Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for March 2020.

Here Are The Government Subsidies The U.S. Is Considering For Airlines

by Gary Leff

hand holding hundreds of dollars in cash
Mar 14 2020

Airlines are facing an existential crisis in their business, as bookings dry up and customers stay home. Other businesses, often smaller businesses, are facing a crisis too. People aren’t going out to local restaurants. Other businesses are closing down, and not all of their employees are being paid.

But airlines are politically well-connected. Delta, United, and American have all spent time lobbying for government handouts this week. Here’s the form subsidies are most likely to take.

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Norwegian Air Could Run Out Of Cash In Weeks

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Mar 13 2020

Norwegian Air says they may run out of cash in a matter of weeks. Their long haul business is between several European countries and the U.S., but Europeans largely cannot travel to the U.S. for the next month. Bookings are down anyway in the current environment, and this was a troubled airline to begin with.

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Qatar Airways CEO Was A Coronavirus Denier

by Gary Leff

Mar 13 2020

What a difference a few weeks make. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker gave an interview where he was skeptical about the seriousness of the novel coronavirus, and annoyed at the inconvenience to aviation. “You don’t block aviation just because there is something in the air but it’s really not a scientific fact” he said.

He probably now wishes there wasn’t video.

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Delta Eliminating Europe Flights, Parking 300 Aircraft, and Asking For Government Subsidies

by Gary Leff

Mar 13 2020

At the beginning of the week airlines knew the novel coronavirus impact on their business could be large, but no one was taking this as seriously as United. That’s changed. Delta has sent a memo to employees outlining unprecedented changes to their business in light of drying up revenue.

Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian says that they’re receiving more cancellations than new bookings, and that “the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen” as a result they are “moving quickly to preserve cash and protect” the airline.

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Hyatt Offering New Flexibility On Non-Refundable Bookings, Postponing Most Award Price Changes

by Gary Leff

Mar 13 2020

Hyatt was first out of the gate with an offer of points for customers having to cancel non-refundable bookings. I thought that was generous because they were first and it was something. Of course this is all fast-moving, and other hotel chains have since done more.

So Hyatt has responded, well I think, and is out with a new policy allowing for cancellation of non-refundable bookings, encouraging new bookings, and offering greater flexibility for Hyatt points.

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4 Best Ever Offers Of 100,000 Points Or More

by Gary Leff

first class seats
Mar 13 2020

Credit card bonuses have seemed to get a lot larger in the past few months, as competition heated up across bank issuers to attract new cardmembers. 100,000 points was a huge line to cross. Sure, Hilton cards have had those offers frequently but a Hilton point isn’t the same thing as a United mile.

Now is the time to stock up on lots of miles. Hoard them for big trips when you’re ready to take them. Airlines seem to be expecting a lot of empty seats for awhile. That means there’s a good chance for very good award availability, lots of opportunities to use your miles. And airlines will be using the loyalty programs both to fill seats and get passengers flying again.

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