Nick Gray headed to Tokyo and, after his trip there last year, felt like he’d have enjoyed it more after a few days if he had someone to hang out along with him. So he posted to the internet that he’d like a blind date and that he’d fly them there (in coach) for a long weekend and cover all expenses. He created a Google Doc with how to apply. This story is going viral, viewed millions of times.
American Airlines lost $312 million in the first quarter, which is historically the toughest quarter for an airline. Delta made money, and United only lost money because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9. Still, American Airlines is initially trading up on these results because of projections for the quarter ahead.
Everyone who doesn’t read this site, please take advantage of this month’s Rent Day rebate on redeeming points for rent!
A Canadian tourist was charged $1,000 to transfer from terminal 4 to terminal 3 at the Cancun airport. He took a taxi, rather than the airport’s free shuttle, and the taxi driver tried to steal his luggage when the passenger protested the fare. Eventually the police got involved.
The Montreal resident was expecting to pay $5, but his credit card was overcharged by 200 times the usual amount.
A tug driving too fast in wet conditions at the Charlotte airpor hydroplaned into an American Airlines jet, doing serious damage to the aircraft.
I don’t write very much about booking travel with Priceline. I don’t like dealing with Expedia on changes and when things go wrong. But for simple bookings that most travelers might make, is Priceline actually worse?
Give A Mile is a unique charity that takes donations of miles and uses the miles to book flights for to book tickets so that those in need can be together with loved ones in their last moments of life, so that people don’t die alone.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was confronted by a woman boarding an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York on Monday. His Honor was seated in an exit row middle seat, and the woman approached him, first asking whether he was in fact the mayor – and then began to launch into a wide-ranging tirade.
The anti-Israel activist, headed to New York as well, recorded herself lambasting the mayor over a litany of issues.
Last month a Chase Ultimate Rewards member transferred their points to United, in order to book an award that showed as available at United.com, but wasn’t really available. United wouldn’t send his points back to Chase, and he complained to the Department of Transportation that this was an unfair and deceptive practice. They needed 193,000 more miles than they had in their account. United’s website suggested they buy the miles. They transferred the points in from Chase Ultimate Rewards instead. The award space for business class travel on EVA Air from Chicago to Singapore via Taipei turned out to be phantom and unbookable. The website errored out after they transferred the points. While the space still showed up online, a phone agent said the space wasn’t available and also that they couldn’t send their points…
The federal government has issued a final rule for how airlines disclose their fees, and requiring prompt refund of fees when they don’t provide the promised service.
It largely will not change how most passengers experience airlines most of the time. Airlines already disclose their fees, and generally provide refunds for services they don’t provide. There will be a stronger requirement, though, to refund checked bag fees for long-delayed and lost bags.
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 »
