The President of the American Airlines pilot union has been removed, recalled by the union’s board of directors in a 15-5 vote. Captain Ed Sicher, in office in 2022, had controversially sought to exclude pilots from union positions that favored merging with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which is the largest pilot union group while pilots at American have their own independent union.
American Airlines used to offer curbside check-in. It still exists at some airports, but it now costs a separate fee for each bag. They got rid of the sky caps who used to do the job, and now it’s a low wage separate entity providing the service at most airports where it remains available.
Here’s an underrated problem that will be solved once Southwest Airlines finally moves to assigned seating next year. We already know that it will end seat savers and wheelchair cheaters. But that’s not the only effect.
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 American Airlines passenger shared a photo of a bed bug on his flight 4412 from New York LaGuardia to Detroit. The first class passenger found the bug “crawling on [his leg mid flight” while seated in first class.
I do pretty well in travel but also make my share of mistakes, mostly out of habit or path dependence. Since I know how things ‘usually work’ I don’t always pay attention to schedule changes. And I don’t pay attention to the details of my reservations – I’m on auto-pilot, I know that when I land in a given city I ‘always’ go to the same hotel. If I booked a Hyatt there, it must be my usual one!
Here are the (5) biggest mistakes I’ve made in travel, though each one worked out just fine. I thought I’d share these to show my own fallibility, I know the correct advice and should always follow it but I am… human.
I remember flying regularly as a pre-teen, thinking that I’d never be one of those people sitting up front! I’d never be able to pay for it, and even if I could it surely wouldn’t be worth spending for. After all, it was expensive and just a few hours. I was still small, so I didn’t think the extra space comfort was worth it … though I always held my breath hoping there would be an empty seat next to me.
That was at the dawn of mileage programs, and people forget that elite status didn’t start when miles did.
It used to be surprisingly affordable to ship babies and children under 50 pounds by US mail. And people did it.
Just two weeks after the introduction of Parcel Post, a child was mailed for the first time — one mile from Glen Este, Ohio to Batavia, Ohio — for 15 cents. They added $50 insurance to the shipment.
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.
Buckle up because this may be the most Spirit Airlines story every that doesn’t involve a mass brawl.
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 »
