Monthly Archives for August 2019.
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.
Currently American Airlines changes up their domestic first class snack baskets every six months. I don’t love most of what they offer, and boy the contents get boring after awhile. The last changeover was April 10.
While I don’t think the new choices starting October 9 are better the good news is that the airline will begin rotating out contents every two months beginning with this next refresh. Here’s what’ll be in the new baskets.
Yesterday I wrote about video of a woman leading her miniature horse out of airport security, and through the airport, on the way to an American Airlines flight to Omaha.
It turns out there’s also video from inside the aircraft. And the horse has a twitter account, sharing the rest of the story of the flight.
Ground and flight attendant employees get a 4% raise. Employees who receive merit-based pay adjustments will have a 4% increase in the total compensation pool available to them. And bonuses are expected to be higher, too.
Just as importantly the airline communicates that it is investing in solving pain points in jobs, and employees are reminded that they’re empowered to address the most important issues at the airline (safety). It’s a well-written memo.
he President’s personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, was fired on Thursday. On Friday the story came out that she had made comments at an off-the-record dinner with reporters August 17th hosted by deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley which got back to the White House.
Apparently Ms. Westerhout, after “a couple drinks and in an uncharacteristically unguarded moment,” made comments which – once reported back to the White House – made her continued employment untenable. That’s not the part of the story I’m interested in.
Even when the Department of Transportation backing up airline efforts to crack down on emotional support animals, the DOT ruled that miniature horses have to be allowed on board
Here comes a woman, just strolling through the airport with her horse.
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.
Delta and Alaska Airlines commit to delivering checked bags within 20 minutes of each flight arriving. United and American make no such commitment. An American employee asked about what the airline can do to improve its baggage delivery times, and management provided a response in writing outlining some of the challenges that they have with bags – and how it’s supposed to work.
They also explained why bags often don’t make it when you change flights during irregular operations.
You earn a Hotels.com free night after staying 10 nights, and that’s an effective 10% rebate on hotel stays. As a result Hotels.com offers a useful program for two types of people. It’s great for those who do not stay regularly enough to earn elite status in a loyalty program. It’s also good for those who don’t concentrate on a single chain.
That rebate will become worth a little bit less in three months.
One of the challenges with Delta’s buildup in the Seattle market has been the city’s intense loyalty to their hometown airline. “Alaska Airlines” is a strange name for a carrier based in Seattle but Seattleites feel a strong affinity for the company.
Delta has done a lot to move the needle, beyond schedule and price. Like Alaska they offer a 20 minute baggage delivery guarantee. The Seattle airport Sky Club is one of their best. And there have been semi-frequent mileage offers targeted at the local market.
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 »
