Via Travel Notes, a pastor was arrested for telling a TSA security screeners that his bible was a bomb. A pastor says he was “just kidding” when he told airport security he had a bomb, reached into his luggage and pulled out a Bible, declaring, “This is my bomb.” Jose L. Gonzalez, a Spaniard living in Deltona, Fla., was arrested and charged Sunday with making a false statement. …An investigation determined that Gonzalez did not pose a threat, but the FBI still arrested and charged him with making the statement.
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for October 2004.
The end of More Room Throughout Coach
American Airlines will no longer reliably offer more legroom in coach across its fleet. They previously announced they were adding seats back in on one aircraft type. Now they’re expanding the decision. American will add back a portion of the coach seats previously removed from its MD80, 737, 767 and 777 fleets. On the MD80 and 737 aircraft, only one of the two rows of coach seats originally removed will be added back to those airplanes. Reconfiguration of the MD-80s, 737s and 767s will begin after the holidays. The 777 fleet won’t be reconfigured until next fall, as I understand it.This, combined with ending the most liberal international upgrade policy among U.S. carrier, obliterates the value proposition that American Airlines offers to the frequent traveler.
New United Member-Get-Member Promotion
United is running a new Member-Get-Member promotion. You earn 1,000 bonus miles for each of up to four referrals who fly a paid roundtrip on United between October 20, 2004 and January 18, 2005. Each referred member will earn 3000 bonus miles as well. For each of their next four roundtrips by January 18 you get another 500 miles. The nice thing about this offer is that, unlike most previous offers, there aren’t significant fare restrictions on the flight that your referral needs to take. United often requires at least mid-priced coach tickets in order to earn bonus miles. This time even the cheap S and T booking classes are eligible.
View from the Wing awards “Rolleyes Award” to Marriott Rewards
Marriott sent out a press release today announcing that they had received several travel awards. Marriott Hotels & Resorts was named by readers of Travel Savvy as the best domestic hotel chain, and Marriott Rewards as the best hotel rewards program. Travel Savvy is a travel lifestyle magazine that covers international and domestic destinations, fashion, design, food, travel news and celebrity travel trends. Readers of Executive Travel, a lifestyle magazine for business travelers, gave Marriott Hotels & Resorts top honors in the following categories: best hotel chain; best for customer service; and best hotel chain for meetings. Marriott Rewards was selected as the best frequent guest program. Ah, yes, the famous annual rankings from Travel Savvy and Executive Travel. Those are much anticipated each year, with management of various travel providers waking up with night…
View from the Wing awards “Rolleyes Award” to Marriott Rewards
Marriott sent out a press release today announcing that they had received several travel awards. Marriott Hotels & Resorts was named by readers of Travel Savvy as the best domestic hotel chain, and Marriott Rewards as the best hotel rewards program. Travel Savvy is a travel lifestyle magazine that covers international and domestic destinations, fashion, design, food, travel news and celebrity travel trends. Readers of Executive Travel, a lifestyle magazine for business travelers, gave Marriott Hotels & Resorts top honors in the following categories: best hotel chain; best for customer service; and best hotel chain for meetings. Marriott Rewards was selected as the best frequent guest program. Ah, yes, the famous annual rankings from Travel Savvy and Executive Travel. Those are much anticipated each year, with management of various travel providers waking up with night…
View from the Wing awards “Rolleyes Award” to Marriott Rewards
Marriott sent out a press release today announcing that they had received several travel awards. Marriott Hotels & Resorts was named by readers of Travel Savvy as the best domestic hotel chain, and Marriott Rewards as the best hotel rewards program. Travel Savvy is a travel lifestyle magazine that covers international and domestic destinations, fashion, design, food, travel news and celebrity travel trends. Readers of Executive Travel, a lifestyle magazine for business travelers, gave Marriott Hotels & Resorts top honors in the following categories: best hotel chain; best for customer service; and best hotel chain for meetings. Marriott Rewards was selected as the best frequent guest program. Ah, yes, the famous annual rankings from Travel Savvy and Executive Travel. Those are much anticipated each year, with management of various travel providers waking up with night…
Hotels Selling Everything in the Room
I’m often struck by hotels that market their room decor, especially their beds, and I wonder whether it can really be a good business for them. The items are generally overpriced, and often not of as good quality as I’d want to buy for myself. And yet there’s still something that would appeal to me in owning a Westin Heavenly Bed ensemble. Turns out that selling hotel furnishings is a large and growing business. Westin expects to sell $8 million worth of bedding this year. It’s easy to buy a bed that you’ve already slept in and are comfortable with. You spend more time getting comfortable with hotel furniture than you would in a store. And hotel furnishings help bring back memories of a trip. Since introducing its Heavenly Bed five years ago, the Westin…
Thoughts and prayers
My thoughts are with the families of the two pilots who died in the crash of a Pinnacle Airlines regional jet Thursday night while repositioning the aircraft to Minneapolis.
Hyatt’s Promotion and Program Changes
Last week I reported that Hyatt would be bringing back its “Faster Free Nights” promotion — stay twice and pay with Mastercard and earn a free night. Details and registration are now available on the Gold Passport website. Hyatt has also posted upcoming changes to its program. They have eliminated the requirement of booking a three-night minimum for mid-week standard awards, have added flexibility in transferring points and awards between members, and changed the points-to-miles conversion ratio. These changes went into effect yesterday. In addition, beginning March 1, Hyatt will eliminate their 300 point bonus for flying a partner airline and limit the rates that are eligible for stay credit. An “Eligible Rate” is any hotel published room rate, including, but not limited to the hyatt.com rate, prevailing rack rate, AAA and senior citizen rates,…
Double Miles on Delta Amex
As I mentioned last month, the Delta American Express card is offering double miles on retail purchases (up to 10,000 bonus miles) from October 15 to November 15, 2004. Registration is required. Here’s yesterday’s press release.
