Monthly Archives for July 2023.
JetBlue’s prize remains its acquisition of Spirit Airlines, which they’re still pursuing against government objections. If JetBlue were to walk away from the merger they’d owe American a breakup fee. This ruling takes them off the hook for that.
So not entirely unexpectedly JetBlue says they will not appeal, leaving the partnership dead.
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.
Bethenny Frankel is best known as one of the Real Housewives of New York but is also host of Money Court and a former Shark Tank shark. She also has opinions on travel, and in particular the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Newark. Her verdict: garbouj. Based on this video, she isn’t wrong.
There have been a number of frequent flyer seminars, in-person gatherings to learn about strategy in miles and points. But the “OG” is probably the Chicago Seminar, held each October, at the Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village. It started back in 2010, and I helped out a lot in the beginning. I gave four talks the first year. I spoke multiple times the second year.
This year there are two events, marketing themselves as the Chicago Seminar, over the exact same dates. The Peoples Front of Judea has split with the Judean Peoples Front.
There are certain sounds, sights, and flavors that evoke travel. It wasn’t originally intended this way, but George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue means United Airlines.
One neglected area of branding – outside of United – is music. So kudos here are noteworthy, in this case for Delta’s landing music.
For two years hotels complained about lack of staffing and supply chain, offering up excuses for high rates and low service. But that lack of service has in some sense been baked into the equation, as hotel properties try to grow profit margins – focusing on short-term gains while taking on long-term risk to their business. And since guest experience isn’t the key focus, it suffers more than the cost cuts alone would require.
Nine Israeli citizens were arrested on arrival in Istanbul after a flight attendant on their Pegasus Airlines flight complained she had been sexually harassed.
The passengers say that the crewmember simply “didn’t like Israelis.” But one member of the group “took a video of her giving the safety instructions before takeoff” and she used that as a pretext for her complaint, though she’d asked the passenger to delete the video and he complied.
Three members of the group have reportedly been held in a Turkish prison on the Syrian border for a week.
The U.S. government is warning Americans not to travel to China over laws and practice there allowing for arbitrary detention for political reasons, and for prosecution over the contents of private emails.
New legislation went into effect July 1 allowing the government to take even greater steps. But what about Hong Kong? And transit through the airport there?
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.
Video posted to TikTok shows a woman ranting as she leaves an American Airlines flight prior to departure in Dallas, yelling that she needs off because there’s a passenger on board who “is not real.” And, she says, anyone that stays on board will die alongside that passenger.
A reposting of the original video is garnering millions of views under the hashtag #drunkonaplane although it doesn’t seem that the woman is drunk.
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 »
