Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for May 2020.

United Airlines Uses CARES Act Loophole To Reduce Employee Pay, Keep Bailout Money For Itself

by Gary Leff

people posing for picture
May 02 2020

United has realized they can switch employees from full time to part time and pay them less. That’s not a furlough, and while it reduces pay it does this through reduced hours not reduced pay rate.

The intention of the federal bailout was that the money would go to employees, whose pay would not be reduced. And United is reducing the amount they’re paying employees and using the savings to bolster the position of their shareholders. The airline’s argument is that they need the money which is the same argument they deployed trying to deny refunds to customers for flights they cancelled.

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Marriott Told Us Mobile Room Keys Will Keep Us Safe, Then Delayed Roll Out Of Mobile Room Keys

by Gary Leff

May 02 2020

Marriott emphasized that they have 3300 hotels active with mobile room keys and more being added. This means not having to check in at the front desk with an employee, or having the employee handle your room key. Instead you check in with your phone, and use your phone as a room key.

That’s great, and Marriott is proud of how widespread this feature is (though not yet at half of their hotels). What they didn’t tell you, it turns out, is that they’ve actually pushed back the roll out of this technology at hotels which don’t currently offer it in order to save money.

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Most Travel Banned At U.S. Land Borders. What That Means Depends On Where You Cross.

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
May 02 2020

The U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are closed to non-essential travel, but agents on the border processing immigration say they haven’t received guidance on what that means and they’re left to make up the rules themselves.

Immigration officers further resent the number of people coming into the U.S., viewing them as physical threats to their health.

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Ticket Sales Still Negative, With Airlines Giving You More Money Than You Give Them

by Gary Leff

united ticket counter
May 02 2020

Airlines are still refunding as many third party sales as they are generating new sales. However overall it does appear that the number of cancellations is no longer greater than new bookings. That’s mostly because the trips that were booked before the pandemic have already been cancelled, but it’s a way of thinking about having truly hit bottom already. Now there’s nowhere to go but up.

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7 Things American Airlines Shared With Employees After Their Earnings Call

by Gary Leff

May 01 2020

On Thursday American Airlines spoke to investors and journalists on their earnings call about the financial results during the first quarter and the challenges that lie ahead.

After the earnings call, as they always do, senior leadership at the airline hold a forum where they speak to employees and take questions. Here are 7 of the things they shared during that session, having reviewed a recording of that session.

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Federal Aviation Bailout Is Making Bizarre Payments To Tiny Airports

by Gary Leff

May 01 2020

It’s not just airlines – and airline contractors – who got a big piece of the federal CARES Act. U.S. airports also had $10 billion in grants set aside for them. Payouts are based in part on passengers – but also debt and cash ratios, which created some strange payments to small airports like one in Maine that was awarded enough to operate for 25 years.

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United Cuts Denied Boarding Compensation By 75%

by Gary Leff

united plane
May 01 2020

United Airlines set the world on first when David Dao was dragged off of a United Express plane and bloodied three years ago. United’s CEO Oscar Munoz apologized… for having to re-accommodate him.

The worldwide outcry was so great that airlines had to revisit their policies for involuntary denied boardings. Now, as United does everything possible to reduce costs, it is scaling back efforts to control the sort of denied boardings that led to David Dao’s being dragged off a plane.

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United Is Planning For Zero Net Passenger Revenue Into 2021

by Gary Leff

united plane
May 01 2020

During this morning’s earnings call, United Airlines President Scott Kirby told investors and journalists that the carrier is “planning for zero net passenger revenue for rest of year and into 2021.”

They hope demand recovers but they have plenty of places to go for cash and are driving down expenses. Come the fall the only place left to go for cuts will be reducing employee headcount. They even talked about taking loans out against the MileagePlus program.

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