A frequent flyer program turns a basic commodity — an airline seat — into a differentiated product. Delta needs that differentiation now more than ever, as their primary hub in Atlanta is under greater attack than ever. Airtran is ramping up Westbound flights and JetBlue is entering the fray as well. Delta picked the wrong time to gut their loyalty program.
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for May 2003.
Those who live in glass houses
Moralist Bill Bennett (former Drug Czar and author of “The Book of Virtues”) has a gambling problem.
Backup plan
When Flyertalk is down, go visit MoreMiles to satisfy your fix.
Is it a British Airways thing?
Elizabeth Hurley isn’t the only eccentric celebrity flying British Airways these days. Elle MacPherson spent thousands of pounds on the custom-built cot, which Macpherson’s partner Arpad Busson carried aboard a British Airways flight from the Bahamas to London recently. Macpherson told BA staff that the cot was designed to deflect radiation from the sun and cosmic rays at high altitude, the paper said.
Elizabeth Hurley Caught Trying to Join the Mile High Club
Last week, Elizabeth Hurley used her star status to demand an upgrade for her boyfriend and now this: As Hurley and Arun grappled in the first class section of a New York-London British Airways jet, passengers and crew feared they were about to join the exclusive mile-high club. Fellow flyers saw Hurley, 37, slide under the duvet with Nayar and wrap her arms around him. … Read the whole thing. Especially BA’s self-promoting quote at the end of the story!
Folks just need to let this one go
It would have been great to fly first class from London to Bangkok for only the tax, and I was certainly disappointed when Thai pulled the plug on the fare and refused to honor it. But this is a little much. However, a group of disgruntled customers is refusing to let the matter rest and is considering legal action, hoping that the courts will force the airline to issue the tickets.
Avis for half
In a comment on this post, I was asked how I “managed to get my rental car from Avis for half their lowest web rate and for 25% less than my reservation with Thrifty” when I was in Colorado Springs for the Freddie Awards. Simple story, really. When I checked pricing for a one-day rental in Colorado Springs, Avis and Hertz were showing ~ $40. Thrifty was ~ $28. Since Thrifty was cheaper, and they offer 1000 America West miles even on a one day rental, I went with Thrifty — even though they’re off airport. When I arrived at Colorado Springs I didn’t feel like waiting for a shuttle bus to take me to the rental lot. I wanted to get going right away. So I walked up to the Avis counter and naively…
But they’re keeping the hammer and sickle
Aeroflot has hired a marketing firm to help it develop a new image. One of their efforts is friendlier flight attendants (perhaps they should take lessons from Flight Club Airlines). Of course they have a big hurdle to overcome: While the airline has had a good safety record in recent years, memories of a series of crashes and near-misses in the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, are still fresh in many people’s minds. During that period, crews regularly took on extra passengers for cash, resulting in dangerously overloaded planes. In the most notorious accident in 1994, a pilot allowed his son to sit at the controls, causing a plane to crash in Siberia, killing 75 people.
They should have just sweet-talked the stewardess for the drinks…
Several employees of airline caterer LSG Skychefs stole more than four hundred thousand mini-liquor bottles.
Who’s watching the watchers?
Two TSA security screeners got into a fight with each other on Saturday at Baltimore Washington International Airport. They then assaulted the police officers trying to break up the fight. But they’re there for our protection, and we shouldn’t feel intimidated if we have nothing to hide.
