American Expands Lounge Access To Elites And Business Class On Short International Flights

by Gary Leff

world map in lounge
Jan 27 2021

There are fewer of these passengers today, with borders closed and testing requirements in place. Furthermore there’s very little international business travel. And frequent flyers with club memberships have been flying less as well.

So the real fight is for leisure passengers, many of whom haven’t been frequent flyers, and they’re mostly traveling to close-in destinations like the Caribbean and Mexico. And American is expanding airport club lounge access as a result.

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Biden Administration May Impose Testing Requirement For Domestic Travel

by Gary Leff

Jan 27 2021

The U.S. is now considering requiring testing not just for international travel back to the U.S. but for domestic travel as well.

There may have been merit in this a year ago. Now it’s unlikely to make a big difference. Both in the past, and now, the challenge for effectiveness is availability of cheap widespread at-home tests that people can take every day.

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Honeymoon Couple Gets Stuck With $4000 in Vouchers After Norwegian Drops Transatlantic Flying

by Gary Leff

airline ticket
Jan 27 2021

I am an advocate of following the rules of a program that you’ve agreed to, and I counsel against selling points and miles because the risks involved generally aren’t worth it (cancelled tickets, shut down accounts, ban from the airline).

In the case of a carrier that shut down its transatlantic operation, that a customer doesn’t intend to fly again, I’m not so sure that taking a haircut on the value of these points to get something out of them isn’t the worst strategy. What do you think?

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American Airlines Has Just Issued A Warning To Travel Agents About ‘Hidden City’ Tickets

by Gary Leff

Jan 26 2021

a memo has gone out from American Airlines to travel agents, available on its SalesLink platform warning them that the carrier is cracking down on a variety of ticketing techniques, including hidden city ticketing and ‘churning’.

Over the summer I wrote about American directly investigating customers for ticketing practices that violate the airline’s rules, and more recently confronting customers at the airport and demanding passengers pay up for their past sins against the airline. Now they’re warning tagents.

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When It Matters, Testing For Travel Is Easy. So Why Won’t Airlines Test Their Own Crew?

by Gary Leff

Jan 26 2021

Travel brands are offering Covid-19 testing in order to adapt to the current reality, born out of desperation to win business from Americans in the face of new travel requirements. And it’s a reason crew exemptions are concerning – airlines should be able to adapt too.

In fact I’m told that United Airlines is scheduling U.K.-based crew to work London – Newark – Mumbai – Newark – London, London – Chicago – Delhi – Chicago – London, and London – Washington DC – London. This is roughly 80 UK-based crew entering the US every day exempt from the CDC’s new testing requirement, with the UK one of the epicenters of a new SARS-CoV-2 mutation of concern.

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Southwest Airlines Karen Screams, Refusing To Get Off The Plane

by Gary Leff

Jan 26 2021

It’s common for a Southwest flight to end and some passengers to stay on the plane. That’s because on ‘through flights’ passengers connecting on the plane’s next segment stay on board while everyone else gets off. Then a flight attendant counts the through passengers on the plane. They can get off to stretch their legs and reboard (with the same boarding pass as their first flight!) or stay where they’re at.

But it’s very unusual to see everyone getting off the plane, and a passenger just decide to stay. They even melt down in a scream when a flight attendant pressures them to leave.

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How The Federal Government Is Considering Enforcing Its Air Travel Mask Requirement

by Gary Leff

Jan 25 2021

The Biden administration doesn’t yet know what mask rules will be, how they’ll apply to young children or those with medical challenges, how they’ll interact with private sector rules already in place, who will issue the rules, or what enforcement will look like. We’re likely a couple of weeks away from knowing the answers to these questions.

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