Cathay Pacific is strange (though not unique among Asian airlines, see also ‘Asiana’) in blocking many of the seats in their first class cabin. With only 6 seats in their first class cabin on the 777 though that can be frustrating. It makes it tough to assign seats together (as if such a thing exists on this aircraft) when traveling together. In addition, Cathay Pacific will only assign seats 6 months in advance on its website, through airline partners, or if you call the US call center. But you can assign any seats you wish if you call Hong Kong. And they will do so more than 6 months in advance. That’s useful for getting first class seats together, or getting your preferred first class seats. It’s also useful as a business class passenger, because…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for March 2014.
I Have Nothing to Add About the Malaysia Airlines 777 Tragedy
A couple of readers have emailed me to ask why I haven’t written anything about the Malaysia Airlines MH370 Boeing 777-200ER flight that disappeared enroute between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. There are two reasons, and I think both are straightforward. I really do not have much to add to the discussion, that others better qualified to speak aren’t already saying. It’s really hard and I don’t do emotion well, let alone in public on the internet. I am not an expert on the mechanics of aviation, on the engineering details of how planes fly or don’t. I don’t have better sources that give me insight into what’s going on before the rest of the media gets their information (although there are of course plenty of ill-informed commenters on television talking about this). I think Scott…
Think Delta SkyMiles Will Be Less Rewarding Next Year? That Was On Purpose.
A week and a half ago Delta announced its revenue-based changes to how miles are earned through flying. And then this past week they shared some of the details on how mileage redemption will change next year. Since then there’s been much electronic ink spilled (much of it by me) trying to make sense of it all, combing through the details, explaining what it all means. But it’s really not that complicated. We were told far in advance what to expect. Delta has been working on these changes, in one form or another, for more than three years. Early planning was leaked two years ago. In fact, three and a half years ago Jeff Robertson, the head of the Delta SkyMiles program, stated clearly that they thought they were too generous with the program and…
How the $200 Statement Credit Works on the 100,000 Mile Signup Bonus American Airlines Card
The biggest offer in the frequent flyer world right now is, I think, the 100,000 mile signup bonus for the Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite Mastercard. The card comes with: 100,000 American Airlines miles after you make $10,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening. $200 in statement credits on purchases within 12 months of account opening. American Airlines Admirals Club lounge access Priority check-in, security, and boarding and first checked bag free No foreign currency transaction fees 10,000 elite qualifying miles when you spend $40,000 on the card in a year The annual fee for this card is $450. It’s worth spending $450 for 100,000 miles if you’re in a position to meet the minimum spend requirement. But in effect it’s really a $250 fee the first year because of the statement…
100,000 Mile Signup Bonus Down Under
Citibank is offering two credit cards for Australian residents that come with big Qantas Frequent Flyer bnonuses. Only 1.4% of this blog’s visitors last month came from Australia. So what makes that relevant (at least to 98.6% of you)? Big credit card bonuses are no longer strictly a U.S. phenomenon. While bonuses outside the U.S. tend not to be as large, and vary tremendously by market, this is the first time I’ve seen a 100,000 mile offer outside the U.S. Bonuses are headed in the ‘right’ direction worldwide, rather than wondering whether world trends would shrink US bonuses. Australia has done the most to limit credit card interchange fees, so as credit card processors enter settlements that have similar effects in the U.S. the Australian market can be seen as one potential extreme direction that…
American’s New 767 Business Class Seat Revealed
American released photos yesterday of its new Boeing 767 international business class seat. It’s not the same seat they’ve put onto their new 777-300ERs. The Boeing 767 isn’t a wide enough aircraft to put in that same seat and still have 4 across seating. But the new 767 seat retains all-aisle access — a seat at each window and two seats in the middle. I declared the 777-300ER the best business class seat across the Atlantic. But their 767-300 seat is competitive, it’s the same new seat that Delta chose for its 767s and several other carriers use. They’ve made the design scheme similar to their 777-300ER product. And I’m looking forward to seeing the seats in person — I am not sure whether it’s a function of the photos or real design differences but…
5000 Points for Joining, 15,000 Points for Flying, Bonus Points and $20 (Bits ‘n Pieces for March 7, 2014)
News and Notes from Around the Interweb: (Update: Targeted offer.) American’s new Airbus A321 debuted on the New York – San Francisco route yesterday, and through May 31 they’re offering bonus miles on nearly all fares to promote it. Registration is required, most coach fares qualify (all but O and Q class) for 2500 bonus miles each way, full fare economy is 5000 miles each way, and first and business class earn 7500 miles each way. JetBlue is offering new members 5000 points for joining and flying by April 30. It’s the first Friday of the month, so the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card earns triple points at restaurants today instead of the usual double points. Go out to dinner tonight if you have that card, or stock up on gift cards at your favorite restaurants…
Delta’s Partner Award Prices WILL NOT CHANGE With the 2015 Program.. But Partner Award AVAILABILITY Probably Will
Yesterday Delta announced its award charts for 2015. When they revealed their plans for revenue-based points earning (rewarding the price of your ticket, not the length of time in their seat), but not the other half of the equation, it led to a lot of speculation (including by me) that the changes were going to be awful. Why else wouldn’t they reveal what awards were going to cost? What they shared yesterday was the new five-tier award charts for economy and for business class (10 tiers in total!) for flights that originate or terminate in the US mainland 48 states, Alaska, and Canada. We don’t have the charts for the rest of the world yet. The charts looked pretty good — more decreases than increases at the lowest saver level and at the highest last…
Virgin Atlantic MasterCard: Up to 65,000 Bonus Miles Plus $100 Global Entry Fee Credit
In January I wrote that Bank of America was back with its 50,000 mile signup bonus for the Virgin Atlantic credit card. They promote it as ‘up to 65,000 miles’ but 15,000 of those are at your cardmember anniversary and are based on spend with the card — 7500 bonus miles for $15,000 spend in that year, and 7500 more for hitting $25,000 in spend. So I consider it to be a 50,000 mile bonus. 20,000 Flying Club bonus miles after your first retail purchase 25,000 additional Flying Club bonus miles after you spend at least $2,500 in qualifying purchases Earn up to 5,000 Flying Club bonus miles when you add additional authorized users to your card (2500 per cardholder up to 2) What’s new in this offer for the card is that they’re now…
What’s Really Wrong In Iraq: International Flights Cancelled for “Spite”
File this under a new reason for flight cancellation. Right next to weather, crew availability, and maintenance there is now “spite.” There’s still both political and sectarian violence ravaging Iraq, years after the U.S. occupied, surged its troops, and began to pull out. Sunni Arabs are marginalized by the Shia government. I’m no expert on geopolitical matters, but it seems clear that these huge macro issues aren’t likely to be solved soon. And this story offers a window into why — into the quality of governance, the culture of corruption, and into the extent to which political power is seen as a tool for personal and group enrichment rather than as a mechanism by strong impartial institutions can create the conditions for peace and commerce. Iraq’s Minister of Transport refused to let a plane land…
