Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for August 2018.

Review: United Polaris Lounge Newark

by Gary Leff

lounge
Aug 16 2018

I visited United’s new Polaris business class lounge in Chicago 18 months ago. At the time I thought it was the best business class lounge in the United States (and I really enjoy the outdoor deck of the Star Alliance lounge at LAX).

Over the past three and a half months United has picked up the pace of new lounge openings, with Polaris lounges also now in San Francisco, Newark, and Houston.

The United Polaris lounge Newark solidifies my impression of the Polaris lounge project: this is perhaps the nicest thing that United has done. The dining is very good. The lounge amenities are top notch. And there’s a real thoughtfulness that has gone into the details.

Continue Reading »

Frequent Flyer Program for Sale: Blackstone May Buy Stake in Jet Airways JetPrivilege

by Gary Leff

jet airways plane
Aug 15 2018

While both Etihad and Jet Airways would retain stakes in the program after a deal with Blackstone it’s not clear the relative shares each party would give up. For Etihad even a partial sale would them out of their worldwide expansion, which they’ve retrenched from after losing their shirts in Alitalia and air berlin. For Jet Airways it would provide them desperately-needed cash.

Reportedly the deal would value the program at $429 – $569 billion, which is 43% – 90% higher than in 2013. At the same time though membership in the program has grown 220% during that period so its value would be lower on a per-member basis.

Continue Reading »

Report: 60,000 Mile Inflight Offer for AAdvantage Card Ends This Month

by Gary Leff

inside airliner
Aug 15 2018

At the beginning of the month Barclays increased the offer on its AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard to 60,000 bonus miles after first purchase in the first 90 days and paying the card’s $95 annual fee (the fee on this card is not waived the first year).

These are the cards flight attendants advertise onboard American. ComputerPlayerOne says flight attendants have been told this offer will last through August 31.

Continue Reading »

American Says They Have a Problem With Premium Revenue. Will They Fix It?

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Aug 15 2018

At a meeting between American Airlines employees and airline President Robert Isom last week, a sim instructor asked whether – with higher fuel prices – there’s an ‘industry initiative to increase fares’ to compensate. Isom explains that American is lagging behind on premium revenue.

However he thinks that premium economy will drive higher performance, and that basic economy and segmentation will “offer our customers what they want to buy, trying to encourage that move up the ladder” and that this will fix things.

Continue Reading »