View from the Wing
Mount Everest Guides Accused Of Poisoning Climbers In $20 Million Rescue Scam [Roundup]
Mount Everest guides are accused of poisoning climbers to trigger costly helicopter evacuations in a $20 million insurance scam. Also: Hyatt offers 20% points back in Las Vegas, Delta’s Minneapolis Delta One Lounge moves closer, Amex drops Etihad, and United is apparently pouring a legit $150 bottle in business...
One Mile at a Time
Lufthansa Airbus A380s Getting New Business Class, But Not Allegris Seats
For a couple of years now, we’ve known that Lufthansa plans to introduce new business class cabins on its Airbus A380s. While this project was first supposed to start in 2025, that timeline was ultimately delayed. In January 2026, the airline formally announced when these planes would be retrofitted. There’s...
Eye of the Flyer
First-Time Cruiser? How Long Should Your Very First Cruise Be? 3, 5, 7 Days or Longer? We Have the Answer
Planning your very first cruise comes with a long checklist of decisions: the embarkation port, the itinerary, the cruise line, the type of cabin. But one question that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is: how long should that first cruise actually be? Get it wrong, and you risk turning your...
View from the Wing
Nigerian Airline Restarts Once-Monthly 777 Caribbean Flights — Threatens Critic For Calling It Unworkable
Air Peace says it will restart once-monthly Boeing 777 flights from Lagos to Antigua and Barbados starting May 24 — a schedule that doesn't work for vacations, business trips, or even roundtrips. And when a veteran airline executive pointed that out, the carrier responded with legal threats.
One Mile at a Time
Portugal To Privatize National Airline TAP, Sell 44.9% Stake: Two Airline Groups Bid
In the summer of 2025, the government of Portugal relaunched a project to privatize national carrier TAP Air Portugal, with the goal of selling a large stake within a year or so. All too often, not much comes of this, though it seems like this is moving along. Two major...
Frequent Miler
My American Express bonuses are posting with blazing speed
I’ve recently been in a position to spend toward some Amex bonuses, and one thing has really surprised me: Amex bonuses are posting with blazing speed. In our case, that has applied to both welcome bonuses and spending bonuses, both in terms of Membership Rewards points and co-branded bonuses. This...
Live and Let’s Fly
United Airlines Raises Checked Bag Fees By Up To $50 Per Bag
United Airlines is raising checked bag fees, with a $10 increase across the board for most North American and Latin American itineraries. The move, which takes effect for tickets purchased starting April 3, 2026, marks the first increase in two years. United Airlines Raises Checked Bag Fees Under the new...
One Mile at a Time
United Increases Checked Bag Fees By $10-50, Blames Higher Fuel Costs
Earlier this week, JetBlue became the first airline in the United States to increase checked bag fees in recent times. This is an area where JetBlue tends to ”lead,” and there’s now an update, as one of the ”big three” carriers has followed JetBlue’s lead.
2PAXfly
WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT: Air New Zealand to land first
Western Sydney International (WSI) hasn’t even opened yet, but the race to be first on the departures board seems already underway. Last week Singapore Airlines announced its first flights in November 2026, and now Air New Zealand is going to beat them to the baggage claim. From October 26, the...
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
United Airlines Hikes Checked Bag Fees By $10 as the War in Iran Affects Oil Fuel Costs Around the World
United Airlines has confirmed that it is hiking its checked baggage fees by as much as $10 per bag in a stealth move by the Chicago-based carrier designed to try to offset the surging price of jet fuel around the world. The price hike, confirmed by Reuters journalist David Shepardson,...
Eye of the Flyer
Delta One Lounge MSP Update: New Plans Emerge! (April 2026)
A new report suggests Delta Air Lines may finally bring its ultra-premium Delta One Lounge concept to Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP) — something we wrote about back in 2024. According to The Minnesota Star Tribune‘s Bill Lukitsch, Delta is eyeing “a 20,000-square-foot space above Concourse G” at the Twin Cities’ major...
Frequent Miler
(Maybe not?) FedEx being removed from Flexible Business Credit on American Express® Business Gold Card from 10/1/26
Update: We were previously advised that FedEx will be removed from the Flexible Business Credit on the American Express® Business Gold card after October 1, 2026. We’ve now been advised that this was shared in error, so we’ve updated the card details accordingly to remove that. What’s not clear is...
View from the Wing
United Raises Checked Bag Fees To $50 — Congress Rewards Airlines For Shifting Fares Into Untaxed Fees
United is raising checked bag fees to $50 for new tickets, another $10 increase that follows JetBlue’s latest move and will likely be copied across the industry. What makes this worse than a normal fare hike is that bag fees are largely exempt from the 7.5% federal excise tax on...
View from the Wing
British Airways Is Forcing Its Employee Football Club To Drop The Name — Ending An 80-Year Link
British Airways is forcing the employee football club that has carried its name for more than four decades to rebrand, ending a link that stretches back to BOAC staff teams in 1947 and cutting off ties to its own workforce history.
The Gate with Brian Cohen
What Is “Medical communications – crew use only”?
On the ceiling in the passenger cabin aboard an airplane above a row seats in front of mine during a recent flight were two ports that were marked “Medical communications - crew use only”, which I personally had never seen before.
The ports that are marked “Medical communications - crew use...
