This week:
- BA’s switch to revenue-based status is still unpopular
- Qantas looking at international flights from Sydney’s second airport
- Is American’s AI booking tool racist?
- TSA expands Touchless ID to 65 airports
- It’s hell at HEL: the sauna at Finnair’s Helsinki lounge isn’t working
- More new food and drinks onboard American flights
January 18, 2026
BA’s switch to revenue-based status is still unpopular
Nothing new for American flyers, but British Airways is still catching heat over their switch to revenue-based status earning. Here’s Andrew Neil, the longtime political analyst, on X:
The new BA tier points structure sets impossible hurdles even for frequent flyers regularly using business or first.
I have always planned my extensive and expensive global travel through London to use BA. These days are over.
I will now use whatever airline is most convenient and competitive. It will make travel planning easier. I can make more use of other airlines whose business and first seats are far superior to BA. Hello Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, Etihad etc.
British and Iberia are a year into this now, but revenue-based earning isn’t an inevitability if you’re with another program. Cathay, JAL, Qantas, and Qatar haven’t switched, and even in the US, Alaska gives travelers a choice to earn by distance or dollars.
January 16, 2026
Qantas looking at international flights from Sydney’s second airport
Robyn Ironside in The Australian:
Qantas and Jetstar have indicated they will have a significant presence at the airport, while Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines have also signalled their intention to fly out of Western Sydney. As yet no firm contracts have been signed, but Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace says it’s only a matter of time.
“We’re just working with them on how we manage the right cost base to allow us to grow in the years to come,” says Wallace of the protracted negotiations with management. “But Western Sydney in the medium term would be a good option for short-haul international travel. It’s just [a question of] when is that going to be and can we strike the right deal.”
No date yet for Western Sydney International, which is still expected to open some time this year.
January 14, 2026
Is American’s AI booking tool racist?
Spotted on X: a user getting racist and anti-semitic search results while using American’s new “Travel Inspiration with AI” booking tool.
We know the tool is real because the airline promoted it in USA Today last year.
American Airlines has quietly been rolling out a new booking tool. The new AI-powered feature allows travelers to search for flights based on the kind of trip they want to have, rather than the specific airports they want to fly to and from.
We don’t know if the screenshots are real. I could not verify them because this feature isn’t available to me yet (if you can, let me know). The user who posted them has been around for over a decade and nothing on their profile looked suspicious; the screenshots didn’t appear to originate anywhere else.
The tool comes from Mobi, which promises airlines “the right recommendation to the right traveller at the right time.”
Many users are intelligent enough to understand that this is an AI service. But that “check for accuracy” disclaimer is doing a lot of work. And if it is making recommendations as egregious as these, you have to wonder just how smart the non-racist vacation ideas are.
TSA expands Touchless ID to 65 airports
Rollout will be complete by Spring. Full list, per the TSA:
- Alaska Airlines: ATL, DCA, DEN, JFK, LAS, LAX, ORD, PDX, SEA, SFO, SLC
- American Airlines: ATL, CTL, DCA, DEN, DFW, EWR, IAD, IAH, JFK, LAS, LAX, LGA, MSP, ORD, PBI, PDX, PHL, SFO, SEA, SLC
- Delta Air Lines: ATL, DCA, DEN, DTW, EWR, JFK, LAS, LAX, LGA, ORD, PDX, SEA, SFO, SLC
- Southwest Airlines: ATL, DEN, LAX, LGA, ORD, PDX, SEA, SFO, SLC
- United Airlines: ATL, DCA, DEN, EWR, LAS, LAX, LGA, ORD, PDX, SEA, SFO, SLC
Alaska and American passengers with TSA PreCheck can participate, but unlike a KTN, you can’t just add this to a booking. You have to be a member of that airline’s loyalty program and opt in from your account settings (which means you can’t use this if you’re with Alaska and flying American, or vice versa, or you’re with another oneworld airline, flying either).
January 12, 2026
It’s hell at HEL: the sauna at Finnair’s Helsinki lounge isn’t working
LoyaltyLobby has the scoop.
Finnair operates one of only two airport lounge saunas in the world. The other is at one of Air France’s lounges in Paris.
More new food and drinks onboard American flights
American continues to make catering improvements. Full list below, but the big news is in the water department: a Club Soda with Himalayan Salt and the ever-popular Lime LaCroix.
New drinks on all flights:
- Athletic’s Free Wave Hazy IPA (the first non-alcoholic beer)
- Q Margarita Mix, Tonic Water, Club Soda
- Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix
- LaCroix Lime, Berry
New food on international flights in Economy & Premium Economy:
- Barbecue chicken with grits
- Beef fajita bowl
- Hoisin chicken
- Chimichurri chicken
- Vegetable yakiniku noodles
- Honey mustard chicken
New food on Asia flights in Economy & Premium Economy:
- Orange chicken
- Korean barbecue noodles with shiitake mushrooms
- Beef bibimbap
- Beef noodles
- Egg fried rice
- Scrambled egg, tomato compote, spinach and cheese
- Dakdoritang braised chicken
- Vegetable yakiniku noodles
