Monthly Archives for November 2020.
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.
Mom Air has sent out a press release, and promises a press conference November 11, announcing the launch of their new budget airline offering transatlantic flights out of Iceland. Bookings are supposed to open November 9 for travel March 1, 2021 onward.
In nearly every respect, including the logo, this appears to be a copy of Wow Air which failed even during better times for the airline industry – except they promise two free seats on every flight (you’ll be able to go to their website and search for available free travel), they’re putting gender equality at the forefront, and they plan segregated flights for those who have Covid-19 (or have been exposed and are quarantining) and those who do not.
Hyatt Place is changing its breakfast offerings. They are going to vary by region of the world. Guests will no longer be guaranteed a free hot breakfast at any Hyatt Place in the world, even if they are members of World of Hyatt booking direct. That’s a huge change.
This degrades the premium brand that Hyatt Place has built. You still get reasonably stylish large rooms. I’m a fan of Hyatt Places generally, at least the properties that aren’t ex-AmeriSuites. Fortunately the change shouldn’t affect top tier Hyatt elites.
Video captured what happens when a Tyrannosaurus Rex gives the inflight safety briefing on Eurowings, the Lufthansa-owned low cost carrier. It’s a little tough for a dinosaur to make nuanced movements, even leaving aside that they’re extinct.
The life vest doesn’t fit over his head and he eventually sticks it in his mouth in order to demonstrate pulling on the cord that would inflate it. Watch to the end, because grabbing the overhead bin with its mouth is priceless.
In the past when airlines struggled financially one of the first areas they cut back was cleaning, going over a year even without a deep clean. Despite Covid-19 being a bigger threat to airlines than 9/11 and the Great Recession combined, airlines have stepped up their cleaning to give passengers confidence to fly. It’s a welcome change that I hope continues even after the pandemic is done.
Nonetheless the FAA has concerns over some of the chemicals being used, and how they’re applied.
The President of Thai Airways says it “only has enough financial reserves to last until December” and they don’t even have the cash to pay severance to employees that have opted for early retirement as part of the carrier’s turnaround plan.
Without fresh capital and real reform Thai Airways will remain a zombie (or just a frozen food brand).
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.
Star Alliance member TAP Air Portugal is putting cash and points redemptions on sale so that the miles portion of a one way trip is just two miles. This is available for Friday, November 6 long haul bookings only but you can fly next year.
A fight broke out at the Las Vegas airport on Wednesday. They’re near slot machines, and not a gate, so it doesn’t appear to be passengers losing it over their flight. And there’s no reason to suspect it’s election-related.
What’s amazing is that there are actually two fights and they’re happening simultaneously beside each other. First you see a passenger in green going ‘fists of fury’ on a passenger dressed in brown, but notice to the right that there’s another group – a passenger in a black and red shirt doing his best Rowdy Roddy Piper on another passenger in all-black.
A year ago United Airlines offered a 10% discount to 18-22 year olds who booked through the United mobile app. At the time I put this as “older people pay more” while many readers didn’t feel this was a fair characterization. Now a court will decide.
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 »
