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Citing what it characterizes as a pattern of racial discrimination and “disturbing incidents,” the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent out a national alert to African-Americans warning them that they could be treated unfairly when traveling on American Airlines."[We are] alerting travelers — especially African-Americans — to exercise caution, in that booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them to disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions," the statement read....

Michigan Wolverine Austin Hatch will be courtside for his team’s NCAA Final Four game tomorrow, March 31. But the 23-year-old senior won’t be wearing a jersey for his “last go-round” with the team he calls his extended family. Instead, Austin will be in a suit and tie on the team bench in his role as Michigan’s student assistant basketball coach. Student assistant coaches don’t usually attend away games, but Austin received a special invitation from John Beilein — head coach of the men’s basketball team — who recruited Hatch to the university six years prior....

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.Everyone has a list of things they can’t stand to see on a flight. Whether it’s the passenger using the air vent to dry underwear or the one hogging the armrest, you’ve most likely witnessed some inexcusable behavior while flying....

With so many ways to earn and buy Star Alliance miles, like the current 100% US Airways buy miles bonus and the 40% United discount, I thought it would be helpful to summarize the best ways to search for Star Alliance award availability. I’ll be doing the same for Oneworld and SkyTeam in the near future.The Star Alliance has 27 member airlines and serves over 1,300 destinations globally. One of the biggest benefits of an airline alliance is the ability to redeem miles in one member airline’s frequent flyer program for flights on partners....

March 31st has come and gone - and that means that US Airways (and TAM) has transitioned from Star Alliance to Oneworld. However, the airline has retained several Star Alliance partners as well, including some popular ones like Singapore Airlines, South African Airways and EVA. All told, you can now redeem US Airways miles on 26 airlines!Take advantage of US Airways’ new Oneworld award chart!The other great news is that for the time being, US Airways’ award chart remains in effect both for its Star Alliance partners and its new Oneworld partners until the airline’s merger with American progresses far enough that they can align their award charts and combine their frequent flyer programs....

When United launched its new Polaris business-class seat on the 777-300ER in February, the day-long affair included breakfast at the new O’Hare Polaris Lounge, appearances by a handful of executives — including CEO Oscar Munoz — and a special charter flight from Chicago to San Francisco, giving journalists a chance to experience the new seat before it began revenue service two days later.Today’s launch was met without a bit of fanfare, but I’d argue that it’s even more significant than what we experienced back in February, given that this is the first time United’s added its brand-new seat to an older aircraft....

Uber already has partnerships with IHG, Hilton and Starwood, with the Starwood partnership being one of the most rewarding options. In the past few months, Uber has expanded its territory — from on-demand helicopter and yacht rides to reducing its prices from Newark by up to 50%. If you haven’t signed up for Uber, you can join here and get your first ride free (up to $15).Today, Uber announced its latest partnership with American Airlines — and those with Executive Platinum status or cardholders of the AAdvantage Aviator MasterCard get promotional perks from the partnership....

A United aircraft flying from Fort Myers to Newark was forced to make an emergency landing back at its departure city on Wednesday after experiencing an engine malfunction.About five or 10 minutes after the flight took off from Fort Myers (RSW) at 12:12pm, passengers reported hearing a loud noise coming from one of the plane’s engines. Cliff Maloney, a frequent traveler for his job, said that the noise sounded like a gunshot or cannon....

The deadly wildfires raging in California are still blazing, with more than 20,000 people evacuated, at least 1,500 structures destroyed and 100 people in the hospital with fire-related injuries — and 10 dead.There’s a long way to go to put out the fires, but now the firefighters have serious air support. The biggest you can get, in fact.Capable of dumping 19,600 gallons — nearly double its closest aerial firefighting colleague — of water or fire retardant, the world’s only Boeing 747 SuperTanker is in Sacramento and is running missions over the California fires....

The British Airways Estore has been on a roll lately! This deal isn’t as lucrative as the bananas 36 points per dollar Nordstrom deal thats currently going on, but it could be an easy win for anyone who shops at Safeway grocery stores.The Estore is giving 1,000 Avios points for, “First-time customers for any completed online purchase at Safeway.com. All first-time customers get free delivery on their first order of $50 or more....

