Monthly Archives for June 2016.
I had an opportunity to see the brand new American Express Centurion lounge Houston last night and try the food since I was invited to the pre-opening party there. Here’s the food, drinks, and a visual tour of the space.
The idea is to make the seat seem like four-across on a Boeing 777 — which gives you fully flat with all aisle access — while actually being configured eight-across to give the airline density.
More seats, without sacrificing passenger comfort, means more revenue. They can attract high yield business travelers without increasing their cost (aircraft real estate) in order to do so.
It seems there’s always a first class seat still available whenever I’m checking in for a United flight. Perhaps it’s the routes I’m flying.
I’m not a United elite, and a first class seat is offered to me as a buy up.
Here’s a recent check-in offer I received:
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General completed a report on government oversight of airline frequent flyer programs.
The Department of Transportation believes that airlines make available enough frequent flyer award seats and are transparent in the way they operate the programs. However the DOT does not pay enough attention to concerns about changes to programs without notice.
United held a call yesterday morning where CEO Oscar Munoz talked about the ways that the airline would cut costs and generate more money from customers.
United has a lot of catchup to do with the rest of the industry on both sides of the equation. My takeaway was that their plan seems to be to copy and catch up, rather than chart their own course.
There are really only 3 elite statuses that I care to requalify for.
Now that we’re midway through the year I decided to check in and share where I’m at qualifying for each. I’ve already requalified with American and with Starwood. I’m well past halfway towards Hyatt Diamond again.
The nice thing on the airline front is that it frees me to be even more of a free agent (buying on schedule and price) that I have been already — and I’ve already been doing it more than in past years.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Prince William flew British Airways Club Europe from Lyon to London Heathrow after a disappointing English performance in UEFA Euro 2016 soccer.
British Airways premium cabin short haul seats offer 30 inches of pitch. That’s less than economy on most US domestic flights.
Upside is a new travel booking site that will help you save money and gives you back gift cards for business travel. It’s brought to you by the founder of Priceline, it was just announced today, and it debuts in September.
Sign up today as a pre-launch VIP and you’re guaranteed $150 back on every trip through the end of the year. You just provide your email address and answer a few multiple choice questions and your VIP status is locked-in.
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 »
