American Airlines has been making a lot of improvements as of late. Or at a minimum, the airline has been making a lot of positive announcements, though it'll take years for the airline to fully see them through.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig29 Aug
Country superstar Dolly Parton tragically passed away on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80. She's an absolute legend who was widely loved, and she had a huge impact on the country music scene, and beyond that, dedicated so much time and money to helping others. There's now a serious proposal to honor her at the airport that's home to country music.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig29 Aug
Delta Air Lines has been growing its presence in Seattle for around a decade now, and has been trying to steal market share from Alaska Airlines. Seattle is a different market than most, in the sense that many locals are fiercely loyal, and like giving business to companies that they perceive to be part of their community.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig29 Aug
The Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card is part ofthe Chase Ink Business card portfolio, and is one of the best no annual fee cards out there. A few weeks ago, we saw a massive limited time welcome offer rolled out on this card, which is the highest that we've ever seen on this product. This is simply an unbelievable offer, especially given that this card has no annual fee.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
Qatar Airways is no doubt a world class airline, in terms of the passenger experience it offers. There's also nothing the airline loves more than reminding consumers of how great it is, and how many awards it has won, primarily from Skytrax. Along those lines, it looks like the airline is now reversing course, and suddenly wants nothing to do with Skytrax... or something.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
Bilt is the platform known for providing rewards for housing payments. Earlier this year we saw massive changes at Bilt, including an overhaul of the credit card portfolio, plus new ways that housing rewards are offered.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
American Airlines and United Airlines both have hubs at Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD), and they sure are battling it out at the moment. United has a significant advantage (in terms of presence and profitability), but American isn't ready to give up there, and wants to regain market share.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
An air traveler is suing British Airways after a metal water bottle fell on her head during a flight, causing her to no longer be able to see straight. While this was hardly directly the carrier's fault, the Montreal Convention does make the airline liable, so this strikes me as being a reasonable case (thanks to SDFlyer for flagging this)...
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
In March 2026, we saw an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 collide with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA), claiming the lives of two pilots, and injuring dozens of others.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
I thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on some of the world's small luxury hotel groups that often don't get much attention. I'll kick this off with Airelles Collection, which is probably my favorite boutique luxury hotel group in the world, with just over half a dozen properties.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig28 Aug
Delta and American Express have a portfolio of co-branded credit cards. We've just see some huge new welcome offers rolled out on these cards, which are among the best offers we've seen on these products. In particular, the offer on the most premium business card is the largest I ever recall seeing on a Delta product.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
In early 2027, SWISS will be opening new lounges at its Zurich Airport (ZRH) hub, which will be available exclusively to premium passengers. What's unique is that these aren't just new lounges in the existing terminal, but instead, they'll be in a dedicated building, separate from the main terminal. We first learned about these plans in early 2025, but the airline has now formally revealed what we can expect.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Several months ago, American Airlines management decided it would start scoring flight attendants, with a program called me@work. The idea is that the scores are based on customer experience, operational contributions, and delays.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Strategically buying miles & points for luxury travel can be a great deal. We've just seen the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program launch a new promotion on purchased miles, with an offer to buy miles with up to an 80% bonus, at a cost of 1.69 cents each. While not quite in line with the best-ever offers we've seen from the program, it still has the potential to be a good deal, if you have a specific use in mind.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
The owner of Amanyara Turks & Caicos, one of the Caribbean’s most luxurious resorts, is currently in a major dispute with the owner of luxury hotel group Aman. The situation is getting so bad that a lawsuit has been filed, and the owner is threatening to cut ties with Aman. Let me explain what’s going on…
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Yesterday, American Airlines teased plans to announce new international routes, with a fun game inviting travelers to ”decode” the destinations the airline would add. Well, the wait is over, and American has just announced the details of its international expansion for the summer of 2027.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Qantas has just made a few passenger experience announcements. I’ve already covered how the airline will introduce new business class suites on upcoming Boeing 787 deliveries, and how the airline will retire Airbus A380s earlier than planned. On top of that, the airline has also unveiled the business class suites it will offer on some upcoming Airbus A321XLR deliveries, a massive improvement over the carrier’s current A321XLR product.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Qantas has today announced plans for an all-new business class seat for its Dreamliners, though it’s not the best business class seat that the oneworld carrier has in store for us…
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
Qantas has announced that it will move forward its Airbus A380 retirement by four years, and they’ll now be phased out as of 2028. If you’re like me, and are a fan of the A380, that’s obviously bad news. I should also mention that if you don’t like paying a fortune for airfare, it’s also bad news. Let me explain.
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig27 Aug
We know that American Airlines is planning on placing a wide body aircraft order in the near future, based on negotiations with Airbus and Boeing. While we’ve had no idea which aircraft type was the frontrunner, I think just about everyone assumed the Boeing 777X wasn’t realistically in the running. Well, there’s now an interesting clue on that front… though who knows, maybe we’re reading too much into this!
One Mile at a Time•Ben Schlappig26 Aug