American Airlines announced its AAdvantage frequent flyer program changes for 2025 this morning and it’s really great news by omission. There’s nothing bad. In fact there are really just program additions. That’s not something we see often, though it was the case last year with American AAdvantage as well.
So what is changing for the new member year that starts March 1?
Southwest Airlines is turning Orlando into a mini-connecting hub for short haul intra-Florida routes, adding flights to Miami, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach and Sarasota to their existing Fort Lauderdale route.
American AAdvantage is the best program for earning status beyond simply flying. It has the best partner award redemption pricing. But there’s one area where American AAdvantage has lagged behind all of its competitors: rewarding customers with lifetime elite status.
Starting March 1, 2025 they’re revamping the AAdvantage Million Mile program.
Poor quality wifi is something that I avoid when choosing an airline. It costs airlines ticket revenue. While the cost of wifi is part of the cost of travel – airlines that bundle it in with ticket price become more competitive, while charging separately makes little sense when it’s possible to offer it at near-zero marginal cost once installed on the aircraft.
Dallas-based right wing YouTube personality Alex Stein walked through the E concourse of Dallas – Fort Worth airport wearing a clown-sized Make America Great Again hat and filming his interactions with other passengers, before boarding his Spirit Airlines flight to Las Vegas with the hat on.
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.
United Airlines flight attendants haven’t had a raise in four years, as contract negotiations drag on. The union says that the airline is making unreasonable demands, like only paying health care benefits for flight attendants who work.
Two passengers on Argentinian ultra-low cost carrier Flybondi are dancing – not in the aisles or at their seats, but on other passengers’ seats, standing up and using the overhead bins to keep themselves upright. The woman manages to get jiggy with it sans the assistance of the bins, while her male counterpart launches himself backwards into the mosh pit of fans at their seats.
Reconfiguring planes and buying new seats is expensive, and JetBlue is slashing costs. But perhaps the biggest takeaway is that squeezing these seats in is expected to mean less legroom in the coach cabin. JetBlue is, once again, making itself more like the rest of the industry.
A passenger took a photo of the refugee camp setup that Brazil’s Gol airlines uses as the crew rest area on its Boeing 737 MAX, flying from Brasilia to Orlando. That flight is scheduled at 8 hours 20 minutes. One person on social media offered, “I believe most people call this a blanket fort.”
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 »
