Monthly Archives for April 2015.
Hillary Clinton flies United coach… but gets special ground service. Free miles for signing up for a frequent flyer program. How to spot a terrorist through their ticketing strategies. And more…
The end game in the US airlines’ war on the Gulf carriers is revealed — Delta’s CEO says that US government should step in to limit their ability to reduce prices. It’s all about limiting choice and raising airfares. Now who still stands behind the US airline position?
The airline industry’s lawyers and lobbyists continue to push the envelope for rights to utterly disregard their members. Some programs are worse than others in terms of their actual behavior, but here the industry as a whole contends there are no restraints at all on changes to mileage programs that might occur — no need for advance notice to members at all.
That is an untenable position, and it needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
A truly disgusting story, and I feel for this family, who found vomit at their seat. I’ve had similar things happen, and the airline handled things in real-time. United didn’t, they offered only that the family could travel the next day. United handled things badly, I think, but was the family really ‘forced’ into anything?
It may not be EVA Airways’ Hello Kitty, but it’s still awesome — the new Star Wars R2D2 livery for Japanese Star Alliance carrier ANA!
They sure know how to keep it cozy with industry over the office of the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
Alaska Airlines will e-mail new members who register for the MileagePlan program with a California address a $50 e-certificate discount code valid on flights between California and Hawaii or Mexico. The person who signs up for the account must be the traveler, so if you have several make sure each passenger signs up for their own account to get an emailed discount code. The certificate is valid for a discount on paid travel departing California to any Alaska Airlines city in Hawaii or Mexico. Travel is permitted between April 1 and June 30 and between September 8 through November 19. Ticket must be issued by August 24. *Offer Terms: The $50 Discount Code offer is valid for new Mileage Plan™ member sign-ups only. Must be a resident of California to qualify. Offer is valid for…
American, British Airways, and BA’s ‘OpenSkies’ are matching cheap business class prices to Paris. The fares are even cheaper when 2 passengers travel together. BA offers discounts to AARP members (anyone can join) and to British Airways Visa co-brand cardholders. These discounts stack.
I’ve never seen non-mistake fare business class tickets to Europe cheaper for just one passenger. But when two passengers travel together and stack these discounts, the price is $984 apiece. Wow.
Starwood launched a new brand – or more of an ‘un’brand – that will bring in independent hotels and fill geographic gaps in the SPG program.
Airbus is introducing a new standard coach configuration for their A380 — eleven seats across. Meanwhile JetBlue may turn the old TWA terminal at JFK into a hotel, gogo outfits a test plane with their fastest internet ever, United feeds the masses and Air New Zealand strikes oil, y’all!
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
