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One passenger died when a PenAir Saab 2000 skidded off the runway as it landed in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Thursday.PenAir flight 3296 was just completing its journey from Anchorage on behalf of Alaska Airlines when the accident occurred. According to CNN, the plane was carrying 39 passengers and three crew members. A high school swim team was among those aboard, but those students and their chaperones all survived.RavnAir Group, the parent of PenAir, said in a statement on its homepage that the flight was marketed by Alaska Airlines....

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with the latest information.Exciting changes are coming to the Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty program next week. Many awards will be cheaper than before. Families will be able to pool their points; you’ll be able to earn elite status without flying and more.Many existing program features and services will be briefly unavailable in preparation for the overhaul while the airline updates its system.For more TPG news, deals and points and miles tips delivered each morning to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter....

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) made history last week by moving the huge – no, the gigantic – centerpiece of a new record-breaking pedestrian walkway from one part of the airport to another and lifting it, very, very slowly, into place.The centerpiece is the 320-foot-long center span of the 780-foot-long walkway being built as part of a $968 million International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Sea-Tac that will double the number of international capable gates and greatly improve the arrivals experience....

This week, United Airlines confirmed a notable shift for its premium transcontinental flights, moving from a mix of internationally configured planes to the smaller (and far less exciting) Boeing 737, beginning on May 4. It’s a logical move given the unprecedented drop in demand, but, as a result, business-class passengers who were once guaranteed a lie-flat seat will have to settle for a standard recliner.Fortunately, it’s now clear that United’s most advanced aircraft, the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, will return to at least two daily round-trips beginning in June, flying between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX) and Newark and San Francisco (SFO) once every day....

If you look at United’s “Polaris Tracker” website, all but one of the airline’s 767-300s have been converted to the new Polaris configuration, with a total of 30 business-class seats. But that figure only applies to a fraction of the carrier’s fleet of 767-300s. 21 existing aircraft are not accounted for, nor are the three United just acquired from Hawaiian.So what’s going to happen to those remaining two dozen wide-body planes, commonly known by the abbreviation “763”?...

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 traveled to the US from Canada; Dublin and Shannon in Ireland; or any number of airports in the Caribbean, you’ve probably encountered a Department of Homeland Security Preclearance facility before boarding your flight home. Unique to the US, this allows DHS to process passengers abroad before they even board their flight to the United States — in a nutshell, you go through all customs formalities on foreign soil, including baggage screening, duty payments and often an interview with an immigration officer....

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.West Coast-based flyers will be excited to check out the British Airways Lounge in San Francisco, which re-opened on July 10 after a round of renovations. TPG wrote about the update last week, but passengers who still haven’t had a chance to check it out in person at SFO can get a better look at the space in a new video released by the airline....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.With the launch of limited-time 50,000-point sign-up bonuses on the Southwest credit cards, which ends March 5, and a 100,000-mile sign-up bonus for the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard as well as other limited-time bonus offers plus new card launches, now is a great time to consider a round of applications since. Because when great offers come around, you’ve got to hop on them fast or risk their disappearance....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.It’s that time of the year again — both Marriott and Starwood Preferred Guest are making category changes for 2018. Overall, 276 properties in the SPG portfolio are changing category, and roughly 1,330 properties in the Marriott Rewards portfolio are increasing or decreasing in category or tier. Not only are both of the programs shuffling categories, but SPG is also making one change to align the program more with Marriott....

As the travel industry reopens following COVID-19 shutdowns, TPG suggests that you talk to your doctor, follow health officials’ guidance and research local travel restrictions before booking that next trip. We will be here to help you prepare, whether it is next month or next year.Whether you’re interested in health apps and technology to get fit, to enhance your performance or you just want to keep tabs on your general well-being, there is something out there for everyone....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.After almost a week of hotel hopping (and reviewing) in Maui, it was back the mainland — this time in the back of the plane. After experiencing Hawaiian Airlines’ A321neo in first class from Portland to Maui, I took the return trip on the same aircraft type in coach.The A321neo is replacing Hawaiian’s aging fleet of 767s on flights between the islands and the West Coast....

When it comes to airplane seat arrangements, Boeing and Airbus have been filing a lot of patents, from 12-across in business class to stackable seating and “saddle seats.“We can add another one to the list. Airbus recently filed a patent application for another unique style of seating arrangement, the “Re-Configurable Passenger Bench Seat.“Airbus shows how the bench could be used for a family of four. Image courtesy of Airbus’ patent.In theory, it makes sense....

Aeroplan members rejoice! The program’s award chart is apparently not going to disappear when it transitions back under Air Canada’s control next year, except for a couple markets where the charts are gone. This approach to redemption options is something that Vice President, Loyalty and E-commerce Mark Nasr hopes will bring transparency to the program structure and keep all parties happy.Speaking at the World Aviation Festival in London on Sept. 5, Nasr suggested that the program will operate under a hybrid redemption model....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.EVA Air, the second-biggest airline in Taiwan after China Airlines, routinely gets mentioned as one of the best long-haul carriers around. Nearly half of its relatively small fleet is made up of long-range Boeing 777-300ERs, configured with fewer seats than most other operators of the same plane — the 29-year old airline has made a name for itself as a long-haul specialist....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I’ve been a big fan of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (review) since they upped the sign-up bonus to 50,000 in May. This is an all-round powerful card with a waived annual fee, 7% bonus on all points accrued (so the sign-up is actually 53,500 points) and the points can be transferred instantly at a 1:1 ratio to Continental, British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club and Amtrak - plus the card has no foreign transaction fees, which will save you about 3% on all of your foreign spend....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.Airfare deals are typically only available on limited dates. We recommend you use Google Flights to find dates to fly, then book through an online travel agency, such as Orbitz or Expedia, which allows you to cancel flights without penalty by 11pm Eastern Time within one day of booking....

A Diamond Medallion Member says he was forced to sit in a seat “covered in feces” on a recent Delta flight from Atlanta to Miami.On Nov. 1, passenger Matthew Meehan was on the last flight of the day from ATL to MIA. After boarding and taking his seat on the plane, Meehan noticed a foul odor emanating from his row. He immediately knew the stench was not an ordinary plane smell....

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.“Reader Questions” are answered three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — by TPG Senior Writer Julian Mark Kheel.It’s a lot harder than it used to be to earn 110,000 points in order to get a Southwest Companion Pass. But TPG reader Daphne just discovered there’s a time deadline as well…[pullquote source=“TPG Reader Daphne”]I was just approved for the Southwest Premier card but then read the fine print that I need to earn the 110,000 points for the Companion Pass within one calendar year!...

Here’s a round-up of the week’s points, miles and travel industry news you may have missed:Get a $50 Visa gift card for stays of 3 nights or more at Holiday Inn.Get a $50 Visa Gift Card For Holiday Inn Stays: If you stay three nights or more at a Holiday Inn Resort, you can get a $50 Visa Gift card via the Hold On To Summer promotion from IHG. You must first register for the promotion online and then book a stay of three nights or more at any participating Holiday Inn Resort....

If your travel plans have been interrupted in recent days due to the novel coronavirus disease known as COVID-19, you’ve probably double and triple-checked whether your itinerary is eligible for a change or cancellation. Airlines have been forced to cancel hundreds of flights as President Trump announced new restrictions on travel to the U.S. Borders around the world have closed and airline routes have been canceled.Get Coronavirus travel updates. Stay on top of industry impacts, flight cancellations, and more....