Alaska just raised the cost of basic lounge access by $50, and inclusive of partner lounge access by $100, on February 1. It’s interesting to see them consider another price increase so soon, though presumably they’ll promote it in conjunction with a plan for more lounges, amenities, and food and beverage offerings – though many things they’d add will take time to roll out or won’t be available in all locations.
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 came within 150 feet of the water while still 3 miles out from Tampa airport. Flight 425 from Columbus diverted to Fort Lauderdale.
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.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants has updated its members, sharing that they’ve reached a tentative agreement with American Airlines. Knowing that they were negotiating this week in Phoenix, not D.C. and without the involvement of federal mediators, it was clear that they were close to a deal and simply had to finish up details.
This allows American to trumpet putting labor unrest and substantial risk behind them heading into their second quarter earnings call on Thursday of next week.
Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for President on Thursday. His Vice Presidential running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, almost wasn’t there because his team had forgotten to secure clearance for the charter bringing him to the convention to enter its restricted airspace.
The new long range Airbus A321XLR received its Type Certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. It’s been certified with CFM LEAP-1A, and a Pratt & Whitney version is expected to be certified later this year. The first plane is expected to enter service later this summer, and over 500 XLRs have been ordered to date.
A reader flying American Airlines from Nice to Philadelphia boarded their aircraft to find that the tray table at their economy seat 13K was broken, “Broken tray in seat 13K not ideal for an eight hour flight with a 6 year old.”
An American Airlines passenger flying from Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles took another passenger’s bulkhead seat and refused to give it up. He argued that it was his by right as a result of his U.S. citizenship. Defying flight attendants requests to move, all passengers were eventually deplaned in order to get him off the aircraft peacefully.
The JetBlue flight attendants union let crewmembers know on Thursday that the airline was planning to need fewer flight attendants starting in September as a result of schedule reducations, and that this would last at least through the winter season. Specifically they estimated that 39,000 flight attendant hours would be dropped from the schedule. As a result they’re offering leaves of absence of up to six months.
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 »
