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.
On a United Airlines flight to Houston on Saturday, rapper DJ Drama filmed a passenger being removed from the aircraft – and was then removed himself.
The aptly-named Drama, née Tyree Simmons, posted video of the removal to Instagram – and also video of the aftermath, where he’s being ejected from first class. The ostensible reason is a mask violation but he appeared to have been asked to wear a mask once, complied, and remained respectful throughout. So the real reason for his ejection is .. subject to speculation.
Brian Znotins, Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning at American Airlines, offered “When people ask me as a network planner ‘what’s my favorite airplane?’ it’s the cheapest.” And he reported that if the price is right they’ll buy planes.
Americans may be on the verge of receiving $1400 in Biden Bucks, but U.S. commercial airlines are getting $14 billion – including $3 billion for American Airlines. And according to the CEO of American, who has spent much of the last year working Capitol Hill, Republicans were ready to break ranks with their party to ensure that subsidies would flow to the airline industry.
In fact, from Parker’s telling at an internal meeting with employees, the Republican Party may not have tried to remove these subsidies because it would have caused some of their members to defect and create bipartisan support for part of the legislation.
Gol, the American Airlines partner in Brazil, says it is changing the schedule of every one of its flights in April and customers have to rebook.
China has announced its first ‘vaccine passport’ policy reducing restrictions for people traveling from Hong Kong to mainland China but only for people who have had Chinese-made vaccines. The 50% effective Sinovac vaccine qualifies, while vaccines from the West do not.
Starting April 1 all international visitors over age 15 to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel and Tulum, will have to pay a new tourism tax of 224 pesos (US$10.81). Visitors from Belize get a 10% discount.
The tax is enforced upon departure. It isn’t included when you buy your airline tickets, making it an extra hassle apart from the cost.
The E.U. and others are working on the idea of a vaccination passport (or ‘certificate’ for those who find the nomenclature more palatable). 62% of Americans even believe vaccination should be required for air travel.
The rental experience is awful. Rental car loyalty programs are awful. And rental cars are about to get a lot more expensive. Don’t get taken to the cleaners.
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.
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 »
