two years earlier while in Dubai.
Many things are allowed in the U.A.E., and even more conservative Qatar, until they aren’t. Behaviors that are kept private, or outside of public view are generally tolerated. But engaging in these behaviors becomes far more risky once exposed.
Among the worst things you do on a plane – that doesn’t include touching another passenger – are draping your hair over someone else’s seat back, covering their entertainment screen, and sticking your bare feet in the air or on someone else’s tray table.
But maybe the absolute worst is bare feet, clipping toenails at your seat during the flight. And instead of collecting the clippings, you just flick them off, and one lands on your seat opponent?
Chalk this up to another cost cut, where a major hotel chain eats into its brand by charging guests as much or more than before while delivering less. It’s Westin exiting the wellness space without saying they’re exiting the wellness 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.
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 »
