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Every week, the TSA blogs about items (mostly weapons) that agents have confiscated at airports around the country, and the agency posts some of the crazier ones on its Instagram page. Below are the five most ridiculous items that were confiscated this month — at least according to us at Team TPG. As always, we’re grateful that the TSA remains diligent in preventing passengers from boarding aircraft with such dangerous weapons....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Aviation safety is hands down the most important issue when it comes to air travel these days. And one of the biggest threats to passengers in the last year has been none other than faulty cellular devices catching fire mid-flight....

In order to power Boeing’s new 777X aircraft — which is supposed to take to the skies for the first time in 2019 — General Electric is developing a new, incredibly powerful engine: the GE9X. With ground testing done, it is now time for the engine to be put to test on an actual flight. And that just happened for the first time this week.GE understandably doesn’t want the test engine to be the only one keeping an aircraft in the air....

One of the world’s largest airlines has plans to grow signifigantly larger. China Southern wants to quadruple its fleet size and take on more partnerships to become a superpower in the world of aviation.China Southern CEO Tan Wangeng said that he wants to grow the airline’s fleet to 2,000 aircraft by 2035. The SkyTeam carrier currently has about 786 passenger and cargo aircraft.“We plan to have 1,000 aircraft by 2020 and by 2035 it will increase to 2,000,” Tan told the World Routes conference....

Getting through airport security can be one of the most frustrating aspects of the travel experience. Slow lines, grouchy TSA agents and borderline violations of privacy are just some of the joys you can hope to experience on your next trip to the airport. However, there are some ways to make this process less painful, so here are are picks on the top 10 ways to get through airport security faster....

To know me is to know that I’m an impatient person. I hate waiting in lines, which is why I’m so thankful for things like Global Entry, TSA PreCheck and CLEAR, which have all saved me countless hours while traveling over the years. However, I try to save as much time as possible in my non-traveling life as well — shopping online to skip long lines in stores and even ordering my Dunkin Donuts coffee in advance every day via an app so it’s waiting on the counter....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.If you’ve ever dreamed of getting married in the cockpit of a 767, now’s the time to start planning your trip to Ireland’s west coast. Opening in Summer 2018, the Quirky Nights Glamping Village, which will be home to a plethora of transportation memorabilia, will feature a retired Boeing 767 that’s being transformed into a hotel with events space....

If you’ve ever flown business class within Europe, you surely know about the disappointing seating options available on most flights. Most European business-class products consist of economy-class seats with a blocked middle seat. Usually, you’ll get the same amount of legroom as you would in coach.This aircraft arrangement allows the airlines great flexibility in selling tickets. If business class is empty, a carrier can simply unblock a middle seat, move the curtain divider and sell another few rows of economy — or vice versa if business class is selling well....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Two more international flights landing in the US were quarantined after several passengers exhibited flu-like symptoms on board.The two incidents, which happened Thursday afternoon at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), follow a similar situation that unfolded Wednesday at New York’s Kennedy airport (JFK) after an incoming Emirates flight from Dubai (DXB) was quarantined on the tarmac and met by Centers for Disease Control officials after 11 passengers contracted symptoms, including fevers, coughing and vomiting....

From now through October 12, 2012, Aeroplan and Accor Hotels are sponsoring the Up and Away contest with a grand prize of 300,000 Aeroplan miles and a four-night (up to $1,400 USD value) stay in any Accor hotel worldwide.Other prizes include a second prize of 100,000 Aeroplan miles and a two-night stay (up to $500 USD value) at any Novotel in Canada, and there will be a total of three prizes – awarded one each week of the contest – of 50,000 Aeroplan miles each....

The final piece in Club Carlson’s Big Night Promotion has finally come online. The first 20,000 people to register for the Park Plaza Ultimate Night Giveaway will be eligible to receive 50,000 bonus Gold Points when they complete a qualifying stay at any Park Plaza hotel around the world between June 28 (today) and August 28, 2012. Registrants after the initial 20,000 will only be eligible to receive 15,000 points each....

It’s not often we hear of airline passengers sacrificing their premium seat in return for a seat in the last row of economy — especially if that passenger is a 7-foot-1 NBA player. On a United Airlines flight Sunday night, Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker did just that, and he made a friend along the way.Paul Kuzma also happened to be on Maker’s flight. The two ended up both missing their original trips and found themselves rebooked on the same flight....

Delta Airlines may have been its employees’ best Valentine: on February 14, Delta announced that it will distribute more than $1.1 billion in profit-sharing bonuses from 2017 earnings.“This is the fourth year in a row that Delta’s profit sharing has topped $1 billion — a milestone no company in history has ever achieved,” said CEO Ed Bastian. “Delta people are the reason for our success, and Valentine’s Day is our favorite day each year as we celebrate the incredible results our people have delivered....

Nine members of Congress sent a letter to the CEOs of ride-sharing companies Uber, Lyft, Via, Curb and Juno on Monday demanding answers on how the companies were dealing with the recent spate of sexual assault accusations against their drivers.The letter follows an in-depth CNN report that found at least 103 Uber drivers and 18 Lyft drivers had been accused of sexual assault by ride-sharing passengers in the past four years....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Lin-Manuel Miranda will reprise his role as Alexander Hamilton in Puerto Rico in January 2019. Miranda partnered with the Flamboyan Arts Foundation and will put on 24 performances at the University of Puerto Rico. Together, the producers of Hamilton and the Flamboyan Arts Foundation have created the Flamboyan Arts Fund to revitalize the cultural institutions, arts organizations and independent artists that were affected during Hurricane Maria....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.IHG has released the details of its latest Accelerate promotion, through which you can earn tens of thousands of bonus points for stays between September 6 and December 15, 2016. After you register for the promotion, you’ll learn how many points you can earn, as it varies from person to person....

Israel’s national airline, El Al, petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, filing suit in seeking to stop Air India from taking a shorter path on its nonstop flight from New Delhi (DEL) to Tel Aviv (TLV) through Saudi airspace.Air India recently made history on the route as the first commercial airline to fly through Saudi airspace to Israel. Meanwhile, El Al is still prohibited from flying over Saudi Arabia, a shortcut that slashes two hours from the flight time and means less fuel and cheaper airfare....

James Hogan, the president and chief executive at Etihad Airways, said today that he’s stepping down from his position at the company in the second half of 2017. Etihad has been struggling financially in recent years, as it tries to keep up with its minority stakes in smaller airlines across Europe and Asia.As Etihad has grown, it’s introduced products that have been flashy and customer-friendly, but not necessarily profitable, such as The Residence and The Apartment....

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), fuel accounts for a whopping 20% to 30% of an airline’s operating costs. Though airlines pass on some of their fuel costs directly to passengers in the form of higher airfares and surcharges, carriers look for ways both big and small to cut their fuel consumption.Their strategies for doing so include everything from investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, advancing the use of biofuels both on aircraft and at airports, and exploring more efficient navigation systems....

After a bad couple of PR weeks for both United (#BumpGate) and American (#StrollerGate), it was only a matter of time before it was Delta’s turn. Delta Air Lines Flight 2035 passenger Kima Hamilton was on his way to Milwaukee (MKE) from Atlanta (ATL) when his flight was delayed. He was eventually kicked off the flight.The plane had taxied to the runway and passengers were told that it was third in line to take off....