American Airlines still expires miles in your account if you don’t have activity for 18 months. They have not paused this even though travel has slowed down for so many. There are simple ways to make sure your miles don’t expire.
The TSA has been saying that starting October 1, 2020 they are only going to accept IDs at security checkpoints that are compliant with a 2005 law that’s been getting kicked down the road for years. There are still a few states that aren’t issuing these IDs, and many people in states that are haven’t replaced their drivers licenses with new ones.
The prospect of turning away passengers from flying en masse never seemed plausible one month before the Presidential election. The October 1, 2020 deadline, which has been pushed off for years, inevitably will be pushed off again.
Now, with coronavirus, we know what excuse the Department of Homeland Security is likely to use.
Airline bailouts are a bad idea. Stockholders should take a haircut before taxpayers. Airline bankruptcy does not present contagion risk to the economy. Airlines have flown through bankruptcy successfully – American, Delta, and United have all done it. And any help for workers should address the needs people face independent of industry.. Working for an airline isn’t ‘more special’ than some other job.
However there are very bad ideas circulating around new conditions to impose in exchange for a bailout.
United’s April flight schedule is down 60% year-over-year; an 85% decrease for international (and greater than that for transatlantic and transpacific) and a 42% for U.S. and Canada flying.
It’s easier to list the international flights that are actually operating than those that aren’t. Domestically there are a lot of cuts but United emphasizes they’ve only completed stopped flying to one U.S. airport
Hyatt is offering 90 days of Explorist status and a fast track to either keep Explorist or top tier Globalist through February 22. The best thing is that you have until November 16 to register and start the 90 day clock. As a result you can use this once your travel is starting up again.
American Express is closing all Centurion Lounge locations starting Saturday, March 21. Here’s detail on the move.
With 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus including the state’s first case of community spread, the Governor of Hawaii is asking Americans on the mainland not to visit for the next 30 days. Hawaii travel has been one of the few bright spots for airlines, and early on in this crisis Oahu was one of only two major hotel markets to be doing well.
Due to low passenger volumes and suspended flights, American is closing 11 lounges so far. I expect that number to grow.
There are various state laws that are affecting service in Admirals Clubs. Perhaps the most extreme place you can social distance inside of an airport is in American’s Flagship First Dining. But they’ve had to close it at New York JFK because ‘restaurants’ are required to be closed. Some won’t let you take food with you, others won’t let you eat the food they give you there. And in some places alcohol cannot be served.
The hotel industry met with the President today. The airline industry is asking for about $58 billion in subsidies.
What would Wag The Dog‘s Dustin Hoffman say about $58 billion? “This is nothing.” The hotel industry wants $250 billion.
American Airlines is telling flight attendants they have “great options” to choose from to voluntarily reduce the airline’s workforce: retirement and no pay but two years of benefits, or leave with no pay but benefits. Pilots are being offered about two-thirds of pay.
Unless there’s some sort of commitment not to furlough employees as part of taking the government bailout package airline CEOs and their lobbyists have been pushing for, I’d expect to see furloughs coming next.
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 »
