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.
Rihanna Slams American Airlines First Class Passenger For Watching the Superbowl
Rihanna reportedly turned down performing at the Superbowl for its half time show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s protests during the national anthem.
You don’t need to take sides in that discussion, or have an opinion on Rihanna, to find it noteworthy that not only wasn’t she at the Superbowl she was flying during the Superbowl — and from the looks of things, on board an American Airlines Airbus A321T in first class.
Marriott Sending Out Promotions for More Points and Faster Elite Status
Some members are really motivated by points (redemption) and others are motivated by better treatment (status). If a program offers members more than usual for taking certain actions during a specific period of time, they’re going to get more of those actions.
And you can test customer behavior, how much do you need to offer? which customers respond best to which kinds of offers? Here are four that Marriott is reportedly sending out.
How to Make an Airline Customers Want to Fly
The major US airlines mostly follow the same business model, and there’s little disruption today in the industry. However while schedule and price were once the primary drivers of consumer behavior, even proponents of ‘schedule and price über alles like United President Scott Kirby learned years ago at US Airways that it was no longer the only thing that mattered to win business.
Since much of air travel is heavily regulated, the space in which airlines can differentiate themselves becomes more crucial than ever to attract customers.
Why I Choose to Fly American Airlines
I’m probably one of the most vocal and consistent critics of American Airlines. I thought I should explain why I still fly the airline — and generally choose to do so over other US domestic carriers.
Huge Personal Milestone for Marriott Sorting Out the Mess Of Their New Program
When Marriott launched their new program on August 18th they encouraged members to combine their accounts. They told you that you were keeping either a Starwood account or a Marriott account, but that wasn’t really true — all accounts were moved onto Marriott’s IT system.
If you were a Starwood member and a Marriott member previously you now had two Marriott accounts but for legal reasons they still displayed Starwood graphics for one of them.
I combined my accounts and somehow showed only three years at the Platinum level towards lifetime status.
Hawk that Protects London Heathrow Stolen From Outside Airport Hotel
Planes are often referred to as birds, and birds of prey are particularly aviation-friendly. At Heathrow hawks are used to scare away other birds as a safety measure. They help prevent bird strikes, which can take out aircraft engines and lead to dangerous conditions not to mention damage to aircraft.
Cathay Pilots “Close to Civil War” and Japanese Pilots All Named Captain Morgan?
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.
British Airways Testing Not Cleaning Planes Between European Flights
At American Airlines cleaners frequently board an aircraft and start cleaning before passengers are off the plane. That’s not a great experience, but the airline frequently tries to turn planes around with unrealistic schedules. At least they’re getting cleaned.
British Airways in contrast has trialed ways to reduce cleaning to see if passengers complain. Now they’re taking a new approach — testing the elimination of cleaning altogether on some flights.
Worst Airline Meal on the Planet?
There are plenty of meal attempts that aren’t even trying, or actively trying to be disgusting.
There’s a recent viral story about an Emirates passenger complaining about their cajun chicken sandwich. Doesn’t look great, but not actively ‘grosser than gross’.