American Airlines is reportedly preparing to return to Reykjavik, reviving Iceland service that disappeared during the pandemic. Philadelphia is the logical gateway, but the airline’s choice of aircraft—and whether it might instead revisit Dallas—remains unclear.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who safely brought US Airways Flight 1549 down on the Hudson River and saved all 155 people aboard, has revealed an early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The 75-year-old plans to use his public voice to help other families face the disease with hope and courage.
Bilt has closed a loophole that awarded 250 points even on $1 rent payments, allowing members to scale tiny transactions into meaningful balances. These payments will now earn one point per dollar, capped at 250 points per monthly payment, while card-based housing rewards remain unchanged.
I set out to kill time with a lounge crawl across the Philadelphia airport and wound up with a snapshot of American Airlines today: Bollinger and cheesesteaks in the Flagship Lounge, buses from a barren concourse, and a startling $1,125 offer at my gate for someone to give up a seat. The trip ended with one of aviation’s great views, and a reminder of how much customer service has disappeared from airports. It was Sunday and I had a long time to kill in the Philadelphia airport before my American Airlines flight down to D.C. So I pulled up my Royal Jordianian oneworld sapphire status, which gives me access to American’s business class Flagship lounges even on domestic flights. That status match offer was a winner. At Philadephia, that’s in the international terminal A West.…
Frontier will begin installing Starlink across its entire fleet next year, transforming from an airline with no Wi-Fi into one offering the best gate-to-gate connectivity in the sky. That puts it years ahead of Delta, which won’t begin installing Amazon Leo until 2028—and initially plans to equip only half its fleet.
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.
A United captain stepped into the cabin to brief passengers on weather, and a loyal flyer called it the kind of service that made the airline number one. Pilots can build trust in minutes—and airlines should make that interaction normal.
American Airlines posted photo clues teasing five new international routes. The destinations appear to be Naples, Munich, Copenhagen, Quito and Santiago—the remaining questions are which U.S. gateways will serve them and what aircraft American will use.
Rakuten is offering 100% back on a $113.13 Surfshark purchase, which can be taken as 11,313 Bilt (for anyone with Bilt status) or Amex points—effectively one cent each. New Rakuten members can earn another 5,000 points, bringing the total to 16,313.
A new Point.me survey names Delta’s Starbucks the best airline coffee and Amex Centurion the best lounge network. But popularity isn’t quality: Alaska and United serve better coffee, Chase offers stronger lounge design, Capital One has better food—and British Airways has no business ranking among the best inflight meals.
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 »
