Delta Air Lines does not currently have upgraded lounges for international business class passengers the way that United and American do (though their Sky Clubs are nicer than United Clubs and Admirals Clubs). However that’s about to change.
In addition to plans for a Delta One business class lounge in Los Angeles and at New York JFK, which I’ve previously reported, there are plans for one in Detroit as well.
A plane filled with ‘maskless social media influencers’ was traveling from Montreal to Cancun. The group got raucous in the aisles, drinking their own alcohol and vaping against aviation regulations. The Canadian government is investigating the passengers, and Sunwing cancelled their return charter flight and banned the group, after video from inside the aircraft circulated on social media.
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.
Robert DeNiro is suing his former assistant-turned-Vice President of Production and Finance for misappropriating company funds, including using the corporate Amex for personal trips – and for stealing his 7 million Delta SkyMiles.
A frequent flyer shared their amazement that the purchase of 127 bonsai trees could earn them Executive Platinum status. But it’s actually much easier – and cheaper – than that.
They’ve made the program fun again by creating something for members to chase. They’ve gamified their elite status to the benefit of both themselves and their members. This is new, and there will certainly need to be tweaks as they see how it works out in practice. But it’s been so long since these programs have been genuinely exciting.
You can now search for award availability with American Airlines AAdvantage and Air Canada Aeroplan inside Bilt’s app. No other transferable points program has this, and it’s fairly unprecedented in the industry. That says something about the Bilt project, and the demographic they’re reaching that’s valuable to airline loyalty programs.
Air India, which is owned by the government but due to be privatized this month in a sale to Tata Group, pulled all of its inventory from global distribution systems briefly at the end of the year – where more than half of the airline’s ticket sales occur – as a court ordered all of its funds held by IATA for settlement impounded.
On October 29 American Airlines sent an eight year old Boeing 777-300ER to their Tulsa maintenance facility for insect abatement.
A couple of weeks later the plane was out and back in service – but it flew a single Miami to Dallas – Fort Worth segment before returning to Tulsa on November 14. Aircraft N724AN was still on the ground in Tulsa when I wrote about it in early December. It is now finally flying again. Here’s where it’s going.
United Airlines has forced out flight attendant Arina Bloom for her TikTok videos. She reports that someone “made an anonymous complaint” about her, and though United had previously commented positively on her online presence it became a liability.
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 »
