Why U.S. Credit Card Customers Are Being Turned Away From Virgin Atlantic Lounges

Jun 01 2023

Readers have shared a frustration by e-mail and in the comments to various posts about access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses in the U.S. using their credit cards which are supposed to provide them entry.

Access rules can be complicated, but it appears that especially for the San Francisco lounge, a manager there has instructed staff to in essence violate their contract and deny access out of an antipathy for credit card guests.

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American Airlines To Appeal Antitrust Ruling Breaking Up Partnership With JetBlue

May 31 2023

The judge’s decision, rather than considering whether consumers would benefit overall, looked at individual markets and saw fare increases – when fares were rising everywhere due to inflation, supply chain issues and strong demand. The judge discounted expert witnesses for the airlines because they were working with airline data while giving weight to government experts. And the judge argued that the combination was per se illegal, since it reduced competitors, rather than looking at its effects to see more actual competition.

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Ticket Agent In Singapore Calls Chinese Passenger “A Dog” Who Doesn’t “Know How To Be Human”

May 31 2023

A China Southern Airlines check-in counter agent in Singapore has been suspended after calling a passenger “a dog.” The man was checking in for China Southern’s Singapore – Chongqing flight 546 on May 23rd and asked about an upcharge for exit row seats, but there was a communication challenge. He asked for a Mandarin-speaking agent, but was ignored.

The passenger began filming with his phone, and the employee took offense. According to the passenger, he “used three languages (to scold me), ‘you are a dog, you don’t understand human language’.” That’s not on the video, however the agent was filmed saying “If you want to be a dog, I can treat you like a dog… That’s easy.” The agent also said that the man doesn’t “even know how to be a human.”

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Woman Avoids Jail After Spitting On Passenger, Fleeing Down Emergency Slide At Chicago O’Hare

May 30 2023

A Rochester, New York woman was allowed to avoid jail time after refusing to get off her cell phone, walking to the front of the aircraft and getting into an argument, and spitting on a passenger.

Then, after the American Airlines Chicago O’Hare to Buffalo flight turned around to head back to the gate, she pushed a flight attendant out of the way in order to access an emergency exit – opened the door and slid down the emergency slide.

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