On June 7 passengers on board an American Airlines flight 2511 from Los Angeles to Charlotte got rowdy after a flight delay. Crew were initially kind and apologized. However one flight attendant summoned his inner Howard Beale from the film Network and decided he wasn’t going to take it any more.
The whole cabin applauded.
It’s one thing when Delta is asking employees to volunteer to clean Sky Clubs at their Atlanta hub because contractors can’t find employees. It’s another thing when vulnerable passengers are left overnight to find for themselves.
Flight attendants union head Sara Nelson is calling for a federal ban on inflight alcohol. It’s a movement that has a long history, dating to efforts for such a ban by segregationist Strom Thurmond in the mid-1950s, making many of the same arguments then that she makes today.
For years Austin has been one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the country, tracking the city’s growth more generally. Before the pandemic American Airlines was looking at three new routes to augment its flights to hubs.
Earlier this year they announced 10 new routes. The ones that have launched are doing well. Now they’re announcing 14 new routes, 5 of which are international. They’re converting seasonal service to year-round. And adding frequencies to existing routes. All in all they’re quadrupling their destinations in a little over a year.
Forget “Fight For 15!” The Air Line Pilots Association is lobbying for a new bill released by House Transportation Committee Chairman Pete DeFazio (D-Airlines For America) among others that would effectively prevent foreign airlines from flying to the U.S. if they aren’t paying competitive wages.
The measure is also being supported by the Allied Pilots Association (American Airlines pilots), Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (Sara Nelson), International Association of Machinists, Teamsters, Transportation Workers Union, UNITE HERE and others. We thought the campaign by U.S. airlines against Open Skies Treaties was over but now we have the ‘Fair and Open Skies Act’.
There are videos everywhere in the airport, yet some people think it’s a good place to steal. They’re not entirely wrong since in most airport thefts no one gets caught.
In Atlanta, though, a man caught on camera stealing bags off of a carousel at baggage claim has been identified and is now in custody. He was caught because Atlanta’s airport police were already familiar with him from previous run-ins. Everyone returns to the scene of the crime.
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.
Moving walkways help you traverse long distances in airports quickly. It’s understandable, though, that many passengers may not remember how they work if they’ve been away from travel for a long time.
This woman moves slowly while being passed on the right – but it’s worth watching for what happens nine seconds into the video.
American Airlines is re-opening its Flagship international business class lounges and most of its Flagship First Dining this fall, starting with Miami. They’re also re-opening all of their Admirals Clubs except Honolulu this summer. And they’re going to introduce a new way for premium passengers to access Flagship.
That’s wonderful because these lounges were fantastic. United’s Polaris lounges were probably a step above American’s Flagship lounges, but Flagship lounges were open to many more people and nicer than anything American had ever done before. American’s Flagship First Dining product was nicer than anything any U.S. airline has done in recent years, period.
Americans have gotten fatter, and that’s making a big difference for airline operations. Each aircraft has a maximum weight it can take off with, and the weight of passengers and cargo contributes to how much fuel a plane is going to burn on a trip.
American Airlines this week updated its passenger weight assumptions. That’s going to mean they need more fuel for some trips. It even means that some aircraft will be ‘weight restricted’ and not allowed to carry a full load of passengers and cargo.
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 »
