
Live and Let’s Fly
A Two-Star Hotel Stay at the World’s Biggest Luxury Conference
In the most conflicted possible experience, I found myself in a two-star hotel during the world’s largest luxury travel conference, ILTM Cannes. But why? Why I Intentionally Booked A “Two-Star” Hotel Location, location, location. For this particular event, ironically the world’s largest luxury travel conference, hotels in reasonable proximity to...

Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Mid-Air Collision Narrowly Averted At Houston Intercontinental After Pilot Mixes Up ‘Left’ And ‘Right’
Passengers on two planes that took off from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport earlier this month had a hair-raising experience after the pilots had to perform an emergency manoeuvre to prevent a potential mid-air collision. The reason for this near-catastrophic accident? It appears that the pilots of one of the...

View from the Wing
End Of Year Card Credits — How To Cash Out Chase, Amex, And Citi Perks Without Changing Your Plans
Your premium rewards cards come with a pile of credits, and as the year ends a lot of them are about to go unused. Here are practical ways readers are cashing out Chase, Amex, and Citi perks right now—even if you have no interest in the merchants the benefits are...

The Gate with Brian Cohen
Angry Penguin on Barrientos Island. Sunday Morning Photograph.
Whenever I have seen photographs of penguins, they usually either seem docile, silly, graceful, or clumsy — so seeing an angry penguin on Barrientos Island as I was taking photographs unexpectedly caught me off guard.
A...
The post Angry Penguin on Barrientos Island. Sunday Morning Photograph. appeared first on The Gate.

One Mile at a Time
Delta Basic Economy: What Are The Restrictions, And Is It Worth It?
Back in 2012, Delta Air Lines became the first major US airline to introduce basic economy fares. In this post, I’d like to go over the details of the SkyTeam carrier’s most restrictive ticket types. What restrictions are there when booking basic economy fares, and are these tickets worth it?...

View from the Wing
Miami Gate Video: Former President Joe Biden Boards American Airlines To The U.S. Virgin Islands — Like Just Another Passenger
Former President Joe Biden was spotted boarding an American Airlines flight in Miami headed to St. Croix—standing in the same queue as everyone else, with only a low-key law enforcement escort. It is a refreshingly normal post-presidency moment, right down to an on-time operation.
Continue reading Miami Gate Video: Former President...

One Mile at a Time
American Airlines Airbus A321XLR Routes, Flights, And Long Term Strategy
In late October 2025, American Airlines’ very first Airbus A321XLR landed in the United States, after being delivered from Hamburg. A couple of weeks ago, the airline operated its first A321XLR flight with passengers.

Eye of the Flyer
Earn Cash Closing Robotaxis Doors, New Delta Brag Book, More Drones Disrupting Airports, Measles at Airports, Sad New Details About Biffle Plane Crash and more Travel News
Here are this week’s travel and cruise headlines and news from around the web and interweb: Delta Just Published a 300-Page Coffee Table Book as a Thank-You to Its People [Maybe someone should write a book of how they destroyed SkyMiles and the Medallion® program in less than 10 years?]...

Live and Let’s Fly
Spirit’s Engine Deal Buys Time
Spirit’s new Pratt deal and $140M cash boost buy breathing room, but survival still hinges on running a tighter airline, not just signing smarter contracts. A Lifeline Arrives, Quietly Spirit Airlines has spent the better part of the last year hovering on what many in the industry openly call a...

One Mile at a Time
Dangerously Close Call At IAH: Pilot Error Puts Two Planes On Collision Course
Two aircraft had a very, very close call while taking off at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH). This happened as a pilot made a major error, and the air traffic controller seemed a bit slow to catch it.

Paddle Your Own Kanoo
Airlines Launch Study Into Why Passengers Risk Their Lives to Take Bags During Emergency Evacuations
By now, it’s widely known that airplanes are designed to be evacuated in just 90 seconds with only half of the emergency exits operational. What aircraft designers don’t, however, account for in these designs is passenger behavior. Specifically, passengers who delay an evacuation to retrieve heavy, cumbersome hand luggage from...

One Mile at a Time
The Quirky Ritz-Carlton That Doesn’t Participate In Marriott Bonvoy
Often we’ll talk about Marriott affiliated properties that do a poor job of honoring Bonvoy elite benefits, with complete disregard for program rules. However, did you know that there’s one Ritz-Carlton that just fully doesn’t participate in the program? I get questions about this from readers every so often, so...



