Now That Masks Are No Longer Required On Planes, It’s More Important For (Many Of) You To Wear One

by Gary Leff

Apr 23 2022

The federal transportation mask mandate has been suspended. Voluntary mask wearing varies by region of the country. Flying out of Austin and New Orleans this week perhaps 5% of passengers were wearing masks, perhaps a little bit more but definitely less than 10%.

What I didn’t understand was that a majority of people who were wearing masks were wearing either cloth or medical masks. Those aren’t protecting the person wearing one, and for several reasons it’s more important for many people to protect themselves on planes than before.

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“Bleisure” Travel Used To Be A Hopeful Myth. The Pandemic Made It Real.

by Gary Leff

Apr 22 2022

“Bleisure” is one of the most cringe-worthy words in travel. Journalists have been doing ‘trend pieces’ on business travelers extending their trips and adding leisure days, perhaps with family, and hotels chains started getting excited about selling extra room nights (and offering the ability to combine points stays and paid nights in a single reservation).

Only it never really took over beyond a certain threshold, no matter how much people in the industry talked it up at conferences. Maybe, though, all it took was a pandemic.

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Is The American Airlines Alliance With JetBlue Toast?

by Gary Leff

Apr 22 2022

During its first quarter earnings call, American Airlines was asked about the consumer benefits of the tie-up with JetBlue. And the airline also got questions about how JetBlue’s bid for Spirit Airlines would affect it’s ability to keep the JetBlue partnership, since the government opposes the arrangement and will have a say in JetBlue’s merger attempt as well.

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American Airlines CEO Says They’re Turning Away From Focus On D0

by Gary Leff

american airlines lounge
Apr 22 2022

American Airlines has focused like a laser on “D0” – exact on time departures – over nearly all other priorities. That hasn’t always made them a reliable airline, but it’s led to numerous dysfunctions.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom signaled in his first earnings call that he’s shifting the focus of the airline from this metric to a broader set of priorities that will operate reliably while also taking care of customers.

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Video: Mike Tyson Beat Up Passenger Who Talked Too Much On Flight

by Gary Leff

Apr 21 2022

Iron Mike Tyson was once the ‘baddest man on the planet.’ Based on his behavior on a recent JetBlue flight, he’s still at least second behind Bill O’Reilly.

On Wednesday evening Tyson flew JetBlue from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale. The man sitting behind him in business class wouldn’t stop talking with him. It began with Tyson agreeing to take a selfie, but when passengers wouldn’t leave him alone Tyson let them know he’d have enough.

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