American Express plans to open a new Centurion lounge at Washington National airport at the end of 2022. It will be at the southern end of the B concourse, and by the time it opens B, B/C and C will all be connected post-security through a combined checkpoint (“Project Journey”).
The lounge will be 11,500 square feet. The lounge will offer shower suites and “floor-to-ceiling windows will offer airfield views ”
In an update from the head of the American Airlines flight attendants union, crewmembers were briefed on the union’s priorities, reflected in their discussions with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
This includes a third airline bailout, vaccine priority, and a “a comprehensive ‘No-Fly List’ to further address threatening and abusive behavior on the airplane”
JetBlue flight attendant Kalina Collier reported on social media that she was being held hostage inside of Jamaica hotel. She had arrived on the island on January 28, and was supposed to be on a flight back February 1. First she had to take a Covid-19 test, which came back positive.
Collier took a second test, which came back negative, but a PCR test sent her to quarantine where she took to social media claiming she was kidnapped and held hostage. She’s been fired – and JetBlue’s CEO has even had to apologize to the government of Jamaica.
Pilots at JetBlue rejected an agreement with the airline that would have allowed them to move forward with their new American Airllines partnership. Ironically it’s probably JetBlue pilots who benefit most from this deal.
JetBlue will ban basic economy customers from bringing full-sized carry on bags on board, and will finally eliminate change fees on other ticket types, which their competitors did last summer.
Elites used to get waived change fees, but the airline says they aren’t contemplating any new elite benefits in exchange – what they do for members is already enough.
I was sad to learn of the passing of Marriott’s long-time CEO Arne Sorenson, the first non-Marriott to hold the post. My sympathies go out to his family who lost him to pancreatic cancer way too early at 62. I wasn’t going to write about it because the news is well-covered. My reactions though center largely around what’s been said about him since his untimely passing.
His public legacy, I think, is more complicated than the tributes I’ve seen generally recognize. And that flows naturally from the role he filled at the helm of a global business in a very political industry.
Texas is experiencing a weather event it hasn’t seen in a generation. We don’t do single digit temperatures, negative wind chills, and significant snow. The problem compounded when the state’s electric grid couldn’t handle demand. Freezing temperatures took some power generation offline (due to frozen natural gas pipes) at a time when everyone cranked up their heat.
Local residents without power are complaining about hotel price gouging.
Are there risks to using a dental appointment confirmation email to circumvent travel restrictions? Just show up for your appointment while on vacation. Those who use the dental loophole, and prepay might as well get a cleaning out of it rather than no-showing, even though “current law permits travelers to be charged only at the point they attempt the overseas journey, not after the fact.”
Ten of the top twenty airports in the world for departing seat capacity this week are in China,. Some of the busiest airports in the world may be places you haven’t heard of or at least, couldn’t place precisely on a map like Hangzhou, Chongquing and Kunming.
For all of China’s dominance here in Covid times around Chinese New Year the busiest airport in the world for domestic flying is still Atlantaa – and by a lot (17% ahead of the number two airport). Middle seat blocking helps here (Delta is flying more seats than they are selling) but Delta has retrenched to Atlanta to a large degree and it skews as a domestic hub even during normal times.
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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 »
