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.
TSA posted to its website that sunscreen had been added to the list of medically necessary items that passengers could bring through security checkpoints, independent of the rule limiting each liquid to 100 milileters and liquids in total to 1 quart per passenger.
Now they say this update was posted in error.
On Saturday a fight broke out on board a Tunisair flight with combatants “exchanging beatings and slurs” on the aircraft as crew tried to intercede. They were attacked as well. In fact, masks came off of both passengers and crew as the fight roped in several aisles-worth of passengers, and as the brawl made its way down the aisle and back through the aircraft.
The melee began when a passenger put their carry on bag in the overhead bin above another passenger’s seat.
On Friday American Airlines confirmed they were removing espresso machines from their Airbus A321T, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. A spokesperson explained this was intended to “help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered.”
This decision generated a surprising amount of comment and interest. However American now says that the machines will actually stay. They have removed supplies, but expect the espresso service to eventually return to premium cabins where the machines are offered
American Airlines has already retaliated against Burbank, California-based upstart airline Avelo founded by former Allegiant President and United CFO Andrew Levy which begins flying April 28.
Earlier I noted that ex-Royal Prince Harry flew to London for his grandfather’s funeral and made the trip without his wife Meghan Markle.
All of the royal drama aside – his walking away from his title, giving an interview to Oprah where he called his family racists – I thought there could be a bigger scandal in his first trip back to the U.K. in a year.
The U.K.’s Prince Philip, who passed away last week at age 99, thought travel in economy class was ‘ghastly’. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, though, have flown British Airways coach before, however.
Prince Harry, himself no longer a royal, flew Los Angeles – London Heathrow on Saturday. He reportedly arrived in London at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday. While it’s reported he flew British Airways, the 1:15 p.m. arriving from Los Angeles is actually an American Airlines flight (AA134).
Effective today, April 12, miles no longer expire due to lack of activity in an account. That matches JetBlue, Delta, Southwest, and United. Hawaiian has also cut its elite status earning requirements in half for this year:
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’. These are revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s fantastic award availability booking for the start of 2021 for Qatar’s QSuites product – out of several U.S. cities – with four business class seats available.
People flying sick has been a problem for a long time. Some of that is because of airline policies – it’s costly to change your plans, and a doctor’s note won’t even help you. Much of it is more broadly cultural. We expect people to ‘tough it out’ and colleagues don’t want us to ‘let them down’.
Before the pandemic the CDC actually recommended foregoing travel if you had a fever over 100 degrees and other symptoms, but a fever alone wasn’t reason to cancel a trip in their medical opinion. And about half of people said they’d fly even if they had the flu. That really needs to change.
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 »