You’re probably already familiar with the concept of an inaugural flight — typically an airline’s first flight to a new destination, or the first time a carrier operates a new aircraft type on a commercial flight. But by the time an aircraft inaugural rolls around, the plane has already flown several times, including a journey from the factory to an airport of the airline’s choosing, often many thousands of miles away....

It hit the Israeli press this week like a bad patch of turbulence over the Mediterranean: four Delta Airlines flight attendants sued the airline, alleging systematic discrimination against its Jewish and Israeli flight attendants, and against Jewish and Israeli passengers on the Tel Aviv to JFK route. This may be the biggest controversy in US-Israel aviation news since the announcement that American would be discontinuing its service between the two countries as of January 2016....

Let’s face it, the news about flight attendants isn’t exactly all warm and fuzzy right now, what with them breaking out into arguments onboard and online. But this is not what this story is about.When Newark-based United Airlines flight attendant Jair Ripoll learned that he needed a new kidney after being diagnosed with hereditary kidney disease, he followed his friends’ advice and posted on Facebook that he was looking for a donor....

When the playoffs conclude for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Adrian Gonzalez, he’ll be taking a trip and possibly utilizing some points and miles for the journey. Here, A-Gon, one of baseball’s most consistent power hitters, shares what he dislikes most about travel, the vacation he has enjoyed the most and the airline he’s been loyal to for more than a decade.What was your favorite trip?That’s an easy one. It was not a baseball trip....

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.Update 5/16/17 3:38pm: Just five days after testing of the 737 MAX resumed, Boeing has now delivered its first 737 MAX. The delivery customer is Asia low-cost carrier Malindo Air.Update 5/12/17 3:31pm: According to AirwaysLive, Boeing has resumed flights of the 737 MAX:The 737 MAX is one of the most anticipated aircraft launches in recent memory....

While Delta has sold an extra-legroom economy seat as “premium economy” for years, it’s finally in the process of rolling out a true premium economy product. The new Premium Select launched at the same time as the new Delta One Suites last October on the airline’s brand new Airbus A350.From its launch, passengers who booked Premium Select tickets that included a domestic US connection would fly in first class on those legs....

British Airways is finally catching up to the competition — at least for passengers at the front of the plane. This week, BA announced that it’s making some changes to its business cabin, in addition to investing more in its other products.BA CEO Alex Cruz announced the following changes to the carrier’s product:A $500 million investment in Club World, the carrier’s long-haul business class; offering direct aisle access in 2019Introducing Club Europe on UK domestic serviceNew loungesLatest generation Wi-Fi on long-haul and short-haul fleets during the next two yearsFirst Wing direct security and lounge access at Heathrow (LHR)Self-service check-in and biometric boarding gates to speed up the airport portion of a journeyThese changes represent a big upgrade for BA, which is looking to improve the premium passenger experience (as well as some adjustments to the experience for all, regardless of class of service)....

Cathay Pacific has announced an exciting new option for flyers. Starting today, travelers who have purchased either an economy or premium economy ticket will be able to bid cash to upgrade their seat to the next class up.Economy passengers will be able to bid up to premium economy, and those who purchased premium economy tickets will be able to upgrade to business class, although business-class travelers will not be able to upgrade to first class, which is one of the best products in the sky....

Just five months after outlining its new service animal policy, Delta is further restricting what animals it will allow on its aircraft and how many each passenger can bring.On Wednesday, Delta issued a statement on its site, declaring that it’ll “further enhance its restrictions.” Beginning July 10, 2018, Delta will limit one emotional support animal per customer per flight. In addition, as of the same date, Delta will no longer accept “pit bull type” dogs as service or support animals....

Buy discounted Disney tickets here through MickeyVisit.comDisneyland Paris will soon be fit for superheroes. The Parisian theme park is planning to open its first Marvel-themed hotel. Called Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel, it will be a veritable museum of cinematic superheroes complete with props, costumes and even original artwork on display. The Marvel Universe-themed hotel will replace the resort’s Hotel New York.An artist’s rendering of props on display at the new Marvel-themed hotel....