New Priority Pass Deals Point to Overcrowded Airport Lounges

A Muslim social media personality has gone viral on TikTok after he posted a video showing airline staff scolding him for holding up a flight with 300 passengers for 30 minutes, despite claiming he had just been strip-searched by security. 

Chances are if you frequent airport lounges, you’re a Priority Pass member. Membership can be purchased outright or included as a complimentary benefit under specific credit cards and provides access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide, across 148 countries in over 600 cities. With Priority Pass membership, travelers can enter lounges in the portfolio on their flight date, regardless of airline or class flown, often with two guests.

With weather disruptions and constant delays upending the conversation about air travel this summer, it’s actually not all bad news. Many carriers are working to improve what they offer as they invest in new aircraft, lounges and amenities, a welcome change following the pandemic years.

I was one of three adults who led a backpacking trip to the Colorado Rockies this past June with six teenage Boy Scouts from Troop 876 of Savannah, Ga. After seven nights camping, our tenth night — June 26 — was to be aboard a redeye to Kennedy Airport, followed by a morning flight to Savannah, both on JetBlue Airways. But our Denver departure was delayed over two hours and we missed the connection. We waited for three hours in line, only to politely be told the next flight available was five days later, even after we offered to fly to Atlanta, Charleston, S.C., or Jacksonville, Fla., instead. JetBlue would not provide a hotel. So we opted for a refund (plus $12 meal vouchers), rented two cars and drove 14 hours home, racking up about $1,200 in travel expenses. But when our refunds from JetBlue came through, they totaled $261 for nine of us, only 18 percent of the original cost. A customer service representative later explained to me by phone that we had been reimbursed for only the New York to Savannah leg. We believe JetBlue should have gotten us on an earlier flight on a different airline or at least reimbursed us for the nine fares and fees totaling $1,458, and perhaps chipped in for the expenses to get home. Can you help?

Thousands of passengers got stuck for hours on planes waiting to take off at LaGuardia Airport on Friday due to delays caused by bad weather.

Like many people out there, I'm a relatively nervous flyer. I can't sleep the night before a flight, I triple-check everything before I leave, and I even invested in TSA PreCheck after a few almost-missed flights due to over-crowded security lines.

Royal Caribbean already operates the world’s largest cruise ship—Wonder of the Seas—but next January it will break that record with Icon of the Seas, which boasts 2,805 staterooms (including more than 1,800 with balconies) and 179 suites. Nearly 1,200 feet long, Icon of the Seas has 20 decks and features a 55-foot-waterfall, multiple pools and waterparks and a “chill island” and a “thrill island”—depending on a passenger’s vibe.

Likely in response to JetBlue’s systemwide double-points promotion, in effect through February 29, Virgin America is also offering double points, but only on select routes.

In its latest effort to capture the hearts, minds, and expense accounts of the travel universe’s most privileged 1 percent, American is raising the bar for airport lounges.

Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.

If you flew TWA to or from New York before the airline declared bankruptcy for the third and final time, in 2001, your travel experience was elevated by a walk through one of the world’s most enduring architectural spaces.

This summer, Norwegian plans to fly from New York to Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Shannon—and for these flights, “New York” means Stewart International Airport (SWF), also called Stewart Field.