Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for September 2019.

Delta Walks Through Its Huge Strategic Move Into Latin America, Really Sticks It to Qatar and American.

by Gary Leff

plane on tarmac
Sep 27 2019

After the close of markets on Thursday Delta announced they’re acquiring 20% of LATAM. That’s huge for Delta giving them a big presence in Latin America, on top of owning 49% of Aeromexico.

This positions Delta well to grow in American’s back yard of Miami and it undercuts American’s South America flights by denying them connecting feed, and blocks American’s joint venture with LATAM (which would have had to exclude Chile flights). And it really sticks it to the CEO of Qatar Airways given their 10% stake in LATAM.

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United Diverts to Rescue a Passenger Stuck in Lavatory

by Gary Leff

united
Sep 27 2019

You’re supposed to be at your seat for takeoff and landing of course, and there’s no seat belt in the lavatory. However on Wednesday’s United Airlines UA1554 non-stop from Washington National to San Francisco, the flight had to divert to Denver when a passenger got stuck in the lavatory.

The passenger had to sit on the throne for landing, and United mechanics were sent in for a rescue.

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OMG: Delta Buying 20% of LATAM, Steals American’s Potential Joint Venture

by Gary Leff

plane on tarmac
Sep 26 2019

Delta announced that they’re taking a 20% stake in LATAM, the largest airline conglomerate in South America comprised of LATAM Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Perú.

American Airlines had worked towards a joint venture with LATAM but it was rejected by Chile’s Supreme Court this spring. LATAM will exit the oneworld alliance, although no plans have been announced for their entrance to SkyTeam.

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American Releases Schedules for New Tokyo Haneda Flights: Look Out for Awards and Order the Japanese Meals

by Gary Leff

Sep 26 2019

A week ago American’s Vice President of Planning, Vasu Raja, told employees it would be “in the next several weeks” that the airline would announce their new Tokyo Haneda flights. The holdup was coordinating with joint venture partner Japan Airlines so that the two carriers could together so that in Los Angeles they could offer “a really separated pattern where every 2 or 3 hours there’s an American flight or a JAL flight much like what we have at JFK – Heathrow today.”

The airline did not wait for this and is instead out with details of their two new flights to Tokyo Haneda

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Singapore Airlines To Stop Serving Its Iconic Lobster Thermidor

by Gary Leff

fancy food on plate
Sep 26 2019

Singapore Airlines offers perhaps the best main meals of any airline in premium cabins, although I’ve always found their snack service to be lacking.

The best feature is “Book the Cook” which isn’t just pre-order something that’s going to be on the plane anyway, but an extensive menu of specialty items to choose from in advance that the airline will have on board for you.

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Marriott Reveals It’s Stuck With the Name Bonvoy: “It Is What It Is.”

by Gary Leff

bonvoy
Sep 25 2019

Rebranding a loyalty program just doesn’t make sense when you start with both a recognizable name and a good reputation. You wind up spending nine figures on advertising, merchandising, printing, and education — all to get back to where you started, at best, which is that the median consumer doesn’t even identify which brands are part of the program.

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