News and notes from around the interweb:
- If you want one of the new artistic designs for your Amex Platinum card you can request it starting today. I am personally not a fan and will keep my original design card.
- Rapper Vic Mensa Arrested After Customs Agents Report Finding Drugs In Bag At Dulles Airport
Credit: CBP - Are we about to see more unbundling of airfares? an airline pricing advisor sees airlines using artificial intelligence to do just that. What some of this misses is how bundling can be revenue-maximizing, good for both customers and airlines.
On a short flight from New York to London, some people only want the bed. In terms of value perception a lot of work is needed in these cabins and even more so in first class. As premium leisure travel becomes even more prominent, airlines will need to rethink the “all-inclusive” model at the pointy end.
- TSA finds one gun per 100,000 passengers screened and 86% are loaded (HT: @crucker)
- Andaz Wall Street will finally re-open January 26 rebranded as a Hyatt Centric, but sadly not dropping from redemption category 5 down to 4 (where it would be eligible for redemptions with category 1-4 free night certificates). A decade ago this property was really quite nice, but in part its location (not really super convenient for Wall Street despite its address) held down the room rates it could command. A Centric makes more sense.
- Who really thought that wall-mounted toiletries were a good idea? Sure, on paper they (1) save hotels money, while (2) pretending the decision is about environment rather than cost, but there are too many stories like this one (most much worse though).
- Spotted on MLK Day from a fellow American Airlines Miami – Washington National first class passenger:
Marco Rubio, on AA 2648 from MIA-DCA, presumably rushing back to Washington to commemorate MLK by voting on new voting rules. He was boarded by the side door stairs (you know, the ones where strollers and carry on bags go down), presumably to avoid the plebs on the Miami jetbridge. Miami catering (as you recently mentioned) sucks recently, so he (and most of the rest of us in first class) had a cup of water.
Not only did he wear a mask, it was an N95 (or KN95?). He worked the whole flight, but as soon as we landed, he made the quickest bee-line with his Concierge Key tagged bag and RAN out of the aircraft the moment the doors opened.
So, Rubio is a busy, hardworking guy who flies a lot…?
Rubio was rushing back to vote no…..
@Jorge Rubio is a wise man.
@Jorge – You’re doubtless correct but except for the special treatment I’m not sure why anyone should care about this particular instance.
Interesting article on unbundled biz up until the author writes:
“It also means treating the seat not just as a commodity within the passenger journey but as a value proposition for in-flight experience”
From an RM perspective- yeah, no thanks.
Hopefully the Hyatt Wall Street location doesn’t get rid of their best amenity for NYC locals: free wine happy hour. If we happened to be in FiDi we’d stop in for a free glass or two. While in theory this is for guests only, no one asks you for a room number or if you’re even a guest, nor are there any signs indicating it’s for guests only, unlike the 5th Ave Andaz location. Just a placard indicating a complimentary wine happy hour.
My guess is since so few people live around it they don’t have a big problem with locals taking advantage and hence why they don’t try to enforce a guests only policy.