Monthly Archives for January 2019.
Starting in May American Airlines is launching what may be the worst flight in the world, Miami to Brasilia in South America with a Boeing 737 MAX. The flight is blocked at over seven and a half hours and spans 3600 miles.
Now American Airlines is launching a domestic flight that’s nearly as rough because it takes the same product and flies it nearly as long without leaving the country.
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.
Every single day an inner battle boils in the skies, just below the service, threatening to bubble over.
A passenger videotaped a woman melting down after boarding her United flight. She said she had four hours ahead of her in a middle seat. She declares “I can’t do this.” She complains also about the size of the two passengers on either side of her. She says she’s small in comparison (she isn’t), “I eat salad.”
But that’s not what makes this story absolutely perfect. There’s an Easter egg in the video.
It’s worth a reminder as well that Turkish Airlines offers some great award redemptions year-round. They add fuel surcharges onto redemptions, their pricing is very reasonable. Just told tell anyone you’re a Gülenist when you redeem your points.
Under the new Marriott program all lifetime elites kept their current lifetime status from either program and everyone had until December 31 to earn lifetime status under old program rules despite the new program requiring more elite nights than Starwood had insisted upon and no longer required minimum points for status as Marriott had.
One quirk of the new program though is that it will not offer lifetime status higher than Platinum (50 nights). Legacy Marriott lifetime Platinums were 75 night platinums so got to keep lifetime 75 night elite. Starwood members with similar lifetime activity nearly lost their cookies over this.
In September American Airlines was named a 5 Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association.
When you board American Airlines flights you’ll notice a new logo being added to their planes, beneath the oneworld logo. These new decals promote their ‘five star’ status, as they explained to employees this week.
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.
A tornado struck Antalya airport in Turkey today and it was captured on film heading across the airport “travelling between international Terminal 1 and the threshold of runway 18C.”
The storm manages to move “a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8, an Onur Air Airbus, and another 737 in the colours of tour operator Detur.” Airport buses and other vehicles were overturned.
Tokyo’s subway is offering vouchers for free soba noodles and tempura to passengers who consistently travel at off peak times. Don’t like surge pricing? The idea has tremendous potential.
American may launch Chicago – Krakow. Phoenix will become more of a seasonal hub. And Toledo, Akron, and Charleston, West Virginia should all launch from Dallas Fort-Worth.
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 »
