Usually it’s fairly cut-and-dried, people don’t dispute the facts or there is a contemporaneous incident with witnesses. Here there doesn’t appear to have been a social media maelstrom, and the family says this came out of the blue. There’s no due process involved. Someone could easily be banned by mistake, maybe a cabin crew member writes down the wrong row number by mistake or the wrong seats (right row, seats across the aisle).
When I wrote about this fare on Wednesday, I offered that “I would not make non-refundable travel plans around this for a few days, just in case the airline gets a case of seller’s remorse.”
That’s exactly what has happened. TAP Air Portugal is cancelling tickets and refunding purchases.
Starting this evening American Airlines will launch an new service to Brazil operated by a Boeing 737 in Oasis configuration, Miami – Manaus, the primary departure point for the Amazon Rainforest.
Several weeks ago China deployed an ‘anal swab’ test to detect Covid-19, believing it to be more accurate than other testing methods. Passengers in several Chinese airports are now being subjected to these tests, where authorities “insert[..] a cotton-tipped stick three to five centimeters (one to two inches) into the rectum.”
Now China is using this for passengers from ‘high risk countries’ and when multiple people test positive on a flight.
A frequent flyer program database has been breached, giving hackers access to the name, account number, and elite level of all members in all Star Alliance frequent flyer programs, according to notices provided by Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Air New Zealand. oneworld account data has also been breached, according to notices provided by Cathay Pacific and Finnair.
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.
Delta’s President reported told investors at Monday’s Raymond James conference that the airline will maintain Austin and Raleigh-Durham as focus cities, but will drop that status for Cincinnati, Nashville, and San Jose.
American Airlines has a small business program. It’s designed for companies that aren’t going to have corporate-level agreements with an airline that come with discounts or rebates. Instead they offer points redeemable for travel and services from the airline. It’s a great double dip. And they’re offering new signups a confirmed first class upgrade after taking any flight.
One of the more complicated legal issues I come across is what airline practices states are allowed to regulate, and which ones they aren’t. The Airline Deregulation Act makes issues of price, routes, and service a matter for federal regulation, seeking to avoid a ‘patchwork’ of 50 sets of rules for interstate travel.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, though, that California’s meal and rest break rules can be applied to airline crew. And that’s true even for crew who spend a majority of their work time outside the state.
The CDC has issued a new directive requiring passengers arriving from Ebola-stricken countries to provide contact information on arrival.
This applies to anyone who has been in either Guinea or the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past 21 days, and applies to arrivals at New York JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles and Washington Dulles. This covers roughly 60 passengers per day on average. The CDC imposed and bungled similar rules at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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 »
