In my post yesterday about the future value of airline miles, I caveated that “the story is a little different for hotels” and naturally commenter “I would be interested in a few words about the hotel chain point/miles situation.” I guess I couldn’t get away with punting on that one! The overall analysis about an increasing number of points chasing a relatively fixed pool of hotel rooms holds true in strong economic times. And the point about a proprietary currency and the temptation for that issuer to inflate the currency without constraints holds as well. But the economic model of hotel programs differs from airlines, as does the ability for a hotel chain to adjust capacity with the same degree of fluidity as the airlines, leading to somewhat different results. There’s little question the the…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2008.
Flyertalk / Open Skies Business Class Tickets to Paris Giveaway
Registered Flyertalk members have an opportunity to win free tickets on the inaugural Open Skies business class flight between New York and Paris, departing Thursday June 19 and returning Sunday June 22. Chances of winning are actually pretty good, since there are (20) tickets to give away and entrants must be members of Flyertalk as of the posting of the contest in order to enter. This is one pretty cool giveaway, unfortunately I’m already booked up for travel over those dates so I’m not going to be able to join in the fun. But I’d expect to be hearing a bit more of Open Skies soon…
Outstanding Deals at the Fairmont San Francisco
It’s one of my favorite old school properties, perched atop Nob Hill. Not a mistake rate, but definitely a good deal — especially for the really pricey rooms that would otherwise be out of reach. Pulled directly from Flyertalk…. Another good Expedia 24 hour sale (Tuesday, June 10) at the SF Fairmont. This time 65% off. The first date I’m finding availability is June 15 and the last date is December 26. I’ve found availability on random date searches every month between June & December. Some dates not available, however many more that are. YMMV. Prices vary by date, however here is a sampling for July 3: Fairmont Room – $339 now $119 Fairmont Exterior – $369 now $129 Deluxe View – $409 for $143 Signature Bay View – $459 for $161 Main Bldg Suite…
Understanding Frequent Flyer Miles as a Proprietary Currency With No Central Bank, or What Unannounced Changes to Expect From Your Favorite Frequent Flyer Program?
Recently on Flyertalk there were dueling threads in the “MilesBuzz” forum (which I moderate) about whether miles were on their way to increase or decrease in value. The latter contained the usual arguments of doom and gloom, and perhaps it was just one member’s effort to be contrarian but the thread about miles increasing in value sought to turn the usual arguments on their head. It didn’t make the claims I’ve offered in the past about the relative ease of earning miles compared to the past and the advent of alliance awards that give you access to the award inventory of airline partners allowing you to travel across the globe in ways that didn’t exist in the “good ‘ol days.” Instead, the argument was that as the price of oil goes up, capacity falls, and…
The TSA Will Decide If You Can Fly Without ID Based On Your Attitude
The TSA has a new policy on flying without an ID. It used to be that you would be subject to secondary screening. Annoying, but no big deal. Now they’ll decide whether to let you do that based on your attitude. Beginning Saturday, June 21, 2008 passengers that willfully refuse to provide identification at security checkpoint will be denied access to the secure area of airports. This change will apply exclusively to individuals that simply refuse to provide any identification or assist transportation security officers in ascertaining their identity. This new procedure will not affect passengers that may have misplaced, lost or otherwise do not have ID but are cooperative with officers. One Mile at a Time calls it “TSA’s dumbest policy ever.” I disagree. There are plenty equally dumb things that the TSA has…
40% Off at W Hotel Store
The W Hotel Store is have a Summer White Sale, 40% off through June 30 with discount code T4K7P. And this time you don’t even have to pretend to be an employee…
Should I Redeem Now Before Starwood Makes Me Pay More Points?
Reader David asks The Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu is currently being renovated, and set to re-open in Jan 2009. The press release stated that it will join the Starwood Luxury Collection, which is Cat 7, correct? If I make a Jan or Feb 2009 reservation now at 12K/night, will they make me pay more points later, or cancel my reservation? David wants to know if this hotel is going to require a whole lot more Starwood points to redeem for a free night once it re-opens. Bottom-line, while the property may go up in points if they expect substantially higher room rates, I’d be very surprised if it turned out to be “Category 7,” the highest redemption level Starwood offers. Luxury Collection is the ‘brand’ (like Sheraton, Westin, etc) used to identify a chain of…
Thai to Stop Flying New York to Bangkok?
Flyertalkers are reporting that Thai Airways is canceling its New York-JFK to Bangkok flights, effective July 1. Actually, the consensus seems to be that Thai isn’t currently selling any tickets on the route after that date, and that the flight is ‘under review’ with a decision to be made shortly, possibly next week. Asian long-haul flights clearly are gas guzzlers, they need really high load factors and high average fares in order to be profitable. My sense has long been that Thai has neither for this route, scheduled at roughly 17 hours of travel time. It’s sad to see flights like these disappear, they’ve long been some of the better award redemption values and certainly anyone who has booked their travel for dates beyond July 1 could be in a difficult spot. Thai will certainly…
Spirit Air (as we know it) next to go?
Via Joe Sharkey points to the Miami Herald‘s report of massive downsizing at Spirit. Spirit Airlines may lay off or displace up to 60 percent of its flight attendants and as many as 45 percent of its pilots in two months, as it struggles to cope with soaring jet-fuel prices. The Miramar-based low-cost carrier sent letters to union leaders Saturday, notifying them that it will furlough or displace up to 448 flight attendants and 242 pilots on Aug. 1, as the airline closes its New York LaGuardia and San Juan bases and reduces its Fort Lauderdale base. For flight attendants, the airline is also shutting its Detroit base In 2002, Spirit Air CEO Ben Baldanza was a Senior Vice President at USAirways and became famous for publicly stating that the airline should fire its ‘unprofitable’…
Speculation on United Downsizing
Holly Hegemen passes on the rumor du jour about United’s plans to downsize in the face of record fuel prices. 1. Culling the B737 fleet (94 airplanes) by Fall 2009. 2. Selling off 7 B747s by Fall 2008. 3. 25 percent staff cuts by Fall 2008. 4. Death to TED (quickly but painfully). Small city domestic mainline flying pretty much goes away. Reduced frequency on more major routes currently served by the old 737s which guzzle gas. Presumably free up the TED Airbus aircraft to replace some of the 737s which are only losing a little money in hopes that reduced fuel costs can turn around the route economics. Speculation at this point, and the specific numbers may change, but it seems a good bet that we see the 737s going away.
