A drone strike by Iran hit Kuwait International Airport on Sunday, injuring airport employees, forcing an immediate shutdown of Kuwaiti airspace, and marking a dangerous escalation in Iran’s retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks.
An American Airlines passenger—labeled a “Karen”—refused to put her seat upright for takeoff, arguing other passengers weren’t doing it either. After repeatedly defying the crew’s instructions, the captain returned to the gate and had her removed.
An American Airlines baggage handler at Charlotte Airport thought texting a coworker a bomb threat would be a funny prank—but it quickly turned serious when police arrived, arresting him on felony charges.
United Airlines quietly changed its rules to prohibit passengers from buying multiple tickets to lower costs, banned inflight video calls, and explicitly added rules against viewing “offensive” content—changes that affect nearly every traveler but haven’t been publicly announced.
Southwest Airlines has banned its employees from using smart glasses and other wearable devices capable of recording during work hours, citing safety, privacy, and legal responsibilities—though the policy doesn’t apply to passengers.
United and American Airlines have scheduled so many flights into Chicago O’Hare that the FAA is now stepping in, forcing both carriers to slash flights this summer to prevent massive delays and chaos at one of America’s busiest airports.
United flight attendants, who haven’t seen a pay raise in five years, are being promised a potential breakthrough deal this March—but the airline says they’ll need to accept tradeoffs on scheduling, and unpaid leave to get it done.
The internet is going crazy over the “Cheek Splitter 9000” which looks like a new frontier in how airlines make passengers uncomfortable onboard. But it’s not – instead, it’s a long-standing quirk of aviation safety.
A Frontier Airlines passenger flying from Philadelphia to St. Louis via Orlando showed up at the gate but she had no seat assignment, and the flight was overbooked. Three gate agents announced they were oversold by 10 and – despite offers of vouchers up to $800 – didn’t get any volunteers.
JFK Airport has banned curbside rideshare pickups at JetBlue’s Terminal 5, forcing travelers to lug their bags onto the AirTrain to reach rides at Howard Beach. Plus, getting charged $26 for an airport cocktail, Delta fixes crew scheduling IT, and Qantas elite status changes.
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 »
