Monthly Archives for December 2020.
Internal American Airlines documents describe the carrier’s plan to pay employees not to work, as part of the federal government’s Payroll Support Program passed by Congress as part of its stimulus legislation.
Anything that’s projected out to 2028 isn’t just far from certain, but more in the realm of entirely speculative, at this point. However any first class that does materialize will have to be better than QSuites, and indeed better than whatever QSuites are 8 years in the future. Combine that with Qatar’s outstanding service and catering it has the potential to be a fantastic product.
U.S. airlines recalled furloughed workers based on the passage of Covid relief legislation which sends them $15 billion. But the President hasn’t signed the bill yet and posted to twitter that he now opposes it. He may not actually veto, but what happens if he does – could airlines be on the hook to pay employees, even without the government subsidies that led them to promise to do so?
Around 20 air marshals based in the agency’s Dallas field office – or about 10% of agents there – have been disciplined for smuggling viagra into the U.S. for distribution, “following a secretive two-year internal investigation.”
The TSA has sought to cover it up using nondisclosure agreements, and none will be criminally charged.
How does a person with an infectious disease decide to fly in the middle of a global pandemic? How does someone make a choice to potentially infect others, knowing that there’s a chance some of the people exposed along the way could die as a result. It’s clearly reckless – but is it criminally reckless? One law professor says yes.
The margin on things other than airline tickets is generally much higher than that of air transportation. Selling miles is a high margin business. Selling preferred seats is too. A customer with a co-brand credit card who uses it on the airline’s shopping portal and buys upgrades is a high margin customer, and a customer worth fighting over – and treating well.
This is being recognized by airline frequent flyer programs around the world and it’s time this recognition come to the U.S. too.
American Airlines has new partnerships coming online with JetBlue and Alaska Airlines. Normally we think of these sorts of partnerships as reducing competition, but there are two ways this will increase competition.
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.
The future of American Airlines premium lounges is in question. Their international business class Flagship lounges have been closed for 9 months, and won’t re-open until international business class demand returns.
Inside three of American’s Flagship lounges are Flagship First Dining facilities, sit down dining rooms with cooked-to-order menus and private bars for first class passengers. They served Krug champagne, but the Krug is being sold off at a discount in nearby Admirals Clubs.
About about 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning two passengers on Delta Air Flights flight 462 from New York LaGuardia to Atlanta opened an emergency exit door on the Airbus A321 after pushing back – and exited the aircraft down the slide with their large service dog.
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 »
