Keeping Portland weird: why this is one of America’s quirkiest destinations

American Airlines will add a pair of new flights from Phoenix next year, flying to Mexico and Washington state for the winter.

Enter the Holland America Line “Choose Your Cruise” sweepstakes by March 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-day Holland America Line cruise for two to the winner’s choice of Alaska, Canada and New England, the Caribbean, or Europe, including most onboard meals.

This week, on March 22, American’s new AAdvantage award chart takes effect, the first in a two-step devaluation of the oldest and largest airline loyalty program.

According to the just-released Airline Quality Rating study, Virgin America is the country’s best airline. Of the 13 airlines ranked in the study, Alaska Airlines was rated fifth.

Two months ago, when Alaska Airlines bought Virgin America for $4 billion, the consensus prediction was that San Francisco-based Virgin would be slowly integrated into Alaska until it was nothing more than a historical footnote. In other words, what customers love about Virgin would be lost in transition.

Got a smartphone and T-Mobile service? Traveling on a Gogo-equipped airline flight? If so, you’ll be entitled to a free hour of inflight WiFi, on every flight, beginning on June 13. In addition, T-Mobile customers will enjoy unlimited texting, picture messaging, and access to Visual Voicemail on Gogo-equipped flights.

This morning, my inbox and social-media feed were chock full of messages from and about Virgin America. And they had nothing to do with the airline’s rumored merger with JetBlue or Alaska Airlines, a developing story that concerns the company’s very existence.

On the landing page of a new website touting the consumer benefits of Alaska’s acquisition of Virgin America, which closed today, there’s this:

Infrequent travelers often say cheap car rentals are the best way to get off the beaten path while abroad. They’re usually wrong.

Want to visit the United States’ hottest destinations this summer, but don’t want to pay crazily inflated prices? TripAdvisor (our parent company) just released its 2018 Summer Vacation Value Report which gives you the low-down on the best places to visit and the least expensive week to go. Surprisingly, Memorial Day week (May 28) was the cheapest time to go for more than half of the destinations, so if you want to save time and vacation days, you’re in luck.

Skytrax is out with its annual list of the World’s Top 100 Airlines, perhaps the most recognized worldwide ranking of best airlines. As usual, and to the chagrin of travelers here in the states, most of the top performers are not U.S. airlines. Instead, the list is dominated by Asian, Middle Eastern, and, to a lesser extent, European carriers.

The latest study from J.D. Power proves something you might have already suspected: Air travelers aren’t too happy. The 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study found that travelers’ satisfaction with domestic airports plateaued this year amidst widespread delays and crowds. According to the findings, the halt in passenger satisfaction comes after several years of rapid growth.