U.S. Considers Extending Laptop Ban to Europe Flights

Bad news for the airlines often translates as good news for travel consumers.

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.

Flying to Europe between now and July 31? Good. Flying on a first-, business-, or full coach-fare ticket? Even better. Because, bonus miles.

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.

Until yesterday, American Airlines customers dismayed at the airline’s August 1 pivot to a spend-based mileage program had a fallback option: Earn miles for their American flights in Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program, which still awards miles the old-fashioned way, according to the distance flown.

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.

By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.

Headed Down Under? Delta has announced a new bonus-mile promotion for Australia flights. But it’s not the only option.

If this morning’s reports from the BBC and other sources have it right, the ban on in-cabin laptops will not be extended to include additional flights from Europe to the U.S.

If American Airlines’ recent scheduling glitch left you wondering whether your holiday flight would be cancelled for lack of available pilots, you can now rest easy.

JetBlue today announced an amendment to its existing purchase agreement with Airbus to increase the number of Mint-configured A321s, and add the option to acquire A321LRs (“LR” for long range) beginning in 2019.