Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for May 2015.

Review: Male Airport Lounge and (Alone In) Emirates First Class, Male – Colombo

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

There’s a shared contract lounge at the Male airport, and it no longer offers access via Priority Pass. There’s little special about it, except for comfortable seating. I find the buffet something I’d rarely do anything other than skip (and indeed haven’t touched the food in four visits) and there’s no alcohol (by law). But it’s a lounge…

Some will find the nearby food options a more attractive place to sit, but the lounge does seem to have gotten its wifi act together.

After waiting around for the flight we wound up the only passengers in first class, and beneficiaries of full, extensive service for this very short hop on Emirates…

Hawkers Stall in New York, Barbecue Reprive for Austin, and Miles at 2 Cents Apiece

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.

Delta Introduces 5000 Mile One-Way Awards. And That Should Scare You.

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

Delta is pricing one-way Los Angeles – San Francisco awards (that would cost $72 to buy) at just 5000 miles. That’s all part and parcel of reducing the mileage cost of cheap flights, and ultimately increasing the mileage cost of expensive flights.

Put another way, the ‘standard’ 25,000 mile domestic award’s days are numbered at Delta. And along with it, the possibility of generating outsized value from Delta miles. Which also means it makes no sense to choose to earn Delta miles over another currency.

Adding Throw-in Amenities and Savings for Your Luxury Hotel Stays

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

With a reader bringing an improved website experience for the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program, it’s worth taking a look at that program and how it compares to the offerings from Visa, MasterCard, Chase, and others — all towards savings and added benefits on hotel stays compared to booking direct.

Questions That Are Rarely Asked in Airline Competition

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

Just to show you how complicated the world is, Delta is lobbying against expansion by Gulf carrier Etihad but has received clearance from the EU for its joint venture and profit sharing with Etihad-owned Alitalia.

Alitalia flying across the Atlantic is apparently deemed good, while Etihad flying across the Atlantic is an existential threat. Right….

Delta Publicly Declares the End of the 25,000 Mile Award Standard

by Gary Leff on May 16, 2015

May 16 2015

“We’ve worked really hard in trying to keep our commitment to opening up more seats on the lowest level,” said Karen Zachary, Delta’s SkyMiles managing director of global programs. “We used to be really bad.”

…“The 25,000 mile round-trip award fare that historically has been a standard for the airlines, I think you’re going to see that completely change,” Zachary said.

US Airlines Are More Subsidized than the Gulf Carriers, and British Airways Weighs in Against American

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2015

May 15 2015

The fireworks fly as British Airways submits a filing to the government attacking partner American’s claim that the Gulf carriers unfairly compete, and Etihad produces a report detailing subsidies that US airlines receive which are greater than those the US carriers claim are received by Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar. Things are getting *interesting*.

Delta Flushes its Promise of More Award Seats for Fewer Miles Down the Memory Hole

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2015

May 15 2015

The page that describes changes for the 2015 Delta SkyMiles program used to promise more seats for fewer miles. It no longer does.

A Guest Trip Report: An Actual Doll Reviews American’s Los Angeles – New York First Class Experience

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2015

May 15 2015

I’ve only had a couple of contributors to the blog over the years, otherwise everything has been written by me. I featured a work colleague (P.C.)’s trip report in Saudia business class to Pakistan, because there were limited reports on the Saudia product and it’s something that seemed useful to Delta members. I added was grateful for an outside legal perspective on the issues raised in the Supreme Court’s frequent flyer miles case as well. Now I’m fortunate to share a trip report that simply was different than most others that have been offered on blogs before… one that’s all in good fun. Constance Peters shared Pippi Peters’ report of her recent Los Angeles – New York JFK flight in American’s first class. What’s different is that Pippi is Constance’s traveling companion, who only sometimes…

The IdeaWorks Study of Reward Availability Is Fatally Flawed. Please Do Not Cite It.

by Gary Leff on May 15, 2015

May 15 2015

Each year IdeaWorks publishes a ‘study’ of reward availability, and it gets repeated as though it had value across the media. It doesn’t. The methodology is so fatally flawed that it draws almost the exact opposite conclusions as it should. Don’t be fooled.

Monthly Archives

Review: Male Airport Lounge and (Alone In) Emirates First Class, Male – Colombo

Hawkers Stall in New York, Barbecue Reprive for Austin, and Miles at 2 Cents Apiece

Delta Introduces 5000 Mile One-Way Awards. And That Should Scare You.

Adding Throw-in Amenities and Savings for Your Luxury Hotel Stays

Questions That Are Rarely Asked in Airline Competition

Delta Publicly Declares the End of the 25,000 Mile Award Standard

US Airlines Are More Subsidized than the Gulf Carriers, and British Airways Weighs in Against American

Delta Flushes its Promise of More Award Seats for Fewer Miles Down the Memory Hole

A Guest Trip Report: An Actual Doll Reviews American’s Los Angeles – New York First Class Experience

The IdeaWorks Study of Reward Availability Is Fatally Flawed. Please Do Not Cite It.

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About Gary Leff

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