News and notes from around the interweb:
- Marriott no longer lets you book an award using points advance if you have enough points in your account. In practice I’m not sure this change matters at all. There’s no limit to the number of points advance bookings you can make once you deplete your points (and indeed you could deplete your points, make points advance bookings, and then cancel those first redemptions).
- 15 years of Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer devaluations
- 250 free Voila Hotel Rewards points for completing a survey
- United President Scott Kirby is repeating the Oscar Munoz claptrap about customers being unhappy before they ever board the airline, it’s not really United’s fault that you’re unhappy on board!
They’re already tense, they’re stressed, trying to get through security, trying to get to the airport on time, figure out where to park their cars, you know, all that stuff. And then they get here and what doesn’t make sense to them feels like a set of black and white rules, that we’re this big company that just doesn’t care.
- Why Boeing built the 737 MAX.
- Video of the new British Airways business class lounge at JFK. Remember that Gold elites (and oenworld emeralds) use the first class lounge, and that they will not be in this terminal long.
- Ouch.
United execs think we are unhappy before we board the plane? Maybe….but that’s if we know we are going to fly United. These execs are delusional! Crappy service, cranky staff, old product and tight seat can’t possibly have anything to do with it.
Come on Gary – they’re saying their rules are too black and white. And saying they need to start from an assumption the passenger is in a tough spot when they arrive and have to try harder.
United has a cultural problem. Buy a full fare long haul biz class ticket and tell me if you think the service standards are good. Its a toss up. I have had some nice FAs but mostly crappy ones. Why? Because many aren’t really interested in service. The problem is cultural.
Some of us actually can distinguish between factors that are outside of United’s control (such as thunderstorms, blizzards and traffic jams on the way to the airport) and surly employees, dirty airplanes and unexplained delays for “late arriving equipment” whatever that means.
If you take no responsibilities for problems, then there is nothing you need to do. Perfect!
Yes you paying cranky passengers are miserable and you simply don’t recognize
our friendly can do associates & flight attendants worldwide,devalued awards and mileage currency
Our world class cuisine ,exclusive first class INT cabins with exceptional privacy,comfort
and state of the art technology
In fact some of you don’t appreciate that there is no phone or direct email to United customer relations and that we have done away with those annoying award charts
If your unhappy we are happy so go get a shrink and solve your sad problems United passengers
United Brand Supremacy
Breaks guitars/Kills dogs and other pets
Drags bloody passengers down their aisles to make way for connecting flight crews
That the old, dirty seat, intermittent service, and poor food and beverage don’t make a difference because I was in traffic? Or pre-check was a little bit longer? I can see that UA does not intend to compete on quality of product. I don’t think anyone is buying this corporate excuse.
what’s an “oenworld emeralds”?
UAL corporate motto: “We’re not happy until you’re not happy.”
Shout out to Wendover Productions (producer of the video on the 737 MAX). What a great little idea to document the more obscure things in life that we may have all wondered about