Southwest Airlines announced an extension of members’ elite status, Companion Pass benefits, and the validity of travel vouchers.
They’re also making it easier to earn elite status this year, as well as to earn a Companion Pass and extending the life of travel credits, in some cases giving up to an additional 2.5 years to use those credits.
In light of the government’s bail out of U.S. airlines, United Airlines cannot furlough any employees until October 1. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby want employees to know that many of them will probably be let go on October 1.
It’s taken as almost a given that the cruise industry is going to suffer for the long term. After seeing shifts sailing endlessly, not welcomed in any port, and becoming floating petri dishes for the spread of disease, who is going to get back on a ship?
And yet there are reports that cruise bookings are actually up compared to the same point in 2019, with cruise customers saying they’ll sail again.
Business travel and international travel may take awhile to recover. Domestic travel, not just in the U.S. but elsewhere, should come back faster.
Without borders to navigate, and with blocked middle seats and deep cleaning of planes to give customers confidence, low fares should bring back passengers according to one airline CEO.
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 plan is to do testing on all passengers prior to boarding flights to countries that require COVID-19 test certificates for entry. For the first time a finger prick test was used prior to today’s Dubai – Tunis, Tunisia flight.
If this is feasible at scale, then expect it to be a practice that spreads (and makes it easier for countries to require such a practice). Expect it to add to the time, hassle, and expense of travel, but also to open up borders faster.
The coronavirus crisis will have long-lasting effects on travel. I don’t think travel companies have internalized this reality yet, with many still projecting a bounce back in the summer and fall and a return to 2019 levels of travel next year or at least by the year after. That’s unlikely.
With United’s Oscar Munoz, Marriott’s Arne Sorneson, and the CEOs of Carnvial Cruise Lines, Hilton Hotels, and Starwood Capital on the important panel to bring back the economy, here are the steps we can expect the country to take.
Hotel bank partners are funding rooms for hospital workers to sleep in otherwise-empty hotels. Another source of revenue for hoteliers right now is housing the homeless who need a place to quarantine during the coronavirus crisis.
Here’s the scale of the project, which sorts of hotels are participating, and how much they can make – at least in California.
Air France KLM sees travel returning gradually over the course of the year. They expect to run 20% of normal capacity in June, 40% in July, 60% in August and then hover around 75% of normal for the rest of the year.
Despite currently losing an average of 20 million euros per day, they’re still planning to accept delivery of Airbus A350 aircraft in May and June.
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 »
