Following a status match last year from American Airlines Executive Platinum to United 1K, I flew both side-by-side. My personal experience was surprising and foretells where I will spend my time next year. If you are considering booking travel or signing up for...
Flight Attendant Sues American Airlines After Nasty Onboard Brawl With Co-Worker
A vicious catfight between flight attendants onboard an American Airlines flight has led one FA to sue her employer for failing to investigate. Flight Attendant Kathy Ida Wolfe is suing American, her employer, for: negligence dangerous work environment breach...
Please Don’t Exploit The California Wildfires To Save Big On Airfare
I write about this topic with a heavy heart for two reasons. First, wildfires have wrought destruction across California. The consequences are real. The damage is breathtaking. 42 people have died. Second, what I am about to cover is...
A United Airlines Trip Report From An American Airlines Executive
An American Airlines Executive VP just flew United Airlines…and offered her thoughts on Twitter. Elise Eberwein is AA’s Vice President of People, Communications, and Public Affairs. She was flying from Chicago to Salt Lake City yesterday on United 521, a...
American Airlines Gold Status? No Thanks.
I have not flown a single flight on American Airlines this year. Nevertheless, I received an offer this week to buy up to Gold status for 2019. You might recall that I earned nearly enough AA miles last year...
Horrific: Woman Claims She Was Raped in AA Lavatory, Then Berated By Crew
A woman is suing American Airlines, claiming she was raped in a lavatory then mocked by the crew. It is a sad story, considering AA allegedly served the already-intoxicated aggressor six additional alcoholic drinks in a very short timespan....
The Death of Airline Lounge “Memberships” Makes American Express Platinum More Attractive
With American, Delta, and United cracking down on how/when “members” can use their lounges, I question whether membership is even the correct term to describe what airlines now offer. Think about it. If you’re a member of a gym,...
Drunk American Airlines Baggage Handler Falls Asleep In Cargo Hold, Travels To Chicago
An American Airlines’ baggage handler fell asleep in the cargo hold of a Boeing 737-800 and traveled from Kansas City to Chicago. The unnamed 23-year-old worker is (was) an employee of Piedmont Airlines (an American regional subsidiary) at Kansas...
Birds Of An Airline Flock Together…
Last week I wrote about the ongoing copyright drama American Airlines is experiening. Thus far, the U.S. Copyright Office has refused to provide AA copyright protection for its logo. While the office primarily cites the lack of “creativity” in...
American Airlines Mocked By Regulators, Now Suing Them
American Airlines’ lawsuit against Expedia is not its only lawsuit currently pending. After being continually denied copyright protection for its logo pictured below, AA is taking the United States Copyright Office to court. Yesterday I wrote about the difference between trademarks...
Why American Airlines Is Suing Expedia
American Airlines is suing Expedia in Texas, alleging that the online travel agency is guilty of trademark infringement. The controversy centers around Expedia’s new “Add On Advantage” loyalty program. American Airlines contends that the name is too similar to...
Medical AND Mechanical Issue Force Diversion Of AA Flight
An American Airlines’ flight bound for China was forced to divert after experiencing both a medical emergency and mechanical problems in-flight. Talk about an unlucky flight… AA263 from Dallas to Beijing departed DFW on time at just past 11:00 A.M....
United Wants Fewer 1Ks, I’ll Oblige
United announced on Friday afternoon that they would increase the spending requirement for their 1K (100,000-mile elite) members from $12,000 per year to $15,000. This is an effort to thin the herd as they have too many top-tier elite...
Rapper Accuses American Airlines Of Racism, But…
A rapper has accused American Airlines of racism after encountering an extended flight delay and cancellation. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, more commonly known as Wale, was flying from New York JFK to Los Angeles on American Airlines in first class....
Warning: Fiji Airways + Malaysia Airlines Now Bookable On AA.com
Fiji Airways and Malaysia Airlines are now easily bookable online using your AA miles. I know I say this every time a partner is added online, but I do consider this bad news, not good news. Think of it...
If American Airlines Asked Me To Pee In A Bottle…
If American Airlines asked me to pee in a bottle or hold it…I would pee in a bottle. After experiencing lavatory malfunctions on an AA flight from Phoenix to Kona, passengers were asked to urinate in bags or bottles....
American Adds Free TV On Domestic Flights, With A Catch
American Airlines has added complimentary gate-to-gate live TV from DISH on its first 100 aircraft, with more to come. But there’s a catch. The line-up includes 12 channels: Bravo CBS CNBC CNN Disney Channel ESPN FOX NBC NFL Network...
A Multi-Course First Class Dinner on American Airlines
Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. I flew...
The Gold Mine Of China Turns Into Fool’s Gold For U.S. Airlines
U.S. airlines are retreating from Mainland China, realizing the great Chinese aviation gold mine may actually be fool’s gold. To be sure, there is money to be made…a lot of it. But U.S. airlines are increasingly finding frustrating yields...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: August 19, 2018
Greetings from LA. After a busy weak of travel last week, it was nice to be home this week. I’m not planning on going anywhere in the coming week either. Here’s a review of the week’s top stories plus...