How NOT to Survive an Airline Crash

Beginning on June 1, Spirit will become the third airline to pull out of the Cuba market altogether, joining Frontier and Silver Airways. Two other airlines, American and JetBlue, have cut capacity on their Cuba flights, either by reducing frequency or downgrading to smaller planes.

When Muslim Advocates and the NAACP issue a joint letter accusing the U.S. airline industry of racism, it’s big news. And when the NAACP, the “nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization,” follows that up with an advisory specifically questioning the racial policies of the nation’s largest airline, American, it’s nothing less than a media firestorm. Indeed, all the major news media covered the story exhaustively. And “American Airlines” has been a trending Twitter topic for several days.

Enter the American Airlines “Your Vacation Spot” sweepstakes by April 1, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a $10,000 American Airlines Vacations travel voucher.

Alaska Airlines is justly lauded for its Mileage Plan loyalty program, which among other features boasts 17 airline partners, allowing program members to earn and redeem miles for flights throughout the world.

Tickets go on sale today from a brand-new airline.

Update, September 18: The FAA has issued updated guidance regarding usage of Samsung Galaxy 7 phones in flight, stating “passengers may not turn on or charge the devices when they carry them on board a plane. Passengers must also protect the devices from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks, and must not pack them in checked luggage.” The statement does not mention if any penalties are associated with failure to comply with this guidance. Read the full statement here.

On Friday evening—traditional timing for bad-news announcements that companies hope will go unnoticed by the public and unreported by the media—American published the new mileage-earning rates, effective from August 1, for travel on AAdvantage partner airlines.

In 2015, flyers filed 15,260 complaints with the Department of Transportation. That was a 34 percent increase over 2014’s 11,365 complaints.

I recently dubbed Alaska Airlines’ loyalty program, Mileage Plan, the “Best Mileage Program for Average Travelers.” It’s a hard-won honor, awarded for two principal reasons. First, Alaska has chosen to retain Mileage Plan’s distance-based earning scheme, even as most other airlines have adopted less generous spend-based earning. And second, Alaska has cobbled together a roster of earning and redemption partners that rivals those of the world’s largest airlines.

In just the past month, there have been two major airline service disruptions, inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of travelers.

Travelers who grumble that the airlines have gone too far in shrinking the width and legroom of coach-class seats won’t be getting any relief from Congress any time soon.

If you’re among the privileged few whose pocketbook or corporate travel policy allows you to fly business class, you’re in for an upgrade.