Staggering Stat: 95% of the World Has Never Flown, According to Captain Sully [Roundup] – View from the Wing

News and notes from around the interweb:

• This is an opportunity.
  

  Did you know that 95% of the world’s population has never been on a flight? That means 7,410,000,000 people have never boarded an aircraft! #CaptSully #FunFact #AviationHistoryMonth

  — Sully Sullenberger (@Captsully) November 5, 2024

• Award travel hack: Change your location from the U.S. to Finland when doing Finnair award searches for business class space
• Murder suspect nabbed at Dulles airport attempting to flee the country. He’d purchased a one-way ticket to El Salvador. Roundtrips are less suspicious! But it does trouble me a little bit that it’s Customs and Border Protection interdicting an outbound traveler.

  Meanwhile, a man was arrested at New York JFK while enroute to Syria to join ISIS.

• US-bound passengers stuck at London and European airports after ESTA visa system goes down
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: Earn 1,000 bonus miles when linking accounts and riding with Lyft worth earning this 1,000 points but on an ongoing basis I find Alaska only the second most valuable partnership earn opportunity behind Bilt (earning 1 Bilt point is better than earning 1 Alaska mile – Bilt even transfers to Alaska or to other currencies).
• Venetian/Palazzo also no longer linked to IHG after end of the year.
  

  Hearing there were “extensive” layoffs at Venetian/Palazzo yesterday, across all departments. Among the casualties, we’re told, was Jaime Miranda, Sr. V.P. of Operations who has been with the resort for decades.

  — Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) November 6, 2024