Jun
29
2021
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 Return Of ‘Woke’ United Airlines
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for June 2021.
Blood Started Spewing After A Customer Lost It At The Atlanta Airport Dollar Rent A Car
Jun
29
2021
A reader shares that the Dollar Rent A Car line was out of control, stretching far enough back that it was going to take well over an hour to get a car. And things were deteriorating because a woman tried to rent a car with a debit card (which is allowed) but was being refused.
The woman became irate, not just at the clerk behind the counter but at everyone around. She reportedly hit something on the counter and smashed it into the Dollar clerk’s head. He started to bleed.
United Airlines Commits To Huge Aircraft Order, Retrofitting Domestic Fleet With Premium Interiors
Jun
29
2021
United has placed an order for 270 narrowbody planes: 200 Boeing 737 MAXs (50 MAX 8s, 150 MAX 10s) and 70 Airbus A321neos. 200 regional jets will be replaced by mainline aircraft. And they’re retrofitting cabins on their existing narrowbody planes with more premium seats, seatback entertainment with bluetooth for headphones, seat power and larger overhead bins. The retrofit is promised to be 66% complete by 2023 and 99% complete by 2025.
Most of this had already leaked, and I reported that it was expected, but it’s still huge news that it’s happening. The airline clearly sees strong travel growth and a return of business travel to normal levels sooner than competitors.
On June 30th American Airlines Will Revise Its Boarding Groups
Jun
28
2021
On June 30th American Airlines will revise its boarding groups to make two changes. The two top elite levels in the AAdvantage program will be able to board earlier.
The Elite Status Of American AAdvantage Platinum Pro Members Gets Upgraded June 30
Jun
28
2021
Back in December American Airlines announced that their Platinum Pro members would become oneworld emeralds. That will go into effect June 30. There are a couple of wrinkles to know about.
Pandemic, Schmandemic: United Airlines Is Profitable Again.
Jun
28
2021
United Airlines was the first to really get the seriousness of the pandemic and scale down its operations accordingly. They furloughed almost as many workers as American Airlines did, and cut deeply into management ranks. They’re also though symbolically coming out of pandemic serving alcohol on more flights than competitors and first class meals too.
Some of the tactics they employed to get through the pandemic were downright despicable, such as illegally withholding refunds from customers and devaluing MileagePlus awards when no one was looking. We’ll see what they announce tomorrow about how they plan to make up for these betrayals.
Hilton Drops Elite Breakfast Benefit At US Hotels Starting July 1, Here’s How That Works
Jun
28
2021
A month ago Hilton announced that for the second half of 2021, a food and beverage credit would replace breakfast as an elite benefit at U.S. properties. They’ve now shared all of the details about how this will work.
Congress Could Make It Illegal For The Federal Government To Save More On Hotels
Jun
28
2021
Two Florida Congressmen – Bill Posey (R-FL) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) – have proposed legislation that would prevent the federal government from negotiating lower rates on lodging than what they paid based on 2019 rates. They want to make sure the government pays more than it has to for travel.
How Singapore Plans To Open Up And Live With Covid
Jun
28
2021
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.
U.S. – Canada Border Likely To Re-Open July 21
Jun
27
2021
Keeping the U.S. – Canada border closed makes no sense. Infection rates and vaccination rates are roughly similar on both sides of the border. There are variants spreading already on both sides of the border, besides the restrictions weren’t tight enough to stop those anyway. The border has remained closed out of a desire to signal that the government is doing something (fear of foreigners plays in here) and bureaucratic inertia (status quo bias prevails when no one wants to be responsible for a mistake, outbreak or case cluster).
There’s finally some hope on the horizon.
