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News Roundup

This is a roundup of news that I have come across during the day. Here you can read about a new facial recognition payment option rolled out in L.A. area, Ames sales practices, United bets on sun-seekers with new Florida flights, American Airlines bans certain masks from its flights and airlines still holding billions in refunds wed to customers for canceled flights.

Facial recognition payment tech is rolled out in L.A. area

As so-called contactless payments rise in popularity during the pandemic, a Pasadena company called PopID is rolling out the nation’s first payment system based on facial recognition. The system is simple: A customer signs up on their phone, takes a selfie and adds cash to their Pop Pay account from a credit card or bank account. When it comes time to pay for their meal, they look into the camera of a PopID tablet or kiosk (no smiling necessary), the cashier verifies their name, and money is withdrawn from the account.

AmEx Manager Says She Spoke Up About Sales Problems, Then Got Pushed to the Side

Sophia Lewis was a rising star at American Express. She says she saw co-workers mislead the company about cards they sold. “It was when I started raising red flags,” she said, “that things started going downhill.” (Paywall)

United bets on sun-seekers with new Florida flights

The Chicago-based airline said Wednesday that it plans to add up to 28 nonstop flights to the Sunshine State from northern cities to four Florida airports. Flights from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Boston and Cleveland to Florida cities Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa are scheduled to start Nov. 6. United said that in December it will add nonstop flights to Fort Meyers and Tampa from Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

American Airlines bans certain masks from its flights

Face coverings featuring exhaust valves, that are made with materials such as mesh or lace fabrics, or that do not cover the nose and mouth are currently banned from flights. Passengers wearing face shields must also wear a face covering that complies with American Airlines’ specifications.

Airlines Are Holding Billions in Refunds Owed to Customers

We are now in mid August and airlines are still holding on to cash that they should have paid to customers whose flights were canceled. Passengers continue to struggle to get their refunds from some carriers and travel agencies. Even though the law is clearly on their side, still to this date airlines are holding billions in refunds.