Monthly Archives for September 2018.
Local reader Vineet S. called every Marriott property in Dubai and Abu Dhabi – over 50 hotels – to ask how they’re handling elite benefits. He spoke with each hotel’s front office manager or higher.
Here are his findings about what the new Marriott program means for members. He concludes, “AUH/DXB/Asia regionally had some of the best compliance with T&C, if this is the condition here…”
On or about August 25 Aeroplan, the frequent flyer program that was spun off from Air Canada that the airline is buying back, began having issues booking award tickets on several Star Alliance partner airlines.
I reached out to Aeroplan to find out why redemption on carriers such as Thai, Swiss, Air New Zealand, and LOT Polish has become unavailable.
The Chief Marketing Officer for Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines, who outlines plans for their new business class which will be introduced for Boeing 787 and Airbus A350s which will be entering the fleet, beginning with the 787s in 2019.
They’ll be moving from 2-2-2 seating to four-across direct aisle access. And since “High privacy is our priority,” there’s the possibility of suites with doors. However the seats are still under design.
It’s been over 3 years since I wrote about American’s ‘Goldilocks Problem’ boarding planes too early (before stated boarding time on boarding passes) and updating customers about delays too late.
I find that American won’t post flight delays until boarding time for an aircraft, even when those delays are blindingly obvious. And they won’t update delays until revised departure times have passed. That’s an issue because it wastes customers’ time.
Six months ago I reported that American Airlines was in the market for used Airbus A319s.
There was a rumor at the time that American would pick up these narrowbody aircraft from Frontier Airlines but then time passed and nothing happened. Now it seems that American Airlines is receiving its first ex-Frontier A319, registration N922FR.
Star Alliance member Avianca LifeMiles has Star Alliance Asia awards on sale. There are discounts up to 48% — with US-Asia awards in business and first class up to 20% off on designated routes.
This discount is available for bookings made by September 18 though you can travel any time in the future through end of schedule. Availability on many of these routes is amazing.
Last month Chase added JetBlue as a transfer partner. Chase transfers are one-to-one.
Responding to this competition Citi is introducing improved transfer ratios to JetBlue effective September 13.
Twenty police vehicles along with a helicopter were deployed in the chase. Inbound aircraft were diverted and more than 80 flights were cancelled at the airport.
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.
Politics aside Papa John’s is probably the best of the large pizza delivery chains. Thank goodness the pilot didn’t order Domino’s or Pizza Hut, that stuff is just nasty.
So whatever you think about the controversy surrounding the ex-CEO of the chain he’s the ex-CEO of the chain, it’s ok for pilots to order pizza from them in large quantity, there’s no reason to self-immolate with other chains’ cardboard with red paint.
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 »
