Airlines Gear Up to Fly Thousands to the Super Bowl

Checking in a bag is becoming an increasingly expensive endeavor. 

An announcement this week from American Airlines created widespread concern and confusion in the travel advisor community. Once again, as with the NDC fare roll-out, we have a half-baked, significant policy change released to the marketplace without fully thinking through the ramifications or fully communicating specifically how advisors would be impacted.

Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas, was forced to replace three separate flights from Melbourne to Sydney with an Airbus A380 superjumbo jet on Friday—a plane which is typically reserved for long-haul international flights. 

Baggage fees alone were worth an estimated $33.3 billion to airlines last year.

Checking a bag when flying with several U.S. airlines is, once again, getting more expensive. It’s been about five years since the major full-service U.S. carriers collectively raised checked bag fees to $30 and $40 for the first and second checked bags, respectively. Now, some airlines are back at it, making it costlier for passengers to access the plane’s cargo hold.

It was Christmas Day, and we were about to fly from Miami to Panama City. Before we even took off, my husband was ready to lose it, not because of something the airline did or an annoying passenger but because of the lack of space.

Travelers will have more flight options to visit Japan this summer.Announced Thursday, American Airlines will launch a new flight route between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on June 28. The new route makes American the only U.S.

This year more folks are prioritizing travel and newfangled experiences. We’re inspired by beloved television shows à la Emily in Paris to reexamine cities we’ve previously visited. Scoring tickets to see our favorite musical artists, like Taylor Swift, fortuitously opens up the prospect of flying to a different country. A rising wellness and longevity movement encourages travelers to seek alcohol-free vacations. Slower and more intentional travel—quality over quantity—is important and sustainability and eco-minded experiences are at the forefront.

An American Airlines flight descended into chaos on Tuesday when a traveler tried to open an emergency exit door mid-air, forcing other passengers to restrain him before he was duct-taped and zip-tied, witnesses said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jaclyn Sienna India, the founder and CEO of Sienna Charles based in Beverly Hills. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In the 1950s and '60s, "stewardesses were glamorous. They were beautiful. They were poised," says former Delta Air Lines flight attendant Casey Grant at the beginning of a new documentary film about the history of flight attendants.

Imagine taking off for a vacation, and having no idea exactly where you are going.  Scandinavian Airlines, a Sweden-based carrier, commonly known as SAS Airlines, offered just that, by recently introducing a special mystery flight called “Destination Unknown.”  SAS sold tickets for the flight exclusively to members of the airline’s frequent flyer loyalty program, EuroBonus. Instead of money, travelers needed to redeem 30,000 miles for a seat. The trip will depart from Copenhagen on April 5 and return back to Copenhagen on April 8. Travelers are only provided a clue that the flight will last “a few hours”, and the exact location of the destination will be revealed at some point during the flight through an announcement.  “The prospect of embarking on an adventurous and mysterious journey with fellow enthusiasts, finding new connections and friendships along the way, is truly exciting,” SAS’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President Paul Verhagen said in the news release.  Over 1,000 people submitted interest in joining the flight, and the airline is no longer accepting reservations, a spokesperson shared with Travel + Leisure. Due to the limited quantity of seats on the plane, tickets for the April trip will be distributed randomly to the travelers who signed up. SAS operates flights around the world to 125 destinations, and currently has flights from the US (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington) to destinations in Scandinavia and across Europe.  The concept of “surprise” travel has taken off as travelers seek new experiences. Lufthansa, a German airline, offers a program called ‘Lufthansa Surprise’ where travelers select their home airport, and a general theme of what type of vacation they want (such as arts, outdoors, or shopping). Once the trip is paid and ticketed, the airline reveals the destination to the traveler. The surprise bookings cannot be changed or canceled, and the 24-hour flexible booking policy also does not apply.