View from the Wing Archives.
Just before it was voted on, one provision was discovered that made it into the final bill that will kill off casino loyalty programs like MGM Rewards and Caesars Rewards: recording your gambling transactions is going to mean a bigger tax bill, even when you lose money gambling. People aren’t going to want these loyalty programs to record their gambling!
A year and a half ago President Biden announced new rules coming to require airlines to pay cash compensation for flight delays and cancellations. Think of it as the U.S.’s answer to Europe’s ‘EU261’ compensation.
They didn’t actually do anything with this while they still could. Their new proposal isn’t yet fully baked, and likely won’t advance farther.
American Airlines and flight attendants go back to mediation in Washington, D.C. next week for what the union characterizes as a “last ditch” effort to avoid a strike. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants is telling crewmembers to “prepare for” a strike, and there’s certainly a looming threat and with negotiations dragging on that threat becomes more real. But for now it appears mostly posturing, and a deal seems likely.
Mexican President ‘AMLO’ refused use of his government’s VIP-configured Boeing 787-8, and had it stored in the Southern California desert. After years of trying, the plane has finally been sold to the government of Tajikistan for approximately $92 million. That means it can no longer join the fleet of a planned reboot of Mexicana Airlines.
Mexicana was one of the oldest airlines in the world operating under the same brand when it ceased operations on August 28, 2010.
The partially government-owned carrier went into bankruptcy, and several criminal cases emerged involving tax fraud and money laundering by key executives. The departure of the Star Alliance-turned-oneworld member left Mexico with airlines like Aeroméxico, Volaris and Interjet.
Donald Trump, who himself used to own an airline that lost so much money it was taken back by the bank, launched a “bizarre rant” about the airline industry at a campaign rally on Saturday.
In a speech during which he thanked Ginni Thomas, spouse of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for “telling the January 6 House Select Committee that she believed the 2020 election was stolen from him,” he transitioned from the issue of crime to the state of U.S. airlines and airports.
American Airlines named its new senior leadership team yesterday. With Robert Isom ascending to CEO when Doug Parker becomes non-executive chairman on March 31, there’s a reshuffle at the top.
A year after the U.S. assassinated Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Irans troops responsible for clandestine operations against other nations, a digitally altered voice was broadcast to New York air traffic controllers announcing that a plane would be flown into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
President Trump is asking about what airport will be named for him once he leaves office. However he’s concerned that whatever airport is chosen, it needs to be nice enough. He didn’t accomplish the infrastructure investment he campaigned on, but worries that a dilapidated airport will bear his name.
Grover Norquist raised a ton of money for the ‘Reagan Legacy Project’ to have something named for Ronald Reagan in every state. Trump has reportedly hoped for an organized effort like that around renamings for him.
Set up an account with PredictIt. Whatever your political stripes, you can still bet that President Trump will lose re-election – and earn your full bet back and then some.
As of this writing betting markets still have Trump with about a 10% chance of winning Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada, as well as a 9% chance of winning the Presidency.
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 »
