Hotel Gets Clever, Uses $5 Baggage Claim Carts For Guest Luggage

by Gary Leff on October 15, 2022

Oct 15 2022

When you arrive at baggage claim and your luggage is more than you can push yourself, many airports around the world have carts for you to use for free. In the U.S. it’s far more common for you to pay to use a cart, like one from SmarteCarte. You’ll pay around $5 to release the cart at a nearby station, and then you can move your bags from the carousel to your ground transportation. Someone has to collect the carts, and then they get re-rented again.

But what if that $5 paid to rent the cart for an indefinite period of time?

American Airlines Finally Says Goodbye To The Disgusting Turkey Sandwich [Roundup]

by Gary Leff on October 15, 2022

Oct 15 2022

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.

American’s Outsourced Curbside Check-In Has Gotten More Expensive

by Gary Leff on October 14, 2022

Oct 14 2022

What American has accomplished is to turn curbside bag check from an expense (they paid employees to do it) into a revenue generator (they get a cut of the fees received from the franchise).

Lufthansa Unveils New First Class Suites, Business Class With Walls

by Gary Leff on October 14, 2022

Oct 14 2022

In March I wrote to expect Lufthansa to introduce a new first and business class product next year and that first class would be suites with doors initially on the airline’s 10 new Airbus A350-900 aircraft to be based in Munich.

We now know a bit more about the products.

Delayed Lufthansa Elite Status Changes To Be Announced In December, Start January 2024

by Gary Leff on October 14, 2022

lufthansa plane

Oct 14 2022

A week and a half ago I wrote about leaks that Lufthansa would change how their elite status is earned in 2021. That’s now confirmed. Here’s some of the details.

British Airways First Class Bed: “More Comfortable Than Our Own At Home” [Roundup]

by Gary Leff on October 14, 2022

airplane cabin

Oct 14 2022

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.

Porsche Blocks In Wheelchair-Bound Passenger In The Atlanta Airport Parking Lot

by Gary Leff on October 14, 2022

Oct 14 2022

The illegally-parked Porsche – intruding on a handicap space – left the woman ‘alone in the dark’ and unable to get into her vehicle to leave. Parking staff told the woman to call the police. Police told her to deal with parking staff. This went on for hours.

Detroit’s Second Airport Will Be Resurrected With $100 Million In Taxpayer Cash

by Gary Leff on October 13, 2022

Oct 13 2022

When we allocate ‘money for infrastructure’ we do stupid things with it, like giving $100 million to a zombie airport near Detroit that hasn’t had commercial service in 20 years. The plan is to create “a state-of-the-art airport” according to Detroit officials. Of course Detroit already has a state-of-the-art airport.

European Low Cost Airline Ryanair Reminds You Why You Should Never Fly Them [Roundup]

by Gary Leff on October 13, 2022

ryan air plane landing

Oct 13 2022

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.

American Airlines Flight Attendants Will Picket On November 15

by Gary Leff on October 13, 2022

Oct 13 2022

American Airlines flight attendants have a generally weak union. Sara Nelson’s larger Association of Flight Attendants has eyed coming in and taking over. AFA-CWA even sent masks to legacy US Airways flight attendants during the pandemic, telling me they still consider those crewmembers to be members of their union.

It’s no wonder that they aren’t seeing the concessions they’re after from American Airlines in contract negotiations.

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 »