View from the Wing Archives.
The U.S. keeps pouring billions into FAA-run air traffic control while staffing, technology, and accountability lag. Canada’s nonprofit NAV CANADA model shows a better path: separate regulator from operator, fund the system through users, and modernize without waiting on Congress.
United’s new A321XLRs will offer Economy Plus pairs with the middle seat covered by a shared table—essentially European business class seating without premium catering or lounge access. By holding capacity at 150 passengers, United can sell extra elbow room while avoiding a fifth required flight attendant.
Leaked photos offer the first look inside United Airlines’ new Airbus A321XLR, the premium-heavy narrowbody that will replace aging Boeing 757s and serve thinner routes to Europe and South America. It adds lie-flat suites and premium economy—but those suite doors will initially remain locked open.
Bilt’s June Rent Day is built around Madonna, with custom vinyl, album-release events and even a full month of rent covered at the New York building where she was once a tenant. But the real points play is a transfer bonus of up to 125% to TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go — enough to turn ordinary Bilt spending into an unusually rich haul, even if TAP is not the partner I’d usually choose first.
Flying to Europe this summer may mean more than crowded airports and packed flights. Europe’s new biometric border checks are creating hours-long immigration lines at some airports, with travelers missing connecting flights on arrival and returning flights as first-time registration overwhelms passport control.
I do not read hotel and restaurant reviews abroad the same way everywhere. In Europe, bad reviews can be easier for businesses to challenge or remove, so I rely less on average ratings and more on patterns, photos, trusted local sites, and avoiding obvious tourist traps.
Hyatt has now announced which hotels are changing award categories next month, at the same time its new award chart devaluation takes effect, and the combined impact is worse than most members realize. The category list alone looks bad, but the real damage shows up when you run the numbers and see how many supposed price drops barely lower the points cost at all.
Europe is now much closer to banning airlines from charging extra for a standard carry-on bag, with a decisive round of negotiations starting Monday Supporters say this would stop confusing bag rules and protect passengers, but the real effect would be to force airlines to bundle more into the base fare and price-sensitive leisure travelers subsidize everyone else.
A new report values American Airlines’ AAdvantage program at roughly four times the airline’s own stock market value, a stark reminder that the real economics of major carriers no longer sit mainly in selling seats. The most profitable part of the business is increasingly the loyalty machine — using aspirational travel rewards to drive high-spending credit card customers, with flying often acting as the marketing platform for the cards.
United is finally replacing its aging Boeing 757s on thinner long-haul flying, turning to Airbus A321XLRs with more premium seats and lower trip costs instead of risking a widebody, betting smaller transatlantic and South America routes can work if enough travelers are willing to pay higher fares for a premium product.
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 »
