Monthly Archives for October 2024.
Throughout 2023, American Airlines was promising that anything you wanted to do with the airline could be done digitally – with the few remaining features to be delivered by the end of the year. I kept asking, just as a glaring example of what was missing, what about upgrades?
In some ways I wanted something more revolutionary, rather than modest changes and a rebrand of Premier. But the effort behind this card says they’re still interested in investing in marketing a travel card with transferable points and that’s really great.
Boeing’s 777X widebody program won’t see commercial service until (at least) 2026. And Tim Clark is on a warpath over what’s now a six year delay. He offered, “I fail to see how Boeing can make any meaningful forecasts of delivery dates” at this point. Just last year he increased the carrier’s order book to 256 777X widebodies – adding 55 -9s and 35 -8s at the Dubai Air Show.
Now, he says, unless the aircraft manufacturer can raise the $10 billion it’s seeking in new equity, “I see an imminent investment downgrade with Chapter 11 looming on the horizon.”
A reader flew Delta business class from New York to Europe where he had a run-in with a flight attendant at the end of the trip – and now he’s worried about being banned from the airline. Yet he says he’s the one that was mistreated!
Elliott has been talking to institutional shareholders. I can’t imagine they call for a vote they don’t think they can win. And that would mean that Southwest ousts its CEO and more closely follows Elliott’s prescriptions which turn the airline into JetBlue and American Airlines – more fees, fewer perks.
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.
A Frontier Airlines passenger flying from San Diego to Las Vegas left her cell phone in the gate area. She and everyone else boarded, and the flight pushed back. The woman wanted the captain to return to the gate to assist in getting her phone.
And the airline really needs to comply because she’s been a loyal Frontier customer for eight years – and she’s the sovereign ruler of the government, owning seven continents. Anyone who mocks her will be shipped out on a boat – or “expired.”
There have been plenty of controversial stories about a husband flying first class while his wife and kids sit in coach. Maybe he got the upgrade, and only one seat was available. Or he was on a business trip and had to be rested, so the company paid for his seat.
But this story about a family splitting up on the plane is genuinely new to me: the kids fly first class while the dad sits in coach.
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.
On last week’s Delta Air Lines earnings call, executives “drum[med] up excitement for premium product announcements in November.” That’s when the airline is holding its Investor Day, and they’ve already told us what to expect: ‘basic business class,’ doing to the premium cabin what they’ve already done to coach.
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 »
