The true test of character comes when you’re staring into the abyss and you see what stares back at you. Ethics rarely come into play when they don’t cost you anything.
Airlines revealed their true character during the pandemic. Many airlines around the world stole their customers’ money, and argued it was justified because they needed it.
There are people who are so against vaccines – not just for themselves that for others. We’ve seen bars ban vaccinated patrons, and even a school ban vaccinated teachers. There’s also an Airbnb listing that refuses to rent to vaccinated guests, out of some sort of crazy fear that they will spread the vaccine.
United Airlines MileagePlus members can win free flights by uploading their proof of vaccination to its mobile app by June 22. They call it “Your Shot To Fly.” Ha ha ha.
This helps build excitement around vaccination, which we need to reach incremental arms, and even includes cash to help with the tax liability for winning the prize.
Belarus used a fake bomb threat to justify sending a fighter jet to intercept Ryanair flight FR4978 from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania – and force it to land in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Once on the ground, they entered the aircraft to grab an opposition journalist that had been living in exile.
And Ryanair did not even show outrage. Instead they whitewashed the incident, claiming there was little inconvenience to passengers.
The Lexington, Kentucky Blue Grass airport is the primary air travel embarkation point for central and eastern Kentucky. American, United, Delta and Allegiant all service the airport with service to 16 destinations frequented by more than 1.3 million passengers per year. And it’s decided to close and shut down to all air travel for 3 days.
This is truly frightening and dystopian. Belarus used a fighter jet to force down a Ryanair flight so that they could arrest a journalist on board who has opposed its President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
As pretext Belarus claims it responded to a concocted bomb threat on board the flight. However the plane was closer to its destination of Vilnius, Lithuania than Minsk, the capital of Belarus where it was forced to land.
Luggage sizers are the bane of many flyers’ existence. We bring a carry on bag to the gate, and the agent there says it’s too big. But we’ve carried it on the last 20 flights we’ve taken without an issue, we protest! Put it in the sizer, they say.
One passenger did just that. His bag fit in the sizer. He just couldn’t get it out. Technically then it must be ok to bring on board, right? But he can’t – unless he can reclaim it from the evil bag sizer.
On Friday American Airlines sent out a memo warning staff to expect more intoxicated passengers. To be sure, with business travel still not back in any meaningful way, every airline’s passengers are Spirit Airlines passengers right now – and most flights that don’t cross an ocean are running full. However American ties their warning about drunk customers to “summer approaching.”
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.
American Airlines appears to be using safety cards that just say “737” on 737 MAX aircraft now. No wonder customers don’t seem to complain they’re flying on the MAX…?
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 »
